Great video! For the over achievers i would also recommend trying to make projects that have a chance of being successful (i.e. getting real users or customers). Worst case you end up with a resume project, best case you create a job for yourself.
Not really, In order to pass a technical interview you need to have done a substantial amount of Leet Code practice, atleast for the FAANG companies. Most companies atleast a nice fundamental logic in algorithmic thinking, which is what leetcode targets.
@@commoq3764 honestly, I agree here. Although I haven't actually done anything great at all, (so take my words with a grain of salt) Algorithms and Searches can make or break your code (or your chances in the interview.) Once you learn those, you can apply your problem solving easily to do projects.
Wasn't even looking for this video but I really want to say: Thanks for respecting my time and spilling all the facts as quickly as possible, most youtubers would find a way to drag this out into a 20 minute video.
Yes, the creator of Homebrew twited: "99% of Google's Engineers engineers are using my software but they said f** off because you cannot reverse a binary tree!"
I agree with this advice. Especially the part of having something to show someone. The biggest hurdle isn’t the algorithm or patterns of a project; but actually FINISHING or publishing something you worked on. That shows you can follow through and you will learn sooooo much.
In 6 years of professional work I've encountered leetcode-style problems maybe once. That's working in Europe for corporations and for US startups. Modern software development is about finding the right tool for the job, knowing how to unit test, asking the right questions and not being a pain in the ass to work with. Every aspiring software engineer wants FANG, but 90% of the programming jobs are just writing that 150th ORM class in Java or that 50th CRUD flow in Javascript. Building and contributing to actual projects is much harder than just grinding leetcode because you won't have the exact requirements, the start will be either from complete scratch (and the plan is to build a maintainable code base) or you will be dumped in a huge code base (where the tech debt is large and just figuring out where to put a piece of code takes hours), and you WILL HAVE to deal with actual people (each with their own interests). That being said, data structures and algorithm problems will put you in the right mindset and will make you aware of certain patterns that otherwise would just be complete nonsense at first sight.
Im Actually solving Neetcode 150 , its a set of really good questions and most commonly seen patterns , i would recommend anyone to solve it .Im actually able to solve questions in contests better than when i used to solve questions randomly
@@kaushikkundu it is beginner friendly imo , and about the sheet you mentioned, i really don't know about it , but ig any sheet with good variety of patterns is good
@@yadn.2355 im not an expert but i can tell you what i did , i first learnt concepts like Arrays , binary search, basic recutsion , basic sorting techniques, some topics like 2 pointers and sliding window at once and Then i solved the questions on these topics. In Second phase i learnt(concepts) like linked lists , stacks , queued , Backtracking and solved questions on these topics now. Currently im learning binary trees and Binary search trees , and will solve questions on this
Build projects. Meaningful projects with not an extreme scale. You can then make a small business off it and start from there, and even if it fails, you still have something for yourself and you at least tried. Grinding Leetcode is like wanting to become a professional boxer and only hitting the punching bag. Sure it's far from useless, but it doesn't give you the full experience of being in the ring. Building projects is like sparring with a partner; it's where you truly test and hone your skills. It exposes you to real-world challenges and scenarios that you can't simulate by just practicing algorithms. In the same way a boxer can't fully prepare for a match by just hitting a punching bag, a developer can't fully prepare for the tech industry by only grinding Leetcode. Both are important, but the latter provides a more holistic experience. So, step into the 'ring', build projects, and truly prepare yourself for what's ahead.
I'm currently at a point where I have been ceaselessly studying for about 11 months and just the other day, I had a sort of obvious realization that something I had overlooked when trying to figure out how to write code is the power of simple memorization. I have spent a lot of time in the past, teaching myself guitar and piano and in order to get good at it, it's necessary to first be able to play other people's songs by memory. You learn a song, play along to it a bunch of times, then play it on your own all the time and then eventually, you can extract bits and pieces of the techniques used in the song, to make your own songs. So, I started applying this idea to writing programs. It may seem to make no sense to memorize how to write someone else's number guessing game in Java, but it helps you to internalize the basic idea more so than just writing it once and sitting there thinking about how it works. And if you're like me and have spent lots of time learning multiple languages, you can then rewrite the program in C, Python, JavaScript or whatever. Then also alter the program and try to come up with as many variations as you can. Then eventually, you can extract certain ideas and concepts from this very simple program that you know by heart and apply them elsewhere. Like I said, it's so obvious that most people probably overlook the idea.
I've been thinking about this for a while now too. Memorization is key in the beginning, since you can't be an efficient problem solver with no cases you can look back on.
That’s correct or another way I’ve done that works wonder is copy code tell chatgpt to break down step by step walk away come back some other time and just try to rebuild the code form the step by step breakdown it doesn’t include actuall code
Personally, I think that making real projects is significantly more important compared to leetcode if you want to be an actually good software engineer. Leetcode is useful for interviews, but in practice, you don't need to use hyperoptimised data structures for niche problems.
Do leetcode until you can consistently tear down a majority of medium problems in 15 to 30 minutes. You will inevitably need to develop this skill at some point unless you are lucky or stick to lackluster positions.
Definitely make projects your priority. I think "grinding" leetcode is stupid, but doing 1-3 per day is good practice. It'll prepare you for interviews, get your more comfortable with actually programming (since like, 90% of projects is either boilerplate, figuring out how libraries work, planning, debugging etc.) and give you a more computer sciency way of thinking about things. Like, my problem solving skills have skyrocketed since using leetcode, but projects based learning is the best way to learn anything.
To be honest, doing a masters in cs made me a terrible programmer since I’ve forgotten everything as I coded 6 hours this entire year. Now I struggle on easy leetcode because I can’t remember syntax. In my spare time I worked on a project in spring boot + react but that abstracts so much of actual programming I’ve forgotten
@@TheEsotericProgrammer Yeah I don't think taking a master's in CS is a good idea, unless you want to research CS for a living. I think if you're gonna do a CS major, choose specialization that you really want to focus on. Right now, ML/AI/DS is a really good masters option overall imo
I really struggle to get motivated to build something that is just a clone of an existing idea. But it's obviously quite difficult to come up with an original idea that is actually useful.
One recommendation that has its own problems but can be very useful is to find other people of similar skill who want to take on a project and do it together. This is less programming work BUT gives valuable teamwork experience and can help you stay motivated because if you don't work you are failing ur team members.
Find an existing project that is relativly popular and look at the discussions about it. There are so many projects that are great and useful technically, but are a complex clusterfuck to use or horribly documented. A more accessible version of an existing project in my view is a great project idea. Keep it small but polish it well.
Talk to experts in other fields and ask them about their problems. That's how big companies do it, I did that with my friends from other domains, it's really insane how many problems people have if you talk to them :))
I find it helpful to just think about problems, rather than unique or new ideas. What problem are you trying to solve? Once you understand the problem you can then start designing and prototyping different concepts that attempt to solve the problem.
My method for coming up with lots of ideas was to drink a tonne of coffee to speed up and make erratic my internal monologue and then basically just go about your daily existence, but whenever you think oh that’s annoying… think oh that’s annoying… wait a minute!
Thank you for giving the main answer within the first few seconds of the video. You gave the answer without further ado and then explained it in detail for those who wanted to listen. I liked your video!
Thank you so much for the TLDW at the start, was excited to learn about this topic, but wasn't gonna spend all day watching the video to figure out the answer.
Spot on. I’d go as far as to say don’t focus on how complex a project is but how it supplements your own story/brand. Group projects are a plus, shows you can work on a team.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🛠️ Building projects is important for gaining experience and filling your resume with relevant content. 00:28 💡 Having at least three unit-tested projects that others can access is recommended, even if they are clones of popular websites or games. 00:57 🧠 Learning algorithms and data structures is essential, as they are core components of computer science. 01:11 🚀 Grinding LeetCode efficiently is a well-documented journey, and resources like "n code 150" and "blind 75" can be helpful. 01:25 👍 Projects or work experience get you to the door, but LeetCode-style coding tests often get you through the door in job interviews. Made with HARPA AI
Now you have to know algorithm stuff just to get a job at some random startup. They all use leetcode and hackerrank now. I had never had to do the grind since ive been an engineer for like 10 years already mostly working for small startups but now I just got laid off and I cant even get an interview since I dont have side projects. On top of that, the little interest I do get comes in the form of incredibly difficult leetcode style coding assessments. I have no choice now. I have to grind this shit until it works or my career is effectively over. Anyway, always nice to see the grind does pay off eventually. But yes, we all hate it.
Bro this is perfect timing lmfao i was just thinking that i have years of experience and want to consider a higher paying job. But I haven't practiced my DSA in a while. I was thinking of just doing leetcode exercises
Whenever I get asked this question I'm like why not both ? Constantly solving leetcode problems and working on a personal project is the optimized solution fr
I think its difficult for some people (like myself) to divert their productive attentiveness to multiple different topics. When I get in the zone and start being really productive, I feel like I should invest all of that energy into one thing. Also, building projects is "objectively" more beneficial to your personal growth as a dev (id argue professional growth too). But its hard to get your foot in the door since most technical interviews discuss leetcode algorithm questions.
@@Dom-zy1qy Honestly sometimes its not easy for me too but keeping the mindset of solving a problem everyday is better than ultimately focusing on projects only, some days the problem takes a lot of time to solve because its introducing a new topic and some others its just 20 or 30 minutes, But the point is moving in theses too paths making progress in each everyday is way more efficient than grinding leetcode only for few days and then take on personal project only for 2 week and boom you totally lost your ability to solve problems faster, its ok to not dividing your focus evenly.
as a grinder of leetcode(900 problems solved with 1900 contest rating) with 2YEO and jobless for almost half a year, I understand I wasted most of my time. You should grind building projects and contributing to open sources.
Still impressive, but a good balance of both is needed: projects and LC. Try building something that solves a problem, if you can publish it and it helps other people then even better! anyways, you got this, good luck :)
@@FrostyChannel1 I strongly agree. I also know guys who barely know how to work with algorithm, yet have great ideas and make great projects. They would be way greater if they mastered dsa
I think it depends where you are applying. FAANG companies seem to use it to weed out candidates (because so many ppl apply to them). But companies who only want a great software engineer to add to their team of SEs, projects on your resume are valued more.
Building different types of projects will help way more than just solving problems like math. Project based learning is more appreciated and even companies ask for your projects rather than solved problems on leet code
In my experience for non faang companies as a junior in ubi, it is mainly about knowing multiple frameworks and building a simple application using the framework. Maybe leetcode is important for big tech companies.
Yeah I have a masters in software engineering, bachelors in information technology, a decent amount of projects, an internship and experience and I’m still not getting interviews 😵💫
I thumbs up not because I “like” that but I know what you’re going through. Then when you get an interview you have do do this degrading Leetcode style problem you never encounter in day to day operations and then get rejected. Keep your chin up
i found every job that i interviewed which was not based in Ca, NYC (note NY), nor big tech companies they only ask the conceptual style question and for more associate and above the take home & system design. This is especially true in Def-Tech & Fin-Tech
But I just wish I could easily come up with projects to make. A lot of the time, I tell myself that I'm going to program and then just waste my time at the end of the day because I don't know what to do. It's really frustrating.
Both are important. But, with projects alone you could score jobs. With leet code alone you can't score a job mostly unless you've worked on projects too before cuz you know how to solve problems but not how to implement them in projects.
Unless your goal is MAANG / FAANG out the gate then dabbling in LeetCode, but focusing more on projects / networking / soft skills / interview prep will bring you further along if its your first gig
As a newbie, I'm gonna ask a complete beginner question - does "building projects" mean following a tutorial on how to create a certain application, or going out on your own and trying to build something without following along to a tutorial?
what i like to do is get an idea that's alrerady done, do it yourself with no help, then check out how others did it maybe you're find a feature that you wanted to add but couldn't or they wrote more effecient code so you can learn from them
And how often are these leetcode styled questions used on the job at non-faang companies? The stuff they test you on is rarely, if ever, necessary to build products. The hiring process in this profession is quite depressing. Instead of building projects that others can use, that may have a net benefit to the world, programmers are forced into learning how to solve complex brain teasers to get a job in this industry. It wasn’t always this way. Before this faang+ came along, hiring was more sane. They would ask practical questions, based on things one would encounter day to day.
Needed games finished so always used apis for A* pathfinding. You know, if you need to use an algorithm, there are plenty of libraries available to use, but cleverness isn't favored over robotically memorizing a bunch of problems.
I will always prefer to build projects, like even things I’m learning or have kinda forgot/got a bit dusty, a project will give me perspective on how I would use it in an actual project rather than absorbing theory or writing lines that only make sense within an exercise scope
Properly the project win, leetcode is good if you’re them right candidate, the company is always seek the candidate whose fit for their “family” environment, if you win leetcode but your personality won’t fit their scale and their technology used, your job is just temporary, but with your project you can flex your own and can make profit from it. Remember, most companies employ you to polish and fix bugs their “project”, they won’t employ you to recreate window, linux, or macOSX
I'm so glad I studied 2 I.T and a web dev degree and didn't have to deal with studying an unnecessarily difficult degree such as CS degree. I've never had to do any CS-level algorithm nor deal with Big O bs at interviews or at my jobs.
The answer is kinda obvious to me. In reality, we solve real-time and business problems, we don't solve leetcode's questions. So literally projects have more impact than just lines of codes.
Great video! For the over achievers i would also recommend trying to make projects that have a chance of being successful (i.e. getting real users or customers). Worst case you end up with a resume project, best case you create a job for yourself.
amazing advice (huge fan btw - you're the reason i picked up python!)
The man, the legend himself
projects like ?
@@cart0_0n24 another social media clone (yeah, there's not many ideas left)
The legend himself, helping thousands become better devs
"Projects get you to the door, but leetcode gets your through the door". What an amazing line!
Kinda dumb when considering both can get you to and through the door.
Not really,
In order to pass a technical interview you need to have done a substantial amount of Leet Code practice, atleast for the FAANG companies.
Most companies atleast a nice fundamental logic in algorithmic thinking, which is what leetcode targets.
It is the other way around.
@@commoq3764 honestly, I agree here. Although I haven't actually done anything great at all, (so take my words with a grain of salt) Algorithms and Searches can make or break your code (or your chances in the interview.) Once you learn those, you can apply your problem solving easily to do projects.
Leetcode is just one of the skills. System design, communication skills, manners etc are also important but underrated.
Wasn't even looking for this video but I really want to say:
Thanks for respecting my time and spilling all the facts as quickly as possible, most youtubers would find a way to drag this out into a 20 minute video.
facts
"Projects get you to the door... But leatcode gets you *through* the door"
- This is wonderful
Yes, the creator of Homebrew twited: "99% of Google's Engineers engineers are using my software but they said f** off because you cannot reverse a binary tree!"
I agree with this advice. Especially the part of having something to show someone. The biggest hurdle isn’t the algorithm or patterns of a project; but actually FINISHING or publishing something you worked on. That shows you can follow through and you will learn sooooo much.
In 6 years of professional work I've encountered leetcode-style problems maybe once. That's working in Europe for corporations and for US startups. Modern software development is about finding the right tool for the job, knowing how to unit test, asking the right questions and not being a pain in the ass to work with. Every aspiring software engineer wants FANG, but 90% of the programming jobs are just writing that 150th ORM class in Java or that 50th CRUD flow in Javascript. Building and contributing to actual projects is much harder than just grinding leetcode because you won't have the exact requirements, the start will be either from complete scratch (and the plan is to build a maintainable code base) or you will be dumped in a huge code base (where the tech debt is large and just figuring out where to put a piece of code takes hours), and you WILL HAVE to deal with actual people (each with their own interests).
That being said, data structures and algorithm problems will put you in the right mindset and will make you aware of certain patterns that otherwise would just be complete nonsense at first sight.
100%
THIS!
really articulate and totally my experience as well.
Im Actually solving Neetcode 150 , its a set of really good questions and most commonly seen patterns , i would recommend anyone to solve it .Im actually able to solve questions in contests better than when i used to solve questions randomly
Is it good for beginners? I'm actually solving c2 ladders which consists of codeforces 800 rated questions. To improve problem solving.
nice
i know python fairly well what skillset do I need before solving neetcode 150 or concepts I should clear
@@kaushikkundu it is beginner friendly imo , and about the sheet you mentioned, i really don't know about it , but ig any sheet with good variety of patterns is good
@@yadn.2355 im not an expert but i can tell you what i did , i first learnt concepts like Arrays , binary search, basic recutsion , basic sorting techniques, some topics like 2 pointers and sliding window at once and Then i solved the questions on these topics. In Second phase i learnt(concepts) like linked lists , stacks , queued , Backtracking and solved questions on these topics now. Currently im learning binary trees and Binary search trees , and will solve questions on this
Build projects.
Meaningful projects with not an extreme scale. You can then make a small business off it and start from there, and even if it fails, you still have something for yourself and you at least tried. Grinding Leetcode is like wanting to become a professional boxer and only hitting the punching bag. Sure it's far from useless, but it doesn't give you the full experience of being in the ring. Building projects is like sparring with a partner; it's where you truly test and hone your skills.
It exposes you to real-world challenges and scenarios that you can't simulate by just practicing algorithms. In the same way a boxer can't fully prepare for a match by just hitting a punching bag, a developer can't fully prepare for the tech industry by only grinding Leetcode. Both are important, but the latter provides a more holistic experience.
So, step into the 'ring', build projects, and truly prepare yourself for what's ahead.
I'm currently at a point where I have been ceaselessly studying for about 11 months and just the other day, I had a sort of obvious realization that something I had overlooked when trying to figure out how to write code is the power of simple memorization. I have spent a lot of time in the past, teaching myself guitar and piano and in order to get good at it, it's necessary to first be able to play other people's songs by memory. You learn a song, play along to it a bunch of times, then play it on your own all the time and then eventually, you can extract bits and pieces of the techniques used in the song, to make your own songs. So, I started applying this idea to writing programs. It may seem to make no sense to memorize how to write someone else's number guessing game in Java, but it helps you to internalize the basic idea more so than just writing it once and sitting there thinking about how it works. And if you're like me and have spent lots of time learning multiple languages, you can then rewrite the program in C, Python, JavaScript or whatever. Then also alter the program and try to come up with as many variations as you can. Then eventually, you can extract certain ideas and concepts from this very simple program that you know by heart and apply them elsewhere. Like I said, it's so obvious that most people probably overlook the idea.
I've been thinking about this for a while now too. Memorization is key in the beginning, since you can't be an efficient problem solver with no cases you can look back on.
In short, understanding of algorithms and data structure.
But yeah, memorization is one way to do that.
That’s correct or another way I’ve done that works wonder is copy code tell chatgpt to break down step by step walk away come back some other time and just try to rebuild the code form the step by step breakdown it doesn’t include actuall code
Spot on!
short simple and straight to the point, love this man.|
the timing couldn't be more perfect
Personally, I think that making real projects is significantly more important compared to leetcode if you want to be an actually good software engineer. Leetcode is useful for interviews, but in practice, you don't need to use hyperoptimised data structures for niche problems.
this. leetcode is overrated
But it is pretty cool
Leetcode is pretty fun to solve though
Do leetcode until you can consistently tear down a majority of medium problems in 15 to 30 minutes. You will inevitably need to develop this skill at some point unless you are lucky or stick to lackluster positions.
@@ChamplooMusashithis is real, most of the high paying ask for DSA even those who have experience of more than 2 years
Makes a one-minute video but summarizes and provides an exit route in the first 10 seconds. What a legend!
Definitely make projects your priority. I think "grinding" leetcode is stupid, but doing 1-3 per day is good practice. It'll prepare you for interviews, get your more comfortable with actually programming (since like, 90% of projects is either boilerplate, figuring out how libraries work, planning, debugging etc.) and give you a more computer sciency way of thinking about things. Like, my problem solving skills have skyrocketed since using leetcode, but projects based learning is the best way to learn anything.
bro 1-3 per day consistently is grinding. they take like 30 min+ each once you hit some mediums
1-3 per day is absolutely "grinding", I thought you're gonna say 1-2 per week
1 leetcode a aday saves the day
To be honest, doing a masters in cs made me a terrible programmer since I’ve forgotten everything as I coded 6 hours this entire year. Now I struggle on easy leetcode because I can’t remember syntax. In my spare time I worked on a project in spring boot + react but that abstracts so much of actual programming I’ve forgotten
@@TheEsotericProgrammer Yeah I don't think taking a master's in CS is a good idea, unless you want to research CS for a living. I think if you're gonna do a CS major, choose specialization that you really want to focus on. Right now, ML/AI/DS is a really good masters option overall imo
I love your content. Very brief and straight to the point. Keep it up man, you're amazing.
No bs, just straight to the point. Thanks for the advice.
I really struggle to get motivated to build something that is just a clone of an existing idea. But it's obviously quite difficult to come up with an original idea that is actually useful.
One recommendation that has its own problems but can be very useful is to find other people of similar skill who want to take on a project and do it together. This is less programming work BUT gives valuable teamwork experience and can help you stay motivated because if you don't work you are failing ur team members.
Find an existing project that is relativly popular and look at the discussions about it. There are so many projects that are great and useful technically, but are a complex clusterfuck to use or horribly documented.
A more accessible version of an existing project in my view is a great project idea. Keep it small but polish it well.
Talk to experts in other fields and ask them about their problems. That's how big companies do it, I did that with my friends from other domains, it's really insane how many problems people have if you talk to them :))
I find it helpful to just think about problems, rather than unique or new ideas. What problem are you trying to solve? Once you understand the problem you can then start designing and prototyping different concepts that attempt to solve the problem.
My method for coming up with lots of ideas was to drink a tonne of coffee to speed up and make erratic my internal monologue and then basically just go about your daily existence, but whenever you think oh that’s annoying… think oh that’s annoying… wait a minute!
Thank you for giving the main answer within the first few seconds of the video. You gave the answer without further ado and then explained it in detail for those who wanted to listen. I liked your video!
Thank you so much for the TLDW at the start, was excited to learn about this topic, but wasn't gonna spend all day watching the video to figure out the answer.
Definitely projects. Lot of companies don't even conduct leetcode-style interviews but having those personal projects will get you that interview.
Wake up babe big box uploaded a video
Yay
@@MalcomOS1 now go to sleep
Appreciate the brevity of this guy’s vids so so much
Spot on. I’d go as far as to say don’t focus on how complex a project is but how it supplements your own story/brand. Group projects are a plus, shows you can work on a team.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🛠️ Building projects is important for gaining experience and filling your resume with relevant content.
00:28 💡 Having at least three unit-tested projects that others can access is recommended, even if they are clones of popular websites or games.
00:57 🧠 Learning algorithms and data structures is essential, as they are core components of computer science.
01:11 🚀 Grinding LeetCode efficiently is a well-documented journey, and resources like "n code 150" and "blind 75" can be helpful.
01:25 👍 Projects or work experience get you to the door, but LeetCode-style coding tests often get you through the door in job interviews.
Made with HARPA AI
Only 5 secs in and straight to the point best channel on UA-cam so far
Thanks a lot. Let alone sometimes self-made projects is the only way to touch some modern technologies.
moral of the story-youo need both.
Im so glad I got a job, I hate grinding things even after getting a degree, I had to grind for months for free to get a job, it's ridiculous.
3 months?
Now you have to know algorithm stuff just to get a job at some random startup. They all use leetcode and hackerrank now. I had never had to do the grind since ive been an engineer for like 10 years already mostly working for small startups but now I just got laid off and I cant even get an interview since I dont have side projects. On top of that, the little interest I do get comes in the form of incredibly difficult leetcode style coding assessments. I have no choice now. I have to grind this shit until it works or my career is effectively over.
Anyway, always nice to see the grind does pay off eventually. But yes, we all hate it.
Instantly subscribing to the wisdom ❤
great video, analysing through the problem just deep enough so the viewers can decide themselves
Thank you for this fast, and well explained video, +1 sub
straight to the point, you've earned your self a subscriber mate
Concise. To the point. Another great video
Leetcode have problems which are common but doing projects can make you solve rare problems and issues that are not commonly shared by companies
A 1:28 video of meaningful content.
Neat. This is the most useful video its short but it works perfectly we def need more videos like these . Subbed ❤
Bro this is perfect timing lmfao i was just thinking that i have years of experience and want to consider a higher paying job. But I haven't practiced my DSA in a while. I was thinking of just doing leetcode exercises
Whenever I get asked this question I'm like why not both ? Constantly solving leetcode problems and working on a personal project is the optimized solution fr
I think its difficult for some people (like myself) to divert their productive attentiveness to multiple different topics.
When I get in the zone and start being really productive, I feel like I should invest all of that energy into one thing.
Also, building projects is "objectively" more beneficial to your personal growth as a dev (id argue professional growth too). But its hard to get your foot in the door since most technical interviews discuss leetcode algorithm questions.
@@Dom-zy1qy Honestly sometimes its not easy for me too but keeping the mindset of solving a problem everyday is better than ultimately focusing on projects only, some days the problem takes a lot of time to solve because its introducing a new topic and some others its just 20 or 30 minutes, But the point is moving in theses too paths making progress in each everyday is way more efficient than grinding leetcode only for few days and then take on personal project only for 2 week and boom you totally lost your ability to solve problems faster, its ok to not dividing your focus evenly.
for real*
THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOD
THE FACT THAT YOU ACTUALLY TOLD US THE ANSWER
I hear you, but nothing beats the thrill of watching the roulette wheel spin. Got lucky a few times this week
This video is so good that i wish i watched it years ago ( although you only posted in 9 months ago)
The youtube algorithm can read my mind. I was just worried about this things.
Thank you sir, I love this channel
I was asking this exact question yesterday, and I think google was listening lol. Thanks UA-cam algo. I’ll follow this advice
My lazy ass says neither. I also added this video to watch later. I'll be back to watch it someday. Probably next year. I'll see you then.
Hey, it's the future. Came back to watch it yet?
Thanks a lot bro, this answered my question!
Agreed on the crash games. You really never know what's going to happen next. It’s a real adrenaline pump
99K Subs! SO CLOSE TO 100K!
really nice vid, struggling to find a good backend project for start coding
I am also to work one
straight to the point in first 5 sec I LIKE IT
Wow! This is beautiful
exactly waiting for this...thank u bigbox
The live casino games are my favorite. The blackjack tables especially. Feels like the dealer is right there with you
thanks for being concise
I'm learning a lot about Django and React by making software for my course completion work
as a grinder of leetcode(900 problems solved with 1900 contest rating) with 2YEO and jobless for almost half a year, I understand I wasted most of my time. You should grind building projects and contributing to open sources.
Still impressive, but a good balance of both is needed: projects and LC. Try building something that solves a problem, if you can publish it and it helps other people then even better! anyways, you got this, good luck :)
@@FrostyChannel1 I strongly agree. I also know guys who barely know how to work with algorithm, yet have great ideas and make great projects. They would be way greater if they mastered dsa
@@__sariknah. One is adventurous, the other is textbook practice
@@__sarik what does he said ?
highly appreciate the length of video.
You answered the question at the start of the video, I'm blown away, really 🥹, thank you ❤
Bruh this video is 1 min and 30 sec
I think it depends where you are applying. FAANG companies seem to use it to weed out candidates (because so many ppl apply to them). But companies who only want a great software engineer to add to their team of SEs, projects on your resume are valued more.
Building different types of projects will help way more than just solving problems like math. Project based learning is more appreciated and even companies ask for your projects rather than solved problems on leet code
In my experience for non faang companies as a junior in ubi, it is mainly about knowing multiple frameworks and building a simple application using the framework. Maybe leetcode is important for big tech companies.
Yeah I have a masters in software engineering, bachelors in information technology, a decent amount of projects, an internship and experience and I’m still not getting interviews 😵💫
I thumbs up not because I “like” that but I know what you’re going through. Then when you get an interview you have do do this degrading Leetcode style problem you never encounter in day to day operations and then get rejected. Keep your chin up
that's usually the case when you apply to top 5 companies. don't think so high of yourself
Do you find LeetCode fun?
Yes: Do LeetCode.
No: Do you find building projects fun?
Yes: Do projects.
No: Don't go into computer science.
work isn't fun for 99% of ppl, thats how life is, i dont agree with your last point
Nice and clear advice
agreed. Basically projects get you to interview and leetcode get you through interview
i found every job that i interviewed which was not based in Ca, NYC (note NY), nor big tech companies they only ask the conceptual style question and for more associate and above the take home & system design. This is especially true in Def-Tech & Fin-Tech
Geat advice, I fully agree with this.
But I just wish I could easily come up with projects to make. A lot of the time, I tell myself that I'm going to program and then just waste my time at the end of the day because I don't know what to do. It's really frustrating.
omg this is exactly the problem im having rn thank you so much
Helpful as always🚀
have you been reading my mind lately? you're too good haha
Both are important.
But, with projects alone you could score jobs.
With leet code alone you can't score a job mostly unless you've worked on projects too before cuz you know how to solve problems but not how to implement them in projects.
Unless your goal is MAANG / FAANG out the gate then dabbling in LeetCode, but focusing more on projects / networking / soft skills / interview prep will bring you further along if its your first gig
Fantastic video
thank you my guy
I'm usually above average in algorithmic problems like leetcode but as soon as I stop using them I forget everything
Thanks for this
I miss when videos we're so straight to the point
short, crisp concise
:)
As a newbie, I'm gonna ask a complete beginner question - does "building projects" mean following a tutorial on how to create a certain application, or going out on your own and trying to build something without following along to a tutorial?
.
of course the later
Going out on your own
what i like to do is get an idea that's alrerady done, do it yourself with no help, then check out how others did it maybe you're find a feature that you wanted to add but couldn't or they wrote more effecient code so you can learn from them
.
And how often are these leetcode styled questions used on the job at non-faang companies?
The stuff they test you on is rarely, if ever, necessary to build products. The hiring process in this profession is quite depressing. Instead of building projects that others can use, that may have a net benefit to the world, programmers are forced into learning how to solve complex brain teasers to get a job in this industry.
It wasn’t always this way. Before this faang+ came along, hiring was more sane. They would ask practical questions, based on things one would encounter day to day.
Short and Clear
Needed games finished so always used apis for A* pathfinding. You know, if you need to use an algorithm, there are plenty of libraries available to use, but cleverness isn't favored over robotically memorizing a bunch of problems.
bigboxswe never dissapoints!
I will always prefer to build projects, like even things I’m learning or have kinda forgot/got a bit dusty, a project will give me perspective on how I would use it in an actual project rather than absorbing theory or writing lines that only make sense within an exercise scope
Great answer.
Great question.
Breaking Into the Industry in 100 Seconds 👍
short and precise
noice
Properly the project win, leetcode is good if you’re them right candidate, the company is always seek the candidate whose fit for their “family” environment, if you win leetcode but your personality won’t fit their scale and their technology used, your job is just temporary, but with your project you can flex your own and can make profit from it. Remember, most companies employ you to polish and fix bugs their “project”, they won’t employ you to recreate window, linux, or macOSX
That’s it, I’m going to create another LeetCode clone, where the questions make absolutely zero sense
plz make videos on personal branding on various social media platforms as csit student
I'm so glad I studied 2 I.T and a web dev degree and didn't have to deal with studying an unnecessarily difficult degree such as CS degree. I've never had to do any CS-level algorithm nor deal with Big O bs at interviews or at my jobs.
I was wondering exactly this
Best channel ever ♥️
The answer is kinda obvious to me. In reality, we solve real-time and business problems, we don't solve leetcode's questions. So literally projects have more impact than just lines of codes.
Thanks for the advice keep making these videos. They are really helpful
been itching for a big box video
I thought this was fireship for a second especially with the water graphic at the end.
Projects for getting to interview and leetcode for opening door of that job
Thank you sir
Mastering Data Structures and Algorithms is the key.