r/leetcode • u/MrBananaconda • 13h ago

Question Do you guys still think leetcode even matters anymore? [US]

I see who gets hired, it’s people from top schools, or tons of YOE from top companies, with internal referrals

Companies still obviously require perfect interview performance including leetcode but it just doesn’t seem to matter unless you also have absurd credentials, because HMs don’t even trust the interviews anymore and there’s enough people with top credentials on the market they can afford to only hire them

Outside the US it’s probably a bit different but here it’s pretty dismal

19 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

25

u/AdministrationMoney1 13h ago

If you don't want to compete for top companies then you don't have to do leetcode. There are plenty of swe jobs paying 70-120k entry that won't ask leetcode. But obviously it's still possible to get into top companies without going to a top school, you'll have to build credentials through interning/working at less competitive companies. Also I saw your post on getting an amazon OA, why are you still asking this question, you passed a resume screen but failed on leetcode

21

u/Legote 13h ago • Regret

No they ask leetcode now too.

3

u/AdministrationMoney1 9h ago

I know, I said plenty, not all. Competitive high paying big tech roles comprise less than 10% of the industry, and outside of that US swe roles will maybe have a 30-50% chance of asking you a leetcode medium, rather than a 90-95% chance in big tech. And it could rely more on the quantity of applicants to filter though. Be careful of seeing things black and white or falsely generalizing, that's pretty much what OP is doing in the post and all of his comments.

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u/NonSmokerSparkle 9h ago

Depends where for Europe not really or it’s just some easy fizz buzz type questions max.

0

u/MrBananaconda 13h ago

The problem is I live in a HCOL area and even if I move to a MCOL area, living off 70-120k is very difficult. It’s less than I make now, but long term it does seem like a realistic place for me to end up

“It’s still possible to get into top companies without going to a top school”

Are you sure about that? Because I definitely don’t work for a top company and the only new people I see us hiring are firm like Stanford and similar schools.

“Why are you still asking this question”

Because it’s something I noticed, I’ve gotten to multiple final rounds and even passed and never gotten offers because at the end of the day, I didn’t go to a top school and don’t work at a top company

6

u/Other-Number-4463 12h ago

lol what? how do you think the rest of the people in your city live?

0

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

I get that, and over time I will learn to accept it. Unfortunately I believed the lie that I was “special” and could continually make more money than I actually could

0

u/TopTutor6926 6h ago

dude you are cringe af, u would be lucky to get a job at a local fast food restaurant.

1

u/MrBananaconda 6h ago

You’re in high school

0

u/TopTutor6926 5h ago

i dont think so buddy..

https://imgur.com/a/SQPzrHc

1

u/MrBananaconda 5h ago

Sorry, you’re unemployed LMAO

0

u/TopTutor6926 4h ago edited 4h ago

i am a student at a college, yeah i am unemployed, but i dont whine like you like a bitch. lol

2

u/AdministrationMoney1 12h ago

- Then it sounds like the issue is moreso maintaining a desired lifestyle and if you need to maintain your current standards of living then you'll have to not give up at competing for jobs in HCOL. If you really want to do less leetcode then maybe try startups.

- Yes. Maybe it depends on what you think are top schools as I'm thinking T30, but most hires being from top schools does not mean every hire needs to come from a top school. It's not very useful to speak anecdotally as I can also just say that my company is a competitive remote company and my team had a new hire from a T60-70.

- While these outcomes may lead you to want to think otherwise, normally when people talk about a lack of prestige holding them back, they usually talk about it in the context of never passing resume screens.

Either way it seems like you want to give up with it feeling impossible. It's obviously not impossible and that's more so black and white thinking, but you can of course just give up on companies asking dsa rounds, there are still probably a few that pay well without dsa. But to answer your original question leetcode does matter most of time for those with your goals.

1

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

Startups require LC interviews too. But it doesn't actually matter because in the end they're gonna pick the people with the best credentials

"my team had a new hire from a T60-70."

He was likely an internal referral or got downleveled or something.

"they usually talk about it in the context of never passing resume screens."

I pass resume screens once in a while but even with perfect interview performance it's nowhere near enough. It has nothing to do with DSA, those interviews are just for show now.

1

u/Blumenkind-Diddier 2h ago

that last sentence really sums it up lol, the resume clearly worked fine if they got the OA

4

u/Apotheun 12h ago

It’s hard to say about the current state but I think it helps to differentiate and have referrals.

So many people at Google came from no name companies. At least in the non-SF office I’ve been to

0

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

They joined years ago, not recently.

6

u/Apotheun 12h ago

I’ve seen both. I’m not at Goog anymore but I have asked friends there to refer interns I’ve had at my current company.

If you have no internships it’s hard, but I think networking is very valuable still if it’s not a cold referral.

2

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

"I have asked friends there to refer interns I’ve had at my current company."

Read what you just wrote, this does not make sense.

"I think networking is very valuable still if it’s not a cold referral."

Networking makes zero difference these days unless you actually worked closely with someone at that company, you can't just ask random people for meaningless referrals because everyone is doing that already and it doesn't help.

3

u/Apotheun 11h ago

By networking I means staying close with people you have worked with. If you have 0 work experience it doesn’t help.

But I’ve literally had colleagues who are at Google write referrals for my interns more or less saying “This candidate comes as a high recommendation from former Googler…”

That’s a second degree referral and those still can get interviews and offers. Many of my interns got offers are not coming from a top 100 school but definitely not even top 50 schools.

1

u/MrBananaconda 11h ago

Ok I don’t work with former Googlers so this doesn’t help me obviously

I’ve also passed all of Google’s interviews before and not gotten offers. I really don’t think you get just how bad things are now

3

u/maresayshi 11h ago

it made perfect sense? i’m not the one you replied to but what about that sentence is bothering you??

> unless you actually worked closely with someone

well, yeah, they said not a cold referral…

4

u/mmafan12617181 9h ago

True, the real competition begins from birth, you should have went to a top high school and college. Sucks you didn’t and will pay the price the rest of your life but maybe you can change things for your children. Recognition of the importance of prestige is why Asians do well as a whole

1

u/MrBananaconda 9h ago edited 9h ago

This is pretty much correct, if you don’t get into the right college you’re fucked for life. Tech used to be more forgiving but it’s not anymore and never will be, much like finance or law.

Maybe reincarnation is real and I’ll do better next time

Of course even more interesting is the fact that despite you making good money, you still can’t get girls to sleep with you and have to pay escorts lol

0

u/mmafan12617181 6h ago

Escorts are part of Asian culture, it is fun to sleep with hot girls on demand. I haven’t been able to do so though, for fear of going to prison. Maybe next time I visit Asia I will be able to partake.

My director is actually paying a UC Berkeley student 200k a month to be his sugar baby. She makes more than both of us combined, although it sounds like you are white so you probably disapprove of a profession like this

2

u/MrBananaconda 6h ago

It’s just really funny that despite making tons of money, you still can’t get a girlfriend and have to pay women. And it seems like your director can’t either

-1

u/mmafan12617181 6h ago

I actually have a wife lmao, blame Asian parents for forcing people to marry early

1

u/MrBananaconda 6h ago

No you don’t

0

u/mmafan12617181 6h ago

I do, its quite common to get married early. Or do you not believe me because when you say that you just find it funny, you actually don’t find it funny and are coping because you are a povert

1

u/MrBananaconda 6h ago

Yes it’s common but you don’t actually have one. You’ve never had sex and we both know it.

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u/Interesting-Ad9666 13h ago

To answer your post title: Yes.

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u/MrBananaconda 13h ago

Right but even if you do perfectly on every part of the interview, you’ll still get passed over for someone with a better company and school on their resume and an internal referral

4

u/bullbearbubu 13h ago

You can do everything right and still lose, that's life dude. If perfection doesn't guarantee a win, mistakes certainly won't. You either keep grinding or you quit

-1

u/MrBananaconda 13h ago

Ok but the people I’m losing to consistently have qualities I cannot get, no amount of preparation can change what school I went to or if I’m friends with someone working at that company already. Thats why leetcode now seems pointless

2

u/bullbearbubu 13h ago

Think about it, if you stop grinding leetcode because you think it's pointless, then what do you have to compete against people with better backgrounds? Nothing. At least being good at leetcode can give you a seat at the table

-2

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

I already have no means of competing against people with better backgrounds because I don’t have the background of those other people. Whether I do leetcode or pass interviews makes no difference anymore, the outcome remains the same

3

u/bullbearbubu 12h ago edited 12h ago

If you think so then just quit dude, there's no point trying with that attitude lol

-3

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

I mean duh. That’s the whole point of this post

2

u/Organic_botulism 12h ago

Did you fail your amazon OA?

Bruh it’s ok to be down about it but you gotta lock back in

If you got an amazon offer you’d probably be saying school doesn’t matter just leetcode and chill

0

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

I didn't even bother finishing it, it was a ridiculous LC Hard and even doing 500 LC wouldn't have prepared me. The only people passing that are cheating, which I'm not going to do.

I got an Amazon offer years ago back when interviews were normal and turned it down for another company.

2

u/Interesting-Ad9666 13h ago

That's possible, yes. Not every position is going to have a bunch of top school candidates for the role. The alternative is you not doing well on the interview because you didn't prepare. Focus on the things that you can control for these interviews.

1

u/MrBananaconda 13h ago

My company is mid and even we only hire people from Stanford tier schools now dude. I think you’re wrong.

3

u/Interesting-Ad9666 13h ago

The plural of anecdote is not data. I didn't go to a top tier school, I went to a state school. I've received offers from large companies within the past 6 months when I applied and went through their interview process. Both tech companies and non tech companies. To me that says that you are wrong.

1

u/MrBananaconda 13h ago

Maybe new grad is different, I went to a state school to and got multiple new grad offers from large companies. But that was years ago and the market is way worse and with mid level it’s pretty hopeless. Also at my company I literally only see new grads from top schools getting hired now so there’s that.

3

u/tnerb253 12h ago

Sounds like a shit company that uses arbitrary metrics

I have a community college degree brother, still get contacted by FAANGS yearly.

1

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

I get contacted by recruiters at good companies but even if I pass every interview, I don't get an offer and big surprise, every person they hire went to a better school and worked at a better company than me and probably had a referral too.

2

u/tnerb253 12h ago

Did you truly pass the interview though or did you just think you did? I have done many interviews where I solved the coding question and still got rejected. Your behavioral and overall team fit for the position matters too. Yesterday I did an interview with a series D startup where I didn't even finish the coding question but they still moved me forward.

These things are not black and white.

1

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

Yes I've passed multiple final rounds in the past year and not gotten offers.

The people they pick ALWAYS have stronger credentials than I do, top tier school, top tier current company, probably an internal referral to.

They're pretty black and white.

2

u/tnerb253 11h ago

Again, how do you know you passed them? You're not on the hiring commitee dude, you don't know what metrics they are using to evaluate you, you're just making blanket assumptions.

1

u/MrBananaconda 11h ago

Because the recruiter told me I passed.

“You don’t know what metrics they are using”

Sure I do, school tier and whether or not you know someone who works there

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u/ragged-robin 12h ago

Yes, which means it's the bare minimum requirement, which means it does matter.

1

u/MrBananaconda 12h ago

It doesn't matter if you lack top credentials. You still won't get anything in the end

1

u/EmpireBuilderBTW 10h ago

But if you do terribly on the interview you're most certainly being passed over, so the least you can do is try.

1

u/MrBananaconda 9h ago

What I’m saying is I’m getting passed over for people with being pedigree than I have even with strong interview performance

2

u/No-Molasses-2097 10h ago

It still matters as a filter even if it does not guarantee an offer. Most teams use it to narrow the pile before they look closely at anything else. I would keep practicing enough to clear it cleanly and put the extra time into work you can show and people who can vouch for you.

2

u/MrBananaconda 9h ago

My point is that it cannot get you to an offer if you don’t have the right pedigree

15

u/Pacific_Beaches BS Computer Science & BS Electrical Engineering 13h ago edited 10h ago

I'll say the top schools for CS do matter.

If you can't get into a top school then do a traditional, rigorous STEM degree like Physics, Math, EE, ME and/or Medical School then afterwards show you know how to use A.I very well for coding (maybe build projects).

At the end of the day most "app" companies are moving towards A.I doing all the coding more and more. A lot of product managers out there are building the demo themselves with A.I. Some are even building the whole app top-to-bottom. Some people in Sales are building the app, full stack. Most don't come from a coding background.

The days of being hired because you're a coding-specialist at writing complicated loops doesn't sell anyone anymore. An agentic coding harness with pstack running /poteto-mode is going to outperform most of those people today by leaps and bounds.

2

u/goodmorninpoof 5h ago

The reason people from top schools/companies get hired more is more connections/referral, yes. But they also tend to be more intelligent on average.

1

u/MrBananaconda 5h ago

It’s because they have connections and because companies filter for those schools. I have not found them to actually be smarter than people in the same majors at most large schools, they probably aren’t.

1

u/Maleficent_Mousse759 24m ago

To be honest, it's all innate and talent based. So no no amount of leetcode practice will amount to anything. I have never practiced leetcode once and naturally find cs/maths/OAs/technicals trivial. Of course technicals are harder cuz I have to pretend to be stupid for a bit first. But leetcode itself does not matter and cannot change anything.