I don’t know if it’s as useful a signal as you imply. For me, it’s easy to be motivated studying leetcode: small, self-contained puzzles with just the right amount of challenge and immediate gratification. Actually doing a FAANG job can be a slog where it takes months to see results from your work.
I can get hired as a software engineer wherever, but I’m only mediocre at doing the job. I’m not the only person I know like this.
I don't want to underestimate the skill of being good at LC. In the past couple of months, I have solved about 200+ LC and I have been interviewing vigorously too. Its a tough skill for sure but beyond a certain point, you start seeing patterns you have applied before and once you are in the flow, it becomes slightly easier.
I only wish the real Software Engineering job was as simple as being good at LC, because it clearly isn't.
Sure. But I’m (by my own estimation) a mediocre software engineer who is very above-average at solving fun coding puzzles, and therefore at interviewing. Usually these threads are full of people complaining that they are good engineers who aren’t good at interviews; I’m suggesting that the opposite isn’t uncommon, even if it’s more rarely admitted.
Getting something working in the beginning feels very different from a coding puzzle. During the next phase of optimizing something is where it gets interesting. Understanding the hardware and figuring out the right way to make full use of it via memory tricks or specialized processor instructions always felt more like a puzzle. Unfortunately, I feel engineers are seldom given the opportunity to go deep down the optimization route once something is working reliably, since it's already getting the job done.
> I can get hired as a software engineer wherever, but I’m only mediocre at doing the job.
I feel exactly the same.
Mind if I ask how you deal with this?
I recently left software (not sure if temporary or permanent yet) and I'm pursuing tutoring in an unrelated field. So far I'm liking it more because I feel better than mediocre.
Haven’t really figured it out yet. Working on something I care about seems to help, although it’s not always easy to find. Having a strong, trusting relationship with my coworkers also helps. Easy to get detached otherwise.
Having other sources of meaning in life keeps me going during periods where my career isn’t going as well, gives me perspective and keeps me from getting depressed (I’m prone to it).
Working at top companies has helped me meet a lot of amazing people, including many of my closest friends, so I’m grateful for that at least.
Also, this gets thrown around a lot on HN, but if you’re brilliant at hard programming puzzles but not good at engineering jobs you might have ADHD. I do. Medication and/or ADHD-targeted treatments and accommodations could help. They’ve been modestly helpful for me.
I can get hired as a software engineer wherever, but I’m only mediocre at doing the job. I’m not the only person I know like this.