Ashfaq Ahmed’s Post

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I'm going to get a lot of heat for posting this, but... You DO NOT need DSAs to be successful in your career. Quit pushing that narrative for every single sector of software development. DSAs serve a very narrow area of problem-solving. Things like building a new operating system, video game development, or a new database engine. I will say it's GOOD to study them, but you do not NEED them. You might need them at some point, but you can learn about which ones you need when that time comes. Like anything else we don't know in software development, you can Google it or even use ChatGPT these days with a good prompt to provide you with an accelerated starting point. Best part? You WILL learn it as you use it. Using DSAs as an interviewing method is just STUPID for roles that will never, ever use them. Chances are, depending on the type of dev or type of job you have in this field -- you still may never need to use them! I said what I said. Y'all can hate me or love me for it. In my personal experience, I think people place way too much importance on DSAs in areas where it is irrelevant. My opinion on this could change at some point in my career. But as of right now, I cannot see a good reason why. Facts are facts: If you're a newer dev reading this, I don't know all my DSAs and I'm still working in a great team building amazing software with them. 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, especially if you plan to go into a position that would require them, but you do not NEED them to be employable and start your career. Please take this message with you over the weekend and try to have a good time with that weight off your shoulders. ✌

"Why are they asking me to regurgitate random algorithms? It wasn’t in the job description." If you find yourself asking this question in an interview, it's a BIG red flag — you might be dealing with a gatekeeping employer. Let me explain. For most modern software jobs building products, you don't actually need a ton of low-level algorithm knowledge. Sure, there are exceptions, like if you're working in deep tech or you're an AI researcher. But for the vast majority of front-end, back-end, full-stack, and DevOps roles, you'll never need to know how to implement a bubble sort. So why would they test you on it? It's not part of your day-to-day work. When an employer insists that you need to know bubble sort, binary trees, linked lists, and other level CS concepts, it's often unnecessary. In the technology we use today, these things are typically built-in. As a modern software developer, your job is to efficiently combine these pre-existing libraries, not reinvent the wheel. This line of questioning in an interview can imply that the employer wants to weed out candidates. If you're treated this way at the start of a relationship, imagine what it might be like three months or three years down the line. There could be a constant pressure to prove yourself with knowledge that may not even be relevant to your actual work. It becomes a performance to gain recognition, which is what these types of interview processes often boil down to.

What is wrong with the world? 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫/𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟+ 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫: • Explain how a Merkle tree works, implement hash set. • Multiple choice test with questions like: "What's the bottom margin here? margin: 10px 20px 30px 40px" • Present multi-day take home exercise on arbitrary small fake problem. • Show me something cool you built previously. • Interviewer: tell me about a <insert situation that never happens in real life> you encountered before, and how you tackled it. • Candidate: <insert fictional answer based on how one would imaginably tackle such situation>. • Candidate during TPS: uses Google to look up an exact API. • Interviewer during TPS: notes in black book that the candidate did not know the API by heart. 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫/𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟+ 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫: • Asks Google or ChatGPT how a Merkle tree works. Uses built-in data structures and doesn't look back. • Spends a significant amount of time understanding the business case and value, ensuring the 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑠 are being solved. • Picks the proper architectural and implementation patterns to ensure the problems are solved the 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦. • Uses tech as a tool, and picks the right tool for the job. Doesn't care about specific language or tech stack. • Mentors others and generally force multiplies by disseminating knowledge and best practices. Leads by way of example. • Writes clean and maintainable code that inspire others (and later saves them ton of time/money). Spends 20% time up front to do things the right way instead of 80% later rewriting it. • Eats YAGNI and KISS for breakfast. Yet knows when to save it for diner. • Speaks up when others don't and challenges the status quo. • Does all the above in close collaboration with peers while creating alignment for entire teams or the org.

Let's talk about the emotional investment involved in the application process. The current wisdom (and I can't argue with it), is to "apply early, apply often". To grind out company website hunting to customize your resume and learn nuances of the company so that when you apply, you can explain that the company is the greatest company you've ever seen and it's your childhood dream to work for them. I struggle with this because I don't believe it's possible. Necessary, yes. Genuine? No. I have a very intimate connection with my profession(s), and I've always tried to tread slowly and carefully through positions. A bad role as a chef can wreak havoc on your health, your family, and your mind. Choosing a role that isn't right for you can be just as disastrous, no matter how healthy the company. I know, I've experienced both, but this practice runs contrary to (current) industry norms for software development. Today is a code test. It's for a company whose purpose and work is something I genuinely see value in, and so they're my top priority. I spent the last few days preparing data-oriented practice work, asking ChatGPT to create sample challenges based on the pharmaceutical industry and common data handling techniques, which led to me focusing on depth-first searching for traversing maps. I stumbled into the recursive structure of DFS in Java by accident, intending to just learn a "common algorithm". It's humbling, but incredibly interesting, to have to dissect the code and learn what it's actually doing. It brings with it moments of frustration, but it also rewards you when the concept clicks, and you truly understand it. Recursion seems simple, and yet, phew... The company gives a solid primer for the test to come (probably moreso than many I've seen so far), explaining what it will and won't entail, insomuch as I'm almost certainly over-preparing. I expect that's a lesson I'm going to have to learn the hard way. But it's an emotional journey - I slept terribly last night, dreaming of incredibly complex testing scenarios, requirements of a front-end development alongside my perfectly coded java program, all within an hour or two. I'm trying to minimize my coffee intake this morning so I'm not an absolute whackjob when the materials are sent over this morning. It doesn't matter - I take things personally. I immerse, and take ownership, and I captain the boat. Maybe it's a little sailboat, maybe it's a goddamn raft. But it's mine to pilot for a little while, and I cannot divorce myself from that. Maybe my little boat needs to travel faster, and visit more docks, and that's fine, but for today, I just want the make sure the thing doesn't sink. 🚣♀️

Have you ever changed jobs and noticed that your pay went up? Yet, felt like you were stuck in the same old cycle? Many people think that getting a new job will get them out of the rut. What's going on? A bigger paycheck doesn't always mean you are out of the rat race 🤯 This is a big deal: It doesn't matter where you work as much as how you work. Stop the Cycle! 1. Self-awareness: Know that you are worth more than what you make. 2. Learn high-income skills that are beyond Python, Java, or ChatGPT. 3. Build your network: Talk to mentors and other professionals who aren't in your field. 4. Start a passion project as a side job. It could be your way out of trouble! Switching jobs is sometimes a quick fix. But getting more skills and a wider view? That's how you get out of the rat race for good! Who wants to move up a level? Here is your opportunity to level up your game: https://lnkd.in/g5HkrT_i

In classic Silly Con Valley fashion, the initial Devin announcement contained numerous exaggerations. "AI Software Engineer" - misleading Solved an Upwork job - false Passed interviews - misleading Evaluated on SWE-bench - almost true Nonetheless, there are real achievements here. Perhaps even an early entry in the next generation of DevTools. Time to get serious about what's real and what's not. Full article here --> https://lnkd.in/gWxrRSy9

As an AI language model, I am not able to submit a pull request on Github. However, I can provide guidance on how to create a pull request to contribute to the repository "what-happens-when" on Github. To create a meaningful pull request for this repository, you could try to add a new section explaining what happens when a specific key is pressed on the keyboard, or you could expand an existing section by providing more in-depth information or adding diagrams to make it easier to understand. Once you have made your changes, you can create a pull request by following these steps: 1.Fork the repository on Github 2.Clone the forked repository to your local machine 3.Create a new branch for your changes 4.Make your changes and commit them to your branch 5.Push your branch to your forked repository on Github 6.Go to the original repository and create a new pull request 7.Choose your branch from the forked repository as the source and the master branch of the original repository as the target 8.Write a clear and concise description of your changes and why they are valuable 9.Submit the pull request After submitting your pull request, the repository owner will review your changes and provide feedback. If your changes are accepted, they will be merged into the master branch of the original repository. Here is the link to the "what-happens-when" repository on Github: https://lnkd.in/dcJz_znk

You will be given a position to fill, a super senior AI developer. 🎯 20 years old, fresh grad developer 🎯 with 30+ years of experience 🎯 loves onsite programming 🎯 and not a job hopper. You take a deep breath 🧘♂️ 🧘♀️ and starting to poke around LinkedIn. 1️⃣ filters return something completely different 2️⃣ the "recommended matches" run out 3️⃣ the "open to work" was never there 4️⃣ in fact, LIN itself is running out Whoever you find doesn't respond, or if they do, there's no thank you in that either. 😆 We know exactly what that is. Not only have we been in this situation, but we've spoken to thousands of recruiters and sourcers globally and see 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 (and what not). In the spirit of this, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗔-𝗭 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀. Add yourself 90 minutes and come take a peek behind the curtains with us, then forget about recruiting dead ends! 🥂 And the how: just check the agenda. 😉 🔜 https://lnkd.in/dr48rg7k

So Day 2/21, I thought why limit ourselves to just DSA right? Let's increase some randomness. I will share everything that I learnt/explored everyday. Well I practiced and solved the following problems based on arrays: 1. Count items matching a rule (https://lnkd.in/dh-7Ta57) 2. Shuffle string (https://lnkd.in/dyepX2hF) 3. Unique Morse code words(https://lnkd.in/dBQVvb_K) 4. Truncate sentence (https://lnkd.in/dHV45PU7) 5. Maximum number of words found in sentences(https://lnkd.in/dNYepi65) 6. Difference between element sum and digit sum of an array(https://lnkd.in/dHFaAftE) 7.Find first palindromic string in the array (https://lnkd.in/dCbEnisf) 5th questions was much interesting, given a sentence words were needed to be pushed into an array, now you can get word based on whitespaces in between. Having some knowledge in javascript/typescript the first thought came to my find to use a split function, but C++ doesn't have a split method on strings. So I created one for myself, you can review the gist below: https://lnkd.in/daRvRNZV Time complexity : O(n) Space complexity : O(n) Please let me know if you have more optimal solution. To my curiosity, I read history about development of Linux and Git. It always amazes me that Linus Torwalds developed Git in 2 weeks, and even today I can't find myself sleeping without writing git commit. If you have a few minutes please give the following article a read about Git: https://lnkd.in/dRAmHUhU While reading about Git, I found out that git used SHA1 algorithm to hash the objects in each commits. In simpler terms, git saves each snapshot of changes into a 160 bit hash. That lead me to reading more about Cryptographic hashing algorithms and I found that they are vastly used in Blockchain. After some research I found the following book chapter explaining cryptographic hash functions and their use cases in digital signatures and Bitcoin. https://lnkd.in/dMEnq7KV In a nutshell, a hash functions takes a input (say image or text) and converts it to a X-bit hash value. Here the X-bit depends on the hash function used. SHA1 (Secure hash algorithm-1) is not used these days. SHA256 which creates a 256 bits hash value is majorly used in Bitcoin. Hashing is a one way route, a hash can't give back the input its made from. I really appreciate you if you made it all the way upto here, trust me its worth it! Chahat Upadhyay Yash Rajkotia VIKAS PATHAK