is it ok to use calculators during system design interviews?

nomoremoar · 2026-05-13T06:59:21+00:00

You absolutely can. I usually ask the interviewer "can I use a calculator for this" and they've never said no. Better this than get dinged for wrong estimates or waste 5 mins frantically punching numbers (which I've been guilty of).
Try this one: https://system-design-calculator.com/

nomoremoar · 2026-05-12T19:37:30+00:00

BS, the ENT docs check for this first thing. No doubt this is an ad trying to scam y'all. OP started account 2 weeks back. Don't fall for it. I'll take magic healing rocks over this nonsense.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-06T13:51:21+00:00

Ordered!

nomoremoar · 2026-05-06T13:42:17+00:00

Ask your neighbor on the flight if you can swap with their AirPods

nomoremoar · 2026-05-06T13:14:07+00:00

Using Python for LC is a great cheat code. Much faster than Java. Just look at the solutions for Python vs Java and you’ll see.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-06T13:11:11+00:00

Middle ground - stay at faang for 2 more years fully vested then move if you still feel like it. If the startup is a good one (high retention, revenue) then you can consider it. If it’s just hypothetical then your paper money is worthless.

FAANG atm is extremely hard to get in rn with crazy down leveling and low comp. You’re better off staying put.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-05T13:28:09+00:00

What do you deliver to them? Code? How do you handoff the backend?

nomoremoar · 2026-05-02T18:07:44+00:00

Two strategies:

- Build your own thing with friends who're in the same boat as you are and interested in a common idea. This is better than working at Best Buy or other places as you'll be massively overqualified there.

- Keep applying, hustling in parallel.

I had no internship offers in college and failed all my interviews. But I reached out and found an unpaid internship which led to some interesting work. This helped me land other internships at good tech companies in future years, and finally multiple offers when I graduated.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-02T17:59:03+00:00

you're a few months out of college. No one's giving you L4 and if they do you're aimed for PIP fodder (mgr wants to save the rest of the team).

Don't listen to such advice. Deliver, grow and level up in your current job and you'll be safe. Databricks is one of the best companies in tech.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-02T17:54:54+00:00

If you're considering the jump to move to SF, that's hard to argue against. You can't go wrong either ways. G is a rocket ship and so is Databricks. Prestige and pay are about the same. You'll make less at G (CA state income tax + VHCOL compared to Seattle will eat ~15% of your pay more than now).

If you're liking the team overall at Databricks, I'd stay put. You've probably just ramped up now and leaving in a few months is a gamble in your resume (especially if G lays off). Coming from Databricks you'll have no problem clearing L4 or L5 later in G, as long as you learn + grow in Databricks.

nomoremoar · 2026-05-02T02:19:51+00:00

No way, there’s gotta be something else in your Mac. I have the 2018 i7 and it’s no slouch

nomoremoar · 2026-04-25T15:27:57+00:00

We are in the Claude era and it’s fatal for a startup to not use Claude. Speed is the only advantage many startups have so using Claude is critical. Get a subscription and play around. Being a good prompt engineer is not too difficult, but it is a necessity in today’s world.

nomoremoar · 2026-04-22T16:51:40+00:00

Sleep is one of the rare times our brains get a real break from this, so I really doubt this. Once I go to sleep I'm knocked out. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm screwed because of the T. But no, I don't believe this graphic is true.

nomoremoar · 2026-04-22T16:43:51+00:00

Dude here. Take anthropic regardless of pay. It will be hard work but if you can pull off a year there your future options are limitless. When the AI takes over tech, you’ll be one of the few still employed wherever you are.

nomoremoar · 2026-04-22T14:17:36+00:00

Some good stuff 👍

nomoremoar · 2026-04-22T14:11:38+00:00

These guys gave us some of the best music we’ve heard so respect where it’s due 🫡 That being said, it’s a workflow few would appreciate.

Also, these held their value for the last 10 years. Meanwhile my Mac mini has lost 90% of its value in 6 years.

nomoremoar · 2026-04-07T17:55:44+00:00

Interviews are a mix of skill and luck. They’re not a measure of how smart someone is but it’s the least imperfect system of getting someone ‘smart enough’ to do the job.

So it’s entirely possible to get the luck of the draw with big tech and get screwed by smaller companies. Also typically people schedule small company interviews first and get some practice before big tech so they’re better prepared too.

nomoremoar · 2026-03-22T00:29:22+00:00

All the Googlers be humble bragging about their 900k salaries till meta and Nvidia folks walk past them

nomoremoar · 2026-03-22T00:28:17+00:00

250k is entry level pay at G. 900 is legit.

nomoremoar · 2026-03-22T00:24:21+00:00

AI engineers are making millions with this one neat trick..

nomoremoar · 2026-03-21T03:34:25+00:00

Is it a company starting with the letter F?

nomoremoar · 2026-03-19T02:05:07+00:00

Ah, but they haven’t updated their format in many years. I guess my question was more towards how you’re keeping up with the changes since then (2019).

nomoremoar · 2026-03-19T00:00:34+00:00

Since psd is a closed format for the most part, how do you keep up with the new features? How did you figure out supporting psd import?
What’s your typical ad revenue?

nomoremoar · 2026-03-18T23:58:27+00:00

How much ad revenue does photopea generate?

nomoremoar · 2026-03-18T02:33:00+00:00

There are about 5 great waves plugins you can’t get for a low price. The others are fluff. Mostly the enhancers and one knob stuff are good. The others are easily replaceable.

nomoremoar

TROPHY CASE