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Is Data Structure and Algorithm Important to Crack Product-based Company Interviews?

By Abhishek Gupta Category Full Stack Reading time 6 mins Published on Apr 05, 2023

DSA and System Design- the Key to MAANG/Product-based Company SDE Jobs

SDE jobs, aka a software development engineer role in a product-based company or in MAANG, is the dream for every single passionate tech guy. But with the increasing openings, product-based company interviews for SDE roles are becoming harder. In most cases, candidates lack in proper development stack.

The development stack is a topic of concern for every software engineer. We all have a stack we are most comfortable with and stick to. However, it is the responsibility of software development engineers to have other stacks in their minds. Thus in the battle of software developers vs. software engineers, the former achieves a winning position in terms of opportunities and salary.

Due to this reason, full-stack software developers are now on a massive hike. But the industry secret is SDE with core DSA, and system design knowledge is in actual demand in product-based companies.

DSA and System design- What's it?

The Data Structure and Algorithm is a process that is used in software development. It is a crucial component of all disciplines involved in software development and is not specific to any one programming language.

However, the data structure and algorithm process is the cornerstone of the software development process, while all programming languages change or become obsolete.

The procedures and rules that make up the software development process are used to create software. These procedures aid in directing the creation and use of the software. Following the phases of implementation and testing, the process begins with an analysis and design phase.

No matter what your role is as a programmer, having a strong knowledge of data structures and algorithms is always considered to be important. This is especially true when it comes to any technical interview. If you want to improve your chances of success, ensure you have a solid understanding of topics like graphs.

An illustration shows a person seated on a chair with a laptop. An another person carrying a large magnifying glass in front of a huge desktop to search for information about the system design process.

On the other hand, the System Design process is important for tech interviews because many IT companies, such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple, ask questions based on System Design concepts for SDE roles. These concepts include scalability, load balancing, caching, and more.

System design is another critical topic within computer science. Hence, If you're interviewing for a position in the tech industry, you must brush up on your system design skills!

What is an SDE role?

An SDE role in tech is typically a software development engineer position. This position involves creating and implementing software solutions for a company's products or services.

SDEs are responsible for designing, creating, and testing code that meets project specifications.

An SDE job requires the following skills:

  • An SDE must possess expertise in programming languages, and methodologies,
  • She/he should be able to collaborate with other members of their development team.
  • Moreover, SDEs must stay abreast of new technologies and software development trends to continuously hone their skill sets and increase work quality.
A SDE seated in front of a laptop uses system design in software development environment.

What is the use of DSA and system design in software development engineering in product-based companies?

Data structures and algorithms are essential tools in software development engineering for product-oriented companies.

  • Data structures are essential in software engineering as they organize and store information efficiently.
  • By selecting the correct data structure, developers can improve their applications' performance, reduce memory consumption, and accelerate data processing.
  • Algorithms are essential tools for solving complex problems and efficiently performing computations.
  • By selecting the most suitable algorithm, developers can optimize their applications' performance and reduce time-consuming task execution.

System design is essential in software engineering as it establishes the overall architecture and structure of a given software system.

  • This involves designing various components like modules, interfaces, and data storage mechanisms - all to make the program more scalable, reliable, and maintainable.
  • With good system design in place, software becomes simpler to develop, operate on, maintain, and upgrade as needed.

In short, software development engineers of product companies or MAANGs utilize data structures, algorithms, and system design to maximize the performance, scalability, and dependability of their software systems in product-oriented companies.

How to crack product-based company interviews for SDE roles?

Below are a few of the tips that will surely help you.

  • First of all, be patient. Cracking a MAANG (previously FAANG) or any top-notch product company's SDE interview is not a joke. You need to be fully dedicated throughout our learning and SDE interview preparation.

  • Don't fall into the trap of highly rated free tutorials for data structure and algorithm or system design learning. The industrial direction of DSA and system design are quite tricky. Hence, you always need an expert mentor who can guide you with contemporary trends.

  • Make your DSA and system design foundation strong.

  • While choosing a data structure algorithm course or a system design course provides importance to practical learning.

  • While doing DSA projects, stick to the following goals

    • Choose challenging scenarios as much as you can.

    • Do projects based on some current days market requirements. Try to solve the hardest possible bugs with the least possible support from your mentor.

    • If you are new to the DSA field, try to master the DSA in JAVA or Python first.

    • Before heading to the interview table, ensure that you are adequately confident about your DSA coding abilities.

  • Take at least 3 months for interview preparation. Attend mock interviews as much as possible.

  • If possible, try to indulge in some internships for 2 to 3 months, even if that is unpaid. Only keep in mind that it should provide ample hands-on experience.

These tips will certainly help you master data structure and algorithms for product-based company interviews.

A DSA professional is hired by a MAANG, Google. He shakes hands with the interviewer.

Where Can you learn data Structure and algorithm (DSA) and system design?

To be a successful SDE pro, you should not compromise through free or cheaper random courses. Instead, invest in an industry-paced course with a proper job assistance program.

Yes, you read right. I wrote 'investment' not 'expense.' Spending money on the right course will provide you with a good ROI through a secure SDE role in a product-based company.

You can check Learnbay's DSA and System Design course, which offers premium placement support, real-time projects, offline project opportunities, and exclusive project innovation lab support. In this course, you get 100% live sessions from top production companies and MANNG software development experts.

If you are still not sure about where you opt for a DSA and System design course, you can opt for expert consultation from Learnbay free of cost.

FAQ on Product-based Company Interviews for SDE roles:-

1. Why should you master DSA or system designing before applying for interviews in companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, etc?

Ans: In most cases, you have to face the final round of on-site DSA and system design section for the SDE roles. And the given problem complexity lies between medium to hard levels.

2. How much is the software development engineer's salary in Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google?

Ans:

Amazon SDE salary range: 28 to 118 LPA

Google SDE salary range: 15 to 110 LPA

Microsoft SDE salary range: 15 to 70LPA

Meta SDE salary range: 28 to 180 LPA

3. Who should opt for DSA and system design course?

Ans: Data structures and algorithms are significant and can make a big impact on your website, app, or software that you are developing. As a website developer, data scientist, or software developer, you should make it a point to learn Data Structures and Algorithms. By doing so, you can distinguish yourself from other candidates when applying for jobs in MAANG or product-based companies.

4. What is the importance of opting for DSA courses?

Ans: Firstly, if you have a minimal budget, you can enroll in the course because the fee structure is very low and adaptable.

Secondly, You get in-depth knowledge of How to Break Into the IT Industry and Make a Fortune MAANG interview.

Thirdly and most importantly, DSA is the foundation of computer science, and mastering it will undoubtedly make you a better software engineer. As a result, it is recommended, if not essential, to master it at the start of your IT career. It has been discovered that students who understand what data structures are, how algorithms work, and which data structures they can use are more likely to become software engineers.

5. Is DSA in Demand?

Ans: DSA is unquestionably worthwhile to learn! It goes over standard problem solutions in detail and gives you an idea of how efficient each one is to use. It also teaches you the science of evaluating an algorithm's efficiency. This allows you to select the best data structures and algorithms from a variety of options.