Last week, I wrote about mastering FAANG coding interviews in 57 days. The article was posted on Reddit, where someone commented: The comment is valid

Why Do FAANG Interviews Rely on LeetCode? - by Keyul Patel

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2024-11-24 12:00:03

Last week, I wrote about mastering FAANG coding interviews in 57 days. The article was posted on Reddit, where someone commented:

The comment is valid, and I think many people feel the same way. The common argument is, "Why ask LeetCode problems if they won’t be directly useful in the actual job?" Put another way, “ Why rely on theoretical knowledge to assess candidates for Software Development Engineer (SDE) roles?”

Initially, I was also in that group for arguing it, but I’ve come to understand the rationale behind these assessments. Let me explain my understanding of why LeetCode is necessary by starting with a reverse approach:

Data structures and algorithms (DSA): In day-to-day life, SDEs write many lines of code and use different types of data structures to optimize the performance of systems by using the best suitable code for the requirements.

Problem-solving and debugging: This is also a core skill in SDE's day-to-day life for identifying and resolving critical bugs in a production system.