Comment by exdsq | Hacker News Reader

Comment by exdsq | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if you’re suffering with imposter syndrome - the feeling you’re not cut out for the job and everyone else is so much better. I see you’ve asked similar questions to this since 2016. It’s something most of us face in our careers and really sucks when it happens.

Look at some positives. You’ve been working in the field for a few years so you can clearly do the job. You’re applying during a pandemic and the market is tough right now. You’re clearly interested in tech or you probably wouldn’t be hanging around on HN on a Sunday, and this in my mind already puts you above many others!

So what can you do? Apply for jobs that don’t require algorithmic/systems interview tests. They do exist, I’ve worked for a couple! Or, game the system by studying interview questions (Crack the coding interview, competitive programming sites) so you’re more prepared. Of course you could also look for another job in a different industry, but I don’t think you really want to and are just a bit anxious with interviews. Finally, consider moving into SDET. A background as a developer makes the transition quick, you’re immediately competitive compared to those without dev backgrounds, and salaries are similar. They don’t tend to have the same interview questions.

> I see you’ve asked similar questions to this since 2016

That's good context. And to OP's point,

> I have been in the field for a few years...this field has never been my passion, just a profession I like.

I've been programming professionally for 10+ years, 20+ when you add in college and what I did growing up. That, and computers are a hobby of mine, and I definitely have a passion for them, and I know a lot of stuff beyond my day-to-day work. I've worked for multiple FAANGs, at other big name's you'd recognize, and startups you wouldn't. I get past phone screens probably 80%-90% of the time and get offers 33%-50% of the time.

There are a lot of people like me in the industry. We're not a majority, but it's hard to compete with us, it's not helpful to compare yourself to us, but it's hard because that's what interviewers compare you against.

> Apply for jobs that don’t require algorithmic/systems interview tests.

Yup. Companies also go easier on system design when someone has ~4 years of experience.

> Crack the coding interview

I can't remember which one of these I skimmed, but I didn't find any of it super helpful. I might be the wrong audience.

> competitive programming sites

Not the "competitive" ones, but if you haven't done 50 medium questions with some easy ones thrown in on HackerRank before doing a round of interviews, you haven't prepared. I'd actually avoid the hard questions because they usually involve a twist on one particular algorithm that will take a while to implement, so you'd never actually see it in an interview.

The important thing is to know your way around heaps, trees, tries, linked lists, graphs, etc.

I found this book helpful, but I read it specifically because I'm better at coding than algorithms. It's not great for knowing how to combine standard data structures to solve problems or how to traverse a tree.

http://mimoza.marmara.edu.tr/~msakalli/cse706_12/SkienaTheAl...

> We're not a majority, but it's hard to compete with us, it's not helpful to compare yourself to us, but it's hard because that's what interviewers compare you against.

This makes me so sad. I've prepped hard on leetcode for 6 years (since freshman year of college) and I haven't had much to show for it but a total compensation less than Stanford new grads despite two years of tenure. I wonder if there's any point of even living most days.

Don’t be so hard on yourself mate, you aren’t defined by your job or salary. We should try not to constantly compare ourselves to other people like this, there is always somebody better off or more successful.

Based on nothing but these two comments I’d much rather hang out with you than I would the commenter above you. So there’s one thing you win at.

Yo buddy, no need to compare yourself with others. You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now?

If you've spent 6 years doing leetcode and you're still bad at it, then perhaps realise that such problem solving games are not for everyone. Like sudoku. I prefer the word game where you find the word in a grid and I hate crosswords.

We're all different and that's what makes us unique and interesting.

> You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now?

Kinda? I had more potential then, I could have done Facebook after sophomore year and had my career set for life. Instead I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad.

Its apparent that I"m not good at these things...the problem is my happiness and financial security are related to them and I'm not doing well!

> I had to join Amazon out of undergrad.

You're suffering for a lack of perspective or gratitude. If you're a millennial, realize that you were probably told that you could do anything (and thusly everything), and the effort it would take was trivialized... Both are incorrect. You most likely can do 1 thing super well and it's going to be a shit ton of work if you want to compete against those equally competent.

In what way? I grew up Asian and went to a state school, I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age!

> state school

5 of the top 10 CS programs are at state schools.

> I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age

Apparently you took it to heart and can't recognize what you accomplished.

> a total compensation less than Stanford new grads despite two years of tenure.

> I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad.

WTF? You have an engineering(?) job at Amazon and are complaining you might have done better if you got the internship(?) at Facebook? And that with two years of experience, you make about as much as a new grad? Is this a humble brag?

You're probably in the upper 25% of tech for your experience and the upper 1% in the developed world for your age group.

Is the meat of your complaint that you'd be making more money if you did a stint at Facebook? Don't think it "sets your career for life." Big companies can even hurt carers long-term because you're not exposed to as much. Facebook on your resume will get you calls from Google recruiters and calls back from wherever you apply, but it won't inherently help you pass future interviews.

> I wonder if there's any point of even living most days.

This means you're valuing the wrongs things w/ the wrong weights. Compensation is to help you live more comfortably. If your pursuit of it is making you less comfortable (than the compensation received) you're doing it wrong.

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