This whole process seems a bit psychotic. Is it really necessary to cram like you're taking the SATs again to get a good job as a software engineer? Is "has memorized some number of coding problems" really a test of engineering knowledge?
I suppose it's appropriate that after all that work, the author wound up at Facebook, the most soulless company on the list.
> Is it really necessary to cram like you're taking the SATs again to get a good job as a software engineer?
Frankly, yes. Just as the SATs and ACTs are IQ tests with a shitty veil on top, FAANG interviews are meant to be the same. Everyone knows interview prep has basically zero correlation to job duties in software engineering, but you have to play the game.
> the author wound up at Facebook, the most soulless company on the list.
Who cares? Searching for meaning through work is fruitless, unless you're at a company that actually really aligns with your values and what you hope to see in the world.
Huge comp packages allow people to pursue meaning in life outside of their 9-5. It pays the bills, and allows for hobbies. I'd attempt to be a MotoGP racer if I had unlimited free time, but I don't - what I DO have, is a pretty nice white collar job that pays well and is somewhat mentally stimulating. The paycheck allows me to do things I'm actually passionate about otherwise.
> Searching for meaning through work is fruitless, unless you're at a company that actually really aligns with your values and what you hope to see in the world.
IMO there's a difference between finding meaning for yourself and actively making the world a worse place. You can very well ignore the former while still making sure to not do the latter.
Patterns is a good way to put it. I can pretty much guarantee that if you stuck a SAT test in front of me today (or one in front of much younger me prior to doing any preliminary tests or test prep), I would not be getting into my undergraduate school of choice.
> Is it really necessary to cram like you're taking the SATs again to get a good job as a software engineer
He is explicitly optimizing for compensation so yes, he needs to nail the interviews. It's a bit of a "don't hate the player hate the game" situation. He
does what is needed to achieve the objective.
> Is "has memorized some number of coding problems" really a test of engineering knowledge?
Absolutely not, but the blog post is not titled "On becoming a better software engineer".
Eh. That might be true in the abstract, but I am not even 30, I want to buy a house, live my life, etc... Sure I could just shun any place that requires me to do leetcode style coding interviews for the greater good, but at the end of the day the global impact will be minuscule, while the personal impact would be significant.
It's interesting that this read to you as cramming. To me, the mention of the use of Anki (spaced repetition) as well as his approach to revisiting past questions he had trouble with suggested the opposite.
I suppose it's appropriate that after all that work, the author wound up at Facebook, the most soulless company on the list.