DSA Crash Course [Part 26] - Sum List Approach

In this lesson, Alvin explores the strategy to solving the following interview problem:

> Write a function, *sum_list*, that takes in the head of a linked list containing numbers as an argument. The function should return the total sum of all values in the linked list.

```
a = Node(2)
b = Node(8)
c = Node(3)
d = Node(-1)
e = Node(7)
a.next = b
b.next = c
c.next = d
d.next = e

# 2 -> 8 -> 3 -> -1 -> 7
sum_list(a) # 19
```

```
x = Node(38)
y = Node(4)
x.next = y

# 38 -> 4
sum_list(x) # 42
```

```
z = Node(100)

# 100
sum_list(z) # 100
```

If you need additional support taking these DSA skills and actually applying them, take [**Alvin's**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/) *complete* data structures and algorithms course on [**Structy**](https://structy.net/?utm_source=taro). You can try out the concepts yourself in their interactive code editor and learn advanced DSA patterns like stack exhaustive recursion.

Use [**this link to get 20% off**](https://structy.net/purchase?promo_code=taro20) the entire Structy DSA learning experience.

Follow Alvin on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/>

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 17] - The Demon In Your Pocket

Smart phones unlock infinite opportunity, but they also unlock infinite distraction - We've all lost countless hours towards mindlessly scrolling through the many addictive apps on our mobile devices. This lesson teaches you:

- A basic tactic to prevent you from getting distracted by your smart phone
- A more involved and technical tactic to discourage smart phone user, which Alex is a big fan of
- An extremely aggressive tactic to get your smartphone away from you, used by a Staff Engineer at LinkedIn who's also a parent!

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 16] - FAANG Or Bust (And Why It’s Dumb)

Software engineers have a deep obsession with "FAANG" often treating it as the Holy Grail of career goals. Unfortunately, this often leads to job searching failure. This lesson teaches you:

- How software engineers greatly underestimate the difficulty of getting into Big Tech and how they should believe and act instead
- Why FAANG companies are generally averse to hiring non-senior candidates
- The many reasons why going to Big Tech later in your career is good for you
- The path most engineers have to take in order to break into FAANG (and why that's perfectly fine!)

If you want to learn more about FAANG and Big Tech:

- [\[Taro Top 10\] Breaking Into FAANG](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/roKqDHgxu4C5CioEFpJY/)
- ["What's the difference between Big Tech and startups in terms of learning and growth?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/KWXIrFIR1EIJsvdOdo7u/whats-the-difference-between-big-tech-and-startups-in-terms-of-learning-and-growth/)

Master The DSA Interview [Part 6] - Why Does FAANG Do This?

If data structures and algorithms aren't actually used on the job, why do Big Tech companies use these problems as a cornerstone of their interview process? This lesson teaches you:

- Why Big Tech isn't just being evil and stupid when they use data structures and algorithms problems on their interviews
- How data structures and algorithms problems can have a surprising amount of depth
- What most engineers don't understand when it comes to how FAANG rejects candidates
- How Google and Meta in particular differ from almost all other companies when it comes to hiring, which affects how their interview processes work

If you're interested in working at early-stage startups that don't ask LeetCode problems: ["How to find and connect with scrappy startups?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/9jFuRj3UymeHsaKIzXia/how-to-find-and-connect-with-scrappy-startups/)

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 12] - Double Dip

Software engineers and people in general don't realize how incredibly powerful questions can be when you ask the right ones. This lesson teaches you:

- How the best questions that you can ask in a behavioral interview actually help you pass on top of extracting useful team selection information
- What the 2 core failure modes are when it comes to you asking the interviewer questions

Negotiation Course: Misconceptions Around Negotiating

Given how taboo money + compensation is, there are unsurprisingly many misconceptions about negotiation. Here are 3 common lies you may have heard about negotiation:

**Myth #1**: *"Your offer will get rescinded if you negotiate."* Companies will never rescind your offer for simply negotiating if you do it in good faith and you're not lying about it. Once you’ve gotten to the offer stage, the company has invested many hours of time evaluating you, so it'd be irrational for them to withdraw the offer simply because you're curious about the compensation package.

**Myth #2**: *"Negotiation makes you look cheap."* In fact, quite the opposite. Negotiating effectively shows that you're a high-value candidate, and that you understand the value you're bringing to the company. 

**Myth #3**: *"Someone will get less if you get more."* This is not how tech job offers work. The technology industry (at least the VC-backed companies that employ the majority of people) is focused on rapid growth. These companies are generally more concerned about growth rather than trying to save money through small compensation adjustments.

File all this under fake news!

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 13] - Just 1 Sentence Is Enough

As a software engineer, you will often get tasks and projects that aren't fully defined. How you react and are able to perform in these scenarios is a huge factor when it comes to determining your seniority. This lesson teaches you:

- A simple framework to understand the expectations of a senior engineer when it comes to handling ambiguity
- The different components that go into converting a single sentence to a full-blown project

Master The DSA Interview [Part 8] - Clarify The Problem

Don't just start coding when you get a data structures and algorithms problem in an interview. This lesson teaches you:

- The first thing you should do when getting a data structures and algorithm problem, which is critical for setting you up for success
- Why dealing with ambiguity is so important as an engineer
- The overall question categories you should pull from when clarifying a problem
- How exactly to clarify a data structures and algorithms problem, shown with an in-depth example

DSA Crash Course [Part 32] - Reverse List Approach

In this lesson, Alvin explores the strategy to solving the following interview problem:

> Write a function, *reverse_list*, that takes in the head of a linked list as an argument. The function should reverse the order of the nodes in the linked list **in-place** and return the new head of the reversed linked list.

```
a = Node("a")
b = Node("b")
c = Node("c")
d = Node("d")
e = Node("e")
f = Node("f")
a.next = b
b.next = c
c.next = d
d.next = e
e.next = f

# a -> b -> c -> d -> e -> f
reverse_list(a) # f -> e -> d -> c -> b -> a
```

```
x = Node("x")
y = Node("y")
x.next = y

# x -> y
reverse_list(x) # y -> x
```

```
p = Node("p")

# p
reverse_list(p) # p
```

If you need additional support taking these DSA skills and actually applying them, take [**Alvin's**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/) *complete* data structures and algorithms course on [**Structy**](https://structy.net/?utm_source=taro). You can try out the concepts yourself in their interactive code editor and learn advanced DSA patterns like stack exhaustive recursion.

Use [**this link to get 20% off**](https://structy.net/purchase?promo_code=taro20) the entire Structy DSA learning experience.

Follow Alvin on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/>

System Design Series: Taro Playlists [Part 8] - Breaking Down The Work And Timeline

You can find the full [system design doc here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/15WaM8Ojan82g0m2mtz6kC2Hiyj0Q6VbjfqRmVNDI3qw/edit?usp=sharing) - Feel free to use it as a template for when you are doing a system design at your job!

The tactics are covered in the doc linked above, so this summary will focus on the "meta" context behind this part and additional commentary:

- Something Alex forgot to mention in this video is the "POCs" section, where POC = "Point of Contact".
  - Big projects will usually have a lot of stakeholders, so having this "people map" is very helpful for any project stakeholder to know who to direct their questions to for a certain aspect of the project (which are often about the timeline/milestones).
  - This small, humble section is *especially* relevant at FAANG/Big Tech where the range of responsibility holders is almost always huge for major projects.
- Decomposing work and breaking big projects down into smaller tasks is helpful for so many reasons:
  - It allows you to estimate the project far more accurately by increasing clarity.
  - It creates "swim-lanes" for more junior engineers as they now have smaller, clearer chunks of work as opposed to this giant, hulking ambiguous cloud of a project.
  - It makes it easy to understand project as you can now break clusters of tasks into groups and attach a milestone to each group.
- Don't just decompose the work: Try to sequence it into a logical order as well. For example, if you're building a CRUD feature, you probably want to prioritize the "Create" part as that's what everything stems from.

20 Years Of Fighting Procrastination [Part 6] - The #1 Way To Create Accountability

When motivation fades, there's a simple yet powerful way to regain momentum—build accountability into your workflow. Here are the key ideas from the lesson:

- Social pressure is more powerful than self-discipline alone, making accountability partners or group settings highly effective for staying on track

- Benefits of accountability include learning from others, drawing inspiration, and getting called out when you're making excuses or losing focus

- Tactics include going into the office, joining virtual co-working platforms, setting review checkpoints, or scheduling deadlines—even artificial ones—to create external motivation and structure

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 11] - Interviews Are A 2-Way Street

One of the easiest ways to tank your career as a software engineer is to join the wrong company or team. Despite this, so many software engineers squander their time in behavioral interviews to uncover extremely valuable information about the quality of an organization. This lesson teaches you:

- Why not having thoughtful prepared questions to ask the interviewer makes you look really bad in a behavioral round
- The critical career importance of behavioral interviews being a 2-way street

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 18] - The 3 Core Interview Stages

So a tech company has decided to not throw your resume straight in the trash and are giving you a chance. How does the interview process work? This lesson teaches you:

- What the first round of *screeners* is
- What the second round of *phone screens* is (and the history behind the term)
- What the final round of onsites is (and the history behind the term)

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 10] - You Need More Junior Teammates

Every software engineer pushing for promotion understands that they need more senior teammates to emulate as role models and seek mentorship. However, many software engineers don't realize they need more junior teammates too. This lesson teaches you:

- Why you need more junior teammates
- How scope dynamics work on an engineering team
- The classic "pyramid scheme" of growth that a healthy engineering team runs
- What healthy and unhealthy teams look like when it comes to more junior engineer presence

To learn how to scale yourself through more junior engineers, check out this incredibly in-depth explainer here: ["How can I help juniors?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/OzbQJCzLPbOKTEqpeSxF/how-can-i-help-juniors/)

Become An Open Source Master [Part 7] - Improve Something You Use

The video advises that we should start by finding a project that we're passionate about, rather than aiming for the biggest or most well-known ones.

- **Choose projects that you already use or are familiar with**, as this gives you a head start in understanding the project's goals and potential areas for improvement.
- **The dependency graph on GitHub can help you identify potential projects** by showing the dependencies of projects you're already working on.
- **Consider contributing to smaller or medium-sized projects by companies**, as these can offer valuable learning experiences and opportunities to build relationships with professional developers.
- **Contributing to open source can lead to career opportunities**, as demonstrated by the example of Sophie Alpert and her work on the React project.

Article shown by Sophie Alpert: [Using React to speed up the Khan Academy question editor](https://sophiebits.com/2013/06/09/using-react-to-speed-up-khan-academy)

Connect with James:

- GitHub: <https://github.com/jamesgpearce>
- Twitter (X): <https://twitter.com/jamespearce>

[Case Study] Hypercharging Your Growth At Early Startups (w/ Staff Engineer Seed Zeng)

[Click here for the presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZocNUZJL-feWAKoucVLUcaVxix2Xa1udEL4KpgQRBTo/edit?usp=sharing).

There are a *ton* of great points covered in this session, so we'll only share our Top 5:
- **Startups have massive scope** - In an early-stage startup, there is always an infinite supply of hard, technically deep problems. This allows you to have a lot of freedom choosing an opportunity that works well for you and build up a wide breadth of important skills. This is almost always *not* the case in Big Tech - [Check out this expert career advice on the difference between Big Tech and startups when it comes to learning](https://link.jointaro.com/n57gbTWERveGTQuM9).
- **Don't say "I'm not qualified to work on this"** - The best software engineers are able to adapt to any situation their team faces and add value regardless of what framework or tech stack is needed. In order to do that, you must first flip this fearful mentality. [Here's our masterclass on how to learn quickly in tech](https://link.jointaro.com/S2h95sJvRU8Utjj6A).
- **Don't be afraid to make mistakes** - Recovering from a mistake is one of the most powerful ways to learn, and startups will generally have more tolerance for mistakes as stakes are lower compared to a more mature, massive public company where product issues can make the news. [Here's our advice on how to maximize your growth from mistakes](https://link.jointaro.com/THof1u97Z5t1ovCr9).
- **80% of the journey is just showing up** - Seek out important, complex situations and run towards them instead of away from them, especially with production issues. If you're earlier-in-career, you can learn a lot simply by being a participant in fixing these fires; from there, you can make yourself a core driver more and more. [Here's our advice on how you can be more independent debugging tricky technical problems](https://link.jointaro.com/xE8oMpCaDYjuMhCg7).
- **It's all about the people** - Your career growth is largely a product of the people you surround yourself with, and this is especially true in a startup where the team is small, bonds are deep, and everybody knows each other. [Here's our advice on how to network effectively within a company](https://link.jointaro.com/Hr1nr53D7sfQAEv3A).

To see (and hear) more from Seed:
- [Connect with him on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/seedzeng/)
- [Check out his podcast "Superposition"](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL3N1cGVycG9zaXRpb25zaG93L2ZlZWQueG1s?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjot6up4Zf7AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en)

Related resources:
- [Session #6 - Maximizing SWE Growth: Ownership and Specialization At Startups](https://link.jointaro.com/2ZevbN54MPZPTocH8)
- ["What's the difference between Big Tech and startups in terms of learning and growth?"](https://link.jointaro.com/n57gbTWERveGTQuM9)

[Case Study] How Engineers Unlock Huge Impact With Artificial Intelligence (AI)

This was a joint presentation from engineers who have been using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to become significantly more productive. The result is fewer repetitive tasks, fewer bugs, and more impact. The AI transformation is not some future technology that we are anticipating -- **it's happening now**. ChatGPT is the fastest application ever to reach 100M monthly active users.

We can broadly categorize AI tools into 2 buckets (generative vs analysis). Think about what is most helpful for your job and dig into other tools in that domain.

We focus primarily on productivity benefits from conversational agents like ChatGPT, Bard, and Anthropic. **The first response is usually generic and unhelpful, but simple tricks can make the output significantly more valuable**. Sample prompts: *"How can I send a text message in a Rails app with Twilio?"* and *"How can I show a div in the screen after 15 seconds of inactivity on a webpage?"*

Top 5 prompt engineering tips for Software Engineers: 
1. Ask ChatGPT to list its steps, work, or sources
2. Split your prompt into clear sections
3. Use “unique”, “unconventional”, and “creative” to get better responses
4. Make ChatGPT roleplay
5. Give ChatGPT examples of correct inputs and outputs

Some sample prompts from Jordan's [summary doc](https://www.notion.so/jordancutler/GPT-prompts-90179f5fc49440c6bffaeb94e5cfcb4c?pvs=4): 
- **[Feedback]** "Tell me 5 reasons this feature won’t work as intended"
- **[Engineering]** "Given the following code, write a comprehensive test suite in X testing library"
- **[Learning]** "Explain { topic } as if I am a principal software engineer with 10+ years of experience. Go into deep technical detail and explain how it works under the hood"
- **[Meetings]** "I’m a junior software engineer at a Series A tech company. Can you come up with 10 topics for me to talk with my manager about in our 1-1?"

Here are the top paid tools that the speakers use: 
- [Github Copilot](https://github.com/features/copilot) - $10/month
- [ChatGPT Plus](https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt-plus) - $20/month
- [Notion AI](https://www.notion.so/product/ai) - $10/month

Speakers:
- [Donn Felker](https://twitter.com/donnfelker)
- [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/)
- [Mike Alnakhaleh](https://www.linkedin.com/in/malik-mike-a-32b63818b/)

Related resources on Taro:
- ["How to AI proof your career?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/3xg5SvXnyTQ0mhNLfbK1/how-to-ai-proof-your-career/)
- ["Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in side projects?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/20UiCYH3QwkWkvGTrFsY/using-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-side-projects/)
- ["ChatGPT plugins to your IDE - How to prepare?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ZqQiiaPjpzYQ8XKPOQZK/chatgpt-plugins-to-your-ide-how-to-prepare/)
- [The slides for this presentation](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lfMP8qlSix6IDNAUbyraamLgtIHwkxbbQgbpgcBqr2c/edit?usp=sharing)

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 2] - Tell Me About Yourself (Answer)

This video provides a glimpse into the speaker's diverse career journey.

- **Career Trajectory:** The speaker has a varied background, spanning finance, baseball analytics, marketing at American Express, and roles at tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Salesforce.
- **Focus on Customer:** The speaker emphasizes their consistent focus on the customer throughout their career, influenced by their time at customer-centric companies like Amazon and American Express.
- **Entrepreneurial Ventures:** The speaker founded Kadima, a business focused on helping underrepresented talent break into top tech companies, highlighting their passion for supporting others.
- **Return to Tech:** After exploring entrepreneurship, the speaker is seeking a return to the tech industry, driven by the need for greater stability and financial security for their family.
- **Amazon Opportunity:** The speaker expresses excitement about a potential opportunity at Amazon, recognizing the company's customer-centric approach and rigorous standards, aligning with their own values and career goals.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Master The DSA Interview [Part 15] - Edge Cases

Too many engineers only care about the happy flow, but it is the easy thing to do. This lesson teaches you:

- Why handling edge cases is so important as an engineer, especially at FAANG
- The mindset you need to have to tease out edge cases systematically
- Common edge case scenarios for data structures and algorithms problems
- What a great edge case analysis looks like, explained with an in-depth example

Take the code quality course here: [Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

From Layoff To Liftoff As An Immigrant - By Rashmi Kishore (Senior Intuit/Netflix SWE)

In August 2022, Silicon Valley engineer [Rashmi Kishore](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashmi-kishore-software-engineer/) was hit with something too many of us are unfortunately familiar with: Layoffs. She lost her job at Netflix and was immediately put under time pressure to find new employment as she was on a visa.

Rashmi was able to overcome the odds, and she's now at Intuit. In this session, she talked about:

- Quickly picking up the interview game again to land an offer
- Managing the stress of the layoff atmosphere and immigration issues
- Handling the logistics of being on a visa in the US

For more help navigating layoffs, check out our curated playlist: [\[Taro Top 10\] Navigating Tech Industry Layoffs](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/pE7pP0nXDx4X7mOChzHS/)

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.