Best job hunting books according to redditors
We found 818 Reddit comments discussing the best job hunting books. We ranked the 126 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 818 Reddit comments discussing the best job hunting books. We ranked the 126 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Here's my list of the classics:
General Computing
Computer Science
Software Development
Case Studies
Employment
Language-Specific
C
Python
C#
C++
Java
Linux Shell Scripts
Web Development
Ruby and Rails
Assembly
Everyone sucks at something at one point, but with practice you'll definitely be able to get better! I highly recommend writing over typing out the solution when you practice. Also, 90% should be dedicated to planning out path to the solution and 10% for writing/typing the solution out. Sooner or later, things should start clicking and making sense. Here's a list of resources that helped me get all the way to the Google on-site interview (Didn't get an offer but it was an amazing learning experience)
Data Structure And Algorithm 1: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLH73N9cB21W1TZ6zz1dLkyIm50HylGyg
Interviewcake: https://www.interviewcake.com/
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algorithms
Leetcode: https://leetcode.com/
Cracking the Coding Interview: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0984782850/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51F6Lwyq5JL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL390_SR390%2C390_&refRID=1PE4XEBQDDHEF4T1ZA9K
Algorithm Design Manual: http://www8.cs.umu.se/kurser/TDBAfl/VT06/algorithms/BOOK/BOOK/BOOK.HTM
Make sure to practice everyday and have a strong understanding of the concepts. Network, contribute to open source projects, and keep on learning!
Oh boy!
About a week and half ago I finished Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street, which directly address your question.
No, "efficiency", as defined by capitalists, is definitely not profitable. The goal of Wall Street with corporate buyouts and consolidation is to make a company more liquid. The faster money can change hands the better. Everything on Wall Street is liquid, especially the employees. Wall Streets hires and fires people left and right all the time. Good times, bad times, middle times it's a shit show. And then they act surprised when suddenly they don't have people for some market, or they're understaffed in some way, they scramble, overshoot their target, rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
They're focused entirely on quarterly earnings rather than long term growth. They honestly think that if you're always posting higher numbers every quarter it's good for the economy even though the economy runs entirely on labor, which they'll treat like it's "fuck you" money and throw it away. But higher quarterly earnings is the basis of financial efficiency, making sure you're always getting more and more money and the other aspects of running a business are "in their place at the right quantities".
Yet somehow the economy is doing well while people die from all sorts of things and starve and can't pay for necessary goods and services.
Nah, efficiency isn't profitable, nor is it sustainable for them or us.
Employers like degrees, but employers also like people who know how to get things done. At the very least, teaching yourself is a good start for whatever else you're thinking of doing.
I've thought about it a lot: if I were trying to learn to program, today, from scratch, what tools would I want? Well, here are a few of my favorite things...
Free VS 2010 Professional for @edu accounts:
https://www.dreamspark.com/
Free Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers:
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
Free team tools worth understanding:
http://www.perforce.com/ (version control)
http://subversion.apache.org/ (version control - pretty much the same thing as perforce, but not as good)
http://git-scm.com/ (version control - a VERY different way of doing things, but powerful and gaining popularity)
http://www.rallydev.com/ (task management - kind of a pain, but good to play with)
Tutorials:
http://www.khanacademy.org/science/computer-science?k (probably a very good place to start)
http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard (math - the value of this cannot be overstated)
Online course-ware:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/#electrical-engineering-and-computer-science
http://www.stanford.edu/online/
http://edudemic.com/2012/04/the-25-best-places-to-take-free-online-computer-science-classes/
Problem solving challenges:
http://projecteuler.net/ (we should go through these together)
Community:
http://stackoverflow.com/ (Q&A forum)
http://www.reddit.com/r/programming (some good links, okay place to ask questions)
Books:
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X (once you're ready for a job, this is good to work your way through)
Possibly a good discussion about finding a software job, later in life:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4350827
And then...
Depending on the kind of development you're interested in, there are a TON of other valuable resources, tutorials, tools, etc:
Free Cloud Services - depending on what you're doing, these might be SUPER valuable... Might not want to make an account until you're ready, because the clock starts ticking:
http://aws.amazon.com/free/
https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/
Free cloud development tools:
https://c9.io/
>I teach myself about 30 minutes to 1 hour of coding per day
you need to spend way more time than this. you're done with your dissertation - you should be spending like 8 hours a day on it.
1 year of full-time study is absolutely plenty of time to be proficient enough to land a job as a quant at a hedgefund.
i never went out for those jobs but the easiest way to figure out what you need to know in order to land a job is to reach out to someone that works at a hedgefund and just ask them. here's a list of the top quantitative hedge funds:
http://www.streetofwalls.com/finance-training-courses/quantitative-hedge-fund-training/quant-firms/
look up people that work there (or have worked there) on linkedin and message them. be polite and brief and succinct. eventually someone will talk to you and give you a good idea of what you need to know.
if you want to build models, off of the top of my head (from what i remember) you'll need to know a lot of undergrad data structure stuff (basically all of CLRS), SDEs (oksendal), optimization (boyd, bertsekas), basic stats (casella). all of this is pretty straightforward - read the books and the do the problems. the harder part is convincing someone you can come up with a strategy that's novel.
if you want to implement models, you need the data structures and optimization but you also need to pretty god damn good at very tight C++ (maybe ocaml if you go to jane street).
in general wilmott is a better place to ask https://forum.wilmott.com/
also wouldn't hurt to read this https://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867
though it's mostly for analysts.
So there's not a lot for us to go on here, but one thing I'll say is that good software development jobs are not easy, even for those completely qualified for them. If he's in the middle-high range salary-wise, then the challenge and expectations are probably all there. Software engineers are not cheap, so while they're treated very well to attract and retain talent, they're also seen as a big investment that had better pay off.
I was laid off from my first full time job and while my coworkers spoke very highly of my skills and the care I took with my work and went out of their way to emphasize how bright my future was in the industry both in person and in my peer reviews, my managers made things very clear: For the level of work they needed me to do, I simply was either not skilled enough or experienced enough to make the cut. It wasn't personal, or a statement about how smart I was, it was a cold and completely practical business decision.
What did I take away from that? Well after I stopped feeling bad for myself I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with me, that I was perfectly capable of cutting it in this industry, that many engineers less smart than me got along just fine, and that I simply needed to up my game and get a new job. It wasn't about getting smarter, it was about getting my shit together and working out of Cracking the Coding Interview daily, learning the hot frameworks that everyone needs engineers for, building a real portfolio and GitHub profile, and being ready to work that hard even after I got a new job. And I got a new job where I was paid over twice as much and so far I love it.
Nah, don't be silly. There's the real world knowledge that you use on the job and then there's the stuff they ask in interviews, which mostly consists of things you learned in college and forgot. Most programmers, regardless of experience, aren't going to do well on an Amazon technical interview unless they study before hand.
/rant Something that concerns me about this sub is how up and coming Software Engineers ask for handouts of information that they can easily acquire by googling and researching. Now I'm going to reward this behavior by pointing you in the right direction.
/endRant
First off: The FAQ https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/wiki/index
1.) Resume: https://www.careercup.com/resume
Using Latex: https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/cv (A lot of people love the Deedy Resume template - note that if you choose to use Latex then your output will be pdf which may not be processed well by automated resume processors)
Using Word: https://templates.office.com/en-us/Resumes-and-Cover-Letters
Notes: White space is valuable. Target your resume to the position(s) (but don't lie). Write it, then proofread it, then edit it, and repeat (grammar/poor wording looks terrible). The easiest way to maintain a good resume is to do just that - periodically (every ~6mo) open it up and add new experience (ignore the proofreading if you want.. just write anything new down).
2.) https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X and https://leetcode.com/
Notes: East Coast/Tier 2 companies typically don't ask as many (or as difficult) programming questions so focus on behavioral and domain knowledge. For the technical questions practice on an actual whiteboard with a partner while explaining your thought process out loud. Communication skills are probably more important than technical skills but this sub doesn't bring that up as much.
3.) See 2.
Final Notes: Maintain & update your LinkedIn. Prepare for your job search to be a grind (mentally). Do lots of research. Try and get referrals to increase the likelihood that you get an interview. There's no magic advice that will enable you to land a BigN job without hard work (though some will achieve it more easily than others - many people interview at Google 2-3+ times before they land a job there). Reading "Clean Code", "The Pragmatic Programmer", "How to Win Friends and Influence People", and at least owning a copy of "Code Complete" are often suggested here as ways to improve your abilities as an SWE.
For Theory/Lectures
For Practice
Outliers: The Story of Success - by Malcolm Gladwell
The Pragmatic Programmer - By Andrew hunt
Cracking the coding interview - Gayle Laakmann McDowell
This is not accurate. No degree in itself prepares you for a profession.
> What they tell us time and again: Their doctorate — while a valuable education that most don’t regret — has little or no connection to their current work and profession.
This does not support the title:
>your doctorate will not prepare you for a profession outside academe
In general, every job seeker with a PhD needs to read good professionalization advice, like:
So, what are you going to do with that?
Navigating the Path to Industry: A Hiring Manager's Advice for Academics Looking for a Job in Industry
but also, reliable up to date information about job prospects, all indicators to which says PhDs are in growing demand in multiple industries:
3 Myths About a Job in Industry After a PhD … Debunked
In a first, U.S. private sector employs nearly as many Ph.D.s as schools do
Cheeky Scientist
>Please don’t send me an email or a Tweet telling me I’m wrong about that. I’m not
She sounds pleasant.
A couple things:
This, and similar questions get asked a lot, so I've started a list of resources. I'd appreciate if people can link me other good stuff so I can add to it.
Note that quantitative finance is a broad term, so different people will be doing very different things, and have different opinions about them.
Quantitative Trading Summaries:
A summary of quantative trading
Max Dama - On Automated Trading
Cliff Asness - A Brief and Biased Survey of Quantitative Investing
Mark Joshi - On Becoming a quant
Becoming a quant for a programmer
Interview Prep:
Brainteaser section of On Automated Trading
Heard On The Street
Jane Street - Probability and Markets
Sites:
Wilmott
Nuclear Phynance
Blogs:
Math Investor
Investment Idiocy - Systematic Trading
Meanderful - HFT stuff
Jane Street Blog
Jane Street Youtube
Papers From funds:
AQR
I'm also thinking about a "books your interviewer has probably read" section.
A lot of people are passionate and defensive about this stuff. So someone, somewhere, will have bad things to say about each of these. But overall I believe there is a lot of insight to be gained from reading through most of it.
Some things to think of:
You're a professional the day you dress up and start trying.
https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510973787&sr=8-1&keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview+7th+edition
Awesome Interviews
https://github.com/MaximAbramchuck/awesome-interview-questions
Coding Interview University
https://github.com/jwasham/coding-interview-university
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850
Company Interview Corner - GeeksforGeeks
http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/company-interview-corner
Technical Interview Questions | CareerCup
https://www.careercup.com/categories
Search Interview Questions
https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/index.htm
Linux System Administrator/DevOps Interview Questions
https://github.com/chassing/linux-sysadmin-interview-questions
The System Design Primer
https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
Devops Interview Questions
https://github.com/Leo-G/DevopsWiki/wiki/Devops-Interview-Questions
More interview prep resources including online courses at http://Learn.SharjeelSayed.com
*Edited for more resources
It's even worse. Wall Street boasts about having the "smartest people in the world" but can't, not only, avoid large stock market crashes, they also create and inflate them.
The logic is that since they're so smart they will make the market's invisible hand work, and if the crash is inevitable they're able to make the last buck of the bubble and avoid the crash, inflating it.
They are locked in a system where business as usual is smartness while being outside the norms is seen as stupid and disqualifying, according to Karen Ho. Being 'smart' is legitimacy, and we all need legitimacy in all spheres of today's society.
If you're working on your math and might pursue a CS degree I'd recommend Cracking the Coding Interview. I actually haven't read it myself but it's a highly recommended book often mentioned on subreddits like /r/cscareerquestions
EDIT: Perhaps pair it up with books on algorithms and data structures so you get comfortable in working with, lists, arrays, trees, graphs etc :)
EDIT: (currently 0) Why would someone down vote this? I just don't understand why?
EDIT: Someone mentioned that it could perhaps be because I hadn't read it myself so I thought I'd add a heartfelt recommendation by /u/amputect that I just read in the authors AMA:
> Gayle, I don't have a question, but I wanted to say that your book helped me get two programming jobs. I used to push grocery carts in the arizona summer, now I work for Google. I also, like, went to college and learned and stuff, but your book was a huge help in prepping for interviews. Thanks to you, I felt more confident and more prepared, and I was able to interview with several major tech companies without fear vomiting a single time which for me was a pretty big deal.
Seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you. Your book is great, I recommend it to everyone. You are a fantastic writer and a brilliant human being. Thank you!
We'll see tomorrow in class. I plan to say something if it isn't critiqued.
It's from a book that otherwise is probably filled with helpful information; maybe they just overlook this part of it because rest is good.
Yo estoy viviendo en NY desde diciembre del año pasado y estos son los consejos que te puedo dar.
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458414826&sr=1-1&keywords=programming+interviews+exposed
Básicamente, refuerza tu conocimiento de algoritmos y estructuras de datos. El decir "esto sí lo hice o lo vi en la escuela pero ya no me acuerdo" no es una excusa válida en ninguna entrevista.
http://www.bairesdev.com/
http://www.opensystemstech.com/
Mucha suerte, cualquier cosa mándame un mensaje!
Don't let the lucrative offers some people get, deter you from turning down a very solid offer to get some good experience even if it's a little below your compensation expectations. Being unemployed for 3+ months and never getting that 110K + bonus + relocation @ [Insert Big N Name] is a shitty situation compared to some 65-70k at a less expensive city with a smaller company that has some new tech they're trying to scale.
In a year, you'll be surprised how much you can save and if you play your cards right, network, do a great job, you'll be worth a decent amount of money after a year.
Have friends whiteboard you for practice. Get used to writing "nearly" build ready/compile ready code using built in Java language data structures and functions. Especially get used to the Collections library, iterating over two collections in a single pass while checking for duplicates or comparators on each entry.
Buy this book and this book and sign up for LeetCode on a free account.
Honestly, try to enjoy your spare time. Do something logical but fun like playing strategy games or solving puzzles. Go to meet & greets, club meetings, volunteer at a dog shelter. Don't try to "win" this game because out of all the people that "win", some end up having severe issues with stress, time management, "loving" the job/life and life after college is nowhere near as sunshine and rainbows as during.
I wish I could "skip" a lecture and work from home, watch Netflix or go with some friends to go eat food in a town nearby or catch a convention or watch some concert on campus. All the college fun stuff? It's gone. Now it's just work... Well, work and money but still... Not as much fun college stuff. Some fun college stuff, but not as much.
so if you're aiming for summer 2015 then two things i suggest are:
when january 2015 rolls around, you'll be battle ready for all the interviews. but ya - thats what worked for me.
It's really simple. If you're have problems passing phone screens and in-house interviews, there's a gap somewhere. You need to figure out what that is and fix it.
Do you have personality issues (be honest). I have no idea what 2000+ friends on fb means. Who the hell actually knows 2000 people...wtf? Do you have close friends? Can you have causal conversations with people? Are you aspy? If you're sure you're cool here, move on. If not, sign up for Toastmasters and dive in.
More likely, you have some gap in CS fundamentals. There's stuff you don't know and people aren't hiring you because of it. Write the code to solve the following two problems (no cheating or I can't help).
There's something you're doing or don't know that's causing people not to hire you. You need to pinpoint what that is and fix it. It's probably nothing that a weekend or two of cramming can't fix. Check out glassdoor.com and get to the point where you can solve most any of the questions. When you're practicing, write the code for each one. Get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
You're completely wasting your time "playing around with frameworks" because no one's going to hire you for that. You need to work on the stuff you're scared of that you're putting off learning about. Can you code a red/black tree from scratch? If not, you should learn to do that before even thinking about doing a "personal project."
Sure. I left three years into my Ph.D. program, between my second qualifying paper and quals proper, circa 2012. (I reenrolled for a hot second in 2013 to brush off my QP, turn it into a masters' thesis, and defend.)
I had some research-related disagreements with my advisor which were the actual flashpoint, but it was really more a matter of weighing my options: looking at just what I would have to do, and what I might be missing out on, over the next 3-5 years just to have that X% chance at a tenure-track job. I'm also really big on work-life balance, and though academia has been making some improvements there very recently, in most areas it's still got a long way to go.
On the whole, it worked out pretty well: I went into science communication, took a few different jobs, and now I'm working for one of the leaders in the field. I'd definitely set the groundwork for a non-academic career, though, long before I actually left -- volunteering for non-profits, keeping in touch with industry connections, etc -- and I was also fairly successful at turning my academic background into an advantage rather than an irrelevancy: highlighting the interplay between linguistics and communications, bringing quantitative analysis to a field that doesn't always know what to do with metrics, working for organizations which handle scientific research and academic affairs, etc.
So I'd definitely recommend anyone considering a non-academic career (which, frankly, based on the numbers, should be most of us) think about those same things; when I was first starting off, I found Versatile Ph.D and So What Are You Going To Do With That? to be the most useful, but there could be other resources that have popped up since then. No matter which path you take, though, best wishes making it happen!
Cracking the Coding Interview is a bestseller on Amazon and is extremely helpful. I've read through it on flights out to interviews, and it puts me in a great frame of mind.
If anything, I get more out of the guide for how to approach interview questions more so than the meat of how certain problems or algorithms work themselves.
Make sure you take the science of approaching your answering process for the questions just as seriously and systematically as the mathematics/algorithms involved. Cracking the Coding Interview does a good job of summarizing the approach you should take, and gives a series of questions to practice answering in the manner provided (all sorts of common algorithms and data structures used in interviews are contained in the book, giving you great practice at applying these types of things). You should buy that book right now, and buy a whiteboard and an erasable marker to practice answering some of the questions on. Well well well worth it.
Most of all, have fun! In a certain way, the more fun you have, the better your impression will be on your interviewers.
Also, I wore a suit once to an interview, and I felt like a moron.
Edit: some quick re-wording.
I strongly recommend reading Gayle Laakmann Mcdowell's Cracking the Code Interview, or watching one of her lectures on the topic. Although her book goes into detail on the types of questions that can come up in these interviews, the general advice she gives in this lecture is solid gold.
+1 for this. "I'm not a programmer, but I work well with them and can translate for them to non-technical people." is exactly what a PM is. You might find this book valuable.
For a software engineering position? I highly recommend Cracking the Coding Interview if you're looking for something to prep!
You do not need to enrol in co-op to get a job this summer, or any time for that matter.
Take initiative and apply to jobs independently. Job fairs are a great way to get an interview, and both the CS career fair and the Engineering career fair (there'll be a mix of companies, but companies hiring for Software devs will be there) are coming up soon. There are also plenty of opportunities to apply online. Check out student services periodically for resources (like interview prep strategies and the like), similar to what you would get in co-op. Get CTCI and practice. Practice technical interviews with your friends. Talk through problems as you solve them. You got this.
If you don't have a job lined up by the time summer registration opens, register for summer courses, but keep trying to get a job. You can drop the courses if you get a job, or take the courses if you don't.
When I went, there were always a few companies where the representatives had a badge that said "I hire frosh." My advice would be to check it out to get a feel for what's going on. I wouldn't expect a whole lot, but at the very least it'll be good prep for the frosh/soph fair.
A word of advice - when I went to the fall career fair during my freshman year, I actually found it quite stressful. I ran into a couple of recruiters who came off as condescending, and the overall atmosphere seemed pretty stressful (gotta hustle for that internship). It was a bit of a contrast from the dorms and even office hours, where people are generally happy to lend a helping hand.
When I took CS 103 later, Keith Schwarz actually had a fairly negative view of the effect/messaging of the fall career fair towards freshmen. He felt that the competitiveness and the inevitable rejection of certain internships would not really provide a positive view of one's learning. Learning is a long process, and getting rejected from a dream CS internship might lead some to feel that their classes were for nothing. It's ultimately up to you whether you want to view your CS education as more of a pipeline into a good job, or an opportunity to intellectually explore (you can of course balance both, and there is no right way to do it).
So if you wanna hustle for an internship, then by all means go for it. However, keep in mind that the career fair is only one way to get your foot in the door. If you wanna be a real snek, network around and find people who can give you referrals for companies you're interested in. Also code up a project or two and put it on GitHub (with a link on your resume). Most importantly, read the good book.
I've found Cracking the coding interview to be an excellent resource. That book together with online sources helped me get several internship offers. The book won't spoon feed you from the ground up - but will cover all the topics necessary. The interview questions are all about PRACTICE! Spend a lot of time thinking about how to solve programming questions, the complexity of your solution, and ways to improve your solution.
After a while, you should reach a point where you start recognizing patterns when you see a new question. There are often existing data structures (that you must know backwards - like hash tables) that you can use to solve a given problem - try and think of which one fits the question nicely.
Finally, read this. Good luck!
I highly recommend Programming Interviews Exposed.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/047012167X/ref=asc_df_047012167X1773383?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=047012167X
Let me be a devil's advocate here and defend why companies wouldn't pay > 5k a month for a 10x programmer.
First off, our typical firms in Singapore can't appreciate good technical value. They can't tell the difference between work done by a good programmer and one done offshore. To them, it's just like buying a chair. If I can get a much cheaper chair in India, why not? They are still used to judging quality by experience. In fact, technical quality can't be judged by experience and the number of projects you have done. A fresh poly grad might be way better than a programmer with 5 years experience and a CS degree. If the poly grad spent his time in poly dabbling in new technologies and programming languages, writing code for open source projects, he might be way better than the CS grad that stagnated in his J2EE job.
Also, good technical value is very hard to measure. Even Google have problems measuring this. Even if you care about technical value, you may not be able to tell if the person you are hiring is good. An interviewee that aced a coding interview may not be a good programmer. It simply means that this guy is good at solving such questions. (It's possible to cram for such interviews as if you're studying for Os by studying technical interview 10 year series, mind you.) He might ace the interview but suck at writing production quality code. Instead of using well tested libraries, he might hand roll his own red-black tree and crypto library >_<. What's more, such programmers may not write high quality, readable code. And, good programmers may not pass such coding interviews. One classic case was when this guy who wrote a program that's used by 90% of the engineers at Google, failed to pass Google's technical interview because he couldn't invert a binary tree.
Unfortunately these are hard problems. Fixing the first problem requires a mindset change from employers and key business decision makers. The second requires companies to change their hiring practices. Try pair programming some projects with your interviewees. That way you can get them to articulate their thought process and see how well they handle real world problems.
GET OFF YOUR SAD HORSE MY FRIEND. There's literally never been a better time to be a technologist who wants to learn more (and get paid more).
Yes, you're struggling. Yes, you want to change. But DON'T FEEL CONSTRAINED BY YOUR DEGREE. Draw on the experience you've had and look for new challenges. You certainly don't have to be a manager if you don't want to be.
if you think theory is holding you back, there are AMAZING online classes - online algorithms classes from Stanford/MIT. (The Stanford one is more of a refresher on basics). If you're finding that algorithms are holding you up in interviews, then read "Cracking the Coding Interview,"' cover to cover.
EVERYONE is looking for great technologists right now. Our company (untapt) is US-based, but feel free to message me with questions.
Someone that hires first years here [1]:
Resumes
I can only speak from the perspective of a smaller company, but I have several suggestions, some of which may be more applicable if you're going to apply to somewhere with less than 100 employees:
Cover letters
Some companies will care about cover letters -- I personally count it as a negative if you include a cover letter that is obviously templated:
Dear hiring manager, I see you are doing [some random thing copied from our website] and I am myself very passionate about [that thing]...
If you are actually reaching out specifically to join my company because you know someone else that's worked here, or you've used our product and want to work with us for that reason, a cover letter is probably appropriate.
Interviewing
Interview in as many places as possible. There are really only two things you should be focusing on as a first year: Cracking the Code Interview, and not being too nervous.
Seriously. Buy cracking the code interview [3], and spend a week or so solving problems and learning memoization / pointer manipulation / dynamic programming. You'll be SO much better off.
I find that if you think of every interview as "interview practice for when it matters in later years" you will not be so nervous as a first year. Expect to not know the answers to some questions, and just explain what you are thinking to get "part marks." Freezing up looks much worse than going down the wrong path with confidence.
References
[1] I'm CEO of ParseHub -- you can contact me at [email protected]
[2] I also do optional lectures for CSC207 on Fridays noon-1PM @ BA1200, one of which will be on how to make open source contributions. Feel free to email me if you want to come.
[3] It's available on amazon
I am going to give my perspective, but as always, your milage may vary.
>When and how did you start?
I didn't start programming until I started in college. I knew I was good at Math, and good at Science, and that I was interested in Computers. I pursued a CE degree (I was 18 at the time), and am now pursuing a Ph.D. in CS. My wife started her CS degree 1 year ago (she's now 25), after being dissatisfied with (and subsequently abandoning) a degree in Marketing. For the sake of mentioning it, we both started with Java.
My real point is: I don't think it's ever too late to start. If you're sincerely interested, your passion will take you far.
> What are some daily things you do that drove/drive you to your goals?
I consider programming a type of carpentry, and so, I strive (and don't always succeed) to program as much as I can, in as many languages as I find interesting. So far, I've programmed in Java, Python, Javascript, C#, C, Objective-C, and Lisp. It can be daunting to learn new programming languages, but I wouldn't worry. I got around to playing with each one because I found they were good tools for things I wanted to do. In academic circles, I believe that's called "project-based learning," where you learn as much as you need in order to complete some project or task.
> What books do you recommend, ones that have had a huge positive impact in your professional career?
I absolutely love the Head First series, and it made me value my own unique learning style (which in turn led me to discover that I learn better through projects). I own 6 Head First books, and I absolutely love each and every one of them.
My wife recently discovered (and I also really enjoyed) the book Cracking the Coding Interview, which is a concise review of the fundamentals of programming, as well as very good guidelines for doing well in your coding interview.
> What advice do you give to junior programmers that want to plunge into open-source community but are just overwhelmed by the amount of complexity in most of this projects?
If you're just starting out, I would start your own project to do something you want to do. The chances are that, in doing so, you will leverage someone else's tools, and in turn, you may discover that a tool you're using...
...has an obscure bug, or
...would be really great if it had this one other feature
You then contact the project lead (or project board of directors), and state your case, and then...BAM. You're an Open Source contributor.
> Which work-related fields are you most interested in?
I am a fan of artificial intelligence, and I think it's the bees knees. I also do game development, which I enjoy very much.
> What was your first big investment after your degree?
I bought a car, mostly because I needed it. Bear in mind, I am on a graduate student salary, which isn't necessarily the most financially rewarding position out there.
If you have any other questions, or if you would like me to go more in-depth into some of the previous questions, do let me know. :)
CTCI the "holy grail" of interview prep in this subreddit :)
> I was wondering if a DS course was necessary to do well on Leetcode problems
Nope:
Try Leetcode easy problems. Look up new concepts as you encounter them. Repeat.
edit: if you have time, there's also https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithms-part1
Entry level "PhD-level jobs" outside of academia are few and far between in Neuroscience, but consistency and planning will land you something eventually:
Start here: [Versatile PhD] (http://versatilephd.com/), [SfN Neurojobs] (http://neurojobs.sfn.org/jobs), ["So what are you gonna do with that?" Book] (http://www.amazon.com/What-Are-Going-With-That/dp/0374526214), [A PhD is not enough! Book] (http://www.amazon.com/PhD-Is-Not-Enough-Survival/dp/0465022227).
Also [www.indeed.com] is probably the best job hunting site I have found out there.
My first piece of advice:
Start job hunting and making connections now. "PhD-level jobs" are hard to find and you will have to lower your expectations a bit, especially on your first job. While long term, the degree can be a huge advantage, that is not the case immediately after grad school and you will need to be flexible.
As you explore, you will see some immediate career options are:
Adjuncting with the hope to land a faculty position at a Community College, academic scientist, medical scientist (at a hospital lab), medical devices, teaching high-school, government (NIH, NIMH etc.), science writing (grants, journals, editing etc.), learning code/stat programs (R, Python, SAS, SQL, MATLAB etc.) and taking those quant skills into 'big data', or going the more typical pharma industry route.
Consulting is another popular option, but they typically like people with some industry experience (I've seen on average 10-15 years).
The pay varies wildly on all of these, but if you are looking for the biggest bang for your buck that lines up with your (hopefully still present) passion for Neuroscience...
The pharmaceutical industry would be a great place where a Neuro PhD could thrive. From my colleagues in Neuroscience who eventually got some type of industry job, two truths rang through before they made the transition:
Unfortunately, a post-doc is almost unavoidable based on today's job market. I've seen people taking industry post-docs, which are competitive, but lead to the nice jobs and salaries you believe your degree entitles you to.
However, there are several who took academic post-docs and bought themselves time, experience, and a bloodlust for a good job, which eventually landed them something that was 70k+ in industry and they can work up from there.
Point is, there are options out there. The key is persistence, research, flexibility, and of course: networking.
I don't think I could do a mock interview exactly... not sure that would be kosher. But I can definitely offer you some tips from my experience with both the intern and full-time interviews.
How to prepare:
How to interview:
What's next:
Good luck!! It's always really exciting for me to hear about young women applying to Google. Hopefully I'll see you rocking the propeller beanie this summer. :)
P.S. I love your username. Avocados are amaze balls and I don't know what I would eat if they didn't exist.
They are very likely to show up. I'll give you the standard set of links to review:
This book helped me: Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions https://www.amazon.com/dp/098478280X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rtPIzbM5ZMZXD
It goes over data structures and algorithms as well as many other common questions.
I have been through 3 Microsoft Internships and am currently a full-time employee there.
First of all, congrats on securing the interview. 5 days might be a little tight. But I would recommend you take all 5 of those days off from school and study these two books thoroughly:
You must study these books and the problems in them very carefully. The basic data structures such as lists, arrays, stacks, queues, trees and hashtables - you should know these and associated algorithms like the back of your hand. You should be able to produce code for algorithms such as inserting to a list or searching through a tree in a few minutes. Most problems can be solved by using a specific data structure and some associated algorithm.
You will most likely have 2 back-to-back 45-minute interviews. Both of these will be highly technical and focused on algorithms and data structures. Typically, you will be presented a problem. For example: determine if a linked list has a loop or not. You must then come up with a solution to this problem and be able to explain the algorithm to the interviewer. You should also be able to quickly analyse the time and space complexities of the algorithm. Finally, you will be asked to code this algorithm. Here, knowing a specific programming language is not important. So put down your C Programming Language book and start reading the other two I have listed. You can code in pseudocode. The syntax is not important - only the algorithm.
If you manage to do all this in less than 20 minutes, you will typically be asked to answer an extension to the same problem. For example: Find the exact node where the list loops back on itself. Then you repeat the same process and solve this modified problem. Alternatively, you may be asked to describe yourself (small-talk). However, these HR style questions have very little impact on your result.
If you are ever stuck, you can always ask for clarifications from the interviewer. The interviewer will also provide hints if you seem to be struggling. Always think aloud as this will allow the interviewer to stop you from thinking in the wrong direction. The second interview will go the same way but with a different interviewer and problem. Remember to ask when they will let you know of the interview result.
After you have studied your books, go through glassdoor/careercup and search for interview questions. Sort these by date and learn the latest ones thoroughly.
If you managed to do everything right, you should be invited to Redmond to do your real interviews. Good luck!
Algorithms, Design Patterns, VCS, being familiar with typical CS interviews questions and something that will be really needed
Some Books:
For Algorithms:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Algorithms-Sanjoy-Dasgupta-ebook/dp/B006Z0QR3I/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Algorithm-Design-Edition-published-Springer/dp/B00E28CR4I/
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Thomas-H-Cormen/dp/0262033844/
Design Patterns:
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Explained-Perspective-Object-Oriented/dp/0321247140/
http://www.amazon.com/First-Design-Patterns-Elisabeth-Freeman/dp/0596007124/
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612/
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Dummies-Steve-Holzner/dp/0471798541/
Interviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/
> My strong suit is ruby/rails which I feel like is pretty rare and specific when it comes to most internship positions. (I can count on 1 hand the people who know rails in my school).
First off, trust me, you're not that special.
> So far, I have had interviews with 6 of the companies, and have yet to miss a question, & every time I am able to solve the technical questions relatively quickly (e.g. 45 min coding problem, done in 20 etc.) and then we go on to talk about interests etc. The thing is EVERY single company, after the technical interview (usually the 2nd-3rd phone interview), I am in limbo. Usually from 2-3 weeks, before I get denied.
So far, I'm picking up an attitude problem.
> I have only now started asking for feedback(but of course nobody replies to my emails).
Yeah, don't do that.
> I know they are large companies (vmware, yahoo, dell, etc.) but is it strange to have an interview go well and then just go into the void?
YMMV, but it's entirely possible. However, for myself I'd say 95% of the time, someone gets back to me.
> Also I am not socially inept, yet it always seems as if me and the recruiter get along great, while the technical people give off a cold disconnect (but still nice).
How often is this happening? I'd say there are some technical people who are just like that, but I'd say the majority of the time I see them acting that way in an interview is because it isn't going well.
> However it seems pretty inefficient to apply to jobs with 2000 kids hunting for 2 open positions, so it may be the lottery effect that is killing me.
Maybe, but if you're applying to 100s of jobs, you'd think something would eventually edge out in your favor.
Honestly, to me it sounds like:
There's nothing much you can do about an attitude problem other than hold your tongue and think before you speak on anything that isn't directly related to the technical question at hand. Explain, don't boast about past projects and experiences. Be open to learning.
As for technical questions, the best I can do is prescribe the usual: Cracking the Coding Interview. Good book for getting the basics down for technical interviews. Others will suggest other books after that, but I've had good luck with geeksforgeeks and the interview section of Glassdoor for companies like Google and Yahoo for going above and beyond.
Just to give you a peace of mind, I'm gonna share that I'm utter shit too. I have almost 20 years of experience and working at a huge worldwide company. I have conducted more than a hundred interviews myself and yet, if I apply to somewhere I can't write a simple parsing script in a coding interview.
Some of us just wired this way. Also interviews are like a date. It is equally up to chemistry and luck along with correct answers to questions if you get the job.
To be useful too, a few links. Check out this for inspiration:
https://rejected.us/
The best book to get an IT job:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850
After looking at your post history, it seems you're a 2nd year majoring in stats? I would just continue on the path you're currently on- best case scenario, do as many 300 / 400 CPSC courses for your electives that you can. Worst case scenario, try the BCS program after you've graduated.
I completed a 5 year CS degree with 16 months of co-op experience and a ~90ish average in CS courses and have been working in the industry for about 3 years. Here is the breakdown of where I learned how to develop:
I totally understand how anxious people would feel after getting rejected from CS but it's honestly not the end of the world. If you're willing to put in the effort, there are so many free resources out there that will help you learn how to develop. I assume you're done with 110/121/210... here are some resources that really helped me out:
Code complete 2 - one of the best coding textbooks I've ever read... released for free: http://aroma.vn/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/code-complete-2nd-edition-v413hav.pdf
Practicing for interviews (not taught in school) - https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
Learn the fundamentals of javascript... then learn typescript / react / whatever flavour of JS you hear about becoming popular... here's some site I found after 2 minutes of looking but I'm sure there are much better ones: https://medium.freecodecamp.org/an-introduction-to-object-oriented-programming-in-javascript-8900124e316a
If you're really worried that your stats degree might hold you back... fill out your resume with hack-a-thons and side projects and apply for CS internships. Email recruiters directly if you don't hear responses from normal application processes. When building your resume, start with the CS stuff and leave the major at the end... make sure that if a human ever reads your resume, they'll be reading about how much you've learned about development on your own rather than which major you happen to earn your degree in.
Grinding problems, haha! I can't answer your more specific questions, but I'll distill the resources that I have found to be most useful. The types of questions will depend on wherever you are applying and you might not even get technical questions at some places.
I would start with CTCI then, if you feel like it, move on to Elements of Programming Interviews which (I think) has more difficult problems. All the while just grind problems on leetcode. Also, make sure to practice answering these questions without coding in an IDE. I have just been using a notebook and pencil. A whiteboard works too. Before beginning any sort of coding, you should have the general algorithm down that you will use to solve the problem.
It also would be helpful to know how to implement / be familiar with the following:
Data Structures
Algorithms
OOP (define these)
Other stuff:
Finally, know Big-O complexity Big-O Cheatsheet! I'm sure there is a lot more but this should be a great start.
Good luck! :)
I interviewed at Google this year and I'm 33. The ageism you hear about sometimes, while it exists, seems to be less prevalent than some would have you believe. If you're worried about it, Triplebyte (referral link) does completely background-blind interviewing for SF and NYC companies (though you do have to be quite good to get through their process; see below first).
(This might not work for OP anyway if they are in Australia since they might need a visa, and Triplebyte AFAIK doesn't do that.)I guess where to start would depend on your background. Do you have any software itches you could scratch? That is, is there some solution to a problem you see either in your job or your daily life that you might be able to automate or solve with software? Maybe start with that; set up a respository on Github and start planning and coding it up (though if it has to do with your job, clear it with them first).
I recommend learning Java or C++. The concepts you learn in those languages will transition to others pretty easily.
If you're looking into bigger companies or startups, I recommend watching MIT OpenCourseware 6.006, Introduction to Algorithms and maybe following along with the class assignments (all free). If you can make it through this course, along with Cracking the Coding Interview, you'll be well on your way to being able to clear many DS&A-style developer interviews.
For others in this thread, $100K AUD is apparently $80K USD (but as OP mentions, Australia has a high COL so its purchasing power is probably lower).
You'll see this one recommended a lot :
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It's a classic and for good reason. I always find myself going back to it. In fact there are quite a few books I'd argue that build upon it
Another very good one is by Leil Lowndes called
How to Talk to Anyone. It gives a lot of useful tips on how to make conversations exciting and vibrant.
Also, John Sonmez's books are really good too because they focus on communication skills from a developers point of view. I really liked these because it also teaches how to develop your career and start your own brand:
These are just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are plenty more. Hope that helped!
Current Microsoft intern here! You've got your first sentence perfectly in order of increasing importance. Since you interned at IBM, I'm assuming you have a decent grasp of data structures and algorithms. If not, you now know where to start!
Do some thinking around your app -- if that's a highlight for you, then it's going to come up. Who was your audience? What was the goal of the app? What were the design choices you made? What could you have done to make it better? faster? more secure? What did you learn?
Go pick up an interview book or two -- I used Cracking the Coding Interview to prepare. If you notice yourself stumbling anywhere (especially the first two-thirds of the chapters), be sure to do some learning around the things giving you trouble.
I wrote about my interview experience at Microsoft, if that interests you. It's also got some links to other people's experiences.
I'd recommend buying one (or both) of these books and reading through them:
Each of those books has a wide range of programming problems that are commonly asked during an interview. I highly recommend going one question at a time and actually trying to solve them yourself before looking at the solution. This way you won't simply have a dictionary of interview questions--you'll also be able to develop the skills to figure your way through similar problems.
You can either learn to crack the interview or reconsider your job search strategy. Sure, you may not be able to analyze the complexity of a travelling salesman solution, but you may be able to find an employer who instead cares more about software engineering, tooling expertise (version control, CI etc.), expertise with a particular technology (you mentioned PHP), a well-rounded approach to software development in general, soft skills or whatever else you're confident you may bring to the table.
Here is an interactive page where people can visualize how Quicksort works, this is one of the most widely used sorting algorithms, once understood you can pick any of the other popular ones: Bubble, Insertion, Heap, Selection, etc. CtCI — Cracking the Coding Interview is a good book written by an engineer who used to be part of the recruitment team at Google and other "Big 4" companies, I really recommend it, every page is worth its penny*. Leet Code is also a good resource to learn and practice algorithms, most of the exercises have articles with good explanations of how to solve the problems.
Best advice I can give is check out this book from a library (or buy): Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions. It's written by someone who worked as a software engineer at Google & Microsoft and did interviews.
Doing problems out of that book helped me remember some important things that were actually asked about in interviews. I ended up getting two job offers at the same time which allowed me to tell the other company what my offer was and get them to raise it quite a bit.
I read a book a long time ago about this topic. I’m not 100% sure but I think this was the book:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Going-That/dp/0374526214/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1536648062&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=a+guide+for+ma+and+phd+seeking+career&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41BYA1B5RSL&amp;ref=plSrch
The gist is that if you want to get any kind of job and not just lab-related jobs, it’s all about marketing yourself. You can tell employers about all the “hard lab skills” you have on your CV and they couldn’t care less. Or you can find out what qualities the employers are looking for and connect these qualities with the “soft skills” you cultivated under pressure during PhD/research training. The book can give you many ideas of how to do that.
Occasionally employers (usually of small businesses) are willing to give you a junior position without the technical qualification after a vetting period if you demonstrate that you can learn really fast, you get along with them, and you are motivated to learn the skills. Hackernoon has some stories like this.
Programming Interviews Exposed is an extremely good resource, Steve Yegge also has a good post on areas a programmer should be proficient in.
Nothing is really a substitute for being knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
Start building your resume now with personal projects. It can help a lot. Start practicing for the technical interviews now and making your resume look good. Use Cracking the Coding Interview to help practice the interview questions. Go to your Career Center, or ask here, for advice on how a resume should look. Make a nice cover letter. Start applying in the Fall, so around August or September. Definitely apply for the larger tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc.) in the Fall. Apply to a lot, even if you are not interested in working at the company just so you can get practice interviewing. Also, the more you apply to the more likely you are to get an interview. I applied to 20 companies for Summer 2014 and only got 5 interviews. Good luck.
I work at Google (full-time). Before Google, I had been writing software for 8 years professionally (Computer Science degree). I would say that every other day for about 1 month I spent about 2-3 hours preparing. Looking back, I probably over prepared, but I would rather have that than be underprepared. Here's how I prepared:
In the end, the interviews were easier than I imagined. Couple of n-ary tree questions, a distributed computing question, a math/algorithm question and a basic Java coding question.
Disclaimer: I teach at a bootcamp in the midwest.
Here are some things I'm noticing:
I'm going to suggest a couple of things to try before you enroll in a boot camp.
From here, it's a matter of learning. You're never going to learn everything (there's too much out there), but you can definitely learn quite a bit.
If you've got a CS background, you should be able to pick up the basics of Ruby on Rails. Michael Hartl's Rails Tutorial is pretty commonly cited; if you want to do web development, go through this tutorial twice. Maybe three times. Then start building projects on your own. Alternatively, Daniel Kehoe's Learn Ruby on Rails is also pretty commonly cited.
A good understanding of Rails, plus a solid foundation in HTML, CSS, and Javascript/jQuery will make you a reasonably compelling junior developer for a company that builds web applications. Doubly so if you can show off a few good personal projects. A good bootcamp (like the one where I teach) will give you a structured and guided opportunity to learn these skills. A terrible boot camp will also give you this opportunity, but you'll have to work a lot harder on figuring out how to make it all happen.
In addition to self-study and building projects, start attending meetups and actually talk to people.
If you do decide to start looking at different boot camps, here are some questions to ask:
Of course they can lie to you, or use weasel-words to obfuscate, or make stuff up, or.... Of course that's the case.
A good boot camp will give you lots of opportunities to practice AND will help you find your first job. We (where I work) do a lot of talking with recruiters and companies in our network, and we work really hard to make sure that our students get jobs that offer lots of opportunities for growth and development, and, when possible, that align with strengths and interests (there's not usually too big of a disjunct there). So far, we've had quite a bit of success in terms of our students finding employment, and even the companies that have been resistant to hiring students like our grads have started coming around (albeit slowly) as more and more companies hire our grads and have good experiences with them. But it'll be at least another year or two before our grads reliably get hired as junior devs in the bigger corporations (as their first or even second job) without first having a CS degree.
There are lots of different ways you can find success, and almost anything you do (quit your job and self-study, stay at your job and self-study, go to a boot camp, backpack around Europe, and so on) can be reasonably explained in an interview, especially if you can demonstrate that you are someone who is smart and gets things done.
Even your current job can be explained. Sure, your dev skills aren't what you want them to be, but you've got a ton of practice fixing code, which means you've got a huge list in your head of all the different mistakes you might make while writing code (which then means that you can, given adequate leeway, build systems that help you avoid or at least catch those mistakes). Don't discount that. It's important stuff that you learned, even if the way you learned it makes you feel really terrible.
Hope this helps.
Practice whiteboarding (solving technical problems on a whiteboard). Try to read Cracking the Coding interview . If you look online you might find a pdf version.
General tips for the interview:
To be clear, I don't work for HP but I do work for a large tech company and I'm on a hiring panel. Good luck!
Introduction to Algorithms is probably the best book if you want to go deep in algorithms eventually.
Cracking the coding interview book is also a great repository of "must-have" concepts for CS.
Cracking the coding interview for prepping interviews: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
This video is a Google interview example so of course the problem is a bit contrived, but I think it is a decent illustration of the process he is referring to. The guy writes the code out in C++, but you could just as easily write in pseudocode.
Solving the problem by hand and writing a sketch of the algorithm builds intuition and makes the actual code much easier to write. People knock interview prep as being nothing like the job, but I find that it can do a lot to boost general problem solving. CTCI and leetcode are good resources. If you are brand new to programming Codingbat might be useful, but it is really just for the basics.
I went through the Google interview process not too long ago. Here's my recommendations:
Have you seen the SE Bible?
Make your own projects or code to build a portfolio. Upload the code to Github to build an online portfolio.
Here are some excellent books that may help as well:
Elements of Programming Interviews
Cracking the Code Interview
Programming Interviews Exposed
>Do you find that the standard system of technical interviews (data structures & algorithms) is an effective way of assessing candidates? Why or why not?
When I was an undergraduate, the dominant interview approach involved brainteasers like "why are manhole covers round?" Initially, these were reliable indicators of future success. But after every other company started copying Microsoft mindlessly and asking the same set of questions, the approach quickly became less effective. People optimized for interview performance with books like How Would You Move Mount Fuji? and How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview.
Brainteasers were mostly phased out after Google introduced the current approach involving data structures and algorithms. Initially, these were reliable indicators of future success. But after every other company started copying Google mindlessly and asking the same set of questions, the approach quickly became less effective. People optimized for interview performance with books like Cracking the Coding Interview and Elements of Programming Interviews.
There are certainly parallels between what happened then and what's happening now. The difference today is that people have taken things to another level with platforms like Pramp and bootcamps like Interview Kickstart. New businesses keep popping up that focus on cracking the current system, and I don't think that bodes well for its future.
But what can we do about it? The fact is that any interviewing process can be cracked once its format becomes popular and standardized. Let's say that some major company like Facebook introduces a new standard that involves candidates giving two-hour presentations about significant personal projects and then answering tough questions from a committee. You may be familiar with this format if you've ever applied for a research position. I actually think this would be great for 2-3 years until everyone starts doing it and Gayle Laakmann McDowell or whoever publishes "Cracking the Personal Project Presentation." And then a bunch of new businesses will pop up to sell you slide templates, professional reviews, etc.
In short, I'm not a big fan of the current system (EDIT: because it's been "cracked") but I honestly don't know of a better one (EDIT: that won't suffer the same fate).
> I read that SWE internships typically have data structures/algorithms style interviews. Is this true?
Yeah, out of 3 offers only one of them had me do any interviewing that wasn't strictly DSA, and that was because they do banking.
>When's a good time in your OSU online degree progression for you to begin applying to internships?
Whenever you have time. It's July so you can probably catch the spring co-op cycle and definitely the summer internship cycle for most companies. All you need is enough data structures and algorithms knowledge to interview (anecdotally, I wrapped up all my interviewing while I was finishing 162 and discrete).
> How did you do it?
Ultimately optimize for time, try to study stuff that 80% of people will ask you, but look at specific questions companies ask when you get down to the interview stage.
> Most of the jobs out there are temporary or contract (short/long/C2H)
This sounds patently untrue. I'm certain that the vast majority of people in CS have full-time jobs rather than temp or contract.
> Recruiters won't even look at you if you don't have a knowledge in a specific stack (even for entry level)
Also untrue, especially for entry level, where good companies won't care what tech stacks you know.
> Recruiters don't even look at your resume, all they do is keyword search
Partially true. Resumes are often automatically filtered by how many buzzwords they contain. If you can use buzzwords without making your resume seem over the top, do it.
> I've been told that I shouldn't even apply for SDE jobs because I'm a "tester" and how I probably don't know of any CS fundamentals (because my degree is in CompE, not CS)
Bullshit. Any company worth working for - most companies - will not take that attitude. They might be skeptical, but they would never suggest you don't apply.
> Interviewers don't seem to have interest in interviewing
It doesn't matter; it's their job. And most interviewers are competent at interviewing, so nothing to worry about, regardless of how "interested" they are. (Though an "interested" interviewer, while rare, is a pleasure!)
> Companies have absurd hiring standards (they are all looking for a unicorn for 50-60k/yr pay, through contract)
Depends on the company.
> * Entry level jobs require years of PROFESSIONAL experience in a specific technology
Entirely false.
---
The current job market is fine, prosperous even. Craft a strong resume, post it in the resume advice thread, and send it out to companies. Apply to a bunch of companies, account for a 5-15% response rate (higher if you're more skilled).
Getting interviews will be the easy part; to pass them, you'll need to pass difficult algorithms questions. Books like Cracking the Coding Interview and Elements of Programming Interviews are essential reads; then go on a website like LeetCode and grind away at problems until you can solve easies in 20 minutes or less, mediums in 30 minutes or less, and hards in 60-120 minutes. I'd say a 3:9:1 ratio of easy:medium:hard would be a good ratio to go with, and do as many problems as possible until you're comfortable with where you are (for me, that was about 120 problems). The premium subscription is well worth it for problems tailored to certain companies.
Edit: spelling
On a related note, I also recommend Cracking the coding interview (Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782850/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Dr39ybRT8SJ94) as it is literally recommended by Google as study material for their interviews.
I'll address your #1 below, but I want to focus on #2 for a second.
The feedback you've gotten regarding your degree choice is correct -- all of it, even though it may seem contradictory. You'll have a tough time finding a job in Art - and artists probably won't appreciate a degree in CS very much. The reverse couldn't be further from the truth.
It is a very rare individual that has the logical and mathematical nature to code efficiently and with broad scope but then uses their artistic creativity to inspire cleverness. Code, or more generally put a system, is a piece of art just like any other. A wide array of pieces which need to cleverly and harmoniously co-exist. The creativity of an artist is essential in recognizing the potential of an application.
I want you to look at this role. Read the job description, and picture it applying to a product where you design the User Interface and the User Experience. Understand that you will work with graphics artists, but it's your vision that determines what the user experiences.
If that feels right, chase it.
----
As for your #1 question, another very good one.
When I'm interviewing SDEs, I want to see mastery of concepts and, to an extent, cleverness of a solution. There are a few things, though, which make me almost immediately discount a candidate:
Starting before you have all the information. Make sure that you have a very clear vision of what the problems is before you begin. Understand that any assumptions you make must be checked first. For example, if I say take a pointer to the head of a linked list and then do X on it, and you assume that the pointer will never be null, you will fail my test. Either code for the case where the ptr is null, or ask the interview "Is it a fair assumption that the pointer will never be null?"
Being satisfied with a naive solution. When solving a problem, it's perfectly fine to give the naive solution -- but don't stop there. Once done, talk with the interviewer. Say things like "Now this is the naive solution, because it finishes in O(n^2) time. We can make this more efficient by doing 'X'" and then press forward.
Internalizing your thoughts. This is weird to do for candidates, but it's critical for a team environment. When you're solving problems, think out loud. I'm not asking you to solve these problems because I'm bored and need a show, I want to know how you think.
There's so many of these I could write a book (and others have). I highly recommend reading Programming Interviews Exposed. It's an awesome resource with spot on practice problems.
My first year in the Master's program I took a seminar in Culture and Economy. We had a pretty good stack of books we read through out the semester. I highly recommend these.
Stephen Gudeman- The Anthropology of Economy
Wilk and Cligget- Economies and Cultures: Foundations of Economic Anthropology 2nd Ed
Marshall Sahlins- Stone Age Economics
Karen Ho- Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street
Colloredo-Mansfeld- The Native Leisure CLass: Consumption and Cultural Creativity in the Andes
Nancy Munn- The Fame of Gawa: A Symbolic Study of Value Transformation in a Massim Society
Michael T. Taussig- The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America
Taussig is a great writer. Wilk and Cligget's book is good for basic foundations Economic Anthropology. Karen Ho's book is also a great institutional ethnography as well. Happy Reading!
I compiled lists of interview questions from Glassdoor before my interviews and used Cracking the Coding Interview.
The interviews questions that I received were fairly varied. From what I can remember:
There are a lot more of these topics covered in Cracking the Coding interview.
My previous internships were for big non-tech companies. They weren't particularly interesting or impactful, but they were a line in my resume. Keep in mind that your resume is just to get an interview. Once you're in front of engineers, what you say and write in the interview are most important.
I can name you a book, Cracking the Coding Interview.
hi
get yourself a copy of this
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk?dpID=41J6k0AL6yL&amp;preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&amp;dpSrc=detail
have a look at this
https://www.pramp.com/#howitworks
watch a few mock interviews on youtube
attend meetups
join irishtechcommunity and have a look at the jobs section
Go read Cracking the Coding Interview. It covers pretty much everything they are likely to ask you and has a bunch of practice questions with solutions/rationale.
Some tips...
Well, the trick is to do one step at a time. Your goal is a very reasonable one, but you'll want to focus on the foundation first. For a non-programmer, I would recommend starting off with Code Academy or Coursera. The advantage of the second link is that it immediately provides you with a sense of direction while learning a language. Code Academy's Python tutorial is really nice in providing interaction with your code. Regardless, you'll want to first gain a sense of syntax on your language of choice.
After you're familiar with at least one language, the next most important thing is to become familiar with data structures and algorithms. This book on Amazon is amazing for giving beginner advice in the area: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1468108867
The book is not overly complex and mathematical compared to many other books, and it provides a fairly reasonable foundation for any beginner. If you ever want to practice writing basic algorithms out (optional), visit Codility's lessons to try things out. Once you can comfortably complete some of their lessons with a high grade and understand their topics, you should be ready to dive into the math/finance side. I feel that at this point, the Max Dama paper is a great way to get an overview of the basics. Regardless of the financial instruments you're trading (I've mainly worked with equities), you'll need a sense of portfolio management. Here's two books that may be worth running through:
http://www.amazon.com/Quantitative-Equity-Portfolio-Management-Construction/dp/0071459391
http://www.amazon.com/Expected-Returns-Investors-Harvesting-Rewards/dp/1119990726
They're both equities based (and I could be wrong here about FX), but it's probably a good idea to get a sense of how to measure returns. Regardless of the asset class you're planning to trade, all algorithms should be rigorously backtested and simulated (traded with virtual money) prior to being moved into production, and one of the best ways to improve your outcome is to know how to measure the returns and risks associated in your backtesting/simulations.
Hope this isn't too much information at once, but it should be a start. The first two courses throw-it-out mentioned in Coursera is a great start too.
Edit: I'd also take some time to browse some of the links on the sidebar in this subreddit. Some of those links are immensely helpful (especially the Statistical Learning one). Many of the strategy links are fairly easy reads and are recommended as well.
If you haven’t been recommended it yet, you might want to check out Cracking The PM Interview
Thanks! I am looking at software engineering positions right now, and I agree that the market is very hot right now. The last time I looked for a job in earnest was around 2011, and it was depressingly hard to get a foot in the door.
Since others in the field might read this, I recommend getting "Cracking the Coding Interview" to prepare. I felt much more confident after reading this book. The author does an excellent job of explaining what interviewers are looking for and there's a lot of material to use for practice.
You're GPA is great so you don't need to worry about that, IMO I'd list it on your resume.
I would recommend the following:
While concurrently (har har) reading the book, any data structures you don't know, learn. Program them and test that they work.
Further, check out CSC263 materials and see if you can implement the data structures. You should also at the end of CtCI be able to attempt some of the assignments from CSC263 and complete them.
Also try coding problems on hackerrank or leetcode or w/e the sites are called -- note they can be demoralizing on hard but it's worth it and you learn a lot
Pick a language and learn it well, again if you do Java, then know how garbage collection works and other core language features (ex: If I ask you what a GC root is, do you know? [ask yourself this in 4 months] Can you compile from the command line? Do you know what Maven is and how to use it? Can you use lambdas and the new stream API? What is type erasure? etc)
C++ is great at removing your hair, but you'll learn a lot... and if you ever have to work on a C++ project you won't want to kill yourself when you accidentally do object slicing or something funny like this.
Obviously put your work on github or somewhere, though I think you know that this is implied
As you can see, attempting the above will directly benefit the following courses:
Sounds good doesn't it? Though this is probably only possible if you are doing literally nothing over the summer ;)
Review your basic algorithms and data structures. Sorting, graph traversal, linked lists, structs, arrays, and multi-dimensional arrays.
Know about memory management, know about orders of magnitude in runtime, know about pointers, know about debugging and what to test.
You almost certainly won't be asked one of those wacky brainteasers you hear so much about -- we've found over time they do little else but tell us how good you are at brainteasers.
If you can do every problem in this book then you'll be more than prepared.
Also, give a quick read of our general interview tips.
General advice:
Pay close attention to providing thoughtful, reasoned approaches. Don't get so tied up in providing a clever solution that you forget the simple answer. Points are definitely awarded for really clever or innovative solutions, but that isn't the only way to get through.
Additionally, RELAX! This is definitely easier said than done, I realize, but understand that most interviewers really do want you to succeed. They aren't there to scare or intimidate you, and interviewing isn't even their day job! They're engineers who once sat exactly where you were, answering the same things they're now asking you.
Try and think of your conversation with your interviewer as being a chat with a really good friend of yours that you haven't seen in a really long time. You used to be best buddies, but moved away and you haven't seen them since. You know you've both changed in all that time, so you're being a little restrained, but there's still a foundation of mutual trust and respect -- one that puts you at ease.
Lastly, verbalize your answers. We aren't asking you to write an algorithm to sort a linked list because we're curious how it's done -- we're asking you because we want to know how you think. Verbalize your thought process. Verify all your assumptions. And, if you get stuck, don't be afraid of stating your thought process to your interviewer and asking for some feedback on where to take the solution (this is a heavily team-oriented company, after all).
Hope this helps! Best of luck!
Source: I do interviews at Microsoft, both general technical interviews as well as PM interviews.
It's never "too late" for smaller startups. Keep applying! Even if you get the offer halfway through the summer, it might still be worth it for the company to take you on for the rest of the summer.
Find smaller companies on http://angel.co and https://www.whitetruffle.com/.
What specifically is going wrong with your applications so far? You say you've gotten some phone screens--are you generally having trouble getting to the phone screen, or generally having trouble getting past the phone screen?
If you're having trouble getting past phone screens, there are a bunch of resources for brushing getting better at technical interviews:
If you're having trouble getting the interviews, your resume might just need some dressing up. Having more projects is a great idea, as you mentioned, but you also might be able to spin some stuff you've already done to fill that need better in the meantime. Post it and we can help!
Going through jobmine, there are exactly two parts to getting a job:
You get the interview by having a good resume, and knowing how to talk to recruiters.
You get the offer if you appear technical. Socially fitting together with your interviewer is invaluable. You want to feel like a coworker.
Search algorithms and data structures will be pretty important for the interview, but if you're a bit rusty, there's probably still time to brush up on stuff before the interview. Books like Cracking the Coding Interview or Programming Interviews Exposed really help.
One thing to be careful about on the interview though is to not get too hung up on finding the best possible answer to a question. Yes, coming up with an efficient solution is good (and if you give a less than optimal solution, your interviewer will probably ask you to improve it or add more constraints), but if you cannot come up with any solution, even a naive one, and aren't able to code it (or run out of time because you spent too long trying to find an efficient solution), you probably won't make it to the next round.
In general though, you shouldn't be asked too many questions that require memorization as long as you know the basics (and you should be able to discuss space and time complexity for any solutions you provide). If you have any more questions though, feel free to send me a PM (I work at Amazon).
OK so this is a really simple thing, but if you plan on teaching with PowerPoints behind you, I really recommend this book called "slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations."
As the title suggests, it's a handbook of visual guides for creating better PowerPoint presentations. It's mostly visual hierarchy and other Gestalt basics, but I found it super useful for making presentations that were actually useful for the students as opposed to just being there. It was recommended to me about eight years ago by my mentor, and I've been following what it says ever since.
Corporate identities are typically grid based, so if you haven't read it already Timothy Samara's Making and Breaking the Grid may be useful.
It's likely you'll be restricted to an already existing brand, so probably no need to learn more about corporate branding. Your challenges will be staying fresh and inspired within a limited structure, typeface and color palette.
If they require you to work on corporate presentations, Duarte's Slideology is a must-read.
If it involves data visualization for annual reports and such, Alberto Cairo's The Functional Art will be very relevant.
Hope that helps.
The future direction of news and how it can be improved
Links in this section are RSS feeds
Jay Rosen is my favorite author on the subject:
Jeff Jarvis is nothing to shake a stick at either:
And finally, we can't forget Clay Shirky:
Presentation design and using visuals to increase group effectiveness.
Links in this section are to books
EDIT: formatting
This book: slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596522347/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vexlyb1DWMW7Z
Just read an interesting book on that and apparently, for the number of hours they work, most entry-level investment banking people are making well below minimum wage. The book was written by an anthropologist (Stanford undergrad, Princeton PhD) who left her PhD to work in an investment bank. She talks about how important degrees are and how there are "Harvard" companies and "Princeton" companies and hierarchies surrounding where you got your degree. Not incredibly written but really interesting.
Link. Review.
I can only recommend bootcamps for 2 types of people:
But for the rest, I think you're better served biting the bullet and going back to school for an actual diploma or degree program.
For what a bootcamp provides, I think it's really expensive ($8600-9000 over 2-3 months). Ironically, the appeal of a bootcamp is also the main flaw of a bootcamp: time. For people who have no tech background (which is the main target demographic of bootcamps), you're essentially cramming all these tech concepts, languages and frameworks in 2-3 months. Are you going to retain all of this information 6 months later?
When you graduate from a bootcamp, you're competing with CS graduates, diploma students who had years to hone their skills. Give yourself an honest assessment and ask how you'll do against them?
I highly recommend going through a book called: Cracking the Coding Interview
These are the type of questions that the top companies will ask. Good luck with your pursuit!
Code Complete
Big Java Late Objects
The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
The Mythical Man-Month
Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
cracking the coding Interview
Introduction to Algorithms
Thinking in C++
I would recommend brushing over some basic CS concepts first. Since you've been out of school for a few years now, it might be a good time to start working on little side projects and/or programming exercises if software engineering is what you want to get into.
You can also check out this book, which will help you prepare for a programming/tech interview.
What type of job are you looking to get? Are you interested in software support? development? IT? Your preparation will depend on what route you want to go down.
Yes! Also, quite honestly I don't know that many CS majors who took linear algebra at my school for whatever reason.
Where do you get started?
Bonus for programming:
Maintainable kinda means that your code is easy to test, easy to comprehend (by others) and easy to modify. Read up on different design patterns to learn more about this.
Scalable is something you'll learn more about later, but basically it's kind of thinking about whether your code will be "good" enough to handle a lot of users (how fast is it how much memory will it take up)
Testing is very important when coding. You want to try to write small pieces of code then test it (i.e.: make sure it works).
All three of these things show up a lot in interviews, and if you can relate why you made your code the way you did to one of these three points (or something else) you should be pretty well off :D
How do I land an interview?
How do I study for an Interview?
Typcially, an interview will have you and the interviewer. The interviewer will first ask questions about you, what you're majoring in. And then maybe ask questions about your previous projects, and then he'll throw you a programming problem. Sometimes these can just be questions like "Which is faster: quicksort or mergsort?" or something like that, but other times they'll have you code something. If the interview is online, this will either mean you'll need to tell them the code you're writing or you'll code online on some collabarative envirionment (i.e.: you type the code online). If it's in-person they may have you write on a whiteboard. There are other formats of interviews as well, so make sure to research. Typically, for most larger companies, they won't care what language you code in (hopefully though it's mainstream!), but if you don't code in a language which they use, they may test you later for proficiency in one of their languages.
Sorry, not sure if this helps or not!
Good luck!
Read this
It will help you pass the interview process.
But before that you need to have a strong resume to attract recruiters.
Build a personal project. Participate in algorithm contests(acm).
> short of a very detailed rehearsal of many different problems
Exactly.
I've had about 5 interviews with companies in the Bay Area, and in my experience all of them follow the same general sequence:
For the specific type of questions they ask, I recommend this book and /r/cscareerquestions
edit: and the technical screenings are always live coding sessions using a shared document. That shit is nerve racking and I recommending practising before the interview.
Mengetahui lebih dari satu bahasa pemrograman adalah persyaratan wajib jika ingin menjadi programmer professional. Pelajari low-level language seperti C dan C++ karena akan sangat membantu memahami high-level language yang lebih banyak dipakai di dunia kerja. Satu saran berguna: pelajari terlebih dahulu teknologi dasar yang membangun sebuah framework sebelum mempelajari frameworknya. Misalnya jangan langsung belajar Angular, pelajari dasar-dasar JavaScript terlebih dahulu. Jangan langsung belajar Laravel, pelajari dasar-dasar PHP terlebih dahulu.
Kurikulum pemrograman dibuat sejatinya untuk mencetak lulusan yang mampu menghasilkan good software. But contrary to what you'll face in real world. Di dunia kerja kamu akan menyadari bahwa bisnis lebih menginginkan "produk" ketimbang mengaplikasikan best software practices. Artinya kamu harus punya gambaran perusahaan seperti apa yang kamu impikan sebagai tempat bekerja nantinya.
Inti dari dunia pengembangan perangkat lunak adalah algoritma dan data. Di dunia kerja kamu akan dihadapkan dengan banyak sekali data dan bagaimana mengelola data tersebut. Perkuat pengetahuan fundamental, yaitu algoritma dan struktur data.
Pemrograman itu sulit. Sulit. Jangan berharap untuk menjadi expert dalam hitungan minggu atau bulan. Tapi tahunan.
Kalau sudah lulus kamu bisa baca buku ini untuk menghadapi interview.
Edit. Tambahan. Ingat bahwa programming languages, library, framework etc, is just a tool. Merely a tool. Modal kamu yang paling berharga adalah kemampuan merancang arsitektur sebuah sistem.
Cracking the Code Interview is the most well known book for interview programming questions. However, it's focused on harder interview questions than "reverse a
char[]", which is little more than a basic "can you program" check (the interview questions that CTCI covers are skill checks).For solving something like "reverse a
char[]", you should be able to do this after a first year programming class. It requires basic array and loop knowledge; nothing more. For a resource to cover that, you could use a MOOC like this one. It'll cover the basics enough to answer that question and similar ones, but you'd still need a lot more if you'd want to reach the point of being employable (merely being able to reverse achar[]is not enough to get a job -- it's just a way for the interviewer to quickly figure out if they're wasting their time).TL/DR: Know what you want to be paid, be specific, show off your work, your resume isn't graded, and interview the company as much as they interview you.
Got my first industry programming job by posting on here about a year ago. I'd just graduated uni and was looking for a serious gig.
It took three or four posts over two months before I finally was starting to get decent offers. The ads that failed were generic, didn't market my skills well, and weren't specific enough as to what I actually needed, thus I got lots of Rev-Share-only offers, lots of $400 a week offers, and lots of "exposure" offers. There were a few offers for positions I was in no way qualified for, either.
For reference, this and this were my unsuccessful ads, this was my successful one.
I'm actually just now starting to look for a new job (my contract is up), and revamp my portfolio site, and my general advice is:
Bonus: If you're a programmer, get "Cracking the Coding Interview". It is amazing and will help you figure out what potential employers are looking for.
edit: ._. oh. This is a bit old. Oh well. Hopefully someone'll see it and get something from it.
Never ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER ever ever EVER tell a company "I'm not suited for the job". Have some balls! Sure, you messed up, but hold your head high. Everyone messes up in their life at interviews; I know I have many times. Confidence can go a long way in promoting your personal image.
FizzBuzz is probably the most simple, commonly used interview question out there to see if a programmer can actually program. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I hate to break it to you, but Modulus is one of the most basic foundation concepts you need to know, and it's definitely taught in any entry level OOP book or Uni program. I dare you to show me a "Learn programming in Java/C++/Any other OO Language" book that doesn't cover it in the first few chapters.
You are over-thinking the solution here: it's meant to show how well a candidate can easily write clean, short code. There's no reason for you to abstract the functionality of finding whether a number is evenly divisible into a method - that's over complication in design, and it's a red flag for employers. I think you may have believed that isolating specific mathematic processes into methods seemed like a good idea to show off that you know object oriented principles. You're on the right track. However, if the process you're writing can be completed in a single line of code, let alone under 10 characters, you're just adding more dependencies and complication to a simple block of code. I would suggest this as a more clean solution to fizzbuzz (in Java):
for (int x=0; x<=100; x++) {
if(x%3==0 && x%5==0)
System.out.println("FizzBuzz");
else if(x%3==0)
System.out.println("Fizz");
else if(x%5==0)
System.out.println("Buzz");
else
System.out.println(x);
}
I personally struggled with a decent amount of interviews until I started to actually prepare for the interview. I recommend finding time to work through these two books; they'll help prepare you for what kind of questions to expect.
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377704276&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=programming+interviews+exposed
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377704294&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
And most important of all: NEVER get down on yourself! Every tough problem or terrible interview you have is just a learning experience. Never tell yourself you aren't good enough, or just outright give up. You aren't allowed. Stick with it, and prepare months in advance, like homework. You don't have to be that person dedicating every waking moment of their life to programming, but if you're serious about keeping your interview skills sharp, you need to dedicate some time to learning the questions. Good luck!
EDIT: Grammar, etc.
Looks like you're getting the interviews, but not getting the job. Try going to the Tatham Centre and brushing up on your interview skills. Read up on Cracking the Coding Interview. Keep trying!
TL;DR Improve yourself, invest in your future, don't worry about the mistakes...read the books listed at bottom, and practice!
Few months ago I royally fucked up an interview at Microsoft. A really simple question. But I had no experience doing coding on paper instead of a computer.
I spent a lot of time studying various books and paper coding to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
I then had an interview for another (in my mind at the time) dream job. I did fine for all the phone interviews and they flew me over to the west coast for an in person interview for the day. I did well for the first bit until they started pulling out dynamic programming and integer programming questions on me and expecting me. Once again something I didn't prepare for, and f'd up. Didn't get this job either. For the longest time I was really hard on myself at fucking up on both these interviews one after another. Especially this second one since a lot more was riding on it than just the job (another story).
But then I decided I didn't want to have this sort of experience again and expected better of myself. I made myself further improve and brush up on all those concepts as well. Did a few mock interviews with friends, spent some time working on interview type questions on both the computer and on paper. A month or two later I started interviewing again. By this point I was an interviewing machine - and I'm now able to do just about anything thrown at me. I've had my choice of employers and until just recently, was in the situation where I had so many offers I didn't know which one I wanted most. I'll be heading to silicon valley soon at one of the top tech companies in the world with a fantastic offer considering I just graduated.
The point is - learn from the mistakes and improve yourself. I realize you don't want to be that guy spending heaps of time coding outside of work or whatever... but this is an investment in yourself and your career. Do it once, and then just brush up on your skills from time to time. Get into the interviewing mindset and just rock them so you can have your choice of job - and then you can go about your thing once you have the job locked. The up front investment will be worth it!
Things that helped me:
Having trouble with Algorithm design/analysis? These are some of the go-to books for that:
Talvez você precise de mais experiencia pra conseguir algo assim, mas ganhar em euros ou dólares é melhor que ganhar em reais.
Eu trabalho remoto direto pra uma empresa de fora, mas tenho vários amigos que trabalham pela toptal. Pelo que sei, ganham no começo 35 trumps por hora (os projetos podem ter horas variáveis), mas é um pé na porta pra conseguir algo melhor depois.
Sobre areas, o que vejo mais oportunidade é front-end, principalmente com react, mas isso varia muito pra cada região.
If you are a CS major I'd go with the $15 package just so you can get the two books on security. In terms of helping your job prospects, I'd think about the following:
Assuming you already know how to program in a handful of languages, you might find the following useful:
Of course depending on what your interested in (e.g., mobile, web, systems, etc.) there are additional great resources but these will at least get you moving in the right direction. The biggest thing is just practice writing code as much as possible.
I had a recruiting firm send me this book. Pretty interesting.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
As someone who has alot of friends who received the NIS previously and it has been rebranded to SG:D scholarship, I can you tell that almost all of them want to break their bonds if they could afford to.
Therefore my advice to you is to not take up the scholarship unless you need to for a various reasons:
If you really want to take the scholarships in government agencies, there are some perks too:
To be honest, the first 5 years of your career is extremely important because they setup the stage for your career advancement. My (biased) advice if you are serious about tech and developing skills to do awesome work is stay out of public sector, typical MNCs, banks and consultancies because there's just too much wayang than doing the actual work. Most consultancies in Singapore are just sweatshops than doing good work. Go work in tech firms that are known for their engineering processes and build stuff.
And if you want to get into FAANG, it's not that difficult if you put in the effort to prepare for it and try to do as many internship as possible. You should be willing to work through one of the following books
Lol, competitive coding is usually overkill for interview prep. Don't get me wrong--if you are good at competitions, you will almost certainly do well on interviews. Coding competitions focus much more on "finding an important insight"--usually beyond anything that you'll have to know for work--and then coding a solution, while interviews focus much more on your ability to hold many different moving parts in your head. Competitions also tend to focus on parsing inputs, which, if you are using a language like C++, is a pain in the ass and can be unnecessarily discouraging if you just starting off.
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My advice is to check out the CTCI book and to write working code for as many problems as possible.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
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Be able to crank out DFS in your language of choice. Code every day. Try and work on problems that are easier to solve theoretically but that require holding a lot of different components in your head while you write the solution. The bottleneck for most people is writing correct code even after they know the solution--not "solving the problem" with theoretical data structures.
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Also, know your language well. Spend some time every day typing out the apis for the basic data structures into your lang's toplevel or interpreter.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
That stuff will keep you busy for a while.&nbsp; Once you're comfortable with the basics and get to a point where working on those kinds of exercises becomes more rote than challenging, try to create your own apps/plugins/libraries from start to finish.&nbsp; Working on full-scale projects will require you to learn skills that aren't developed as much during exercises & smaller projects, such as: architecture, design patterns, maintainability, testing, best practices, etc.&nbsp; Even more so if you give yourself a goal to actually publish/release those projects.
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A few other ways to develop those skills:
(Yelp, Imgur, Facebook, Trello, etc.)
(you can usually stay informed of hackathons through MeetUp or your local tech event calendar)
I highly recommend Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job. This has greatly helped me with the technical portion of the interview. Especially companies with difficult interviews (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc)
God. Goddess. Earth Mother. Whatever... Save us from Wall Street Analysts...
Seriously, these folks don't know their ass from their elbow and make oodles on money in a business where they never have to actually answer to their recommendations and predictions because they change jobs and start analyzing different fields every 12 to 18 months.
These are the same people who, for much of the 1990's kept saying that there was no future in Digital Cameras and that Kodak should pour all of it's development efforts into PhotoCD. (source: http://hbr.org/2010/07/wall-street-is-no-friend-to-radical-innovation/ar/1 and the linked journal article).
There was a terrific ethnography published a few years ago that really gets to all of the underlying issues with the entire Investment Banking and Analyst structure. If you're remotely interested in the topic, it's a great read:
http://www.amazon.com/Liquidated-Ethnography-Street-Franklin-Center/dp/0822345994
Seconding The Pragmatic Programmer and Cracking the Coding Interview. I'd also recommend:
If you let us know which languages you primarily write, I can probably recommend some good language-specific titles, too.
Pragmatic Programmer, Clean Code, and Head First Design Patterns come to mind right away. They're 3 of my favorites.
There's also Design Patterns by the Gang of Four. That's a lot more dense IMO than Head First, but it's fantastic material.
Since you're looking to jump ship and start interviewing, take a look at Cracking the Coding Interview. That will prepare you for any questions you run into during the process.
It's probably also worth brushing up on Algorithms and Data structures.
That's a good start. For more on what "real-world" interview questions are like (and thus the kinds of algorithms you should be familiar with) consult the usual suspects:
Better yet, start building a portfolio by open sourcing the code on github. Include links to your projects in your resume. Have your resume live on linkedin and make sure its up to date and completely public.
As an interviewer, I love to see code examples and a pasion for coding in free time.
P.S: If you're about to go into software engineering interviews
Cracking The Coding Interview Read this book from cover to cover and be ready to accept your 75K+ job after you start murdering interviews left and right.
Some books that could help you practice algorithms and coding challenges are:
If you want some actual practice solving challenges with some guidance and/or help, I'd recommend Coderbyte which provides solutions to the problems along with the ability to view other user solutions so you can learn how others solve the same challenges. This article might help you find some other coding challenge websites as well.
Cracking the Coding Interview
Here are the resources that I have used in the past. These are the type of questions that the large bay area software companies ask during phone screens and on site interviews. I've interviewed at a number of these companies and currently work for one of them. They all do similar things both in terms of the coding questions they ask as well as the overall interview process. I've never interviewed for a start up or any other sort of company, so I cannot speak to how it's done outside of large software companies on the west coast.
The following book, Cracking the Coding Interview, is great. Some companies use questions straight out of this thing. Others will ask one of these questions with a little twist.
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Either of these sites are good resources for actually writing code. Some of the challenges on Hackerrank are harder than you'll probably ever encounter in an interview, though it's worth noting that I've been asked a couple of the problems marked as hard on OJ Leetcode during onsite interviews (I recall LRU cache and a dynamic programming version of text justification specifically).
https://oj.leetcode.com/problems/
http://hackerrank.com/
For general stuff you need to know, this blog post about how to prepare for an interview at Google is a good resource. Jump down to the Tech Prep Tips for the relevant stuff, or just read the whole thing, it's a good read.
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-google.html
Here's a really good book by someone who used to conduct coding interviews at Microsoft, Amazon, etc.
Cracking the Coding Interview
Still, it's not likely that you'll see the same exact questions on an actual interview. Just practice a lot and get comfortable with solving problems. That will help you when it's time to code on-the-fly at an interview. Also, it's more important to talk through the solutions. Coming up with an innovative, elegant, or efficient solution with pseudocode is more important than getting the syntax exactly right in a particular programming language.
My girlfriend got me Cracking the Coding Interview my sophomore year of college.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
It showed me what to expect in future technical interviews, and gave me something to look forward to. It's not and end all, be all by any means, but it's a good starting point. Eventually he should look into leetcode for these sorts of things, but this book was recommended to me early on, and I really enjoyed it.
Have you tried Cracking the Coding Interview? It has a section dedicated to Big O.
I've posted this before but I'll repost it here:
Now in terms of the question that you ask in the title - this is what I recommend:
Job Interview Prep
Junior Software Engineer Reading List
Read This First
Fundementals
Understanding Professional Software Environments
Mentality
History
Mid Level Software Engineer Reading List
Read This First
Fundementals
Software Design
Software Engineering Skill Sets
Databases
User Experience
Mentality
History
Specialist Skills
In spite of the fact that many of these won't apply to your specific job I still recommend reading them for the insight, they'll give you into programming language and technology design.
Hey man, I interviewed a couple of months ago at a trading firm in Chicago for an Analyst/Quant role. Aside from the one the other user mentioned, this one was super helpful for me too!
Heard on The Street is a great book to prepare for interviews. ^^Psst, ^^up ^^here, ^^there's ^^a ^^free ^^pdf ^^if ^^you ^^search ^^on ^^google.
Heard on the Street. The classic.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867
Very good luck.
> Now herein lies the problem. I now need to condense a 4 year degree down into two years.
Just to be sure, your department should have an undergraduate adviser whose sole purpose is to help figure this out for you. Arrange a meeting to make sure your plan will work as you expect (just to be on the safe side).
> Also, I have heard that interviewers in Big Tech will probably ask Operating Systems questions, memory management questions, and scalability questions, so I am very worried that I won't have the experience to answer these questions in interviews. My biggest fear would be to just say "I haven't had any experience with this yet" in response to a question in an interview. I would be dropped in a heartbeat.
First, the ability to say "I don't know" is a huge thing for you to say, since it's an honest answer and will give a general good impression on your interviewer (provided the question isn't a basic one :p). If you want to prepare for these interviews, I recommend reading Programming Interviews Exposed and Cracking the Coding Interview (which you have read, but I'll mention it here simply for other people's benefits) (in that order), to brush up and learn about technical interviews.
> Finally I want to note that throughout this time I have been working through "Cracking the Coding Interview" [...]
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "Working through"? You don't (and shouldn't) be able to answer all those questions from memories, but understand the general thought process and tricks to solving them. It's very unlikely you will receive an exact question from the book, but a variation of it might appear. It's also important to note that each problem should take no more then 30 minutes to solve (some far less).
I would say its difficult for a lot of people even people with formal education.
Cracking The Coding interview is a good start.
You might also want to try this book.
Also websites like leetcode and hackerrank might help.
edit: this article might also be interesting to you.
>The result is that I will feel pressure to commit to a certain amount during a sprint that I know I cannot complete unless I am working over 40 hours a week. This pressure does come from management in the form of surprise or confusion if I try to commit to less than everyone else who is working overtime.
Teams should be working at a sustainable pace. Some overtime is OK but consistent overtime will generally cause more harm than good. The Clean Coder and The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide recommend giving 40 hours per week to your employer. Any hours on top of that should be hours done for your self-improvement.
Only sign up for work that you feel comfortable completing in a 40 hour work week. If you start to get behind on a task towards the end of the sprint, just let the task carry over. My first thought when I see a task not finished in the sprint it was pulled into is "this task must have been more work than we thought." My first thought is not "whoever worked on this task must have been a low performer." If that is the first thought then the team has bigger problems.
The only time I consider it necessary to do overtime is if there is a critical defect in production or we are very far behind on a release and in a situation in which releasing late would cause a lot of problems for our clients or consumers. For example, I sometimes have deadlines set by the government and if I am late on a release, our clients will have to pay fines.
So I recommend only doing more than 40 hours per week during the above scenarios and if your manager has a problem with that then probably consider job searching.
Cracking the Coding Interview.
Everybody's learning style is different. Here are some books I believe to be essential for any novice or pro.
Programming For Dummies. It has a stupid title, but it is well reviewed for good reasons. I read through this beast in three weeks. There is no coding involved, as it is mostly theory, but it covers most of the bases of computer science and programming logic. Looking back, much of it confused me at first read, but the big ideas are all presented here. Reading this during the summer before first semester was a huge boost for me. All of the major computer languages are discussed in the book.
Cracking the Coding Interview. A book meant for veterans trying to get into highly demanding top tech companies, the book is a great introduction to programming paradigms. There are numerous examples of problems in each chapter with answers at the back of the book. The whole thing is in Java, with a short chapter on C++.
Design Patterns. As you learn more about object oriented programming, the concept of design is introduced. This book is the holy grail of software architecture and recommended by many. I would hold off acquiring it until you are certain that CS is where you want to be, it is quite technical. This book follows C++, although a Java version of the patterns exists on Github.com
A non-technical book just for fun:
The Innovators is essentially the story of computer science and how it got to present day. It follows the characters, human beings, that were involved each step of the way right up until modern day. Your professors will be impressed that you know who Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, and Charles Babbage were. If only I had been at THE MOTHER OF ALL DEMOS! The actual stories of Microsoft, Apple, The internet, the PC, video games, the space program, etc. On Quiz Up, a trivia app, every other question in the CS category involves names from this book. Read it just to be a real geek that knows where this stuff came from, and the drama/tension that led to innovation. The book is actually really funny at times.
> ...gain some experience under my belt
I agree with /u/ivix; it's the wrong kind of experience. If you have a CS degree, then you should be developing, not answering phones.
I recently entered the field, and I found https://pramp.com/ to be super useful for technical interviews both over the phone and in-person. They're live, so it feels a lot like a real interview (i.e., nerve-wracking).
Also, Cracking the Coding Interview is a must. There might even be a copy at your library if you don't want to buy your own copy. This walks you through the interview experience at the big software companies (Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, etc.), and teaches you how to solve an algorithm problem, not what the answer to each problem is.
Finally, as dumb as it is, I'd recommend practicing coding on a white board (or a piece of paper). It's stupid that companies do it, but if you practice it, it'll be easier to think about the problem you've been asked and not about how weird it feels to be writing a loop in marker rather than typing it. Write sort algorithms, BFS/DFS, fibonacci, etc. Not that any of that stuff will necessarily help you, but I felt much more comfortable in the actual interview because I was used to drawing code.
Let me know if you have any questions and goodluck!
Most people's "hard" interview stories are about difficult whiteboarding exercises or some such.
The good news is that there are plenty of resources, like Cracking the Coding Interview (considered the "Bible" of interview practice books), HackerRank, etc. to help you get better.
I recommend practicing HackerRank alone, and doing problems from CtCI (yes, the book is so good it is usually referred to by an acronym) with others under "realistic" conditions (i.e. in front of a whiteboard, with one person posing as the interviewer and the other trying to solve the problem).
The bad news is that fundamentally improving anything takes time. If you practice interviews twice and do a few problems from HackerRank each week, you will see significant improvement after ~3 months.
Lastly, I leave you with this fantastic talk by Sean Lee, a CS alumnus from the University of British Columbia, about interviewing with big tech companies.
Long story short, just practice and keep trying; failing once, twice, or even more times is no problem. Companies (rightly) care only about how good you are now, not how much you sucked a year ago.
This person worked in a bunch of tech companies and then quit to sell their interview questions online:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
You say you haven't done an algorithms or data structures class yet at university, which tells me you're probably not even at the midpoint of your student career. There are plenty of internships and opportunities out there. If I'm right about your current progress at university you have time on your side too, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.
If you think you're having trouble with the interview process itself you might want to check out Cracking the Coding Interview. It goes into detail about the entire hiring process, what you should DEFINITELY know, what you should probably know, how you should go about coding on the whiteboard, and goes so far as to even suggest how you should dress for the interview. The bulk of the book are the useful sample questions and answers. Definitely worth a read.
I just picked up this book Cracking the Coding Interview which i wish i would have done it over a year ago. If you preview the book and go down to page 30 it has a process map. Basically its a mix of projects, practice interviews, and tackling interview type questions.
If i had a do over, i would grab this book early on and keep it close while completing other books like head first C# or whatever language fits your goals.
A) There's no reason to wait. Start looking now.
B) I don't have any experience with game programming interviews in particular, but I would highly recommend the book Programming Interviews Exposed for any sort of programming interview. It's a wonderful resource to refresh yourself on the basics.
Good news! Very few people code well in interviews, from what I've heard. Boneheaded mistakes are practically expected. Ask lots of questions about the problem--it'll give you more time to think and it'll make it clear that you're trying to figure out exactly what they're asking.
Amazon interviews are just like most technical interviews, in my experience. A FANTASTIC book to prep for interviews with is Programming Interviews Exposed. It goes over a lot of the data structures and common types of problems you'll get in interviews. It's great for day-of refreshers, or for going through more in-depth. HIGHLY recommend it!
I found Glassdoor's collection of user-submitted interview questions helpful in my last job search: http://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/index.htm
This book is also helpful, although much of the advice in it can be found elsewhere on the net: "Programming Interviews Exposed":
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1292102203&amp;sr=8-1
I've heard good things about these books; Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions and Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job
I had an internship with Amazon during my Sophomore to Junior summer. I also received offers from Microsoft and Google to intern this upcoming summer (Junior to Senior), but instead took an offer from Fog Creek Software. I have friends that have interned or are full time at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, all from Rutgers University.
My advice is to anyone looking to get one of these positions is:
This may seem like a lot because well frankly it is. But if you actually enjoy programming and computer science, than this is pretty straight forward and easy. And finally, don't get discouraged. Just because you didn't make it into one of these companies the first time you apply, doesn't mean you'll never make it. Some people don't interview well(it is its own skill, hence #4), some people just can't build out a good resume(seriously use the template that I provided and read cracking the coding interview from front to back), and other people just aren't ready(you really need to program a lot). But that doesn't mean that you will never make it with them, just give it another year, identify your weakness, and work on it.
I really like this book for brushing up on concepts for interviews.
I remember reading a study where researchers found that people who were smart generally felt that they were dumb and people who were dumb, generally overestimated their intelligence. So I thought that's something you should maybe think about since you mentioned that you think you're not a smart guy. With that said, I think you should go for it for sure and I think that with enough preparation and planning, you can increase your chances of getting an offer from Google. And if you don't get it the first time, you should try again. I've read that some got in on the 2nd or 3rd try.
Your plan looks sound. I would recommend focusing on a specific language though instead of focusing on functional programming, C, JavaScript (unless you plan on doing front-end work, I don't think JavaScript would be useful in this situation). Java is one of the widely used languages at Google.
Buy Cracking the Coding Interview. It's such a useful book. The material it goes over isn't very in-depth, so don't expect to use it as a way to learn about various algorithms and computer science concepts. Rather, solve the problems in the book. The problems are of varying levels, some easy while some may really challenge you. You will feel really dumb trying to solve some of these problems, but spend as much time as necessary and try to come up with a solution that you then refine. You may not come up with the optimal decision on the first try.
Solve problems on CareerCup. From what I understand, some of the questions on there are actual Google interview questions.
Make sure you have a thorough understanding and know how to implement basic data structures such as Linked Lists Hashtables, Trees, Binary Trees, N-ary trees, Graphs and Di-Graphs. Know how to perform breadth-first search, depth-first search on both trees and graphs. Know post-order, pre-order and in-order tree traversal. There's more but that's what I remember off the top of my head.
The last interview of the on-site interview will be about system design and it requires a more general architecture knowledge (HTTP, SSL, compression, network latency, disk latency, etc...).
Search for blogposts of people who've interviewed at Google. There are like a dozen or more of them. They give you a good overview of the process and some even contain questions.
Best of luck!
Edit: I forgot to mention the Big-O notation. It's important and every interviewer will ask you for the time complexity of the algorithm you just implemented.
To expand on the above, I would say that you definitely need to learn DS&A before you can get a job. I got lucky getting my first job because they didn't ask me any algorithms questions but trying to find a job is next to impossible if you can't answer their questions on a whiteboard.
Also, practice coding on a whiteboard/paper. I cannot stress this enough. It's amazing how many things you think you know but you realize that your IDE fixes for you/reminds you of. Simple, simple things that make you look completely silly if you don't know them during interviews. Plus, it's just a different process.
It's also quite nerve-wracking to stand in front of a white board and have people watching you write code.....so it's easy for nerves to get in the way as well...
Also, get this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
There are plenty of other books out there as well...
Good luck!
Can't speak for graduate programs, but if you're applying to positions that involve coding, you'll be asked at the very least about your coding experiences, and (if you're applying to a company that actually has decent tech) be asked some technical coding questions - so basically, don't sweat the wording too much because companies will verify your experience in interviews. For applying to software development positions, I highly recommend checking out Cracking the Coding Interview, this book pretty much hits the nail on the head for everything you need to prepare for.
For reference, I was a math major and only took 2 coding courses in college (1 was required for all graduates), but I had been coding in java since 7th grade, and despite learning practically nothing new in college and getting fairly rusty, I was hired at a smallish company and do data science and software dev (currently messing around with neural nets basically just as experimentation). I put down on my resume/cv that I had 10+ years of experience in Java, was fairly proficient in C++ and Python (which was true, I had done some work in those in college and coded up some fairly large projects), and said "had experience with" a few other languages.
I've had a 70 minute interview once, it was one long technical question with personal questions in between parts. Apparently this is the key to success for software interviews
https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0
Don't. Do not under any circumstances say you would work for them over all other choices. There's a few reasons for this.
This isn't necessarily done on purpose, but I've seen it happen first hand too many times to count. It's almost like the "bad-boy" dilemma in dating- the guys who seem farthest away to reach are usually the most in-demand.
Instead, communicate your passion through the knowledge you have about their company. Talk about their things they've done you admire, ask them questions about how the framework they use and why (Do your research, don't say anything obvious!). If there are company github projects, read through them all. Try to get an idea of what they might be working on next and why.
In a phone interview your goal is not to get the job, just to get to the next interview. Give them what they need without sending across any red-flags. Really look closely at the job description and make sure you check each criteria. Have prepared answers for questions like: "Tell me about yourself," "Where do you see yourself in 5 years," etc.
I'd also recommend buying "Cracking the Coding Interview" if you have some time to prepare: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
It's extremely helpful.
This post is incredibly realistic and I found it to be very helpful: http://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1z97rx/from_a_googler_the_google_interview_process
Practice. Practice. Practice. Know your data structures and algorithms. I would read up on Glassdoor and CareerCup to get a general idea of the level of difficulty. I would say Google's interviews tend to fall about average on the level of phone interviews I've done.
Other resources:
Cracking the Coding Interview: More to help you get a job as a Software Engineering, but full of fun problems even if you do them just for the challenge and learning.
The Code Book: A great overview of the history of Cryptography.
You might find this book helpful, it's about finding careers outside of Academia.
A friend of mine who is a senior developer recommended this to me once:
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319572196&amp;sr=1-1
It covers programming questions that you may be asked.
I hate tech tests.
I worked at a company were we needed a C++ developer to work on some legacy C++ code we had. We had no C++ developers but my manager still had to scramble around for a tech test for a C++ developer.
I don't understand why there is no certification for developers. Everyone thinks their tech test is unique but they are not. I've been to many tech tests and they all cover the same crap that is not relevant to any job I've ever had. If tech test were unique books like this would not exist http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X/
And if I need an accountant I don't put them through a tech tests to see if they are qualified.
If you haven't read it yet, you might also be interested in slideology, because it is specific to presentations.
The core issue at stake in a financial crisis is liquidity. To have a functioning economy, money has to move back and forth between parties. Debt is a major source of liquidity, as it allows people to both hold money and spend it at the same time.
The purpose of stimulus spending during a recession is not only to "kick-start" the economy, but also to add a huge influx of cash into the market. After Japan's crash in 1991 they refused to provide a sufficient influx of liquidity into the economy. They have never recovered.
A strong central bank manages not only interest rates, but also liquidity. Have you ever heard of the crash of 1987? Probably not, because the Fed immediately added liquidity and the economy was able to recover.
Clinging to the gold standard extended the length of the Great Depression, because in a Gold Standard economy you can't add liquidity.
My main point is that people need money to do business, and if everybody is hoarding theirs, you need a central bank to start handing it out. Without a central bank, we'd be screwed in situations like these.
If you're curious about financial crises and their impacts:
This Time is Different: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html and
Liquidated: http://www.amazon.com/Liquidated-Ethnography-Street-Franklin-Center/dp/0822345994
are both fantastic and revelatory.
This I think would be informative here, and to all the conversations happening on this thread.
>Financial collapses—whether of the junk bond market, the Internet bubble, or the highly leveraged housing market—are often explained as the inevitable result of market cycles: What goes up must come down. In Liquidated, Karen Ho punctures the aura of the abstract, all-powerful market to show how financial markets, and particularly booms and busts, are constructed. Through an in-depth investigation into the everyday experiences and ideologies of Wall Street investment bankers, Ho describes how a financially dominant but highly unstable market system is understood, justified, and produced through the restructuring of corporations and the larger economy.
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X to get the gist of things, and (surprisingly) Wikipedia to go into detail.
Check out Cracking the Coding Interview. You'll find examples of many different types of problems ranging from those centered around sorting, searching, data structures, dynamic programming, you name it. The solutions for the problems are great as they often illustrate several different approaches for solving any given problem based on optimizing for speed, resource usage, development time, etc. The questions are all similar to the types of questions you'd likely come across in software engineering interviews so it's also great practice if you're looking to sharpen your skills for the job market.
>What did/do you find hard about learning programming? If you could be specific about things that frustrated you or roadblocks that got in your way, that would be helpful.
The hardest thing I've found about learning programming is knowing where to start. If you're trying to learn without a mentor its really hard to know what you need to learn and how. To someone inexperienced with the field, learning to program seems as simple as learning a language, but the difficult part is learning to apply that to different problems. Overall, the hardest thing to learn is something that you don't know exists. As for a specific subject, I remember finding recursion and Polymorphism hard to understand the first time I encountered them.
>Did you choose to go to an institute of higher learning for programming instead of using the free resources that are all over the net? If so, why?
I am an undergrad sophomore at Northeastern University, studying Computer Science. I chose to study computer science at university instead of using online resources, because I realized that there was a lot to learn which I couldn't find in a web page. I made the decision shortly into my Junior year of high school when I was taking AP Computer Science. I enjoyed studying the subject so much that I couldn't imaging studying anything else.
>What is something that you wish you could change about your current programming instruction?
My current programming instruction is great. I generally think that my professors are very interactive and experienced in their fields. Something I think is great is that most of my professors lecture without computers. They write code on the board, which gives them much more freedom to move about and ask questions, and it makes that classes interesting. I also think it removes the focus from the language being used and places it on the theory, which is the important part.
>Do you look for career preparation or support? If so, what have you been looking at or what resources do you use? To clarify - I mean interview help, prep questions, advice, etc...about preparing to enter the field.
One of Northeastern's greatest tools is its coop program. Typically students graduate in 5 years with 1.5 years of working experience over three 6-month coops. In preparation of this, I had to take a class to prepare me for applying to companies. The experience was amazing. The advising department brought in employers and other students to talk to us and do mock interviews. As someone looking for their first "real" job, this is invaluable. Technical questions are an important part of the application process, but for entry level programming jobs they aren't too difficult. I've heard that http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X is a great resource.
>For those of you still in school/learning - do you worry about how you will find a job programming? What concerns do you have?
Nope, already got my first job in the field. From my experience over the past semester of interviewing, it you're excited about the field and have a reasonable ability to program, you can find a job somewhere (especially if you live in a city.)
>If you're out of school and in the workforce - do you ever worry about how you will move forward in your career?
Not there yet.
>Does your place of employment (you don't have to tell me who) provide you with feedback or a clear path to advancement? Tell me about your concerns here.
Not there yet.
In addition to the two reddits /u/monkish2002 suggested, I really liked Cracking The Coding Interview for help working though those problems. Interviewing is a skill, just like programming.
I took a few CS classes in high school and two in college, and then took post-bacc classes in computer science because I thought I needed to get a master's in it. I was wrong. A CS degree teaches basic coding skills, and then a lot of theory which is basically inapplicable, or barely applicable, to a programming career. I didn't need to know 90% of what I learned.
If you want to make sure you're well rounded and ready for an interview, read something like this and learn everything in it. Work on a few decent sized projects on your own time. Maybe read classics like The Art of Computer Programming by Knuth. Even if you just master the concepts in the first book you'll probably be ahead of 75% of CS graduates in terms of career skills.
well, since no one has said it yet Cracking the coding interview is a great resource for learning the stuff you'd be tested on.
Over summer, for a project it doesn't have to be amazingly unique, just something you're interested in.
If you have some free time learning a functional language like Haskell really helps learn a different side of programming than the traditional imperative/objective norm.
Are you absolutely sure its your age? If you haven't already have someone else look at your resume and checkout Cracking the Coding Interview.
A lot of people are answering if knowing data structures is useful.
To actually answer your question, you will need to know data structures and algorithms for the larger tech companies like Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (FAANG). Smaller companies will focus less on those academic things, and focus more on what projects you can actually make.
Cracking the Coding Interview is the seminal book on these types of interviews.
hmm... As for me, i saw a lot of tech companies requiring the knowledge of c++, java and front-end development.
You could also learn either iOS development or Android development.
You definitely need to learn git.
Try "TeamTreeHouse" for 2-3 months, they have a lot of stuff there. Try some of the courses and then create some projects and put them on github to later on add to your resume.
And also, during interview when they give you some technical questions, you need to be ready for them.
https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Here is the good book for it.
GOod luck :)
Try to find a job and if you dont, try to learn as much as you can during this summer :)
Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions https://www.amazon.com/dp/098478280X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_rMtJub1AZ0C4F great book. Has examples too
I have done a lot of interview prep in the past but would always be interested in keeping my skills sharp. I highly recommend this book it's really the most comprehensive text you can get for any generic coding interview. I am interested in learning but if there is anything I can do to contribute, I would be happy too as well.
On my commutes (I drive 25 min), I have been mostly listening to Coding Blocks podcasts OR thinking about the problem I have been working on most recently and audio recording my thoughts.
When I am not able to listen to podcasts, sometimes I have looked at "Cracking the Coding Interview" book before hand and getting a problem in my head to work through while I sit/walk/drive/eat/etc.
Hope you find a great way to spend your commute!
I've seen a lot of recommendations for Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. I don't own the book myself though, can't say whether it covers that kind of problem - I do believe it covers some more general data structures and algortithms as they tend to come up in interviews though.
I came here to put this same book. This book is crazy, crazy good. It would help to have some knowledge of algorithms and data structures before going in as the examples aren't vast and the information are fairly heavy, but it's a fantastic reference.
I would encourage you to change your thinking from "learning algorithms in Ruby" to "learning algorithms" and then just implementing examples in Ruby. There are a few classic Algorithms book that I'd highly recommend. In addition to The Algorithm Design Manual, Data Structures in C is written in C but fairly generic and gives you the right tools for thinking about performance and algorithms, and Introduction to Algorithms, 3ed is more academic but also stupid inexpensive right now. It's a great learning book as the examples are very detailed. It's aimed at interviewing but Cracking the Coding Interview has a nice short survey of algorithms and data structures too
It depends on what language you'll be coding in. If you're on the OOP Spectrum, you may have questions surrounding:
www.javatpoint.com has been my go-to resource in my job search for interview prep questions
Here are some other resources:
I learned binary trees, linked list, and hash tables as a sophomore in high school. It was rare back then, but we had a pretty awesome CS department. I would check this book out. It has a lot of zany, non real world problems that may come up in an interview. Plus, it's kind of fun (imo). I don't do rails, but I think the logic is applicable in any language.
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Edition/dp/0984782850
Edit: I just read the preview on amazon. It has been a while since I read this book. Buy it. It covers a good amount of data structures, algorithmic run-time complexities, bit manipulation, and all kinds of good stuff.
I'm on my phone, but when I get home I'll link some more stuff for you
there is just no way to go over every data structure/algorithm in a fashion where they are useful to you in a white board situation in one semester.
from my experience, learning how to implement them from scratch is great and all, but practical use of data structure outweighs any shitty homework that requires you to memorize how its done in the book. the class (again my experience) gloats over all these things that introduces you to what is important, but then you need to spend hundreds of hours outside the class to look at a problem and know what you need to use in order to grab the best run time, minimizes time/space complexity, and their tradeoffs. I highly recommend that book and http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1449310024&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview+6th+edition if you are looking to succeed in getting internships. Sites like hackerrank, leetcode, lintcode are all great places to practice. hop over to /r/cscareerquestions for more people in the same boat as you
if you wanna go more in depth regarding 146 at sjsu, feel free to PM me your email and we'll talk more
good luck
>would you say this is critical knowledge to be a good web developer?
Not really. Most people are out there solving business needs. Even if you're working for a web app, the majority of it is taking a business problem and building and designing a solution around it in whatever way makes the most sense. How good the architecture is, is really not super important because you're likely not going to be supporting enough customers that throwing more hardware at it can't solve. Knowing how things work and how to build maintainable software, is more important than knowing obscure CS fundamentals inside and out.
But what you described sounds more like something from Amazon, Apple, FB, MS, Google, or other large tech company. They want true blue software engineers, not someone who can make them a pretty landing page. I know from first hand experience that FB interviews for JS developers hit heavily on memory managment and Amazon doesn't give a shit what language you program in. Cracking the Coding Interview is a good way to study for all of those (but you're not going to memorize that book in the time you have).
There's also the Cracking the code Interview Book. And you'll probably have to write code on a whiteboard during the interview - that's very different so you should practice that.
Please tell him that practicing for interviews is an absolute MUST in this field. I have a CS degree (with a high GPA) and 5 years of experience, and even I need to spend a minimum of three weeks full time reviewing and practicing for interviews to do well (potentially longer if I'm also working). These things are very tough, and a totally different beast than anything you experience at school or work. The payoff is amazing if you do this though, as there is such a high demand for people with tech skills. If you can combine those tech skills with great people skills, even better. You just have to put in the hours and endure the pain of jamming algorithms and datastructures into your brain for a few weeks. Interviews are changing in some places to have a more practical focus, but the traditional type of preparation will still be useful. My recommendations:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/tutorials/cracking-the-coding-interview
Interviewing.io
Getting the first job is the hardest, and if he feels like the person who he is talking with could be a good mentor, it might be the right choice. However, it sounds like he didn't prepare as well as he could have, so he might be eligible for other jobs that are better located. Definitely consider his mental health, though, and don't push him to keep going if he clearly is suffering.
Lots of waffling in that last paragraph there, sorry. I just finished the interview process and accepted a job, so I feel his pain. I was lucky to have several job offers all at once, but I would have been very tempted to stop if I had only received one, even if it wasn't great. It's a grueling process!
I used this, and was well prepared for a really tough coding interview:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0984782850/
I recently completed a job search in a major career shift. I have degrees in a different engineering branch, like yourself, and have been working in that industry for the past few years. Along the way I picked up programming as necessary. For various personal reasons that I'll skip over, I recently decided to make the jump to tech/CS, and have accepted a job at one of the "big 4" -- haven't started yet.
In terms of prep, here's what I did. YMMV.
Sites like hackerrank.com have some good problems to practice, too.
Heard on the Street
Honestly you're in a great place with that experience, so the thing to do now is just apply (online!). Apply to the big companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft (usually a traditional resume + form) and to startups in NYC and SF (often more informal).
You'll also need to learn how to do technical interviews, which comes down to have tight grasp of data structures and thinking on your feet. I'd recommend this book to get started.
> 1) Como professor universitário você deve ter visto bizarrices (especialmente se foi em federal). Tem algumas histórias pra contar?
Não lembro de nenhuma história bizarra não. Era uma universidade privada e durante o turno da noite, então a maior parte dos meus alunos trabalhava durante o dia e no geral era um pessoal bem mais maduro do que o normal. Uma vez fomos num evento de tecnologia e um dos meus alunos me mostrou um site de vídeos de putaria (samba porno) e tal (achando que eu obviamente não manjava dos paranauês), e eu disse que era amigo do criador do site (que por sinal também estava no evento e é uma pessoa finíssima).
> 2) Poderia dar umas dicas para entrevistas (especialmente na área de TI)? Melhor roupa, o que não fazer, etc...
Tenha um LinkedIn atualizado (github também ajuda bastante), participe dos eventos de comunidade que você puder participar (e não só as semanas acadêmicas do teu curso). Embora TI seja uma área grande, boa parte das boas ofertas de emprego vão partir de pessoas que te conhecem ou já trabalharam com você, então é muito importante se relacionar bem e conhecer todo mundo (mesmo que sejam pessoas de áreas ou linguagens diferentes das que você trabalha).
Nunca tive problemas com dress codes, gosto de vestir camisetas engraçadas (threadless e tal). Se requer um pouco mais de formalismo, seja formal. Mas nas áreas que eu transito, pessoal é bem informal mesmo, com escritórios legais e coloridos, então não se importam muito com roupas desde que eu não esteja pelado (eu acho melhor não usar Crocs, nem Hawaianas, só pra garantir).
Tem dois livros bem interessantes, mesmo que você não vá fazer entrevistas nas empresas grandes, pois tratam sobre problemas de computação e tem explicações detalhadas que podem ajudar a melhorar a maneira como você resolve problemas. O primeiro é o Cracking the Coding Interview ( https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1501540854) e o segundo é o Programing Interviews Exposed ( https://www.amazon.ca/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/r ). Faz bastante tempo que li eles, mas esse segundo é bem interessante pq ele tem um compacto de tudo que você viu na graduação, de maneira bem corrida (você tem que ter aprendido as coisas), mas fácil de lembrar.
> 3) Me dá emprego?
Já fechei minha empresa
> Obrigado pelo AMA.
A few books that I have been going through: Programming Interviews Exposed, The Algorithm Design Manual, and Designing Data-Intensive Applications.
You should take a look at Cracking the coding interview.
I was in your shoes not long ago and am now happily employed at a great company doing a job I love. Hopefully what worked for me might also work for you. The economy is not in your favour right now, but there are still other strategies you can try that might succeed.
Reality check: large job search sites such as monster are by far one of the most inefficient ways to search for a job. Thousands of people apply for these jobs. When your résumé is submitted online, unless it matches very specific keywords used by the HR department of the employer, it will get filtered out of their system. (Sorry I don't know how to explain it on a more technical level).
Your best bet is to submit your résumé as directly as possible to the person responsible for hiring. If you want to read a very helpful book, try What Color Is Your Parachute. This is a great book and well worth the $20, or whatever it costs. But if you don't want to buy it, then just know that a targeted job hunt just takes a little background research and a lot of networking.
For background research, narrow down your job prospects by figuring out what type of job(s) you want - in your case, analyst, research technician, etc. Then determine what kinds of companies hire people in those positions. Your use of monster, etc, might be helpful because you can look up competitors and other similar companies to the ones you've applied for, and work on approaching those.
Networking doesn't have to be complicated. Just make sure EVERYONE YOU KNOW knows you are looking for work and a general idea of the type of work you can do. Then make sure they tell EVERYONE THEY KNOW. If your friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend works in your industry, talk to that person and find out what the prospects are like, if any companies are growing/hiring, if they can put you in touch with anyone else, and what employers in your field like to see highlighted on a résumé.
On that note, make sure colleagues & friends critique your résumé for you, and edit it so that it will stand out in front of an employer. There are tons of books and résumé websites that can help you choose the best keywords to use.
This kind of job networking may seem a little daunting, but it pays off. Every new person can open a new door. I introduced myself to dozens and dozens of new people when I was job searching. Some led to interviews but no job, some led to temp work, and some offered me jobs once I had landed the position I'm in now. But they also helped me become more clear about what I wanted and gave me a better understanding of the industry.
If not a single person you know can help you pursue your field, then check if your university has an alumni network and find other alumni working in a similar field as you want to be. That said, if NOT A SINGLE PERSON you know can help put you in touch with someone, then you're doing it wrong.
Introduce yourself, break the ice with some college memories, and don't ask for a job right away. Tell them what you are looking for, and ask if they can help point you in the right direction. It is always flattering for a mid-career person to be able to offer expertise to a new grad, but don't expect /demand a job hand-out.
There is a lot more to be said, but I'll save it for if you have any questions, or I might end up typing all night.
Good luck!
Get a copy of the Compleat Academic
The Compleat Academic for general career advice & planning if you want to get a job in academia
For additional resources, there's also "Cracking the PM Interview": http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology-ebook/dp/B00ISYMUR6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1418925206&amp;sr=1-1
Another good resource for people wanting to get into Product roles.
Saw a similar thread yesterday and I responded with this:
Just thought I'd give some advice as I have learned programming over the last year and was hired as a developer four months after starting my journey.
I was pretty overwhelmed with all the different options there are out there, however I'd recommend to sit down and first think about how you like to learn. Some people like to read, others like to watch or listen. This will help you filter out the methods that may not work for you.
I started with a programming school called launch school. It is $200 USD per month however during my salary negotiation I got my employer to take care of this cost as I can only do the program part time and it will likely take me another year of learning to complete.
I would suggest picking a program or method of learning and sticking to it. Immerse yourself with coding and push yourself through when you get bored or want to give up and try another program or method of learning. If you are like me and have trouble staying on track, take a break and come back to it.
Finally, I just started to read a book called the complete software developers career guide and I wish I read it when I was deciding on how to start learning.
The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide: How to Learn Your Next Programming Language, Ace Your Programming Interview, and Land The Coding Job Of Your Dreams https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073X6GNJ1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NisBDbMBN03E1
If someone wants to discuss my journey, let me know! I now work on two very successful SaaS applications and there are only 3 developers where I am employed. It has been a life changing journey from last July!
If that is the case. Look in your area at the software companies. check to see if they are hiring, if so, see what they are looking for in an applicant. It might give you some clarity on what to study. Also look the company up on LinkedIn and reach out. I was always advised that by my professors. I personally want to work for microsoft (i have a few friends in Seattle and it is a "good" company to work for), very demanding I know. It will be a lot harder to focus on one aspect with a large company like that. I am currently reading this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073X6GNJ1/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title I have kindle unlimited so it was free. It is a good resource if you are stuck.
as for the passion part. IDK man, I am in the same boat right now. honestly, I think it is just a wall you have to force your self through. Make a list of 20 projects. 8 easy ones (tic tax toe, calculator etc), 8 intermediate ones, and 4 dream ones. put a lot of detail in the "dream" ones. Then make the 8 intermediate ones parts of the 4 dreams ones. umm like a break down. if you want to make a game. one of the intermediate ones can be a user input program, a second can be a physics one, a third one can be graphic output and so on. I know of me and many others i get lost in the OVERWHELMING complexity of things. I freeze and cant move forward. Maybe learn some programming start to finish processing/design. Do not worry about the code, just get your ideas on paper. Start with the mission statement. then break it up into sections. Pretend you are working with a team of developers, where you are each role. but you act separate. Shrugs. In all honesty the best path might be to take an online course from a college and just get into the work force
Not an engineer, but a technical marketer. We get these types of interview questions too. It feels like I'm taking a math quiz and the interviewers are scrutinizing the way I'm holding the expo marker.
You can't avoid these situations in all cases, but if you practice enough at home, I'm sure you can make up for any "dings" in the whiteboarding portion of the interview by offering up code samples via your GitHub, portfolio etc.
This book has been recommended to me many times: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X. The way the author thinks through the problems has been really helpful for me, even in non-coding interviews.
Good luck!
> I'll also make sure I have the necessary skills before even considering interviewing and preparing more when I do.
No. Interview often and for jobs that might not even fit your skillset. If the company grants you an interview based on your (honest) resume, then they think you have at least a chance at getting the job. But more importantly, it will give you more confidence and make you more comfortable in those intimidating situations.
I got by BS in compsci last year and have been working at an ok company since then. I interviewed about every other month that whole time with other companies, some I didn't even care about. But I just got an offer from one of the Big 5 this week and I think a lot of my success came from interviewing often and becoming comfortable with that situation. Also, Cracking the Coding Interview helped with a lot of the preparation. Knowing what to expect from these types of interviews and preparing for that scenario is a big confidence-booster.
Also, as a side note, what school did you get your degree from that you hadn't heard of the modulus operator before?
The only way to become good at programming interview questions is to practice questions.
Some good resources:
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
www.careercup.com (run by the author of the above book)
Find a whiteboard and work through the questions as if you were doing an interview IRL. Talk your way through problems. As you do more and more problems, you'll get better at solving them on the spot during interviews.
I just picked up this book and it has some nice insight into the process, along with a ton of good programming problems.
I think you are taking the right approach of preparing for algorithmic questions before applying.
I would highly recommend the following book for preparation...
Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
Permalink: http://amzn.com/098478280X
All the best for interviews.
Cracking the PM Interview here: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology/dp/0984782818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535773043&sr=8-1&keywords=cracking+the+pm+interview would be a good place to start :)
Nope! I just had to frame my consulting experience for how it could be leveraged in a PM environment. What helped me do that was Cracking the PM Interview. It provided a nice overview of what a PM does and what attributes/skills interviewers may be looking for in candidates.
Honestly I'd be a little wary of those courses. Coding bootcamps work because you obtain a certificate, a network of people who have also attended the bootcamp, get experience in a language, and have an end-product that you can show on GitHub. From what I can tell PM courses only have the certificate and are severely lacking in the other portions. I'm sure there are some excellent courses out there, but there is no substitute for PM-like experiences you have as a consultant (e.g. clearing roadblocks, managing expectations, data analysis)!
Check out Cracking the PM Interview, written by the author of Cracking the Coding Interview. I found it invaluable for understanding how to position myself and prepare for PM interviews.
Exactly what it sounds like. They're going to be testing your ability to design a clean and efficient solution to a problem.
You don't need to come up with the "correct" solution. They're going to be more interested in how you think through the problem, your communication skills, etc.
I highly recommend [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465591474&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Cracking+the+coding+interview) book.
I think there is plenty of material out there that details what types of interview questions to expect from amazon, google, facebook, microsoft, and other start ups. See Cracking the coding interview and similar books. Best money you'd ever spend.
have you read this book?
32 here, I was a high school teacher for 6 years. I learned quickly that it was not what I wanted to do long term. I started dabbling in programming and quickly fell in love with it. This past year I attended a year-long program (7 months 9-5 classroom, 5 months internship) for full stack web development. I had a well-paying position at a top tech company lined up before completing my program and am very happy with my career change.
My best advice would be to go for it! There is a huge demand for devs and while I understand it is easy to look at your age as a boon many employers will see it as a positive attribute.
Tips:
Practice doing them as you would for taking a maths test. Most companies don't ask anything remotely original so knowing the answer already is a great help. There are literally books on them.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850
Then go through the list /u/lapislosh has during the interview.
The funnest not-fun whiteboard question I've had was to write a ray-triangle intersection test.
You don't have to be a master to get hired at Google or Apple. You have to be good. The kind of good you get to be by really being enthusiastic about programming. But not unobtainably good.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
These are the sort of tests they would give you. The person I spoke to who works as Google mentioned that book specifically and that the test she got was straight out of that book. That book actually talks specifically about how to get hired at places like Google and Apple. Not just "a company like that" but there is detailed discussion about the different big companies like MS and Amazon too. I just need to get around to reading it.
I personally haven't used it or read it, but I've seen https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk be recommended on here (and other places) before
This is the book that people refer to as CTCI: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
I have the previous edition (5th) and there are 20 questions pertaining to trees and graphs.
I personally found EPI to be a lot more useful.
leetcode.com
hackerrank.com
\>Best seller in Hacking and in Computer Security & Encryption
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
Four words, one book: Cracking the Coding Interview
Seriously, it’s the shit. It’s widely recommended because it’s just that good.
Keep applying, keep interviewing, keep studying. I too was worried about throwing away my chances with companies if I interview before I study enough to be 100% prepared but the fact is your first few will probably be throw aways anyway as you learn about how technical interviews go. By your third or forth you’ll be much more comfortable and there are tons of great companies out there, so worry not!
Self taught professional software engineer here.
Which language you learn is not as important as learning about data structures and complexity analysis. Code organization is also very important.
Pick one high level scripting language (like Python, Ruby, Perl, etc) and one low level systems language (C, C++, Rust, etc) and learn them both inside out.
A couple of books I recommend:
As far as practical skills go, you need to learn how to use
git(or whatever VC system the companies you are interested in use). You need to learn how to use Unix systems. A great introduction is The UNIX Programming Environment. You need to learn how to read other peoples' code, open source projects are great for that.When you are getting ready to interview, there is no better resource than Cracking the Coding Interview.
> Write a simple decorator
Google, "write a decorator", do that.
I don't have that shit memorized, why would I? Same with "sort this thing" questions, in fact these are exactly* the questions that get asked all the time, and they kind of suck because they test the kinds of things one can Google in an instant, and come from the flawed, "Computer Science is the degree you need to be a software developer" mindset that's effectively ruined degrees as indicators of competence for our field, which requires a performance to demonstrate competence.
/u/Darkmere has a better question, by 100x. Better versions of your questions (the flawed method of conducting interviews) can be found in any number of books, Cracking the Coding Interview is my personal favorite, because it doesn't try to claim this is a good idea, but equips you with the best form of the terrible argument.
And because I'm snarky, maybe you should add, "Format a comment properly on Reddit." to your list of interview questions.
I think you'll be okay, but you'll have to apply to a lot more than 10 companies.
Try a site like this: whoshiring.me.
Also, buy
Cracking the Coding Interview and study it hardcore.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0984782850/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kGRIBbQ23XWQC
I see that you've already taken Colt Steele's courses on Udemy. I'm guessing you can work on the front as well as the back end and work with APIs. At this point, a bootcamp is a better option imo. I'm not from the US, so I can't recommend you any. I'm assuming that you're familiar with the basics and you should definitely look into learning frameworks now. It can get overwhelming to select one amongst the plethora of available options, so pick one of the popular ones, you can't go wrong with it. ReactJS for the front end or NodeJS for the back end would be great imo (especially since you're familiar with JavaScript at this point). Udemy courses are cheap and if you follow along, you'd have multiple projects under your belt, that should definitely help you in getting a job. If time permits, you should learn auxiliary subjects, especially Algorithms and Data Structures. That would really help you in your interviews. Eventually, get that Gayle Laakmann book. So, even though you have a long road ahead of you, prioritize and focus on the parts that can get you a job in the shortest time. Maybe work on your front end skills first, get a job and work through the back end or theoretical stuff later. I'm sure you can do it if you keep at it! Good luck with everything 👍
Current industry professional and interviewer. Just got out of one in fact.
Certs won't do much for you. I know some interviewers who actually look down on people who get certs. I personally don't care at all if you see them. Chances are, I don't know enough about the process to get that specific certification to give it proper weight. Did it take a few hours of training? Several weeks? Years of experience? I'm not going to look that up when I have work to do along with better things to grill you on for your resume.
Speaking of those better things: Projects and internships. Projects done OUT OF ASSIGNED CLASS WORK are always more valuable than just showing off that you can do assignments. Everyone will also push the importance of internships. They're great. They show that you know how to work on a team in complicated systems with a different set of demands and people.
School in NY? I'm an RPI grad. Transferred in from HVCC. Big roadblock you won't hear about is how big company interviewers typically completely disregard your CC experience. They didn't care about my 4.0 there.
"Okay, but what's your GPA here?"
In a field/school where many people get internships after their sophomore year, it puts us at a big disadvantage, especially for the schools who do job fairs during your first semester. You won't have a GPA you can tout there. Several online applications require your 4 year university GPA. Doing a 2-3 program will slightly alleviate the issue...but now you graduate a year later. There's a myriad of hidden problems no one will tell you about because they're too busy pushing positives. Also, it's more complicated than just "being a sophomore" again. Feel free to PM me, I wrestled way too much with my administration while I was there.
You'll have some challenges ahead. But two things will help your resume immensely:
As far as courses go just take the math-oriented ones like algos and data structures seriously. It's about developing your problem solving ability more than anything. Strong problem solver, strong interviews. Also developing an intuitive understanding of complexity and problem classes will help you to think clearly.
For interview-specific stuff courses won't help you. Pick up Cracking the Coding Interview and Elements of Programming Interviews. The latter used to be called Algorithms for Interviews which is also good.
Protip: last time I checked all these books were available through Safari Books Online, which most university libraries give you access to for free.
Here's my two cents.
Other things to consider: I'm a girl, minority, and have a mental "disability" (diagnosed anxiety and depression). These all come into play when you do apply for tech jobs in some ways.
I was a MCD Biology major last year but switched when UCSF Admissions told me that getting into med school is an honest crapshoot. I literally switched to CE during the summer. It was a pain to switch but it's working out.
Right now I'm taking 29 units, 15 units here and 14 units at another school. The only class I've taken so far that is CS related is CMPS 12A/L in the summer at a CC where I aced it and the professor really liked me. And CMPS 12A/L isn't even part of the CE program.
You know what you should do today? Make a resume. Right now. Already have one? Apply to internships. Right now. Making a LinkedIn also helps so much.
I applied from August - November to 100 companies and got denied to 20 already (Uber, Asana, TwoSigma, Pinterest, some video game companies) but already have 5 offers on the line with offers from $25-40 an hour with other frills like free food and corporate housing. This last end of the quarter I've been getting scheduled for phone interviews, technical tests, on-sites.
This is with one CS class too. Most companies don't look at transcripts or references and all they look for is project work (which I don't have either) and talent. I studied my ass off with this book and have learned so much on how to tackle interviews.
SOE literally thinks I'm silly, but I probably have done more in terms of networking than some Senior CS major. I also still have a pre-med mentality which helps.
TLDR What I'm saying is that even if you don't have a lot on your belt, people see talent easily. Be persistent and optimistic.
I have a personal list of applications if you want them, PM me. Will not disclose to everyone though because this place is already competitive enough.
I think you already have a good outline. Look at this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X.
I'm sure you can find a pdf of it somewhere. ;)
Quote from the book: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
"Imagine you have a call center with three levels of employees: respondent, manager, and director. An incoming telephone call must be first allocated to a respondent who is free. If the respondent can't handle the call, he or she must escalate the call to a manager. If the manager is not free or not able to handle it, then the call should be escalated to a director. Design the classes and data structures for this problem. Implement
a method dispatchCall() which assigns a call to the first available employee"
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+ UI in Flutter
It's good that you know what the feedback was.
I'd practice doing some 'whiteboard coding' problems and maybe work your way through this or something like it.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Some of this kind of stuff is just practice.
Khan has a great primer in CS: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/computer-science
Also, there is a book about programming interview questions that can be useful in going over some common CS problems: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347642233&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding
I usually don't recommend books for this kind of thing, but that book is exceptional for refreshing your knowledge and anticipating questions.
If it's for interviews, I highly recommend reading Cracking The Coding Interview.
Read cracking the pm interview.
Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782818/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HAdBzb02F7VZV
Cracking the PM Interview is a pretty good resource: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology/dp/0984782818
En parlant d'entretien tech, je vous recommande ce livre : https://www.amazon.fr/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Il convient aussi bien à un chercheur d'emploi qu'a un recruteur en mal de questions.
I looked at the FreeCodeCamp curriculum, it looks good for an entry level javascript developer, so since you already started it, you might as well finish it (since, like I said, everybody implicitly expects you to know at least one of python/js/perl as well as HTML+CSS).
2 hours per day is a bit too little IMO - but I understand that it's hard to find time when you have a demanding job and a family that needs time and attention. Just study as much as you can, 2h being the mininum (do keep in mind that CS students, your competition, will be studying at least 8h/day for at least 4 years with tons of homework and more advanced material). So you should probably focus on studying more in the weekends (just typing and thinking about this, I'm actually lucky I started when I was a kid, with all my bills paid for!)
Anyways. You should focus on getting a job first - do keep doing the FreeCodeCamp, as many hours in the day and weekends as you can. Explain to your significant other, if you haven't already done so, your plan - that you're studying hard to upgrade your career, that it might take some time away from them but it will pay off in the long run, etc. Ideally you should be studying at least 4h/day, so try to keep close to that, study more on weekends if necessary. Check this guy for reference on his plan and what he's studying (and note that he's studying full-time - a luxury, I know, but just to put your 2h/day into perspective). This guide is helpful too. Note that you don't need to know all that to get an entry-level development job, but keep that plan in mind for the long run (as you progress your career).
Once you finish the FreeCodeCamp, or even before (I would say, once you finish "Basic Algorithm Scripting"), try doing some local interviews if you can do it without jeopardizing your current job just to get a feel of how interviews work. You won't be trying to get a job (but hey, if you do, awesome), this is just to get your feet wet on interviewing (which is a skill in itself). Since you're not shooting to get a job right now, you won't be as nervous, which is the state of mind you want to be in. If you're relaxed you can talk better, think better, make jokes, be more presentable, which is great - this will put you in the right mood for your future interviews. Try finding people online that can do mock interviews with you in the area you will be focusing on (web/javascript/frontend initially).
Once you're past the basic HTML/CSS part and you start studying JavaScript, I suggest you look into Python as well at the same time. It is a very simple language, quick to learn, and will double your opportunities for employment. As you study both at the same time, you might notice that you like one or the other better - if that happens, focus more on the one you like better, this will accelerate your learning and get you ready for a job faster in your chosen language.
At one point you'll finish HTML/CSS and JavaScript+Python (finish as in be comfortable with them - you'll see that you'll still learn new things as years go by, it will take a few years for you to "master" them). After you're comfortable with JavaScript and Python (and hopefully gainfully employed in development), start studying that book (where you'll learn a GREAT deal about many important things, it will be a dense read, and you will come out of it knowing assembly and C) and then you can focus on algorithms and exercising your thinking with algorithmic puzzles and how computer networks work, operating systems and everything that is generally on this list.
Then after studying all that and with 2-4 years of experience under your belt (and still studying 4h/day), you can start thinking about the next level in your career and preparing for it (larger companies, mid to senior positions, etc) - add a couple more years of experience and you'll be ready to interview for large Valley companies (Google, Apple, FB, etc).
If you plan to self-study all the way through and never join an University, you can look into full-fledged CS courses online and follow that to get a complete theoretical background on CS (that all your colleagues will eventually have and expect of you, at some point in the future).
Sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not sure on the focus of Infomatics, but by the sounds of your post you are well equipped and looking for a programming (web dev) job. So I'll focus on the job part because realistically it's the only thing I feel I have any (possibly) useful advice for. I'm sorry to hear you haven't found a job yet. But you are quite fortunately (unless I mis-read what you want) looking in one of the most in demand, albeit competitive industries around.
So here is my (hopefully semi-useful) advice. Most are things that I was told to do when interviewing that I thought helped me quite a bit. I hope they help you too. You may be doing all of this already so I am sorry if it is obvious things you've been doing.
I strongly recommend buying this book if you can. Read it cover to cover and do as many of the exercises as you can.
https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Next I recommend applying to any and all tech companies you can find, it doesn't matter if they are asking for a specific framework or language or more experience than you have. A lot of people are put off by the 2 to 3 years in x that most postings have. Usually they just care that you have some experience and seem smart enough to learn. The fact that you have side projects is a giant plus for you, they love seeing that.
These sites are great ways to practice for interview questions:
https://www.hackerrank.com/
https://leetcode.com/
Doing these questions really help with interview questions in my opinion.
From there just cycle, continue to read the book, apply to as many places as you can, do practice problems. Work on your own side projects, the experience gained from them is extremely important.
If you have any public repos on github clean them up. If you do not, register for an account and put your personal projects on some (if you can). That way you can start to include the account on your CV. (If you aren't already)
Practice explaining your projects (what you did and why) and try to think of the questions they could ask you.
In terms of financials/housing/immediate work, I would look at moving out of the downtown core and try to find a basement suite or something affordable. Maybe try to get a roommate. I would try to find a job (starbucks, best buy, london drugs, etc) to support yourself in the short term. If you have a friend that might be willing to let you stay with them while you find a place talk to them now, and let them know the situation. That will help them prepare for you if you can't find a job/place.
Also, don't be afraid to post your resume to subreddits that focus on that sort of thing (remove all personal info!) or feel free to pm me yours and I will be more than happy to try to provide some constructive criticism.
Sorry for the book, I hope at least some of it was useful to you.
Also sorry for the grammar/spelling/shitty writing style I am a programmer, but not a good writer.
If you get high marks (3.7+) it's not really that hard to get an internship as a freshman. Just be prepared to deal with a ton of reject. But you will get one. Doing your own projects is the real winner, but if you are sufficiently charismatic you can talk your way into research or take some project based courses at ACCAD. Obviously don't bullshit--just show off how passionate you and that you can learn (nobody expects you to already know). I did the research route but a friend of mine went ACCAD and got a much better internship than I did.
If you are planning on going for one of the very selective internships (Google freshman engineering practicum/Microsoft explorer etc) then you should probably buy yourself a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview and just do them all. High rank on TopCoder will also help. Go to a lot of hackathons if you want to get really into the tech atmosphere (but you may just not like it that much).
There’s a book called Grokkin Algorithms, which illustrates some of those concepts quickly. I also liked another book called Cracking the Code Interview.
Practical interviews are pretty much the norm across software development.
Generally they open with some standard interview questions, then move into programming problems.
These problems (ideally) are designed to show the interviewer how you think and solve problems,
while demonstrating some familiarity with the language you are using.
For example, I might give you this function stub:
String ReverseString(String InString)
{
}
and ask you to write the function body that reverses the contents of InString and returns it as a new string.
After you are done writing the function, I might ask you to determine the time and space complexity of your solution.
If your solution is not optimal in space or time, I might ask you leading questions about how we might improve either
the time complexity or space complexity, and see if you can iterate and improve your solution.
If it was optimal, I'd probably move on to something tougher.
The whole time, I'm most interested in how you think and I'm not focused on your end result as much. So don't take the paper away and quietly formulate a solution and pass it to me. It should be fairly interactive, and you should narrate your thought process if you feel comfortable doing so.
If you want more example of the problems you will have to solve, a generic reference text is:
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0
Keep in mind though, since its a Unity interview, its likely they will ask game specific questions, basic linear algebra is going to help you out a lot here (dot, cross, basic reasoning about vectors, normals, etc).
Also your mileage may vary, as I'm basing this off of interviews I have either given or been given.
Good luck!
This is just my 2 cents, but the first thing you should be asking when learning any language is what problem are you trying to solve with the language?
C# as a language doesn't amount to anything, but it's real potential comes from the frameworks it is associated with.
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If you're wanting to:
web develop then you would need to look into .NET Core + WebApi + MVC or a front-end framework (Angular, React, Vue).
This is a great course to get you started with. It'll create a basic web application you can modify and play around with from the database to the front-end:
https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/aspdotnetcore-efcore-bootstrap-angular-web-app
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desktop development then look at Wpf (window presentation forms) or use electron and c#
mobile development then take a look at xamarin
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from your use of Unity though, it seems as if you are more into game development which I would advise then to go a bit lower and really learn algorithms and good implementations. For this, there are some greats books you can use to help you get started:
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions by Gayle Laakman - Even though this is an interview book it's a great intermediate book to algorithms. The book does assume you have a basic understanding of elementary data structures.
The Algorithm Design Manual by Steven Skiena - This is definitely more advanced and heavy but it's a great book to really dig down into the nitty gritty
A great website for practicing writing algorithms in c# is leetcode.com. It's a site that basically lists a bunch of small questions you can solve with an in browser compiler that includes c#. This way you wouldn't need to download visual studio to practice coding.
if you're up for the challenege, then you can download a framework like SFML.Net and try to develop a game from the ground-up without using an engine like unity. But this is obviously a lot of work ;)
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Overall it's hard to give really specific advice without knowing where you're trying to head. But it's a good time to get into c# and in general microsoft's development stack. In the past people were shoe horned into using microsoft's technology stack from top to bottom but recently microsoft has made a lot of stride in making there tech more open which is making a lot of people turn heads.
If you are also looking for a more lite-weight ide then I recommend visual studio code or vscodium which is the same but without the trackers :)
Cracking the coding interview is a pretty great book too. But you do need the basics of algos and data structures down before you jump into it.
> Practice with interviewing, practice at coding (at least with DS+A), blah blah blah.
I recently graduated from a four-year university, but I am currently working these things as well. My college career didn't prepare me too well for software engineering (I chose to study CE instead of CS, curriculum could have been better). For practicing at coding the only thing I can or sure suggest is to brush up on your algorithmic skills and knowledge of data structures, get exposed to as many coding problems as possible, and get exposed to more than one language. You say you know Javascript, you may want to diversify yourself by learning Java or C++.
As for interviews, I just came back from a mock interview (I already had an on-site interview with them but did not get the offer). You may know this already but your answers to questions should say some desirable quality or trait about yourself. [Cracking the coding interview] (http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Edition/dp/0984782850) has some pretty good advice about this. I did read it however, but I found knowing it does not mean you'll pass by a long shot because you need to practice. Having said that...
>The idea of interviewing is becoming more and more miserable
Another take away I didn't think of is I could get more practice by arranging informal meetups with people you know at coffee shops and just have a conversation about the person to get to know the company and its culture better (My mock interview was in a coffee shop). If you have questions though they should be about the interviewer and not directly about the company. Maybe this is something you can try?
Gayle Laakmann McDowell here's the amazon link.
It looks like a tome of unending pain (around 700 pages) but the first 190 are interview and resume tips, a primer on computer science (Big-O notation), a discussion of half a dozen computer languages, and programming exercises. The last 500 pages is a walk-through of the the exercises. Including what kinds of questions would greatly simplify them. You can get through all but the exercises in a long afternoon.
She even talks a about how asking a person to write some random algorithm that has nothing to do with what you will be doing every day for your job is probably not a great interviewing technique, but, since that's the world we live in, here's a book on how to deal with it.
I don't know about your specific learning path there... But most of the times this book is recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
And btw your English is very good :)
Usually the CTCI referred to here is Cracking The Coding Interview. It´s probably the best known interview preparation book. You can easily find the PDF online but I would recommend buying it because it´s like an algorithms/datastructures bible and it will make it easier to take notes (it´s also a tiny investment compared to the potential pay-off). I think if you can comfortably do all of the questions (incl. moderate+hard) then you will be close to ready for Google. It depends from person to person. But I would recommend doing some LeetCode Google flagged questions afterwards to gauge how well prepared you are. For some people CTCI alone is enough while for others an additional 50-100 LeetCode are sufficient (some skip to LeetCode directly and do 150-300 questions on there). Note that CTCI is an alternative to EPI (Elements of Programming Interviews). Doing both would be a bit redundant. From what I gather EPI has more challenging problems so might prepare you better for Google, but if you´re very rusty then CTCI might be an easier start.
There´s plenty of resources available on this; I suggest checking out the relevant FAQs in the sidebar of this subreddit.
I just chose some books that looked good from this list and this one.
The one's I got:
Clean Code
(already read)
Cracking the Coding Interview
Code Complete
Peopleware
Don't Make Me Think
Code (currently reading)
Regular Expressions Cookbook
Head First Design Patterns
C++ Primer
Working Effectively with Legacy Code
Elements of Programming Interviews in Java
The Mythical Man-Month
The Design of Everyday Things
JavaScript and JQuery
I figure that's enough reading material to last me until I graduate.
My Story
Hey pal, I was in a similar boat about 8 months ago. It was my senior year as an Economics major, and after taking a programming class, I instantly fell in love with it. I crammed a few more programming classes in before graduating, but in the end, I sure as hell wasn't employable as a software engineer.
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I had a choice: become a data analyst (the path I was currently on) or follow the software engineering dream. I chose the latter.
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I decided to go to a (remote) coding bootcamp after college. The program was 6 months. It taught web development (Node, React) and some very basic CS fundamentals. I spent my free time outside the bootcamp inhaling all the computer science and industry information I could. I did this because I wanted to be a competent programmer. I found it fun.
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This week I had my second onsite. I expect to receive a full-time software engineer offer (my second offer so far) later today, and I have 4 other onsites in the near future (a big 4 + a few startups). It has been a heck of a lot of work to get here, but if you want it badly enough, it's possible.
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My Tips
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Happy to answer any other questions you may have. I'm not an expert or an experienced software engineer yet, but I've walked the path you're considering, so hopefully my tips are helpful.
Depends on the companies you're applying for. For the top 20-30 tech companies in the US ( in terms of revenue/popularity etc.), familiarity with algos and DS is must.
However, the difficulty of questions is dependent on how good a company is.
I would suggest Cracking the coding interview and leetcode are really very useful to get into top tech companies
Well, it was my fear too. When I was getting close to graduation, I was sure nobody would be interested. Then I got an interview, and then got a job, and then I was away.
Generally, at least in my experience, it's not hard to get interviews (or at least phone screens) because companies are all looking for talent and a phone screen is pretty low-cost for the company. If you're worried, warm up with some interview questions (from this kind of book for example). If you can get an interview, and if your interview goes well...well, that's all it takes.
Cracking the Coding Interview is quite popular. It gives a refresher on essential data structures and algorithms, along with tips for working through "whiteboard" problems. I've found it quite useful in the past.
These are books I actually own and would recommend. Of course there are other great/better books out there, but I'm going to stick with what I've actually bought and read or "read".
I say "read" because several books are NOT meant to be read cover-to-cover. These typically have about 1/3 that you should read like normal, and then skim the rest and know what's in the rest so that you can quickly reference it. These books are no less important, and often even more important. I've marked these kind of books as #ref for "read for reference". Normal books that should be read cover-to-cover are marked #read
For learning your first language: This is really the hardest part and unfortunately I don't have any books here I can vouch for. I started with "C++ for Dummies" and am not including a link because it's bad. Your best bet is probably "Learning <language>" by Oreily. I also love the Oreily pocket books because you can carry them and skim while on the bus or the john, but you can just do the same with your smartphone. Pocket Python, Pocket Java, Pocket C++
Top Recommendations:
Accelerated C++ #read Made for people who already know another language and want to pickup C++. Also great for people who need a refresher on C++. I really like how it doesn't start with OOP but gets you familiar with the imperative parts of C++ before diving into OOP.
The Algorithm Design Manual #ref This is my new favorite book and the first I would send back in time to myself if I could. Each algorithm & data structure is given a mathematical breakdown, pseudocode, implementation in very readable C, a picture (very helpful), and an interesting war story of how it Saved The Day.
Cracking the Coding Interview #read I originally avoided this book like the plague because it represented everything I hate about coding interviews, but many interviewers pull questions straight from this book so this book can equal getting a job. Put that way, it's ROI is insane.
The Pragmatic Programmer #read Must-have for any profressional software engineer that covers best-practices for code and your growth. You can also find the raw tips list here
Head First Design Patterns #read Many prefer the "GoF/Gang of Four" Design Patterns which is more iconic, but Head First is a modern-version using Java to cover actual design patterns used day-to-day by programmers.
For Intermediates:
Effective Java or Effective C++ and Effective Modern C++ #read When you're ready to go deep into one language, these books will give you a huge boost to writing good Java and C++.
Design Patterns #ref You'll want to get this at some point, but early on it's too much for a beginner and many of the patterns are obsolete.
The Art of Computer Programming #ref The programming "bible" but like Design Patterns you should hold off on this iconic book until you've got your basics covered. It would make for a great purchase with your first paycheck or first promotion :)
Glad to see that you're getting these things covered! That illustrated book on algorithms looks really lovely and seems like a great way to wrap your head around the important concepts.
I can't personally recommend any online course on these topics since I covered these in college, however I can definitely recommend this book.
You might want to dive into it after you have some decent knowledge of data structures and algos. As you work through the problems you can fill out any gaps in your knowledge and look up the info online.
Learn how to Google for the resources that are already available to you. Be comfortable using the command line, pick your favorite IDE (VS Code is my favorite), learn on your own, develop your own projects (could possibly lead you to research opportunity), lead in university projects, outside of class time attend meetups with professionals already in the industry.
I tend to agree with the notion that college will only be as valuable as the amount of effort you put in to learn. The college degree is just the baseline for the lowest common denominator.
Eventually when it comes time for the interviewing process, you should definitely review Cracking the Code. To truly set yourself apart in addition to the CS workload, do the above mentioned.
Dude, you have four years worth of programming for a company, regardless of if it went under, you have the skills (skills that i want, :/) and the experience. go subscribe to /r/cscareerquestions for help, ask them questions and show them your resume. Most of them will say to buy cracking the coding interview, and study hard. if you haven't already, make an app, any app to show case in an interview. I notice you dont have c++ in your languages, from what I understand, it's not a deal breaker, but it is almost always preffered that you know a bit of it, as it's what most college applicants learn. TBH, i envy you at the moment, you dont need the degree, though you could probably get it in 2-3 years.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=pd_sim_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0984782850&amp;pd_rd_r=Y0VQM2V7EA06TTHXG0XA&amp;pd_rd_w=mYvth&amp;pd_rd_wg=HQWyV&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=Y0VQM2V7EA06TTHXG0XA
> To me, that is only delaying the inevitable, which is reducing the admission of candidates to Ph.D. programs.
That would be a positive development, wouldn't it? I think universities should stop accepting so many graduate students, who provide cheap labor for their advisors. If jobs aren't available, universities should stop overproducing them just because it is cheap and convenient for them, without taking into account that these students will be underemployed after they graduate, not to mention that they would have spent a large part of their youth poor and stressed out. Instead of hiring cheap graduate student labor for doing research, they should hire people in more permanent positions like tenure-track faculty, lecturers, research scientists, etc.
So What Are You Going to Do With That? is a good book about seeking alternative careers. It is written by two humanities PhDs, but the general principles are applicable to everyone. It is one of the recommended books suggested during career exploration/development workshops conducted by the graduate school career center.
Glassdoor.com is an incredible asset.
Microsoft has a ton of resources available for helping people to do well in interviews(they want you to succeed!), so search their website for info.
This is more for dev but this book http://www.amazon.ca/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/047012167X is really good and they will often pull questions right from it.
You're probably a cs student so I would go over your notes for whatever algorithms/data structures course you've had. Just because you are interviewing for a test position doesn't mean they won't ask you dev or pm questions.
They won't ask you any of those "How do you move mount fiji" questions so don't bother/worry about those.
Most of all though, relax. You'll probably ace it and Microsoft internships are a lot of fun. Good luck!
I've found that I gained most of my best experience on the job, and that staying at a job where I wasn't learning anything was a huge mistake and detriment to my career.
That said... I don't think I'm a super genius either. I did well in college and my GPA helped with my first few jobs. But I have lots of hobbies outside of work, and rarely spend my time at home thinking about the office. A lot of times companies aren't looking for the super genius type either... if they were they'd have a hard time filling staffing requirements. I think the keys are learning how to interview well, focusing on letting the interviewer know that you're willing and good at learning and having the basics of OOO down to a T. Come off as confident, even if you don't feel it. It never hurts.
As far as books go, here are some of my favorites:
Programming Interviews Exposed
Programming Pearls
Refactoring
I'm mostly a java programmer, so here are three absolutely necessary java books:
Head First Design Patterns
Core Java 1
Core Java 2 - Advanced
I'm finishing up my BS in Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin. I've completed 3 internships at Microsoft (Office, Windows, and Visual Studio) in the summers of '10, '11, and '12, and I will be returning to the Visual Studio group in January as a full time employee.
I nonchalantly gave my resume to someone at the Microsoft booth at a job fair for science majors at my school. Got a call and had a short interview at the UT campus. The questions weren't very technical or difficult: "how do you test software?" and "write a function to shuffle a deck of cards." Long story short, I was invited to Redmond to continue the interview process (they do this for all interns). I had 4 different 50-minute interviews in Redmond. The questions were more difficult, but nothing too terrible. After all, these questions were intended for interns.
I wanted to get some experience with a different team for the summer of '11, so I re-applied and re-interviewed. I had 4 more interviews with folks on the Windows team. I got similar questions. I think it's important to say that you don't have to blow all of your interviews out of the park; I certainly didn't. I was very nervous during the first one and didn't connect with the interviewer. I screwed up writing a factorial function, if you can believe that.
I prepared for the second round of interviews by reading this book, and I found it to be fairly helpful. Although it can't possibly have every interview question, it prepares you for the types of questions you can be asked.
After my internship with Windows, I wanted to return to Microsoft, but on the East Coast, where Microsoft has some Visual Studio development. I did a phone interview and was offered the position based on positive feedback from former interviewers.
The link you gave is for research interns, which as far as I know are for Ph.D students. If you're interested in a non-research internship, you should visit http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/internships.aspx.
Hope that helps! Cheers.
I've been pretty fortunate that I've been able to get interviews and job offers pretty easily within the game industry as a programmer.
I wouldn't consider myself a master programmer by any stretch and definitely don't spend as much time practicing on Code-Kata, etc as the poster. (The majority of my spare time is spent on unpaid overtime - if I can get that under control, then maybe I can apply some time to personal projects).
The 3 keys that I have found to make it easier to land the interview and the job is:
I can't really say whether the hiring process is broken or not, much of what they do does weed out people that really don't belong. But if you don't know the game or don't play the game, you may get swept to the side along with them.
I hope this helps - good luck!
One of the best things to do is read what other programmers have to say. It opens yourself up to things that you might not normally come across. Schedule a time of the day where you will go on Stackoverflow to answer questions or read answers. Also in that time, read some blogs and any new articles. A few of the websites that I really like:
Have you caught up reading the classics when it comes to software development? A great list of them can be found here. A few that I have found totally eye opening:
Also, have you used any new technology lately to make something cool? Schedule a time everyday (similar to when you read new things) to work on a project no matter what. Close Reddit, close your email, and get programming! Here a few things I had on the top of my head:
Hopefully all of these can give you an idea of how to improve.
Alla base c'è sempre la pigrizia (o la mancanza di tempo). Lo strumento che accompagna una presentazione (sia in presenza, sia online) dovrebbe servire a tenere desta l'attenzione di chi ascolta e ad appoggiare il discorso, non sostituirsi ad esso. La gente è lì per ascoltare, non per leggere.
Se poi è necessario trasmettere informazioni scritte dettagliate, allora si preparano delle fotocopie da distribuire (meglio alla fine, altrimenti tutti si mettono a leggere durante la presentazione) con tutto il testo che si vuole.
Nella mia esperienza, spessissimo i relatori mescolano i due supporti e creano slide fitte di testo, per lo più illeggibili dai posti più lontani della sala. I peggiori leggono quello che viene proiettato, commettendo un doppio errore: di solito danno le spalle al pubblico (per leggere) e, ovviamente, vanno più lenti della platea, che sta leggendo a mente, quindi annoiano.
L'argomento comunque è sviscerato su mille siti e libri. Io ho trovato molto utile il testo www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596522347
Yeah, it's normal at first. But eventually you'll recognize the patterns and be able to solve most problems, even if not in the most efficient manner. Hash tables are helpful for a lot of these problems.
I recommend buying Cracking the Coding Interview and reading up on strategies.
Also, before you go look at the answer try "cheating" by clicking on the "show tags" button. Sometimes it gives a big clue about what kind of data structure or algorithm type to use (like DP or greedy).
no worries, happy to help.
This book is pretty well regarded for tech interview practice.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Make sure you can whiteboard all the easiest questions from this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
But do so in a way where you are not memorizing answers but instead learning the concepts and the problem solving techniques. A side benefit is you will almost certainly write better code and find more elegant/performant solutions at your current job as well.
The answer to your question is highly dependent on the company in question. In general, the more competitive/higher paying the internship, the more you'll need to know. What you're learning in your data structures and algorithms course should be a good foundation, but you might want to do a bit of self studying.
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364
Both of those books will offer good preparation and can I believe be found online. You don't need to go through the entire thing, but definitely reading a bit and trying out a couple of practice problems will give you a feel for what to expect.
That's a difficult question to answer, there is tons of information about interviewing but some of it relates to google type interviews. I've had all kinds of interviews and I'm not sure I prepared correctly for any of them.
Some of them were based on knowing how to rewrite a linked list and some of them were just based on my personality. I failed a lot because sometimes those questions are more about memorizing an answer than actually knowing what you're doing. Which is complete bullshit. Fuck everything about taking a quiz during an interview.
This is all I have saved now:
I'm self taught as well and decided to help bridge the gap in 2 ways:
Read this book...Its not gospel for how every interview will go, but will give you an idea of how a CS heavy interview might go:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
If you have enough time, follow the videos in this course and also get the pdf of the book. The topics will be quite dense at first, but keep at it and they will eventually make sense:
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-006-introduction-to-algorithms-fall-2011/calendar/
To reiterate the same as others, its meant to weed out people who don't have a CS background; but don't be afraid to say you don't know something. Use that as an advantage and come prepared with situations where you didn't know something, but were able to read up/comprehend it and then applied the knowledge as a new skill :) Its impossible for everyone to know everything as a developer, we can only keep learning :)
If you want to make a videogame, you could use what you know from Java and make a game with libGDX, or join the Game Developers Club and work on a team to make a game. Games are good projects to show to possible employers.
A lot of internships at small local companies wont have super crazy tech interviews, but I would suggest getting Cracking the Coding Interview if you want to see some example questions to prepare.
Also, I have never put my GPA on my resume, and I have done pretty well for myself. If your GPA drops under 3, just drop it from your resume and only give it if a possible employer asks.
I'm in the industry (in PHX) and just got a new job. Got a job directly out of school, spent 5 years there and started applying for new stuff. Not sure how many interviews you've been on or if they do interview interns usually but I'd recommend doing as many practice interview questions (both technical and behavioral) as you can. This book was really useful: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396631167&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview IMO that same advice applies to your first full-time job.
It's going to be tougher switching to a larger, HR-heavy company, so my answer is focused on smaller companies.
It's got five stars and 180-something reviews for a reason.
Good luck.
I think people in this comment section will do a good job with the ideas, but here are some questions you should know. Maybe some are fairly hard since you seem to be playing down this interview, but you can never be too prepared. Some of these are from: an Amazon interview me and my friends went to, other interviews I had, internet, and a book I read.
Java Questions:
"Whats the difference between final, finally, and finalize in Java?"
"How does garbage collection work in Java?"
"Whats the difference between HashMap and HashTable in Java?"
"Whats the difference between String, StringBuffer, and StringBuilder? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one?"
General questions:
"Tell me everything you know about HashMaps and then implement a simple HashMap (lets say key of type String and value of type String, don't bother with any fancy java generics)"
"How do you modify your HashMap implementation so that it can pick a random element in O(1) time?"
"What is the range of a 32 bit Integer"
"How do you rotate a 2D matrix 90 degrees?"
"Explain and give the average and worst case complexity of: Heap Sort, Bucket Sort, Radix Sort, Quick Sort, Merge Sort"
"What is the worst possible set of data for Quick Sort and how long does it take (without any fancy optimizations, just the classic vanilla version). How do we help alleviate this case?"
"Implement Quick Sort (vanilla/classic version) and Merge Sort"
"What are the 4 famous/common simple recursion functions"
"How do you find the biggest substring palindrome in a string in O( n^2 )?"
"How do you reverse a linked list?"
"Explain how Dynamic Programming works."
You should probably also run through fizz buzz, it'll only take you a few minutes, but the last thing you ever want to do is make a stupid mistake on such an easy question haha.
Every interview I have ever had, they grilled me on HashMap, so I would highly recommend you know that data structure in and out.
And of course, if you're going to try and solve these problems, do it in pen and paper. That's how the hardcore interviews work.
Talk out loud explaining your reasoning while you do it. Interviewers want to hear how you think, and why you make your decisions. This is arguably more important then getting the answer right.
Never disagree with your interviewer.
It would help to identify what point you made it in the recruiting process.
Recruiting Step | If you didn't make it here...
---|---
Company Reads your resume | Apply to lots of companies, network (tell everyone you're looking for an internship), and attend recruiting events / career fairs
Company invites you to initial interview | Polish your resume / cover letter
Company invites you to follow-up interview | Improve your interviewing skills
Company offers you an internship | Improve your interviewing skills
Improving your interviewing skills includes learning how to communicate, but more especially for CS related interviews it includes learning how to complete those coding style questions you'll be asked. This book might assist with coding questions.
The few times I have been asked by my employer to participate in recruiting I mostly looked for candidates who correctly knew how to use data structures, understood Big O notation and correctly analyzed their code using it, and also clearly explained what they were doing as they were solving the problem. Candidates were less desirable when they sat there silently not explaining their thoughts to me or writing a really convoluted solution that completely ignores well known data-structures / algorithms (even though we told them they were welcome to use any that they knew).
> However, something pulled me away from Marketing, and I decided to try and go the tech route. I took two basic programming courses (Java/C++ & SQL) at school however because of lack of time did not do a minor/major.
From this I would suggest data science, but it looks like you're already into that. If you like programming, maybe find a marketing position that needs some programming rather than going for a full-on programming position. That way you can ease yourself in.
> I consider myself pretty creative, and I think about things deeply/logically
That's great!
> however even when I programmed I never felt like a smart/clever programmer, more so watching what others do and replicating.
Don't worry about that too much. Programming is a trade--a very sophisticated and exacting one, but it's still a trade. There is no silver bullet to gaining great programming skill. You need to make 10,000 mistakes to be a master.
I've been programming for ten years now, others have told me I'm clever or a good programmer so I suspect it's more or less true. All of my clever tricks, good ideas and ability to make difficult things simple come from others. When I see something I like, I remember it. When I build something later I can pull out my bag of tricks and build elegant solutions to complex problems. Study other people's code and learn from it. Try to figure out why they chose to make every decision they did; every line tells a story.
If you want a good place to start with that, look at the JavaScript source files for 2048 (ignore the ones that end with polyfill). It's one of the most beautiful pieces of code I've seen.
To quote this
> Every programmer occasionally, when nobody's home, turns off the lights, pours a glass of scotch, puts on some light German electronica, and opens up a file on their computer. It's a different file for every programmer. Sometimes they wrote it, sometimes they found it and knew they had to save it. They read over the lines, and weep at their beauty, then the tears turn bitter as they remember the rest of the files and the inevitable collapse of all that is good and true in the world.
> I did receive a Data Science internship, as I knew the answers to basic programming questions and was able to think through a problem logically. However, today I had a technical interview where I had to join a chatroom and write pieces of code for the person. I struggled with 2 out of the 3 problems and they were fairly simple-- a little embarrassing.
These types of things are designed to trip you up and separate the people who can't program at all with those that can. The link is short and worth a read. If you want to practice read Cracking The Coding Interview by Gayle McDowell.
> So now I am really doubting going to programming track as maybe I am not 'talented'/capable of really performing that type of thinking, especially for an entire summer & career. Any advice or tips is greatly appreciated!
Impostor Syndrome runs high in CS. There's too much to keep up on and it's impossible to know it all. In a way, we're all constantly beginners. Learn as you go and don't be afraid to ask questions, nobody knows everything.
Generally, the more weird something is to outsiders, the more you should take a hard look at the practice and actually weigh whether its "good" or not. This tends to be a "smell" of bad practices/coding techniques.
If you've stepped away from STL and general algorithmic-y implementation details at your (current? old?) job, I would highly recommend this book as a refresher. It's a lot of high quality algorithmic and data structure problems, solutions, and general information.
Open source projects aren't what you do to get a job. They're what you do because you love to program. You can see it in the code and the attitudes of contributors to them, and sense it in their heated debates on mailing lists and bug trackers. There's a real love of the craft present in people who work on OSS, and that's why people like to hire contributors, or suggest contributing "to get a job".
I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying you will grow far more and learn much more important things by contributing to a project that other people work on. Programming is a community effort even more than a personal one - the interfaces you build, the libraries you maintain, packages that get released, and the experience carried with you that you share with your team - those are the product of good code. And they are a community effort.
No, the easy bugs have not been fixed in every project out there. The easy bugs are mindless, boring work and people don't like to do them. Not every project can afford to keep these down on their own volunteer effort.
I think you should dedicate time to open-source because right now, you have nothing better to do. Look for a job and build things. Those are two real goals and they'll come to complement each other as you work down that road. You'll gain experience you can talk about in an interview, put on a resume, and maybe will get you hired as side-benefits.
Another thing: you have an IS degree. Which means you might lack some of the rigorous material taught to CS students. Brush up on trees, sorting algorithms, and basically the stuff mentioned in Cracking The Coding Interview while you're not working on a big project. That book is full of tiny pieces of the puzzles that confront the daily lives of programmers. Each problem you finish on your own will build your experience. When those problems come up in a project, or an interview, you'll breeze through them and have time to focus on the hard stuff.
> Given a few years, could you teach your mom (or dad) to pass a technical interview at Amazon? How about your best friend from high school?
I'm not sure this is the right question to ask. Technical interviews are notoriously bad at selecting for actual competent software engineers. If you spent years just studying a book like Cracking the Coding Interview, to the point that you had memorized most of the problems and solutions and were able to infer patterns from them, you might be able to pass a technical interview loop. But you probably wouldn't actually be a good software engineer.
But to answer your question, I think it would be very hard to teach this to my parents. They're both smart, but they lack the foundations for for computer science, and they're old enough now that I think it would be pretty hard for them to adjust to the ways of thinking required.
My best friend from high school... also unlikely. That person is not dumb either, but I do think that CS requires, as /u/brberg put it, "a certain way of thinking that may not be teachable." Whether or not it's learnable is another question, but if so I think you have to learn it through practice rather than instruction.
Check out Cracking the Coding Interview , it has tons of practice interview questions that cover common data structure/algorithm questions.
You might want to try cross posting this to /r/cscareerquestions, to get more discussion. However, since you posted this here, I will try and answer your question. First off, some software engineering job interviewers will have unrealistic expectations. However, it's unfair to say that all or even most software engineering interviewers have too high expectations. After all, there are huge differences in quality between good and bad developers. The issue is that there isn't a great way to tell how good of a software engineer someone is in a short interview. Asking technical questions about algorithms or aspects of programming related to the job is one of the best ways of measuring a developers quality within the constraints of an interview.
By the way, if you feel that your skill as a developer isn't coming through in interviews, you should buy the book "cracking the coding interview". I have found it very helpful in preparing for technical interviews. One great piece of advice that it has is that for preparing for technical interviews you should write code on paper not in an IDE or text editor. This is the kind of thing that separates being a good developer and seeming like a good developer in an interview.
Tl;DR Some interviewers have unrealistic expectations, but not all or even most.
I'd recommend this book. But frankly, it is quite old school to ask such type of questions in a DS interview. This is mainly material for engineers.
Looking at your post and your other replies in this thread, I feel like you simply don't do that well in coding or technical interviews.
Now, I'm IT, not development, but a few people I've met swear by this book:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Buy it or find a PDF and get cracking :)
This book is often recommended. It covers a lot of the whiteboard type stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Lookup common non-technical interview questions and prepare answers ahead of time. Stuff like "what is your biggest weakness?" "Describe yourself in 3 words." "What do you enjoy about programming?"
Personally, I would go into the first 4-5 interviews fully expecting to fail. Your goal should be to learn how to interview, not get a job. Write down any topics or questions you did not know. After the interview, study those so you have answers for the next time they are asked.
The answer "I don't know" is a perfectly good answer. If you knew everything already you wouldn't be applying for entry level positions.
Like the other commenter said, intro to algorithms by CLRS is a great one. However, if you're trying to do interview prep I highly recommend Cracking the Coding Interview. It has tons of fantastic coding questions with detailed solutions. Big 4 companies use problems directly from that book sometimes.
I can address a couple points from the perspective of a new-grad software engineer in the Silicon Valley with a lot of internship experience.
Having no experience hurts you regardless of your age or school status. I'd recommend actually finishing some personal projects so you have something to show and talk about in an interview.
Charm and enthusiasm are important for CS interviews, but less so than in softer fields. They can easily test your programming strength in an hour interview, unlike with many other professional skills. In a CS interview they are going to want to get an idea about your actual CS abilities.They'll ask questions about algorithm complexity and design and will probably have you do some coding on the whiteboard. I'd recommend reading a book like Cracking the Coding Interview and working through every single exercise in the book.
I would highly recommend reading this book.
My brother is a CTO of a tech startup and he used it to practice for his coding interviews at Amazon and Facebook, and still references it when interviewing candidates today. It lays out a great timeline for long-term preparation for coding interviews.
Do you have evidence of what you're capable of? (Contributions on Github, a website, a portfolio, published researched papers, etc.) If they have an idea of what you can do before you start the interview, that'll help them a) tailor questions to your skill set and experience, and b) understand that you do know what you're doing.
I've seen Cracking the Coding Interview recommended on this subreddit quite a few times - the author probably has much better advice than anything I can think of. :) Best of luck.
> cracking the coding interview
First hit on google.
I'm a CS major that got an internship in college that turned into a full time position after college, then I used that to jump into an engineering firm in my field with the stipulation that I'd be a 100% remote employee. 100% remote work is really hard to get, there's jobs out there but they tend to be extremely competitive. I only got this job because my particular specialty (GIS) is pretty tight-knit and I knew some people who knew some people so I had great references. Granted, I still had to prove myself on my own merits in the interview, but having a network definitely helped. Basically I applied to a non-remote job and wrote on the application that I'd only consider remote work, they took a chance on it, and it worked out.
I can't say much on being self taught or finding a job after being self taught but if you know your stuff you'll be competitive regardless of the degree. If you know your programming languages inside and out and you can answer the questions in this book you'll get hired somewhere as long as you're a good fit. Remote might be harder and it involves a bit of luck, but I wouldn't expect getting that for your first programming job. In my experience people tend to want proof that you can be productive at a previous employer before they'll consider letting you work essentially unsupervised.
Salary went from $12/hour as an intern to $45k/year as a full time on-site contractor at state government to $63k in my current position (I graduated Spring 2014). I could make more elsewhere, especially if I lived closer to a city with multiple firms and I was willing to go into the office, but I'm super happy in my current job.
Oh no you misunderstand, all code is shit code, hence the "like the rest of us" part. Anyway, back end work is easily the most popular and easiest to get into so I wouldn't worry too much about getting stuck doing UI development.
My advice is do try and figure out at least some idea as to what you want to do or where you want to be because the nice thing about the programming world is jobs are plenty, but it's usually CRUD all the way down. Obviously that's the usual advice but you have time so do that now as opposed to later.
If you think you want to dick around in the lower level world which sort of leads to embedded systems, start with writing a dynamic (meaning malloc) linked list in C with void and function pointers since that ensures you know what a pointer is and is a common enough data structure that you've probably already covered it as a sophomore. You could do something else but list questions come up sometimes and are used a lot. Next would be knowing your bit operations and some basic things to do with them, mainly masking. A question I've seen is to do bit packing so like given two 4 byte numbers put them into a single 8 byte number and then get those two numbers out.
That's enough to at least stand out at an interview, especially at a sophomore level for an internship. Actual embedded systems work/experience puts you in a weird spot since pulling out an arduino and lighting LEDs up is neat, but when it comes to the shit show that is security, real time responses, ISRs, drivers, multi-threaded programs, and whatever else comes up software side, it's just hard to get without having something to do it on and side projects are meant to be fun projects, not that. That said, if you want to look like a baller, get some early experience with multi-threaded programming in something like C with pthreads. Then knowing what an ISR is and how it works is good shit too.
However if you're looking at back end work, that requires a bit less specific knowledge as a lot of it is CRUD app data plumbing so much of what you learn is already applicable. Basic data structures will likely be the most important. So know how an array, list, tree, hash table/map, queue, stack, graphs, and how a list of lists of lists works as multi-dimensional data structures are a near constant. A few of those are rare (like trees) in actual "I'm writing some code and need to use something" code, but they come up and don't require a burden to know.
The next thing would be the basic questions like reversing a string or fizzbuzz as those come up a lot for new people. How quicksort works might too but that was always a stupid question so I hope nobody asks it of you, but they might so have some idea of how it works and be able to make a reasonable attempt at it (I'm lucky in that I don't have to anymore). This book has a lot of decent-ish general questions. I do dislike some of it's more esoteric exercises but that comes out of my own disappointment over people being unable to use if's properly, let alone answering questions in that book. Regardless it'd be handy for you to thumb through.
I'm tired so I'm probably forgetting things. My one last thing would be use some kind of version control as you should be doing that anyway, and if you end up at an interview you can ask them what kind of version control they use, and if they say we don't, thank them for their time and just get out. If they say subversion treat it as slightly better than not having one but assume it's also hell.
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I think it is a "nice to have" but not required. Most questions asked during a jr position interview will be algorithm related and it will not be java specific.
I am currently studying for the Java SE 7 Programmer I cert only because my company paid for it. If you are looking a job, I would suggest reading Cracking Code Interview instead.
Thanks, but this is one 7.5 hour course and does not seem anywhere near a complete path to being job ready.
I have a Udemy account and would buy Mosh's courses on Udemy if I thought that they would form a concise package when put together. I would supplement this learning with books if necessary - specifically the following:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0735619670/?coliid=I3G8SYORH393ZR&amp;colid=1IRAIWB2MBRLH&amp;psc=0&amp;ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0132350882/?coliid=I1ZCBXMO9SV7S2&amp;colid=1IRAIWB2MBRLH&amp;psc=0&amp;ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0984782850/?coliid=I1OZDYM4OMN8N7&amp;colid=1IRAIWB2MBRLH&amp;psc=0&amp;ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
But a course where everything fits together (such as a bootcamp I can't afford) is really what I'm looking for.
Congrats on landing the interviews. I don't have any specific advice, but perhaps pick up the book "cracking the coding interview" and give it a once over. It offers some good technical and non-technical advice that may be helpful.
You're probably right in saying that you're not going to become an expert by reading books over the next few weeks. I think the best thing you can do is gain as much knowledge (within reason) in the areas you think you are deficient in.
The ideal candidate doesn't necessarily posses all of the skills at day 0, they're going to be judging you from a standpoint of whether or not you have the prerequisites to grow into the position as well. You've already proven to them that you have talent. So, in addition to last minute gap filling, also focus on your soft skills and your ability to demonstrate a growth mindset... it may take you further.
You really don't need a good GPA. Here's the big stuff:
Good luck :)
You should have learned about trees in your data structures and algorithms courses. I would recommend getting a copy of this book and start studying: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482600591&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
The Engineering Practicum is the one for, like, freshmen and sophomores, right?
Look, just... be cool about it, haha. Check out LeetCode and get comfortable with the Easy questions. FYI, you probably won't know a lot of the stuff — but that's okay! Mostly you just wanna get comfortable with the types of questions. If you want, you can pick up a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview (CTCI), but I'm not sure it's worth it if you aren't applying to other internships this cycle. Honestly I've just used it for questions mostly, and there are plenty of questions on LeetCode.
Just keep positive and study what you can. Let us know how it goes! :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsmanship/dp/0132350882
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452714513&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Algorithms-T-Cormen/dp/0262533057/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&amp;dpID=41IHvtO0IxL&amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;preST=_AC_UL160_SR142%2C160_&amp;refRID=1FYKB42A12RXEDF1ZF1V
I would highly recommend Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle McDowell. Its aimed at cracking interviews at big companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, but the things mentioned in the book easily help crack interviews for other companies as well.
You could try to get a cheaper version in your local stores or search for a pdf online if you find it expensive.
Edit: Much cheaper on Flipkart
Mechanical Keyboards: High quality keyboards with tactile feedback. They have a real impact on your typing speed, and also make programming less boring. They are very commonly used by programmers. Mechanical keyboards have different "switches" that make different tactile sounds. "Blue Switches" are considered the most popular. Here are some examples: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=mechanical+keyboard.
Gaming Mouse: Same usage as keyboards, but not as useful. Its mostly just nice to have.
Textbooks: In computer science, there are one or two textbooks per subfield that are considered to be "Bibles" of the subfield because of their importance. If your bf just started cs, he won't have any interests in any subfield. However, the subfield of algorithms is more or less all encompassing. More crucially, knowledge of algorithms is the most important (and arguably only) thing you need to know to get a job. If you want to work at a top CS company like Facebook or Google, you need to know your algorithms very well in order to pass the interviews. There are two books I can recommend for this:
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-3rd-MIT-Press/dp/0262033844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503472210&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=algorithms
and
https://www.amazon.com/Algorithm-Design-Manual-Steven-Skiena/dp/1848000693/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503472210&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=algorithms
These are the most prolific algorithms books (imo). Another important book is "Cracking the Coding Interview": https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503471832&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=how+to+crack+the+coding+interview
This is the "Bible" textbook for passing tech interviews. Every computer science student I know at school has at least skimmed through this book once.
Personally, if I were starting in CS, I would appreciate either the mechanical keyboard or the "Cracking the Coding Interview" textbook the most. Good luck!
Sure, I can tell you how I did it.
First step, find companies/jobs you might be interested in. Biospace is a good place to start, but there's lots of other resources. Ask friends in industry, network at conferences, etc. Find a decent recruiting company that can hook you up with companies you've never heard of. Mirus Search was pretty good to me, and found a company/role that ended up giving me an offer. Figure out what you want --- small company or big company, public or private, location, field of work, and so forth. You're aiming for a list of at least a couple dozen companies and roles that look worth putting more work into researching. I stuck 'em all in a spreadsheet. A common error at this point is to miss lots of potentially good small companies, especially small private companies.
Second, research the company and the job. The goal here is to be able to answer the question "Why are you interested in this company" and "Why do you think you're a good fit for this job"? I had a row for each company/job and literally wrote the answers to these questions in a cell of my spreadsheet so I had them immediately on hand. If you can't answer either of those questions after some research, throw that company/job out.
Third, prepare resumes and cover letters for each one. Cover letters should be just a couple of sentences and personalized to each company. Mash them up out of your answers to the previous research. Again, I pasted this into my spreadsheet. Resumes should be short (1 page, maybe a second page for publications) and contain only stuff relevant to the job you're applying for. If you're applying to multiple different kinds of jobs, emphasize/cut different things. For any kind of job involving programming, link to your github/bitbucket/whatever account, assuming you've got something decent up there. Put something decent up there if you don't have it, just drop all your academic work in. I was told after being hired that my code sample from sourceforge is what got me the interview in the first place.
Fourth, send them off. I colored rows of my spreadsheet to keep track of everything. Blue for "sent off", green for "phone interview", red for "rejected". If you get rejected, be nice and say thanks. I got at least three follow-ups from companies about three months later saying that actually, they did have an opening for someone now. Expect a lot of rejections.
Fifth, prep for interviews. Expect technical questions. I got a lot of statistics questions and some programming questions. Prep for them. I spent a couple of months working through books like Cracking the Coding Interview and practicing questions on a whiteboard. I borrowed a whiteboard from work and did them at home on the board out loud. It helped a lot.
I started with ~30 companies of interest, had phone interviews with ~5, on-site interviews with 3, and offers from 2. Good luck! It's a lot of work.
Well, first off, focus on describing the problem out loud, and start with what you are planning to do and why, along with what similar other problems you've seen. I would recommend speaking out loud and writing notes even when you are alone, then putting it down in high level pseudocode, then doing the actual coding.
Another thing I would suggest is starting with the "happy case" (e.g. for something that involves recursion into two subproblems, assume that it is a power of two and the only odd that you will have to deal with is the case with 1 element) leaving out the boundary conditions until the end and mention that, always state your assumptions and then you can go back and fill in the edge cases once you have something that works for the simplest case). If you get stuck or realize why your solution won't work, explain out loud why (or more likely, what your runtime is, and what you would have expected your runtime to be and why, e.g. you are doing another extra loop, but maybe you could do something with memoization or dynamic programming to cut that down due to repeating subproblems). In the actual interview, the interviewer is there to slightly guide you too, so you have some extra resources that you wouldn't on leetcode.
I would personally recommend grabbing a copy of Skiena's The Algorithm Design Manual (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1848000693/) and/or Cracking the Coding Interview (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782850/), as they walk you through how to approach the problem, not just show you the answer.
The sixth edition. It's very green.
Edit: damn markdown...
> He has had one junior developer interview that I found for him (another client of mine, after I talked up his progress and how proud I am of him) but he froze up and didn’t get the job. Since then it’s been mostly daily auto rejection emails. I can tell he is starting to lose hope and shut down because he is very ambitious and hardworking (much more than I’ve ever been).
> So, what actions, steps, courses, books, words of support, etc did the people in your life share with you or do for you that made a long, difficult job search bearable or better or easier? Or what do you wish they had done or said differently?
So I don't know your BF, but one thing to keep make sure is that he welcomes your help. I know some people take offers of assistance as a sign of weakness. It's great you're trying to help him, but it's best to make sure.
I've been through the same process - albeit single at the time. But I understand the stress and fear of uncertainty he's going through. One of the best thing you can do is not involve this in your interactions/dates/etc. Just being a good girlfriend/boyfriend is usually more than enough when someone is going through a stressful time. Having small moments with you where he can destress will do wonders for his mental health.
More than anything - be understanding. I've known some couples that have broken up because the other party didn't understand the stress the other party was going through. For example, having issues with not spending enough time together, closing up, etc. Being understanding and being there for him is really one of the best things you can do even if you don't directly help him. If he needs time alone, don't make it a personal issue - he's probably dealing a lot within his head and he will come to you after he's had time to himself. If he lashes out at you due to his stress (which is quite common since he's trying to find an outlet), try to defuse it or just shrug it off. Of course, don't take it lying down if he crosses the line - but know that it's coming from a place of fear and assuming it's no big deal, just letting it go will work wonders.
When this is all over, he will know all the things you've done for him and will appreciate you that much more as a girlfriend/boyfriend.
One book I do recommend is Cracking the Coding Interview. It's been basically my bible when I went through the interviewing phase and it's helped out tremendously. It goes through in-depth about how to change your mindset during an interview and what to expect. Having more knowledge builds confidence. Having confidence will prevent him from freezing up. I don't know if your BF already owns this book, but it would be a great gift - assuming he's welcoming to your assistance.
I give this advice to everyone on this sub who asks because it’s honestly the best advice ever. Buy this book (30$ rn on amazon):
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0984782850/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ic6QCbQXY71DN
I give credit to the author and this book for landing me all my internships and a job at a FAANG. Read it, do what she says to do in the book, and if you still don’t get an internship, I’ll pay for the book.
Get cracking the coding interview:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0984782850?pc_redir=T1
Read all of it, code your own solutions to the problems, and post them to a github account. That will prepare you pretty well for interviews.
As for getting your foot in the door, that's gonna be a bit more difficult without a relevant degree. Try doing a couple projects maybe. Definitely go to career fairs and talk to recruiters. That'll be easier to get into than cold resume dropping.
While reading this book I've found the website from the authors of this book which has some tips on how to make a good resume, and they also offer a resume review service, but I personally haven't used that so far, so no comments on that one. I also find these tips from ex-googler and ex-microsofter pretty useful. But I'd also like to hear some experiences from anyone who used those resume writing services, my experience is getting close to 10 years and I'm starting finding it a bit troubled to highlight everything important in one-two pages.
I think different people have different ways to retain knowledge. Whatever motivates you.
I like to view learning as a game with multiple levels. I'd start with something easier, more practical, this will keep you motivated with faster feedback and will raise the right questions for the next level.
Start with a book of problems that isn't very formal yet, I'm thinking of the likes of Cracking the Coding Interview
Then move to some of the suggestions around The Algorithm Design Manual and Introduction to Algorithms.
At this point you may want to specialise your knowledge in a particular area of algorithms or math.
The good thing about this approach is that you see results earlier and can also start applying your knowledge quickly (even if very limited).
Along the way, as a second vertical of learning that you should pursue, you should take some online courses on algorithms or more specialised applications (biology has a lot going on now).
Have fun
Edit: try HackerRank too!
Buy this or find one at a library: https://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867. If you can do a lot of the problems in there you're probably set. Some firms ask about derivatives pricing or programming depending on the position. It's also a good idea to have some idea of current financial news, read Barron's, the Economist, WSJ, etc.
> I'm looking at jobs in quantitative software engineering roles, like Jane Street, DE Shaw and Two Sigma.
Then brush up on your probability and statistics brainteasers. That, and algorithmic brainteasers (like things to do with linkedlists, arrays, etc).
Sample book is Heard on the Street by Crack or Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers by Joshi et al.
You don't need to know finance for Jane Street. They emphasize that...
This might be slightly more appropriate for Computer Engineers, but when I was thinking about majoring in CE/EE, a friend who works for Microsoft recommended Programming Interviews Exposed. It has both soft and technical questions and is a pretty easy read.
EDIT: Removed mobile link
Sent a PM with more personal details.
The book I used to study was an earlier edition of:
https://www.amazon.ca/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364
I'd apply to multiple positions that were interesting from the same company, but never to the same position more than once. Usually listings are kept fairly up to date.
Sorry, got busy for the holidays.
It seems like you're falling victim to the same cycle that a lot of us have. You can't get a job without experience, but you can't get experience without a job. It doesn't make a ton of sense.
Google/Amazon/Uber rely heavily on data structure and algorithm knowledge in their interviews. I have the first edition of this book for JS data structures. I went through it and coded all of them out. It helps to understand them.
In my master's program, I had a class on algorithm design that in hindsight, I wish I had paid more attention to. We used this book but I think there are better ones available now.
I have this book as a general interview reference which may summarize the above two suggestions better for the interviews.
Time/space complexity was also helpful information to know. Big O notation is a useful thing to have in your arsenal to begin with.
These are just suggestions for notorious interviews for infamous tech companies. Not every company is going to grill you about these concepts. But having been someone who has failed several intense programming interviews, and now conducts them for our company, I think all of this information is applicable, and a true tech company likely won't grill you about job experience if you can apply these concepts on a whiteboard without thinking about it.
Data Science is a great spot to be in right now. Spend a little time every day applying some programming principles to big datasets. It should be enough to land you a job at a solid company if even at an entry-level position.
Also, get out of AngularJS and learn Angular 2+. React/React Native also seem to be in high demand. They have become commonplace at most large companies trying to stay on the edge of technology for their users.
I recommend that you take a look at Programming Interviews Exposed. This book is a collection of quick/well written explanations of different Computer Science concepts (stacks, heaps, lists, and other data structures are covered). I read the first edition of this book years ago and I loved it for its brevity.
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
> I think if I learn how to program with an aim to work as a software developer and make games on the side, is this viable after just turning 20?
There's nothing wrong with the age of 20. I started school at 20, graduated in four years, and found work as a software engineer right out school.
What you have to figure out is how to make the best of your time left in school: should you take a class or two on programming and graduate on time, or (more dramatically) change your field of study to computer science and spend a few more years in school? That's something only you can decide. If you want to finish your architecture program and graduate in a reasonable amount of time, I can assure you that your math and physics background will be enough to get you work as a software engineer, but only if you can actually program.
Part of working as a software engineer means being able to program in multiple languages. That's because it's not really about the language, it's about the logic. All languages follow certain patterns and while syntax or wording may change, they all share ways to implement the same logic.
It also means knowing what data structures to use for what scenarios. The phrase "There's no such thing as a free lunch" comes to mind. All data structures have advantages and weaknesses and no data structure is perfect for every occasion. Know the differences, know the performance impact, and be able to speak to them. This won't just help you write better code, it will help you land a job. Interviewers love to ask questions about data structures.
As a corollary to data structures, you also need to know your algorithms. You need to know the performance impact of different ways to search and sort, traverse graphs, and find the shortest path (particularly relevant for game programming).
You said you're learning Python and that's great. Python is a great way to learn how to program. It's dynamic, it's friendly, and it has a rich library. Learn Python inside and out, then pick another language and figure out how to do the same things. C++, Java, and C# are all pretty popular in the industry, pick one of those. Once you know how to program in a few languages, you focus less on minute implementation details specific to one language and more on high level abstraction shared across multiple languages. By that point, you'll no longer be speaking in code, you'll be speaking in plain English, and that's the goal.
I don't know many good free online resources for learning languages, I learned mostly out of textbooks and lecture slides (along with lots of practice). There are some links in the sidebar to some tutorials that are worth checking out. Beyond that, I can recommend some books you may want to read.
EDIT: I added Programming Interviews Exposed because it's a good reference for data structures, algorithms, and interview questions
I thought this book was excellent: Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job!
It has lots of examples and guides you through how to think about them in a way to display your knowledge about different comp sci topics.
I liked Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job also.
"Programming Interviews Exposed" suggested by Kaelin is pretty helpful. Personally for me, Cracking coding interviews was extremely helpful. I highly recommend it. Read from the beginning, even the chapters before the technical questions. For technical questions, only once you are satisfied with the solution you come up with or when you have spent enough time trying to solve it, look at the solutions.
I would also suggest looking for questions online and then try to solve them. Again, avoid looking at the solutions as much as possible.
There is a book called Cracking the Coding Interview which I highly recommend for such tasks. It has some tough questions that are usually asked at an interview setting. This is the best way to practice your algos, IMO.
This book should be very useful: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Fourth-Programming/dp/145157827X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Just few resources to help develop problem solving/programming skills:
/r/dailyprogrammer
Project Eular
Data Structures and Algorithms (recommended a lot by Mosh Hamedani)
And the obvious /r/learnprogramming / StackOverflow etc. for when you need help.
Buy your friend a copy of What Color is Your Parachute?. It's cheeseball, but it really helped me get through my unemployment.
Also, you can quote me:
The worst thing next to not having a job is having a job.
Actually, I stole that from a friend too, so feel free to steal.
You usually do see stuff you've never seen before when you're learning something new.
Checkout:
It's going to take some time, so be patient, don't rush yourself. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't learning as fast as you like, it's not a race.
Keep on truck'n!
> I deal best with fast paced environments where a lot of different things are happening. I also really like working with others and face to face is ok with me.
Take a look at Product Management. It's a really interesting job that you can get with a CS degree. You learn about all parts of the business, work with a lot of different groups, and you don't have to give up coding.
Pick up this book from the library if you want an overview or read this article.
Oof yeah sad to say you kina did screw yourself.
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Try to avoid giving the first number for your salary for this reason. When they ask reflect it back to them and ask what they believe is a fair salary for the position.
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Also check Glassdoor beforehand and get an idea of the salary range for the job.
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You CAN techincally counter offer, it will not go over well and they actually may pullback the offer so i wouldnt recommend doing this over $2k a year. Focus on getting a good raise or pass on the job and tray again if you really want somewhere else. Personally. I'd like the $48k if everything is good.
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I feel okay promoting my book here because it is currently free and it will help in the future. The Art of Salary Negotiation: How to Get Paid What You Deserve and Feel Empowered Doing It
Ship software that solves problems for people, and once you do that make a GitHub account. Then get to a bigger city where there's an actual market for work... and interview your ASS off until someone gives you a "step-up". Once you've got a couple of years under your belt building software professionally you're "in".
I know it's easy for me to say all that, especially because I'm a hella generalist... but there's real demand for people who have even a basic skillset.
I would say if you want to immediately get in zoology then you'll have to go back for the degree because if you're looking at niche research fields it's either have experience and/or a degree. I would push you to get general API experience, be able to publish web software, get some front-end/back-end capabilities and go from there. That will feed you no matter what, and give you an incredible amount of job mobility.
If you already have basic Python under your belt, that's an amazing start. Learn Flask, and Django and ship a couple of personal websites/web apps with it. If you can tie it into a user experience either web-based or mobile-based you will get hired as a junior almost immediately (being able to show work is incredibly useful vs. "I can do x"). Prepping for the interview process is as simple as working through a solid chunk of "Cracking the Coding Interview" and you'll be ahead of a TON of people.
This all sounds like a lot, and it is. But if you spend a couple of hours every night busting your butt you can get there!
If you want to work for Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc, this is a must read -
Cracking the Coding Interview
cracking the coding interview
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1522295021&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
Cracking the Coding Interview
Really worth picking up.
Here is a great book to start with:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=VYKNSB6ZE37T8GSP8GKY
Stay active in the Swift community. Finish the test app, add features, experiment with UI, etc.
This book is great.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1/134-7106793-0559652?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1520555954&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interviews
Self-taught programmer here. In my experience my having built real things more than made up for my lack of a related degree (my degree's in journalism). I've never failed to land an interview because I didn't have a related degree and nor has it ever stopped me getting a job.
Some advice:
Good luck!
When you are considering applying, pick up a copy of cracking the coding interview, in there you will find a plethora of realistic-ish interview problems.
Check out sites like projecteuler, codeeval, topcoder, etc... they all have problems to solve. Note that being a competitive coder doesn't mean you'll be a great engineer, but it's a good start.
If you are in college, join the ACM chapter (if your college has one). Participate in the ACM programming competitions, that will likely be a humbling experience for your first few rounds. The yearly worlds programming competition questions used to be posted after the fact; if that's still the case, dig those up and get to work.
Up front, expect this to be a long and difficult process of learning. Learning to be a good problem solver is in no way related to learning python.
That's what I think, I might be talking out my ass..
For CS majors who might have a interview lined up already, try to make the time to read Cracking the Coding Interview. It's basically a TL;DR of CS 1332 with a lot of practice problems. Additionally, I found the behavioral and technical interview strategies very helpful.
Don't worry about how big the book is. Half of it is just problems and solutions. As a freshman, you probably only need to read the first 150 pages or so. Make sure to practice though!
I was surprised to see that Gayle Laakmann Mcdowell (author of [Cracking the Coding Interview] (http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8), which I see recommended pretty frequently around here) uses [Square Space for her site] (http://www.gayle.com/). So no, it would seem not to matter so very much, to most people.
However, I still chose to take down my Jekyll site to code one by hand because (1) I wanted to customize things that were difficult/buried in Jekyll and (2) my general front-end newbiness made me feel like it was still the better option.
If you are an old pro like McDowell or a pure back-end dev with few aspirations to be otherwise, it probably doesn't matter. However, if you want to employ or contract someone at the junior level to do front-end work, you'd probably prefer someone who didn't use a template for their own site, would you not?
"Hope for the best and prepare for the worst"
As someone who's recently been interviewing for senior level positions, this is probably the best way to sum up my experiences. It's not possible to predict with any certainty how hard the questions will be. Try finding a few topics you're unfamiliar with and diving into a book like this one: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/0984782850
In a perfect world the most optimal way to ace these types of interviews is to ALWAYS be ready... even when you have a job you like, 300 hours from now you could be looking for a new one...
EDIT: Online challenges/prep is an awesome way to go also
This is a great book for programming interviews: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/
Cracking The Coding interview - https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1502647692&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
Buy or rent a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview. It has a ton of practice interview questions, which is cool, but there's also a ton of "soft skills" advice, interview prep timelines, resume building tips, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782850
For software engineering interviews, the magic is called Cracking the Coding Interview :P. It's really awesome that I can just study hard and then know I'm going to do well.
For the person emailing me, speaking at an industry-heavy conference was key! All it took was a "why not" and submitting a talk proposal.
Why stay at a school where you're not studying what you want, and which doesn't even offer what you want nor one of the most popular in-demand majors??
Anyway, there are any number of online courses/tutorials about Data Structures, and how to build/use them in various languages. You can use C++ for them, or try to learn something else too. For speed & simplicity in interviews, a lot of people seem to prefer Python for discussing DS&A, but by their nature the concepts are fairly language-agnostic.
Try visualalgo for one ... there are plenty of others.
Since a lot of algorithms require/suggest the use of specific data structures to make them work, it's probably better to learn what those are first, and then try to tackle the algorithms that rely on them.
Grokking Algorithms - illustrated & pretty basic intro to concepts
Common Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms - slightly less so, but still pretty basic intro to concepts
CTCI - problems covering arrays, linked lists, stacks & queues, trees, graphs ... Actually kind of useless if you don't already know what those are though.
Introduction to Algorithms (CLRS) - 1 of 2 standard U.S. college-level algorithms textbooks
Algorithms, 4th Ed. - the other standard U.S. college-level textbook, w/free online "book site", code, and a free Coursera course to go along with it.
Get Cracking the Coding Interview and work through it. You can buy previous editions, or find it in other ways, if that one is too much.
I don't know if competitive programming would help too much. There are websites like HackerRank that can help you practice those short, quick questions.
Getting better is going to take time. There isn't a 'quick shot to success.'
Probably you wouldn't get much for 3 days, but for the future:
I wish I would have these books 20 years ago.
This book is often recommended for this subject.
All of the recommendations already given are good. In addition, Pick up a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview, and do as many examples as possible.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
I'm reading Cracking the Coding Interview. Needless to say, it's about as fun as fucking a wet sock.
All the interviews for software developer/engineer start with evaluation of your knowledge/ability in CS. It's pretty much a test. Recruiters/interviewees will give you a prompt to write a code, or give you an example of codes and ask you to either debug/enhance it.
Not something you need to worry about now as a college freshmen. But it is something to look into before graduation. Here is a popular guideline book that many people found helpful.
Cracking the Coding Interview
As /u/Amarkov said, you're not screwed and you really should put in the time to learn basic algorithms and data structures. But, I also think it's a bad idea to go overboard.
For example, you should know why and when you'd use a binary search tree over a hash table, and be comfortable implementing basic graph algorithms (BFS, DFS, shortest path). But, much beyond that, and you are likely better off spending your time actually building stuff and developing your coding skills. I know most of the big tech companies will grill you hard on CS, but many smaller companies will be more concerned with how quickly you'll be productive with their tech stack. Rather than have you implement a graphing algorithm, they'll want to see that you're comfortable with Java's threading model or writing a JQuery plugin or working with Active Record or whatever.
I'd recommend grabbing either of these books and working through at least 2 or 3 questions in the chapters you're weak on. At a minimum, they'll help shine a light on your blind spots.
tldr; You're not screwed, and learning the CS essentials well enough for NotGoogle-level interviews can be done with a few weeks of effort.
Programming Interviews Exposed helped me land my internship.
Starting your own projects or getting involved with open source projects shows initiative to recruiters when you apply again in the Fall. At the same time you could get ready for future interviews by studying technical questions and making sure you could answer basic behavorial questions well.
Its okay to not have internships the first 1 or 2 years. Being a freshman definitely makes it harder because you are not about to go fulltime anytime soon. I myself did not have any offers for the first two summers. But I did what I just described to you and landed a Big 4 company without any internship experience.
The fact that you already tried applying will help you in the future because you will learn from any mistakes you may have made.
These are the books I used, like many others:
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395274746&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395274783&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=programming+interviews+exposed
The first contains shorter explanations of topics and mainly questions and solutions. The second has longer explanations of what you need to know for each topic. Very great resources that helped me become comfortable with interviews.
Have you had your resume reviewed by anyone? I thought my resume was solid 2 years ago but now that I look back at it, there were tons of mistakes.
Hopefully this helps.
The best way to get a job is to get an internship and impress the hell out of them. I had an internship over this last summer, and while my team couldn't hire me (budget, no open req), another team opened up a req and contacted me and hired me on the spot (no interview). The guy I'll be working for was my scrum leader, so I already knew him. Connections are extremely important. Network as much as you can. Talk with other CS students and find out their connections - I have tons of connections for which I recommend other friends. You are far more likely to get a job with a recommendation than you are by just applying on the website.
Be sure to check Glassdoor so you know what kind of salary to expect. You can use Glassdoor as a basis for negotiation.
Make as many connections as you can, get an internship, etc. Make some games on your own (Unity Engine is free). Make something you can show to companies to show that you know how game development works. Read books about game development, as well as how to do well on CS interviews (check out "Programming Interviews Exposed").
Edit - deleted stuff that wasn't really necessary.
Check this book out.:
Programming Interviews Exposed
It has the concepts you mentioned you were struggling with, with some code examples. It’s good reference material.
I wish I could have done double degree/major at my university. I could have taken CS courses but curriculum structure between CE/CS was too big of a difference... Needing a ton of pre-requisitions that I did not have in CS. And department wasn't willing to give me an override (yay overpopulation).
And my CE is mostly hardware focused albeit it is being advertised as CS+EE. And hardware as in... mostly non-computer related. Quantum physics in circuits, microelectronics, etc etc. I'd consider those as more of EE with electrophysics concentration. And you'd be surprised how many low-level embedded programming classes we have.... three. Two of those three aren't scheduled to be offered in the next five years, including previous 3 years, due to budget cuts. So basically one. Every semester we were promised more CE courses would be offered.... except more CE courses were cancelled instead.
Any particular book you would recommend? I'm currently reading through this book and it is helping me a lot.
And congrats on your offers!
Cracking the coding interview has a lot of questions and answers, not much else. That being said, it's very good and highly recommended.
I also recommended Programming Interviews Exposed
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1376967251&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=programming+interviews+exposed
Take a look at this and this book
For finding jobs,
Job Listing Websites:
In larger cities with a lot of tech companies, you can find job fairs where companies recruit.
Lastly, find a few local companies and go directly to their job listings.
Not having a CS degree will be a negative but more and more companies are broadening their backgrounds for Junior level positions.
When interviewing with a company, look them up on glassdoor to see what developer interviews are like there. You can also ask the recruiter at the company what to expect. Technical interviewing is all over the charts in terms of how its conducted, expect a mix of:
In general I would recommend passing on any company that wants more than about a day onsite interview + 8 hours. If they're not respecting your time for an interview, they won't respect your time while working for them.
I'd recommend less focusing on JS/Angular and more focus on drilling for interviews. This book is great: https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Landing/dp/1118261364
I highly recommend this book.
This one is also great.
Not only do these provide a lot of good examples of how the interview process works at Google (as well as Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, etc), but they also provide a lot of good information on things you can do to prepare yourself months or even years before trying to start the process.
Hehe, I wrote that while taking a break from reading something about forgery versus borrowing in art, so everything I came up with was related to that.
Another interesting problem is something that may not be well documented (and thus may be hard to write about), but a friend of mine's boss (that sounds far removed!) has noticed a serious lack of actual ability to code in people pretending to be software engineers. That's why you get interview problems like fizz buzz--interviewers actually do need to check that you actually can code before doing anything else because there're a lot of people who apply for those jobs thinking that they can just 'design code' instead of actually writing code. The coding interview is actually another really interesting problem for our field--not only 'how do you determine whether or not someone is qualified in an interview' but also 'how do you prove that you're qualified in an interview'. There are even books on the subject, such as Cracking the Code. (Speaking of which, if your CS major doesn't require you to take probability/proofs/logic/combinatorics/discrete math classes, take them anyway.)
And I babble. Good luck :D
Kinda late but
Software Engineer, been working 1year ~ 3 months now. I have no Github account and no personal projects on my resume, but I did list relevant class&internship projects, and my resume is also pretty beefed with work experience and extracurriculars, as well as honor societies, even though my GPA isnt super stellar.
This book -> http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Fourth-Edition/dp/145157827X did me wonders during the interview process.
I've been mostly finding that website coding is insanely helpful.
HackerRank, CodeForces, TopCoder are all great resources for "competition" problems (which translate really well into interview problems and problem-solving in general).
I read this book, it actually proved to be a lot more helpful for my Riot Games interview, since it had to do a lot with "in-depth" thinking, which this book is great at helping break down (I always found "Cracking the Coding Interview" to be way too high level, especially if you're in a pinch): http://www.amazon.com/Data-Structures-Algorithms-Made-Easy/dp/1468108867
(NOTE: If you're a primarily Java developer, there's an equivalent book for the above, just search "Data Structures and Algorithms in Java", from the same author)
I learned a lot more from that book than I did McDowell's, since I found that this author actually cared about doing "deep dives" into each of the topics presented. I own an earlier edition - not to say this one isn't great, I'm actually pretty sure the "algorithmic puzzles" he presents are a lot more relevant to current programming interviews.
There's also the age-old CLRS, which I found to be useful for any kind of theoretical computer science topic (Runtime analysis, big-O, etc): http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Edition-Thomas-Cormen/dp/0262033844/
Let me know what you think! -- I've been using both of these to get my next job (hopefully full-time)! ^_^
The economy is what's wrong with your resume. But the Internet is also statistically the worst way to find a job.
The best way is face-to-face. You presumably still have some numbers of people you used to work with. Ask them if they know of anyone who's hiring. Ask them for advice. Get referrals. They might not be hiring, but they might know someone else who is. When you call the person you're referred to, say "I was talking to your friend Joe about work and he told me you might be able to help."
I could go on, but you're better off just grabbing a copy of What Color Is Your Parachute?. I recommend it thoroughly.
You're simply struggling with the same metaphysical hunger many of the rest of us are (but you're lucky enough to be doing it while free of some of the problems or deprivations others face, since you've got a family and life and living standards many others can only envy).
There's an ancient book called What color is your parachute that might help you, if you're willing to slog through its workbook format.
http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2009/dp/1580089305
Weekends are on the table too, but still I have a limited time during them.
My resource for learning A/DS is this:
https://www.amazon.it/Data-Structures-Algorithms-Made-Easy/dp/819324527X
I really like the book.
Have you read Cracking the PM Interview? I read it because so much of it is also applicable to design work, and there's a section specifically dedicated to transitioning to PM from design. The full table of contents is here if you want to take a look.
Thanks for your input.
I'm intending to get college credit for this intenship. My major itself had 4-5 classes that focused a lot on programming. My computer science minor included anther 3-4. The internships I'm pursuing aren't radically different from what I learned in school. There shouldn't really be any issue with this, right?
I'm taking advice from The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide, where he says to specialize in something. I've tried sending in lots of resumes as more of a "jack of all trades", but that didn't seem to be effective either.
I figured I needed to do something to stand out. I changed up my strategy 2 months ago by focusing on .NET and widening my search to all around the country rather than just the state. I still have a few other languages and frameworks on my resume, such as Ruby, C++, JavaScript, jQuery, and SQL. I just haven't gone deep enough into the different frameworks for Ruby, C++, and JavaScript to really focus on them, like I have for .NET.
This book is scary:
Additionally, I would suggest using this book: http://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Going-That/dp/0226038823/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1422121402&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=so+what+are+you+going+to+do+with+that
It can help you navigate the transition from academic--> corporate. Additionally, What Color Is Your Parachute is another good choice--cheesy as it is, working through the "Flower" exercise really helped me to be precise about what I wanted--and subsequently, it really helped me out while I was networking.
Lots of exciting possibilities! The question, I think, is what is most important to you. Creative writing could happen in -- and be informed by -- any of the contexts you mentioned.
At the risk of sounding like a truly terrible cliche, I think you should follow your heart. I've seen too many people do what they thought they were "supposed to" do and waste years they could have been spending on what they really enjoy.
It couldn't hurt to chat with folks who do all of the things you mentioned -- entering a PhD program in particular, as that can be an expensive and daunting undertaking with no guarantee of a job at the end in certain fields.
You may enjoy browsing through the book So What Are You Going to Do With That? (http://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Going-That/dp/0226038823/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1255390727&amp;sr=8-1) It was written for people with PhDs who want to switch gears, but there may be parts that are interesting for you as well.
No problem. I looked more into the PDF and it appears that this edition/version explains the bare minimum of the data structures and algorithms so you are forced to use this as a reference. This book explains everything much better, but still you will need to use other resources: http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X/ref=pd_sim_b_15?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=17FWN71ZH0FWQMJJKB2Q
If you have any more questions you can reply here or PM me.
There is also http://www.reddit.com/r/EmploymentAssistance/ but the top post is currently "Looks like this reddit fizzled and died." You could also try the programming or coding subreddits for advice particular to CS interviews.
It's good that you're already practicing up on a whiteboard. I think practice and knowing how to prepare are key for interviews (general statement is general). You should consider trying to set up practice interviews if you know anyone in the field with more interview experience. Or you could try explaining CS concepts and solutions to your friends. Perhaps you could get used to being at ease in an interview by practicing with someone you know.
There are various books you could buy, or perhaps find in a library, on interview help and using whiteboards in particular. I think I've seen this book recommended here before but I can't remember the context.
Good luck!
It's been a while since I interviewed, and some more specific information about the role would be helpful. But as general advice, you should do the exercises in Programming Pearls, and not as good but still helpful Programming Interviews Exposed. Project Euler also has good programming finger exercises.
If you need to write code on a white board practice that specifically.
There's also a relatively cheap book on programming interview questions.
This is what I came here to write :) Also, see this book as well.
> Slide:ology
This one?
slide:ology
Oh yeah if you want a book for interviews, by far the best one I've read is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Break-Rules-Secret-Finding-Great/dp/073520201X/
The reviews only have it as 4 star, but I give it 5 easily. It gives really practical knowledge. The guy who wrote it used to hire people for competitive corporate positions, and he also has a Ph. D. in management and I think also marketing. So if you just want a book for interviews, I would get that one first. Unfortunately I do not think it is available in digital format, but the used ones are super cheap, and again, I cannot recommend enough.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)
Check out this book Cracking the Coding Interview . It’s definitely worth it.
I have been interviewing the past few weeks. The 2 things that have helped me prep:
Book: Cracking the Coding Interview Learn it and learn it well. Also, don't forget Java after 207. Very few PEY jobs use C (which is the primary language for second/third year), so good java skills are more important to have.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Resolve estos problemas
Go to class, visit the career fair every year (or twice if your college does it), have a resume, do projects, DO INTERNSHIPS.
The future is bright for us CS guys, my friend. Just gotta get out there. :)
And read this book. Best money I spent at college. Wish I had it sooner!
It happens. Try not to worry about it too much - things are going to be OK. There's a job for you out there.
Practice a lot. Find lists of interview questions online, and try to code all of them - first on paper and then with the help of a computer. Learn them through and through, so that you can easily recognize variations of them. Consider getting this book.
Feel prepared in your next interview. Good luck!
Cracking the Coding Interview
I'm sorry you're going through this. Other commenters have said it'll get better and stuff (which it will!), but below I've linked some resources I've collected over the years for you to use. Hopefully this will help!
just get that book: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396318223&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=interview+programming
do not deviate from resume, get a designer or someone with good eye to look it over
From what I've see lurking around here, this books seems pretty useful
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
If you don't wanna spend the money, I'm sure there are pdf downloads avaliable online
If you're serious about going into computer science, I would strongly recommend taking a mathematics course, just to get you thinking logically. (You're going to end up taking 250, but still, it's incredibly helpful)
I'm not going to mention the coursework partly because /u/lordlicorice does a good job already and partly because I'm also a freshman like you, and I can't really advise anything from experience. I'd just suggest reading Introduction to Algorithms, which is a pretty well-known book to get started. I've also picked up Cracking the Coding Interview, just to help with some tech internships I want to get into. (My professor implied sometime back that you should have at least 330 before considering internships, but some of my friends have done some even before 216)
Here you go
I've been looking to prepare for some Internships for Summer 2015. I've heard a lot of good things about Cracking the Coding Interview, but I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on Elements of Programming Interviews.
Negotiating a little sounds like a good idea. Offers are by no means absolute, that's why they're called offers :).
It sounds like you are not too familiar with interview questions which are related but not at all reflective of your "CS skills", if there even is such a thing (in my opinion CS skill is a collection of talents). You should read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Read this book backwards and forwards, multiple times. The tech interview process is a game that can be mastered.
É mais para exercícios de código propriamente ditos, mas não posso deixar de recomendar um livro excepcional: Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions.
I was recommended by another redditor to get this book and read the heck out of it. I just received it and it seem to have a lot of good information.
"I dont want to do the CS major as it seems too bureaucratic and without direct application in the employment sector" uh what? CS has a very direct application, which is software engineering or algorithm development. Both are essential in industry. Really confused by what you mean by "too bureaucratic"
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Practice, practice, practice. Look up some programming questions or exercises and practice writing the code for them on paper without the help of a compiler. At each step of the process explain out loud what you are thinking and what you are doing/why you are doing it that way. Once you have a working solution, type your code directly from the paper into your compiler of choice and verify that it works. This is a good book that can be used to help prepare for the technical portion. It covers a gamut of technical questions starting with basic string processing and moving to much more advanced topics such as performing swaps without temporary storage etc: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Write a document of things you think you need to learn, in priority order, and have another daily journal where you write down your thoughts/accomplishments each day in meeting anything on that first list.
Everyone fears wasting their time learning the wrong things. Alas, it's going to happen. Either you waste your time learning the "wrong" things, or you don't learn anything at all (because your fear stops you), or you constantly dabble (learn an insignificant amount about everything). I don't think dabbling is horrible because it gets you a picture of the landscape, but if you want to make progress, you need to pick a few things to work on.
Look up books on handling technical interviews, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
And practice your tech interview skills, since you need a good interview to get to that internship.
https://github.com/jwasham/coding-interview-university
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
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Those are some solid resources there as well. From my experience with interviews (mainly being internships) a common question is what projects are you currently or have worked on. In my personal opinion focus on developing your own personal projects rather than making small contributions to open source is better for learning. You can reinvent the wheel here, that's the point of it.
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Good luck :)
Well, I would say you should try to work your way through this: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
The other thing you might want to do is find a personal project you're interested in and contribute/complete it. When you work on your project you would be able to brush up on your skills and have something to talk about in your interview. As far as tutorials go, you could try Coursera, Udemy, or MIT's open courseware. If you have any of your projects or textbooks from school you could look over those and try to "improve" your work if possible. I'm new to this sub but have been visiting daily for a quite a while and I think these things would all be something to look into. You might also want to look into finding an internship where the pressure might not be as high and the compensation won't be as high as if you were full time but you'd get some experience and if you do a good job you might get an offer at the end of your tenure. Best of luck!
Acabei a licenciatura há 3 dias atrás e vou trabalhar para o UK no dia 1 de Agosto. As portas abriram-se por ter feito um estágio de verão (no verão passado) com esta empresa e eles terem gostado e decidido avançar com uma proposta. Para mim esta é a forma mais fácil de conseguir sair (agora para ti já é tarde, infelizmente).
Tens vários caminhos a tomar. Se quiseres ir para os Estados Unidos, especialmente para Silicon Valley, tens de ter em mente que as entrevistas são puxadas (em termos de algoritmia, estruturas de dados, desenho de sistemas...) mas que financeiramente se fores aceite vives muito mas muito bem. Se for esta a tua visão aconselho-te vários livros, em especial o Cracking The Code Interview e vários websites de preparação como Codeforces.
Por outro lado, se quiseres ir por exemplo para o UK, Alemanha, Holanda esta componente de algoritmia não costuma ser tão avaliada. Geralmente tens uma entrevista mais técnica e possivelmente algo mais prático para fazeres durante uns dias e depois mostrares o que fizeste. Se preferires esta vertente, tens aqui uma lista com centenas de empresas que seguem este conceito.
Existem vários recursos para encontrar estas empresas. Por um lado recomendo a Landing Jobs para veres várias ofertas. Um truque que podes tentar é começar por spammar as empresas que encontras e que gostas a propor ires trabalhar com eles no Verão (embora agora já comece a ser tarde!!) e se eles curtirem de ti de certeza que te convidam a ficar. Sei de várias empresas que estão há meses e meses a tentar contratar e não conseguem arranjar pessoal...
Quanto à situação do mestrado, sinceramente pelo que tenho visto as empresas não ligam nada, mas posso estar enganado.
De qualquer das maneiras, não tenhas medo em mandar montes e montes de emails nem que seja só a perguntar se têm oportunidades para recém-licenciados ou para estágios de verão (remunerados claro, não há cá exploração). Vais ficar surpreendido com a quantidade de empresas que te vão abrir a porta.
Qualquer dúvida apita!
Cracking the Coding Interview, Career Cup, and Glassdoor
You should revise, among other things, the design section in Cracking the Coding Interview! book.
Also, thanks for sharing your experience, I am sure there are others having similar experiences.
This book has really helped me in the past. Know your OOD concepts and do a few practice problems right before the interview. They really want to see your thought process rather than the correct answer, so be sure to think out loud and take your time. Good luck!
As anyone working in tech will tell you, landing a job/internship can be attributed to some combination of past work, interview practice and luck.
Some good resources for interview practice are https://www.hackerrank.com/ and https://coderbyte.com/. There's also Cracking the Coding Interview, which is a must have for any technical interview prep.
To find a side project to work on, I would suggest trying to solve a small problem you have in your daily life with software. For example, maybe you want to brush your teeth for longer, or remember to do something everyday. A project like this will allow you to both write actual code, but also talk about your process with deeper understanding to interviewers.
Besides that, there are other great online resources that can help you learn more nuanced aspects of software engineering like https://egghead.io or https://doyen.app.
congrats bro.
but word of advice on the programming interviews. literally all they care about is how well you answer the questions. as someone whose been on both sides of the table - many of the people doing the ebaluating are neckbeards so maybe this shit has a subconscious effect but youre evaluated on how well you answer the questions check out: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X.
fwiw: i'm talking about the elite places like google, facebook, etc. maybe lower tier places care about confidence, dress, etc. for programmers but the top don't.
but everyone else in life does so it's def something still hella worth doing.
congrats on your progress, keep it up.
http://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
There's this book called "Cracking the coding interview" which is very popular. I actually had questions straight out of this book while interviewing for some companies. On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1420949854&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
Cracking the Coding Interview
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Master this and you'll have no trouble with future interviews (minus nerves). You could certainly try applying to Google again next year, as a previous rejection won't be held against you. Also you could look for these "1 year internship" positions at places like Google that transition you to software engineering for people with a weaker background in CS, it pays slightly less but I'm sure someone like you wouldn't have trouble getting a full time offer after that. Also if you have money on hand, you could apply for a Masters of Engineering at a top school, pay 1 year of tuition to get some solid coursework + a brand name on your resume (however unfair it sounds, school name along will get you interviews).
Here is a book that will help you with those tech questions during interviews: http://www.amazon.ca/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Cracking the Coding Interview http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X/
Read This
Was this your first technical interview?
Do you know what team your interviewing for? SDE, SDET, PM?
Might I recommend Cracking the Coding Interview? One of my interviewers read 3 questions straight from it
From what I’ve learned on this sub, these will be far better investments of your time:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Programming-Interviews-Insiders-Guide/dp/1479274836
https://www.leetcode.com
Contribute to open source. Create something of your own, and contribute to other projects. Since you are basically self taught and you are going for your first gig, conveying to prospective employers that you care about design, testing, and that you are not a cowboy will help. Read and understand books like Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby. Also, don't be a one trick pony. Tackling JavaScript could be a next logical step. Needless to say, all your open source and projects you demonstrate should have good test suites.
Learn about the non-technical stuff as well. I think Land the Tech Job You Love is great, and you probably want to look into Cracking the Coding Interview as a starting point for learning more about algorithms and data structures. Upcase is another great resource for beginning/intermediate Ruby programmers who want to up their game. Start solving challenges on e.g. codewars.com.
Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions
Go find and read/memorize "Cracking the Coding Interview". It's the one book I've had consistently recommended to me by Software Engineers, hiring managers, and other co-op students :)
http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X
Cracking the Coding Interview
You could try problems at online interview question sites like http://www.careercup.com/page .
The reviews for this book sound good, especially because the few 1 - 3 star reviews are about silly stuff, and I think it's by the CEO of the careercup site: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/product-reviews/098478280X/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_4?ie=UTF8&amp;filterBy=addFourStar&amp;showViewpoints=0
It is a pretty inexpensive book.
You might want to check out this book- Cracking the PM Interview .It's a little dated now, but talks about what it's like to interview at a number of companies, including Facebook. Can I ask a question in return? I'm looking to pivot into the PM role. However - I lack a technical background. Any recommendations on how to address that in general or in the interview? Can I ask what small/medium sized companies you worked at? All people talk about are the big 4-5 :)
To me it sounds like you want to explore product management.
Check out this book:
Cracking the PM Interview
It has a chapter on transitioning into the role from a developer, why technical experience is vital and whether or not you actually need an MBA. It won't have all of the answers but it sounds like it's asking the same types of questions that you are interested in. Hopefully it gives you a better perspective on the role and whether or not you'd really like to pursue that world.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/caarub/swes_or_data_scientists_who_became_product/
This book might prove useful:
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology/dp/0984782818
Cracking the PM Interview is probably pretty legit, especially since Gayle & Asana, the two authors, both worked at Google.
Can’t recommend this book enough (300 pages):
Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782818/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kWKyCb3XHZKFX
“This is Product Management” Podcast: Great material that’s pretty dense with little bullshit. Could easily snag some great management theories and jot them down.
YouTube Nir Eyal. Wrote the book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-forming Products.” He’s a great speaker. Beyond him there are a ton of great YouTube videos of people in product, ProductCon videos might be a start.
Eric Reis blog.
I've heard Cracking the PM Interview is very helpful
I'm doing EE/CS at a top uni. as well, and I was able to land a PM job after some hard work. Some tips I'd give:
> - If you have a creative vision
> - If you love to talk about or review products
> - If you like wearing many hats
> - If you like shaping the big picture
> - If you have a keen eye for design, but also the technical chops to run with the engineers
> - If you are a technical person who doesn’t see yourself simply coding all your life
> - If you are double majoring in computer science and [business, psychology, economics, etc]
> - If you enjoy getting messy with data
> - If you don’t shy away from problems but instead actively look for solutions
> - If you can explain ideas well
> - If you are interested in what the users have to say
> - If you enjoy people
> - If you send well-written, actionable emails
> - If you are the master of your inbox
> - If you like to move around and not sit at your desk all day
> - If you can stay organized and on top of deadlines
> - If you are passionate about what you do
If this list doesn't sound like you at all, then no amount of interview prepping will come through as passion, good vision, and intuition.
Lastly, get the book called Cracking The PM Interview. I won't try to parrot some great interview and company specific knowledge in this book, it helped me a lot.
TL;DR: Make sure you actually want to be a PM, spend a lot of time writing emails/applications and studying for interviews, only take classes useful to PMing, and read that book.
I highly recommend the Cracking the PM interview book. They thoroughly explain how to answer all these interview questions, and the book is tailored to Big Tech. It’s project/program management focused but the behavioral portion is applicable to engineers. And the advice isn’t overly brief or generic- it’s step by step exactly how you need to answer the question and also includes very thorough examples. I was Googling how to interview for Big N and found other folks who recommended this book. I read it and it’s helped me focus my interview prep sessions (still waiting to hear about offers!). If you answer questions the way they tell you to in this book, you will set yourself apart from all the mediocre people who just wing interviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology/dp/0984782818
This is a great start! I'm going through a similar process of resume refinement right now, so I understand how much work is involved. I'm including a bunch of feedback based on what I've learned so far and had success with. I've also hired a couple of PMs as a part of my current role, which has helped with seeing what "clicked" for me when on the hiring-side of things. Apologies for the length in advance, hopefully this is useful.
Keep at it and don't get discouraged! Your next opportunity is out there.
You should really really pick up a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview.
ask a peer, see if one of them knows a team who's hiring or the hiring manager. managers get desperate, and a report's vouch can be worth a lot.
Otherwise : try contracting for Volt ?
Additionally, here's my generic advice to getting a position:
I would recommend doing the technical interview udacity course, ( https://www.udacity.com/course/technical-interview--ud513 ) . During that time, solve 1 problem (moderate difficulty) on hackerrank a day ( https://www.hackerrank.com/ ). Should take you about a month, but at the end of it you'll be able to pass most phone screens. Buy Cracking the coding interview if you can ( https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=AS16VZESZAFXJM40GJWE ) and do all of the string problems and some graph ones before you are onsited. See if people will mock onsite you before your on site.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1469199704&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding
Try these
I am finishing a PhD in theoretical physics so I am very comfortable with mathematics. I'm also doing an online course (12 weeks total) on Algorithms from Stanford (and I've also done one in my first year of undergrad many years ago).
Given that will this book be a good investement for interview prep?
I'd focus on:
Big Data stuff with pyspark or dask would probably be a boon too. MongoDB is also pretty easy to pick-up.
Cracking the Coding Interview
Has a list of most common structures asked about in interviews. The author is an interviewer herself and has been in the industry for quite some time.
Pogledaj ovu knjigu. Sve zavisi od kompanije do kompanije.
A big thing is learning just how they function. Such how a Stack differs from a Queue and so on. Once you understand that you can implement it in any language really. If you are having trouble finding them in C#, you might wanna try looking at python since its pretty close to reading straight english(and there are a fair more courses that use python). Udacity has a really good courses that are free that I believe explain it really well.
My favorite being
https://www.udacity.com/course/technical-interview--ud513
Or even if you arnt looking for a job and just doing this for a hobby, the book Cracking the Coding Interview. It has examples of problems and data structure examples in C#.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473262882&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview
After this course, you can take one that goes into the theoretical aspect handling Big'o, time complexity, efficiency, and such =).
Cracking the Coding Interview: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
I remembered the books:
Cracking the Coding Interview, Gayle Laakmann McDowell
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
Coding Interview Questions, Narasimha Karumanchi
https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Interview-Questions-Narasimha-Karumanchi/dp/1475293534/
Programming Interviews Exposed: Coding Your Way Through the Interview
Also: https://leetcode.com
Pour les entretiens techniques "difficiles" (du genre startup hype ou GAFAM), le livre Cracking the Code Interview peu aider énormément.
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850
I'd highly recommend looking through https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk when doing interview prep. It specifically has a section on Java and has questions related to many "gotcha's" and trivia questions related to java. In additional to technical skills it also has amazing prep material for soft skills and how to talk about the projects that you have worked on.
I've heard really good stuff about a book called "cracking the coding interview" which might help you in the future. I'm going to be picking a copy up myself soon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Programming/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WHDJH6NPCW8&amp;keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview&amp;qid=1569428491&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=cracking+the+%2Caps%2C143&amp;sr=8-1
Hi! I love your username btw.
I'm going to try and find stuff over time, so I may add to this comment. It's going to take a bit to trudge through, but if you get just a little practice with each concept, you'll be pretty set. These companies don't need you to answer everything perfectly, that would give you a 99th percentile or whatever on Leetcode. If you know the basic concept, and you can mold it to the problem and give a time complexity, you'll be fine.
Yes, but also buy Cracking the Coding interview
Did you try online?
https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
have you tried this? I have seen it mentioned almost everywhere.
OP! Super late reply but i hope you have the time to read. /u/ProphetThief and the children comments for that have awesome advice so I'm not gonna reiterate everything. But I just wanna give you a bit of my own experience, etc. and hope it helps!
Good job on signing up for the gym membership, I think thats the best thing for anyone who is trying to change their mindset. It's not about getting the best body or "GETTING SWOLEE". From my experience going 3-4 times a week lifting heavy weights, really changes your brain (yeah it sounds weird) and you'll feel more positive. Personally, prior to going to the gym, there would be times throughout the day when something "bad" happens, and I'll get all depressed and shit. But after going to the gym consistently, now when something "bad" happens, it's really easy to "force" my mind in a positive direction. IMO it's the best way to break out of a bad mindset.
Secondly, I read below that you like programming. Someone below gave you the link to www.freecodecamp.com which should be pretty good. I believe they teach HTML/CSS/Javascript, which is good for front-end and back-end, which means if you like web development, that's literally the most minimal amount of languages you'd need to learn. Maybe a goal you can have for the time being is to learn these skills while thinking of a cool web application that you can make. That way by the time you feel comfortable developing in those languages, you can build a project. Then you can learn new tools and build more projects with those new that. And you just keep doing this. After while you'll have a bunch of awesome projects you can put on a resume and you'll have the skills to back it up. I'll link you to some of the stuff that I found useful:
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB0WvcxTbCA (So you know what technologies you should learn. Yeah i know it says 2015, but it still applies)
-http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-6th-Edition/dp/0984782850 (So you know what it takes to get a dev job)
I hope you get the chance to read this and I hope it helps! GL MAN!
Cracking the Code Interview is an excellent book if you haven't already checked it out. It's more then just coding problems too. She tries to cover everything that you might need.
I think the best way if you really want to get into the tech filed is by reading this book https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850. I would also learn algorithms to allow to at least get a better shot into a entry level coding job. Also check out local tech meetups and see what they are doing sometimes there are job openings and you can directly talk to employers there. Good Luck!
thanks for the tip! I didn't yet go through CTCI and won't have the time to cover the entire thing. If it isn't too much to ask, would you mind telling me which of the chapters are the most important? I know Recursion/Dynamic Programming (Chapter 8) is really important, but what else? (If you don't have the book the contents page is here if you press the "Look Inside" button on the picture. Thanks very much again!
There is also this awesome book: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541713218&sr=8-1&keywords=cracking+the+code+interviews
I recommend going through the book https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=dp_ob_title_bk. It's got the technical stuff and also has sections on what to expect from a soft skills perspective.
I've used this for 2 weeks, covers some basics and has practice problems and questions at the end of every chapter.
https://www.amazon.com/Problem-Solving-Algorithms-Structures-Python/dp/1590282574/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1498904735&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=python+algorithms+data+structures
Solutions can be found: http://interactivepython.org/courselib/static/pythonds/index.html
If you really want to practice algorithms and data-structures I'd suggest sites like hackerrank or the book: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=pd_sim_14_20?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0984782850&amp;pd_rd_r=4YMFH5B5NS49VN6CYF9R&amp;pd_rd_w=EKQqU&amp;pd_rd_wg=TCGRX&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=4YMFH5B5NS49VN6CYF9R
https://projecteuler.net/about is also a good site, I've done about 40 problems there in the last week.
I'd recommend reading through the FAQ for internships.
Technical interviews are only barely related to what your daily work would be like. This is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing in that you can study for and basically game the interview system. It's a curse in that you're "wasting your time" in that the skills you get from interviewing will only loosely transfer to your work as a software engineer. Being from a great school, you'll likely hear back about internships more than many students. Grab yourself a copy of CtCI and you'll be on your way to getting an internship.
It's not clear to me if your issue is needing more education or getting a foot in the door.
I second the suggestion for Coursera - lots of great content on there.
What languages have you learned so far? I have found this to be a good intro to Python.
Many of the bigger software companies are less fixated on your resume and will instead give you a series of programming tests. Get a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview and work through all of the questions in every chapter, including the "Advanced Topics".
Where (approximately) do you live? Are you willing to relocate? (PM me if you don't want to tell the world.)
Success isn't determined by the campus you go to... Do personal coding projects outside of classwork and maintain them on github, learn CTCI from front to back, work your ass off to land some internships, go to career fairs at both Newark and NB campuses and be personable, don't rely on career services alone, apply to jobs outside of CareerKnight/RaiderNet. Also don't forget to keep your GPA up (At least a 3.3!! No excuses!)... dedicate real time and attention to your classwork.
FYI: Some of the undergrad Comp Sci curriculum is taught at NJIT. You'll register through the Rutgers-Newark registrar, but have to walk across the street to NJIT to get to class (or take subway one stop for some reason, but I'd just walk it...).
Also here's some resources about the Newark campus which might help.
Cracking the Coding Interview
Yeah I have read around 70%-80% of all YDKJS books combined .
By the way just in any case you find anything interesting and helpful (but for also copy pasting this list in the future) here are the books-site tutorials-docs that I am reading-have read-plan to read-follow :
web dev road map
htmldog
www.javascript.info
css in depth (manning)
eloquent js
YDKJS (all books)
HTML5 for masterminds
dom enlightenment
high performance images
web performance in action
reliable javascript
building progressive web apps
http: the definitive guide
learning http 2
cracking the coding interview
javascript data structure and algorithms (be careful,not a good choice, it has a lot of mistakes but I find it concise)
professional git
vs code docs
Using SVG with CSS3 and HTML5
Interactive Data Visualization for the Web
refactoring ui
figma docs
react docs
redux docs
vue docs
webpack docs
clean code
design patterns
web components in action
Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
and many more to come .
Here is the mobile version of your link
A great GPA (3.8+) will take you far. Also, put some webdesign-related projects on your resume!
If you can, go to a career fair. Be friendly, be prepared, and follow up with thank you e-mails.
I'm not sure how interviews for UI people go. If companies give technical interviews, I recommend you buy and review one or both of the following:
I recommend: Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job
And:
Cracking the Coding Interview, Fourth Edition: 150 Programming Interview Questions and Solutions
If not, I'm not sure. Sorry.
Anything in this series is brilliant. Explains things at a very basic level, in friendly english. It will help you a lot. Good luck!
...continued...
> Test plans - When you apply for QA roles, you'll almost certainly be asked "how would you test ____?". The correct answer is to be methodical. Don't just spew out a stream of test cases as you brainstorm them. Understand the different scopes (unit, functional, integration, maybe end-to-end) and what the goals of each is, and how they differ. Understand that there are different areas of testing like boundary, happy path, special cases (null, " ", 0, -1), exceptions, localization, security, deployment/rollback, code coverage, user-acceptance, a/b, black box vs white box, load/performance/stress/scalability, resiliency, etc. Test various attributes at the intersection of a compenent and a capability (borrowed from the book How Google Tests Software), and I believe you can see a video that goes into this called The 10 Minute Test Plan. Understand how tests fit into your branching strategy - when to run bvts vs integration vs regression tests.
> Test methodologies - Understand the tools that make you an efficient tester. These include data driven tests, oracles, all-pairs / equivalency class, mocking & injection, profiling, debugging, logging, model-based, emulators, harnesses (like JUnit), fuzzing, dependency injection, etc.
> Test frameworks - Knowing all the tests you need to write is good, but then you have to write them. Don't do all of them from scratch. Think of it as a system that needs to be architected so that test cases are simple to write, and new functionality is easy to implement tests for. I can't recommend any books for this because it's something I learned from my peers.
> Test tools - Selenium / WebDriver for web ui, Fiddler for web services (or sites), JUnit/TestNG, JMeter (I have to admit, I don't know this one), integration tools like Jenkins, Github/Stash, git/svn.
> System design - As you're entry-level, this may not be a huge focus in an interview, but know how to sensibly design a system. Know which classes should be used and how they interact with each other. Keep in mind that the system may evolve in the future.
> Whiteboarding - Practice solving problems on a whiteboard. The process is more than just writing the solution, though. This is the process I follow (based loosely on the book Programming Interviews Exposed):
Resources:-
> Learning to test:
> Learning to interview:
> Learning to program:
> Miscellaneous
> What sort of skills should I really hone? I realize I gave you a ton of stuff in this post, so here's a shorter list:
> Examples of projects that make you look valuable
Just throwing this out there:
You don't have to quit your job to see if you can get equal or better pay elsewhere (or at your current soul-sucking job).
I recommend Break The Rules: The Secret Code to Finding a Great Job Fast.
It was written by one of those scumbag corporate shills who are either really good at faking liking their job, or actually like their job (even worse!). They also have a Ph. D. in the subject and seem to specialize in corporate jobs.
Noteworthy things from the book:
Teaches you how to take credit for things that you don't usually take credit for.
Example: Everyone working under you had to be earning money for someone, right? You can take credit for the hours they worked (you scheduled them), the money they made over however much time you've worked there (easily in the millions of dollars; probably hundreds of millions if you're with a company that makes a lot of money, possibly even in the billion range if you've been there long enough and the company is huge, all because you were the "lead" of their projects). Basically, any money that was made under you as the manger....TADA! You get the credit. Why? You would get the blame if everything was messed up. That's all it takes for you to justify using those huge numbers, even if you don't make the policy that leads to you getting those numbers. Doesn't matter, and the numbers impress other bosses. You can also use those numbers to negotiate higher pay from your current employer. "We're not gonna find a boss like GeneralMalaiseRB anytime soon! Pay the man, he makes X amount of money, which he just showed us on his spreadsheet! There's a go-getter there, that GeneralMalaiseRB. Can't fool him into working for pennies anymore!" they'll all say, once they read your numbers. You know what morons people are for spreadsheets in corporate culture. It's almost like they have to be, by some insane logic, or their entire system will crumble.
But even if getting a raise won't work, you can use those numbers to get a job that pays well. Hell, you probably don't even need to stay in your specialized area anymore. You said it yourself; your skill is in being a boss.
Anyway, I am too lazy to type out all the rest the book is good for, but it's a good book, and you don't have to quit your job first to use it.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Link: Cracking The Coding Interview
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).
https://www.amazon.it/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X ?
While it's a good idea to know a basic idea of what data structures there are, Programming Interviews Exposed was super helpful in reviewing important concepts as well as prepare me for my interviews. Honestly, I didn't learn my data structures properly the first time around for interviews, and that book and Cracking the Coding Interview were immensely useful for both algorithms and data structures.
The only thing you need to do is buy... and read a bool called "cracking the coding interview". Do the quiz questions... Cracking the Coding Interview, 6th Edition: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0984782850/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5nTqDbS1RTATM
You do that... i guarantee youll blast through the interview.
This book was helpful for me
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https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/0984782850/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwb3rBRDrARIsALR3XeaiC2LxEWVh2e-gqCgkXUfYW26m5A4-rqrUWUh3FP3_UDizP06nuGIaAt0GEALw_wcB&hvadid=241870593966&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031582&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14789809108525855523&hvtargid=kwd-20040243067&hydadcr=16409_10304044&keywords=cracking+the+coding+interview&qid=1567633256&s=gateway&sr=8-2
Sorry to hear about your troubles!
Hmm, for job hunting I'd recommend:
Break The Rules: The Secret Code to Finding a Great Job Fast
It has the best way of looking at "selling yourself" to people I've ever seen in a book. Plus it came out in 2001 and you can buy it for a penny + shipping.
If you're interested in working for yourself (starting work now, not waitin around), I'd recommend:
Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More
Or anything by Robert W. Bly. The guy's a genius.
For idea-generating for non-writing self-professions, I'd recommend:
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
If you create your own start-up, Bly has a marketing book too. I'd get that. Anything business-related written by the guy is worth its weight in gold.
If you don't see a job in sight, I would highly consider self-employment, just because you can start today. I think it's great that anyone, anywhere can say "I'm now employed" if they want to. There is responsibility for paying yourself, of course, but now no one can fire you, and they don't take a percent away from your earnings. You get all the kickback. And it's not a pyramid scheme-ish company like Amway, where layers of people are all getting a chunk of your profit (just like any other job you work for other people).
You sound intelligent and experienced; you should go for it if you've got the gumption.
Cracking the Coding Interview
She covers not only algorithms, but also how to think about the problems you are given. I'm not usually a fan of these type of interview prep books, but this one is really good.
The only thing I don't care for about it is the focus on interviewing at the "big 4"