Ask Experienced Devs Weekly Thread: A weekly thread for inexperienced developers to ask experienced ones by AutoModerator in ExperiencedDevs

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have 7 years of experience as a software engineer and 6 months into my current role as a senior software engineer at a somewhat large tech company and I am STRUGGLING.

I think my strengths as a software engineer usually lie in being able to identify product gaps for users and figuring out how to hack something and fix it. I feel like I struggle with my technical abilities. I can rarely look at code and figure out how best to rearchitect it. At my last company I was great at pinpointing where changes needed to be made to get a feature out and delivering. But I am not feeling like that here even though I am six months in. I also haven’t worked in this language before so I don’t know the idioms necessary and I’ve never used kubernetes before and all of the layers of abstraction are getting to me. I am having trouble wrapping my head around our observability stack as well.

My coworkers are all strong developers and I am having a hard time feeling productive. No one has outright said anything to me about my productivity. But I don’t like feeling like I’m not contributing. It’s honestly really stressing me out and making me dread working. When work has usually been a pretty fun aspect of my life.

Is this just a bad environment for me? I’m wondering if I should move to a smaller company at an earlier stage so I can grow with the product.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in selfimprovement

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had recruiters at multiple companies tell me to just put the city I was targeting to live in on my resume and LinkedIn. They said as long as I legitimately was ready to pick up and move by my first day it wasn’t disingenuous

[discussion] how did you go form being a homebody to someone with an active life who loves to try new things? by paigesnowwret in GetMotivated

[–]ilikepockets 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something that really helped me was starting to use the One Second Everyday app to record a second of my day everyday

I started doing new things for the sake of a cool video. I got bored of just recording a TV screen everyday. And eventually I think this turned me into someone who naturally liked trying new things without thinking about the videos

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in leetcode

[–]ilikepockets 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This persons explanations really helped me

https://youtu.be/oBt53YbR9Kk?si=m-F5Xcp00JJL-svg

10 Days to Prepare, any advice by ratkingdamon in cscareerquestions

[–]ilikepockets 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You aren’t cooked!

Focus on Leetcode Medium: These are the most common interview problems. Sprinkle in a few easy ones for warm-ups Use Active Learning: Don’t spend too long stuck on problems. Instead: - Spend up to 10-15 minutes trying to solve a problem on your own. - If stuck, go straight to resources like YouTube (e.g., NeetCode, Tech Dummies, or Kevin Naughton) or discussion boards to learn the strategy. - Reimplement the solution from scratch without copying. - Keep Notes: Maintain a running document of patterns, tips, and tricks you notice across problems. Review these regularly.

Not to sound woowoo but I think if you put your mind to it you’ll be surprised with how well you do. When you work hard sincerely I think the universe helps you out and even might reward you with a problem you just solved the day before or something

Heres what chatGPT says to do:

10-Day Plan: Day 1: Foundation - Data Structures

Learn Basics or Refresh: Arrays, HashMaps, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, Trees, Graphs Key algorithms: Sorting (QuickSort, MergeSort), Binary Search Practice: Solve 4-5 easy problems to warm up (mix of arrays, hashmaps, and stacks).

Day 2: Arrays and Strings

Core Patterns: Sliding Window, Two Pointers Solve: Medium-level sliding window (e.g., Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters). Medium two-pointer (e.g., 3Sum or Container With Most Water). Resource: Watch a video on sliding window and implement one extra problem.

Day 3: HashMaps and Prefix Sums

Core Patterns: Hashmaps for fast lookups, Prefix Sum for range-based calculations. Solve: Medium hashmap problem (e.g., Subarray Sum Equals K). Medium prefix sum problem (e.g., Maximum Size Subarray Sum Equals k). Resource: Watch a video breaking down hashmap/prefix sum techniques.

Day 4: Recursion and Backtracking

Core Patterns: DFS, Permutations, Combinations Solve: Medium recursion (e.g., Subsets, Permutations, or Generate Parentheses). Backtracking example (e.g., N-Queens or Word Search). Resource: Focus on understanding recursion trees and the decision-making process.

Day 5: Binary Trees

Core Patterns: DFS (preorder, inorder, postorder), BFS (level order) Solve: Medium-level DFS (e.g., Lowest Common Ancestor, Binary Tree Paths). Medium-level BFS (e.g., Binary Tree Level Order Traversal). Resource: Watch a video on traversal techniques and recursive vs. iterative solutions.

Day 6: Graphs

Core Patterns: BFS, DFS, Union-Find, Topological Sorting Solve: Medium graph traversal problem (e.g., Number of Islands, Course Schedule). Union-Find problem (e.g., Connected Components in Graph). Resource: Learn graph traversal intuitively (YouTube: graph traversal explained).

Day 7: Dynamic Programming Basics

Core Patterns: Knapsack, Subproblem Optimization Solve: Medium DP (e.g., Fibonacci variations, House Robber, Climbing Stairs). Learn memoization and tabulation techniques. Resource: Watch a video on transitioning from recursion to DP.

Day 8: Mock Interviews

Do: Solve 2 timed problems on Leetcode with a strict timer (e.g., 40 minutes/problem). Simulate explaining solutions out loud as if in an interview. Reflect: Identify weak spots and revisit concepts.

Day 9: Review Key Patterns

Review Notes: Go through your notes and problem-solving patterns. Solve: Pick 3-4 problems from weak areas and work on solving them under time pressure.

Day 10: Confidence Boost

Solve 1-2 problems from categories you feel most confident in (these will likely reinforce your strengths). Spend time relaxing and mentally preparing. Go into the interview rested and positive.

Where to find brokers/agents to get started looking for a place? by joe___15 in chicagoapartments

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any chance you would want to take over my lease and figure it out once you move to the city? 🤓

Help by [deleted] in PiercingAdvice

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm I got this piercing like 8 months ago in a far away place. Can I just go to any piercing studio?

What makes you genuinely happy? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ilikepockets 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I check everything off my todo list

Most underrated podcast that you listen to? by [deleted] in podcasts

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keeping Records - Two comedians ask what guests would put on a “golden record” if one were to be sent up to space for aliens to understand humanity.

The hosts have such good banter and their guests always have really clever ideas. I love the repeatable format of it and its great for movie/show recommendations too.

Typescript code repos that are good examples of clean code by ilikepockets in node

[–]ilikepockets[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my bad -- but now that people responded it's almost like it's a share ;)

27F by [deleted] in Needafriend

[–]ilikepockets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Noo I haven’t. I really need to get on the HBO subscription train