I studied leetcode for 1 year

I studied leetcode for coding interviews for a whole year, and today I'm going to be sharing my experience.
00:00 - Intro
01:19 - My decision for studying
02:02 - Process for studying
03:00 - Was it worth it?
03:34 - Would I do it again?
04:59 - Should you do it?
social:
/ kay_h_cee
/ kay_h_cee

[@Leon-Li]

I did leetcode for 3 months before I got my new role and i would say it definitely improved my programming skills.

[@iseeflowers]

What did you study to build the fundamentals before the Leetcode?

[@zackbreckenridge3213]

I've been in this industry for 15 years. I've worked at large and small companies, etc. I've also bombed multiple leetcode interviews and some of the best engineers I've known have as well. I think your comments about getting burned out during your leetcode streak is the most directly translatable aspect of these exercises to real world experience.

[@Leto2ndAtreides]

It's like college education in general - minimal relationship to the real world.

[@carlz2k2]

what else can we do when the interview process is basically designed and controlled by the big tech firms?

[@yuhanlian991]

Side note: while I have been hearing huge amount of complaints about how data structure and algorithm questions are unnecessary in many technical interviews, learning it in depth has helped me tremendously to write faster and readable code after spending nearly a year studying it. So I do urge future developers to use it to benefit yourself and not solely on getting pay raise.

[@user-jn1px7rp3h]

I can think of how data structures help you write better code, but not algos, could you elaborate?

[@sohn7767]

@@user-jn1px7rp3h I think like using the right structures for the right job to make things easier/more efficient.

[@joelwillis2043]

Who knew, theory is important. Imagine those poor professors having to listen to clueless 18-year-olds telling them it doesn't.

[@user-jn1px7rp3h]

@@sohn7767 this example is still about DS, not algos, so the question is still not answered :) yes, for sure, I know how DS help me writing better code, so that's why I am asking about algos, because I know them, but they don't help me a bit, but I am backend developer and maybe don't know much about it.

[@sohn7767]

@@user-jn1px7rp3h oh I read your first reply in reverse xd

[@winterheat]

yes, it is like studying SAT vocabularies. Once you know what "adumbrate" means, you are so much smarter and you become invincible and you will save the world

[@kuldipmaharjan]

you have succintly adumbrated the video in one sentence :D

[@sahilkapoor7418]

Haven't seen this honest leetcode guide on youtube till now. keep making content

[@0xggbrnr]

I’m just glad you keep it a buck. I like the way you ended the video. You seem like you’re a smart guy who has the same struggles I do with procrastination and overall angst towards the process. Yet, you got through it. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I value your content. The other material on YT is so fake and happy. I’m tired of the positivity around this process - it’s an ugly process that’s mostly unnecessary for what the job actually entails. Thanks for your videos.

[@grandparick3176]

Nice video bro. I loved how you honestly shared your experience and said how it's OK to struggle. I am doing the leetcode grind myself to get an internship but am constantly slipping because of my grand level procrastinating problems.

[@sinakalantar3968]

Hello Kevin! I am just writing this comment to you to thank you for making this video. This gave me a great overview of how I should get started to efficiently reach my goal. Your goal, the position that you were in, and pretty much everything you said aligns with my position and the path that I want to take. This helped me a lot, and thanks again!

[@oceejekwam6829]

This is loaded with endless facts. Thank you for getting to the point quickly.

[@thebiri]

Loved the last line at the end. Made me chuckle. I think everyone shares the same feeling.

[@moonlambo5229]

Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. They really do help.

[@mohammed_haddad]

I kinda expected that you're gonna make it sound pinky and fun.. but turned out very realistic 😅😂. Thanks for sharing man.. loved it.

[@punkomattic89]

Great vid! I like how you kept this vid

[@traezeeofor]

Love this video. I started Leetcode in November 2023 to help with my consistency. Wanted to make sure I code every day. It has surely helped with that. Plus helped me brush up on my fundamentals and problem-solving skills. I'm excited about the future!

[@FatherPhi]

I'm doing the same thing dude!! And I agree LC only is the way to go also the time boxing. I also highly recommend doing mock interviews

[@Laz3rs]

You kept it so real in this video bro. Thank you

[@pauloalmeida3728]

This was a great video. A lot of good infor in a short video. Thank you!

[@bhaveshhmc2634]

Actually this really help !!! more power to you for making this video.

[@jonkumbi6936]

Thank you for the inspirational video. I am now more determined than ever to push myself and get better.

[@ankitajena3552]

Absolutely loved the video

[@lejustee]

Niceee! Solid video! 2 hours/day is so much! I'm glad you were able to achieve what you really wanted and warned your audience about burn out when you're not motivated by the right reasons.

[@nikolaykolesnik7228]

2 hrs / day is actually not that much, it depends on problem you solve. Usually medium problem can get you up to 1hr, when hard problem can take you up to 2hrs of focused work. Like coming up with your own solution, then backtracking with the solutions provided by comunity / explainations. Lower then 2 hrs is usually will not push you forward. Just IMO

[@SosetaFurioasaJr]

@@nikolaykolesnik7228 maybe for you it's not that much maybe for others it's everything. please stop perpetuating personal opinions as facts.

[@nikolaykolesnik7228]

@@SosetaFurioasaJr try to google IMO meaning before writing post on internet next time

[@JltAaRr]

Thanks for this video Kevin! I’m currently studying daily for some FAANG interviews I’va coming up and I’m using the book you mentioned, which after watching you video makes me feel a lot more secure of what I’m doing.

[@ramansb1008]

Hey hows your progress going?

[@nurinwonderland]

Did it work?

[@lofioto]

Thank you for making this :)

[@Staingainz]

Awesome. Starting the leetcode grind so this vid helped. Also subbed.!!

[@treysmith8410]

Nice thanks for being straight to the point and given a honest review

[@josuegialis3]

I subscribed! I love it. Thanks for sharing.

[@eneskarakas6864]

awesome video! I was thinking about regreting to watch it. Now I am happy that i gave it a chance and i am luck that i did it. Great approach.

[@keshavsaraogi8753]

your book collection is fire

[@alichamas63]

Congrats on working hard man, no doubt that is never a waste. Ironically while you can indeed step up in pay and status by getting into big tech, you can also diminish in job satisfaction and autonomy as most of these environments are essentially thinly veiled cold corporate cultures with bureaucratic line management just waiting to throw you at some problem without much empathy for your happiness. The assumption is "you're lucky to be here and you get perks, so deal with it or leave" - this doesn't always cut it for your soul though. For example you're far more likely in a big tech company to end up feeling like a cog in a large machine, even feeling like an anonymous mop and bucket used to clean up whatever boring problems hit these companies at scale, and there are plenty. For all the expertise knowledge on data structures and algorithms, you could end up hitting a point where you would rather be more happy with the genuine feeling of accomplishing something interesting which is more aligned with your personal passions and interests. You may even end up doing less coding and more documents and meetings, it's happened to me and many fellow engineers I've worked with at a big tech company I worked at for over 5 years. This is why many people leave big tech eventually to try their own startups or switch lanes. Those that stay for long periods are just like the furniture at any old company (think long timer at a government job - same kind of person). Still, work hard and take what's yours my friend while the going is good. Good luck and well done!

[@norvusordoseclorum]

I love the ending!

[@binh9495]

Hey KC, thanks for your sharing! I'm a fresh graduate student and currently trying to get my first job. I spent lot of time to train myself by doing LC problems in the past half year, hope I can achieve my goal ASAP like you!

[@Mrstealurgrill]

Great review Kevin, I recently got a Junior Dev role at a startup with a similar tactic. But I. will be using your tactic to prep for future interviews. Honest perspective is great content on YT. Keep it up.

[@Xioncodes]

Hey man thanks for this video I currently got a job at a company as a Junior C# dev and have a team of 2 other software engineers. I did not have any leetcode problems during the intrerview it was just questions about inheritance and abstraction and also fixing some simple code that pretty much any college kid can do. My goal is to also get into a bigger software company as well. Leetcode has been my biggest downfal but after watching this I am goin to try to get my study habits better and crack into big tech hopefully

[@johnanih56]

Awesome video with great tips!

[@tonyjames9929]

Congrats and Thanks for sharing the tips

[@Kaizala1933]

Thank you very much, pal, I'm preparing an interview myself your advice is really helpful, I will now refocus on what matters...

[@DevashishJose]

thank you for this video. it was helpful.

[@psibarpsi]

Nice video. I really liked the last line that you said: These programming questions suck and I hate them.

[@EDC.EveryDayCode]

Subbed! this vid was really helpful!

[@jaimecristalino]

Wow! You rock man! Thanks!

[@SoftwareTestingDimension]

I'm doing the same but got my goal is 6 months, I might need to be more realistic and change it to one year. Last year I started with algo expert and the fundamentals are briefly explained in like 10-min video and then straight to problem in no order whatsoever. This year I'm following Kunal DSA boot camp along with all the leet code problems.

[@HarshRajput-jr7qp]

kunal dsa bootcamp is really great.

[@relaxababy]

Thanks! I learnt much from your KZbin!

[@CreatedByKC]

Glad to hear it! :D

[@Rohitanand650]

I kind of relate to you and agree with your last sentence. “These programming questions suck and I hate them” LOL best moment in the video🤣🤣

[@simeonnischith6075]

It's just like studying for entrance examinations - though the topics feel unrelated to real world scenarios. Companies find it easier to segregate people using this method and they most probably wont stop. (ps: I haven't yet completed leetcode questions so ig i could be wrong)

[@OConnelsSideOfDaRiver]

If you're early on, you could also do a couple a week for a couple of years and be super duper ready

[@Taskade]

Make it simple, but significant!

[@kanoacook]

Super helpful!!

[@boot-strapper]

I've been using algo expert and I like it a lot. the hints and solution video are really helpful when starting from 0.

[@zaitmartinez5502]

Best of wishes!

[@taranjotsingh2374]

Awesome video 🤙🤙

[@shamithar4734]

please do a video on how did you cope with mental challenges that you faced while studying for a long time

[@herono-4292]

My dude is so dedicated, he even has a book called "clean code"... respect !

[@amiralinasiri5608]

I just cant stop imagining you awkwardly putting your phone around and walk by like you have no idea for the intro :D great video tho! very helpful. thank you!

[@J90JAM]

"I was terrible" - love the honesty 😄

[@Blue-bd4vs]

u have earn my subscribe man. Keep it up☕

[@vikasvallabhaneni7016]

Hey I loved your video and I'm at a similar position to where you were at in college. I'm very curious if you could maybe give a salary range of what you were getting payed working at startups and what you are getting payed after breaking into big tech? Thanks for the help and this was an amazing video!

[@kiravd5392]

This is a great option, but I am just wonderinh about what kind of projects to work on the side? Like complex projects, but you wont have many or a lot of projects but not as complex?

[@danieljong3170]

Hi KC! Great video! As an aspiring software engineer, videos like these really help so much! What resources would you recommend to learn Data Structures and Algorithms? Thank you!

[@rkulla]

The problem with studying for leetcode interviews is it takes time away from learning more about things you'll actually need to know to do the job, which usually means knowing a lot of tools (databases, docker, aws services, and much more, not to mention how to write clean/idiomatic code not just code that passes a test). The more we accept these interviews and give leetcode higher user numbers, the more this silly form of testing software engineers perpetuates. Plenty of good companies don't do these tests, so I say don't encourage them.

[@zehra2334]

then what is your advice? Looking job description and searching necessary tools? But lots of companies still send Python algo tests :(

[@rkulla]

@@zehra2334 You can still study a little for those types of tests, but I would say "Cracking the Coding Interview" book is enough since it's mostly practical advice. It's fine to do leetcode for fun but I wouldn't invest all my time in it.

[@rkulla]

@@zehra2334 also, a lot of companies will give you the choice between a live algo test or a take home practical test. I usually go with the latter but it's personal preference.

[@zehra2334]

@@rkulla thank you so much.

[@jackmead7292]

Love this answer. At my company, we don't do those tests. Because they really aren't important! Most of these algorithms are already solved so you as the engineer really just need to focus on package management and versioning, infrastructure design, clean and well documented code, test driven development, PR reviewing, CI/CD development, getting along with coworkers, maybe learning a faster language like Rust/Java/Go/C++, refactoring legacy codebases, twiddling your thumbs, and finally reading Stack Overflow! At the end of the day, my 5 year long career as junior, mid, and now senior developer, that's been my entire career. The only reason I'd need to do leetcode is for the fun of learning new algorithms or writing some fun code for my github profile.

[@morenoh149]

I think the bit about interviews going remote and becoming harder to compensate. Also since everyone is studying in doors the interviews are getting harder to compensate.

[@robertmeis887]

Useful, thanks

[@peterlin2352]

Leetcode is the worst time that I put myself in. It has wasted my life in the past. It’s not worthy at all.

[@free-palestine000]

i just graduated and been doing interview prep for almost 3 months now and i feel like there's no end. i really wish i started prepping during school.

[@CreatedByKC]

I feel you on this, when you're in the middle of prep it feels hopeless and like there's no end in sight. Keep it up, you'll get there soon. Make sure to get some support from friends and family if you can :)

[@free-palestine000]

​@@CreatedByKC thank you ❤

[@msaurabh1]

You dude are so transparent, it's inspiring LOL. But honestly, I feel overwhelmed just from the thought of where to start my prep. I only have like 2-3 weeks to prep and I am not sure how to go about it. Any insights? Giving my online coding assessment for Amazon in 2-3 weeks and I am not sure if I am prepped and where to start.

[@CreatedByKC]

thanks for watching! And yes I feel you on that stress 100%, if you need an overview of DS&A and you're on a time crunch, the "elements of programming interviews in python" book i mentioned has a recommended questions list based off your time frame (3 days, a week, a month, etc). Otherwise just do leetcode questions for the 3 weeks. And I would recommend buying 1 month of leetcode premium so you can look at the all the questions that Amazon asks, sort by frequency for the last 6 months, and do as many as you can. In my experience the cost has been worth it

[@CodingCrow]

I love how you wouldn’t sign up for paid services if you had to do it again 😁 i’m a huge believer in creating and consuming high quality content for free and as a college student I appreciate this advice 😂

[@MsJisola]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I too think these coding challenges suck. However, they are a necessary evil. 😔

[@kacpergierycz677]

man great material i can agree with it 100% intewies are growing harder with pandemic fallout, reasons .... practice practice but us there a limit ?

[@GK-rl5du]

During your prep, were you aware of blind 75 list? Or did you directly jump into leetcode questions after finishing EOPI book

[@yaminirathaur8209]

Hi, what is the blind 75 list?

[@huey1153]

Anyone that’s randomly solving questions is wasting their time. Truthfully you are more than ready to interview at majority of places if you fully understand patterns from blind 75. If you’re familiar with additional patterns that are in Sean Prashads list or grokking/algomonster then you’re definitely good enough. By the time you’re done with these resources I would only cover company tagged questions when I have an interview or assessment. So in total around 180-210 questions before getting interviews and needing to do company tagged. I’d give myself around 90-120 days to prep for this amount if I intend to apply at any place with a high hiring bar (pin/snap/Uber/google/facebook/etc.) and only 40-80 days for places with an average bar (Oracle/Nordstrom/JPMorgan/etc..) and 15-40 days for low tier local non tech companies .

[@artieschmidt3039]

@@yaminirathaur8209 the most important questions

[@igotdembombs]

Hmm. I gotta get that book. But idk if I should bother since I'm deep into my interview process.

[@fh9190]

any recommendations for go? I mean any specific book in golang programming that covers most of algorithms and data structures

[@jatinnandwani6678]

Thanks so much

[@theSDE2]

How many leetcode qyestions you did in 1 year buddy? Please make a video on your recommended algorithms to learn before leetcoding

[@AaronAsherRandall]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Kind of a dumb question maybe, but I am really focused on C# with Unity and dotnet right now. Would you say that learning these data structures and algorithms are required for C# development? I’d probably need to learn Python in order to tackle these kind of interviews…

[@jayantchoudhary1495]

No you can do these in c# , that would not be a problem

[@SosetaFurioasaJr]

data structures and algorithms are not related that much to a programming language.. once you know them, you can apply the principles to many programming languages.

[@einsteinwallah2]

data structures and algorithms are programming language secular stuff but python has many pre-built types that make it easier to use data structures without having to build them from scratch using more primitive data types in other languages ... whether you need to learn python or not no one can answer except you ... there must be reasons why you are focused on c-sharp and unity ... if those reasons are not valid then only you should start exploring other languages ... since c is a much older language (and i am assuming c-sharp is closer in syntax and spirit to it) you may quickly benefit from a ds-algo book which used c as teaching language ... or else an equivalent translation for c# may be already there ... do not abandon c# simply because python is getting popular ... reexamine if c# meets your career goal

[@NirmalSilwal]

thank you

[@joycwang]

Thanks for the video! Does leecode also have good data science and machine learning questions?

[@jeevikasirwani9719]

My Question is when u started was it that u got the answer to question asap? Like were u able to solve all questions by yourself or had to refer google or KZbin explanations sometimes??

[@nikitadmitriev4587]

Thank you for a nice video Kevin, could you please tell me if I need to know python as programming language for studying the book which you recommended, or my JS skills would be enough? Thank you!

[@hungwa5089]

May I ask how much time do you spend a day for programming practice? Just 2 hours per day from 5pm to 7pm?

[@joxa6119]

I am a physics degree holder and decided to have career shift to data analyst/data science cause Physics got fucking hard to get job in my country, Malaysia. I learn a lot about data science and also computer science though I know it is hard to self thought. I have learn Python on myself and now I am learning Machine Learning because I think Machine Learning was the hardest part in data science. I just want to share this with you cause I really feel my journey is alone and I am walking by myself. Thank you.

[@SosetaFurioasaJr]

you are not alone, there are many people around the world in your shoes, including myself. just keep learning but learn with purpose, not aimlessly. this will help you achieve your goal faster.

[@depression_plusplus6120]

Ahh mann..I'm too studying Physics and it sucks bro. I hardly can wrap my head around these hard formulas and concepts. Moroever the probability of getting a job after doing all these hard work in Physics is close to Nil , cuz in academia either you need connections, or you need to be some Einstein sort of genuis. Damn, studying and clearing physics UG exams along with studying computer science on own is damn hard. I get you bro. But we will get through, don't worry

[@bol1976]

Very helpful.

[@acseattle1975]

Hey, thanks for making this video! You said all you need is that python interviewing book - are you saying that in terms of studying, if you grind that book, then do leet code, you should be able to achieve the win condition of SWE at a large tech company?

[@CreatedByKC]

hey man, and yeah exactly. From my trials and error, just using that book, coding with only python, and then making sure you're doing new leetcode questions every day (and making sure you're timing yourself and trying to simulate the uncomfortable pressure of an interview) is all you need. It would have probably saved me months of time if I just did those.

[@acseattle1975]

@@CreatedByKC interesting are you a software engineer at a large company or a front end engineer? My current plan was to do CS50 and listen to data structure theory from MIT, but the idea of only focusing on the python book is truly compelling

[@acseattle1975]

@@CreatedByKC Thanks for than insight. Will start off with that.

[@zertbrown4642]

5:15 thanks I needed that

[@kevinabraham6915]

good info very helpful

[@JoeCnNd]

Thanks. I feel that this was giving to me in an unbias way. It's hard to decipher what's being pushed down my throat to try and sell a product vs great info. Unless you wrote that book for python. lol

[@arsnakehert]

lol, wasn't AlgoExpert the TechLead website?

[@Po0pypoopy]

You know you’re in California whenever you see a gated door like that lol

[@nayrouzhamdy7348]

6:20 hahaha , that healed my heart :D

[@nikolay.advolodkin]

Did you apply to multiple companies? How many interviews did you go through before you got a job? Did you fail any interviews and then reapply?

[@wahabmufidat3837]

Nice walk through I was able to pick one or two things that will help me start the process. But pls you only gave a book out on python how about javascript is there any recommendation?

[@Techie-gz3jb]

Damn wish I always had the 5pm-7pm timeslot for studying. But in my current software job I usually work 8AM-6PM everyday, so I am usually tired from work already.

[@sw6273]

Thank you for all of your helpful videos! I’m a senior high school student planning to major in CS and become a SE. I’ve been looking for internships to do this summer, and I would very much appreciate it if you can recommend any software engineering internships that high school student can apply for besides Google’s CSSI. Here are some of my experiences in CS: I’ve created an AI model to diagnose cataracts using Python and a bell schedule web app using JS, TS, and React. Thank you!

[@CreatedByKC]

Hey! Dang you're killing it starting so early, honestly I'm not sure about internships for high school students, but given how much you know I would say just apply anywhere that has an internship. You'll definitely get something with what you've done so far. Good luck!

[@sw6273]

@@CreatedByKC Thank you for your advice! Yes, I'll try applying to different companies and see how it works out!

[@norvusordoseclorum]

So what are some examples of questions that would be asked at a regular company and how many questions would they usually ask you. I know that this sort of question cannot really be answered exactly

[@mikashanela210]

How useful would you say Cracking the Coding Interview book played a role into this process of preparing for tech interviews?

[@iseeflowers]

Any recommendation for building a strong foundation or fundamentals of coding before doing Leetcode? I know this video recommends a book but any of you have any suggestions?

[@peterlin2352]

These programming questions sucks and I hate them is the honest good conclusion at the end of the video.

[@AnitaSV]

I think for hard problems, to fully code it up you should give at least 40 minutes. I did first 10 problems found it too easy, then did first 10 hard problems and stopped. If you can do all hard problems in first attempt in under an hour, probably averaging 30 minutes I am sure you can clear pretty much any tech company interview these days. Leetcode hard problems are actually not that hard. So if you want to save time, if your fundamentals are great then just do first 10 hard problems on leetcode and you can stop if you did all of it in under an hour.

[@potatopotato4676]

I don't think a lot of companies ask leetcode hard problems

[@AnitaSV]

@@potatopotato4676 yes often only easy. The author seem to claim 25 minutes for each problem, frankly I can’t do that target for every problem.

[@mack0ka]

@@AnitaSV 25 mins is realistic for medium problems not so much for hard ones imo

[@kevintruong9135]

@@mack0ka Yeah, but if you can solve hard problems in under an hour, I would imagine 25min for medium problems should be a breeze.

[@mack0ka]

​@@kevintruong9135 Yes probably that's right, but AFAIK it's better to do lots of mediums than a few hards.

[@taresy6789pp]

i am still learning about print("hello world")

[@castercs]

What do you think about 2022 Complete Python Bootcamp From Zero to Hero in Python by Jose Portila and another course 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp by Dr. Angela Yu ? Would you go for these or something else? Maybe before these learn the material from the book you mentioned Elements of Programming Interviews in Python: The Insiders' Guide

[@ashutoshnegi1908]

intuit is a good company

[@focus15624]

Hey bro, i am from India. I want to ask u, how much time u spent on an unseen problem before u see the solution? Honest answer please. 😊