> Have you worked with them since they went through this regiment? Doing a DS&A coding problem regiment + system design will change you as an engineer. You might be surprised how good they've become.
Having done this prep, I can't tell if this comment is sarcasm. Building real systems makes you a good engineer. Maintaining systems over a long period of time makes you a good engineer. Working with other experienced engineers makes you a good engineer.
Doing this prep you do learn a few things along the way, but it's contrived. You already know what you need to learn, which is often the hard part on the job. It's works as a filter since the ability to learn concepts is important, but it's usefulness continues to trend downwards as it becomes more standardized.
> ...it's usefulness continues to trend downwards as it becomes more standardized
I think this is a key point that a lot of commenters in this thread gloss over. That as the questions become more "standardized" and "predictable" (leetcode being a prime example), the results of using these questions tests for something, but that something is not what necessarily makes a "good engineer".
The system design questions are probably even worse because the expected responses are so templatized -- even more than leetcode.
Having done this prep, I can't tell if this comment is sarcasm. Building real systems makes you a good engineer. Maintaining systems over a long period of time makes you a good engineer. Working with other experienced engineers makes you a good engineer.
Doing this prep you do learn a few things along the way, but it's contrived. You already know what you need to learn, which is often the hard part on the job. It's works as a filter since the ability to learn concepts is important, but it's usefulness continues to trend downwards as it becomes more standardized.