Big Tech Interview Prep

The big-tech loop has not changed shape — coding, system design, behavioral — but the bar moved. AI writes the easy code now, so interviewers push on why and what breaks. Grinding 500 problems is the most common wasted quarter in this industry. 100 problems you can explain beats 500 you once solved. This track is those 100, twenty design rounds, one project you actually finish, and the behavioral prep that rejects more senior candidates than coding does. Coding is the gate; system design decides your level. Plan roughly 12 weeks full-time, 20 part-time.

1. 01

   Know where you stand

   One day. You cannot plan a route without knowing your starting point, and the recording you make here is what proves the delta at the end.

   • Baseline testTimed self-assessment that routes you to the right starting point.
2. 02

   Coding: CareerPath 100

   Eight to twelve weeks, the main grind. 100 problems across 17 patterns, ordered so each one teaches something the last did not. Learn the pattern before the problems, then let the pattern explain the problems.

   • Arrays through Binary SearchThe first 31 problems: hashing, two pointers, sliding window, stack, binary search.
   • Linked Lists, Trees, Tries, HeapsProblems 32–58: pointer surgery, recursion that returns one thing, top-k.
   • Backtracking and GraphsProblems 59–76: choose/recurse/un-choose, BFS, topological sort, Dijkstra.
   • Dynamic Programming, Greedy, IntervalsProblems 77–100: name the state, prove the greedy, sort by the right end.
   • The re-solve loopDay 7 and day 30 re-solves. The step everyone skips and the reason they forget.
3. 03

   Ship something inspectable

   Runs in parallel with the coding grind, not after it. A referrer forwards a project, not a problem count.

   • One flagship projectPick one. Finish it. Deploy it. Four half-built repos read as "does not finish things".
   • Two take-homesGraded on judgment, not features. The "what I skipped" section is the highest-signal part.
4. 04

   System design

   Six weeks. Coding decides whether you get an offer; design decides which level — and level is worth six figures over four years.

   • The primitivesOwn these cold before attempting the questions, or the rounds stay vague.
   • CareerPath SysDesign 2020 questions, 45 minutes each, out loud, on a blank page.
5. 05

   Everything that is not code

   Referrals roughly triple your callback rate, and behavioral rejects more senior candidates than coding does. Both start earlier than people think.

   • Networking that gets referrals5 targeted messages a week beats 50 connection requests. Track replies, not sends.
   • Using AI like a senior engineerInterviewers now ask. "I do not" reads as incurious; "it writes everything" reads as dangerous.
   • Behavioral: eight real storiesThe silent killer. Each story needs a number in the Result and must run under two minutes.
6. 06

   Re-test and apply

   Two weeks. Prove the delta against your own baseline before you spend your best chances.

   • Re-test, then apply in wavesRe-run the baseline. If the difference is not obvious, do not apply to your top choice yet.