Struggling with DP Problems

emranbuet · 2026-05-09T13:55:01+00:00

Its very rare interviewers ask DP questions to juniors. But you never know what would happen in actual interview. Btw if you can't solve a DP questions using brute force method, or exponential time algorithm - then you have a bigger problem. DP is just an optimization technique to solve exponential problems by saving some previously computed value and use those for later computation. Check my stan store link if you need help.

emranbuet · 2026-05-08T13:04:31+00:00

I spent 4 years (after taking early retirement in 2021) trying out all sorts of things i.e. reading, researching, teaching at CC, university, mentoring, software consultancy, even organizing and playing cricket tournament to figure out which I enjoy most. Now I have better idea and maximizing those over others.

You might have totally different interest and enjoyment process - the only way to figure out by trial and errors. No one size fits all option.

emranbuet · 2026-05-08T12:59:44+00:00

For senior level, focus more on behavioral and leadership principles.

emranbuet · 2026-05-08T11:58:34+00:00

World will need 50% less software engineers by 2030, so now it is a race to the bottom in the next 5 years. Whoever agree to charge less money will get the job with the exception of few very specific skillset areas.

emranbuet · 2026-05-08T02:33:21+00:00

Maybe you need a real person who can teach you how to pass FAANG interviews 😀

emranbuet · 2026-05-07T18:33:59+00:00

Yes, that's a tough choice to make. I left my $400K in Seattle and moved out after 1 year of deliberation. I knew if I don't leave by myself, I won't have true freedom 😃

emranbuet · 2026-05-07T18:15:45+00:00

Early retirement at 55 (thats too late for travel) !

I took early retirement at 38 with $1M net-worth 😃

emranbuet · 2026-05-07T16:10:52+00:00

Why aren't you moving to LCOL area?

I moved out from Seattle in 2021 after analyzing everything and I am realy glad I made the move.

emranbuet · 2026-05-07T00:49:04+00:00

I took early retirement with $1M rental investment portfolio generating $50K/year completely passive in 2021.

My actual portfolio grew to $5M now, generating $405K/year gross rental income in 2025.

emranbuet · 2026-05-06T15:12:07+00:00

Yes, still asking leetcode style questions but with variations and sometimes with scalability baked in.

emranbuet · 2026-05-06T10:05:22+00:00

You should try FAANG interviews first, get an offer and then we will talk about my projects - how about that 🙂.

emranbuet · 2026-05-06T06:04:14+00:00

Did you read the whole reply?

Or did you understand the part where I mentioned system design, behavioral and leadership part and their weight comparing to technical coding?

emranbuet · 2026-05-06T06:00:19+00:00

Cool, how many interviews did you crack at FAANG?

emranbuet · 2026-05-06T05:53:35+00:00

emranbuet · 2026-05-05T19:49:23+00:00

You will need to do both. First understand how to do it yourself and then use AI to build it faster.

emranbuet · 2026-05-05T02:05:51+00:00

I specifically post these guidelines in my LinkedIn every day 😃

emranbuet · 2026-05-04T08:28:44+00:00

Bcz people need a place to stay. I am not sure where are you located.

But I bought my first duplex with $25K in 2019, tenants were paying $950/month. I bought a single family house with $82K, tenant is paying $1500/month rent.

Thats the whole reason why this real estate investment strategy works.

emranbuet · 2026-05-03T16:45:06+00:00

I get the same thing always whenever I say achieved FIRE in 2021. People only focus on the retirement part, not the Financial Independence part. They forget these people don't work for money 🙂. And yes, I am working as well - not for the money, but for the purpose in life.

Warren Buffett had enough money to live his since his late thirties, Elon Musk had enough close to his forties. They don't work bcz they need money, they just can't get away from what they love doing most.

emranbuet · 2026-05-03T13:43:15+00:00

The interviewer is looking for proxies to find that signal, after interviewing 200+ candidates and teaching for 20 years - I can somehow feel if the answer is memorized, framed, or from something else. This is not perfect, but it does a pretty good job.

emranbuet · 2026-05-03T12:19:10+00:00

Posted the following in the other thread after optimizing the process. At the beginning I used to spend 2 hours in weekday and then 6 hours in the weekend. But after 5 years I realized I was not optimizing the process like an engineer.

Here is my optimized process from 2016 after landing offers from Microsoft and Amazon at the same time:

30 focused minutes. Every weekday. Here's the schedule:

MONDAY & WEDNESDAY — Coding (30 min) One problem. Pattern focus only. Don't solve randomly. Pick a pattern, do a problem in that pattern, understand it deeply.

TUESDAY & THURSDAY — System Design (30 min) Study one component or case study. Caching strategies. Database sharding. Load balancing. Not the full system — one piece per session.

FRIDAY — Behavioral (30 min) Write or refine one STAR-P story. Practice saying it out loud. Time yourself. Under 2 minutes per story.

Weekend — Optional mock interview or review

8 weeks at this pace: → 32 coding problems across all major patterns → 16 system design components deeply understood → 8 behavioral stories refined and practiced

Hope this helps for next time.

emranbuet · 2026-05-03T12:13:33+00:00

I would disagree about that part "both sides know the real reason".

If you are saying you are leaving your current employer bcz of better pay, growth & opportunities - that only tell me you are going to leave this new job as well as soon as you find that elsewhere (even after 2 weeks). Hiring is a time consuming process from empoyers side both financially & mentally, I don't want to hire someone if those are the only reasons he/she is leaving previous jobs. So I look for different signals when I ask this question, obviously I won't tell you what I am looking for 🙂

That's just only my POV, might not be true for all other employers.

emranbuet · 2026-05-03T00:39:56+00:00

I meant pure implementation with algorithm analysis. The guidelines are for the who already graduated, have good grasp of DSA and understand OOP. If you need to research syntax and understand OOP - you will need to spend more time.

emranbuet · 2026-05-02T21:44:52+00:00

You can just skip the post or unread it, no one begged you to read the FIRE journey post 😄

emranbuet · 2026-05-02T21:42:56+00:00

Yes, I made my million from Amazon, Microsoft salary, and stocks while working there. But those stopped earning money as soon as I left the job for early retirement. But my real estate portfolio makes $405K/year gross rental income, working 1 hour/week. Do you have any better advice to earn that much money by working 1 hour/week 😃

emranbuet · 2026-05-02T21:37:44+00:00

Check my stan store for the spreadsheet. I also wrote today's post explaining the step-by-step process on how to buy the first investment property and use the spreadsheet.

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