I have a background as an Etl dev and been targeting DE roles for the last few years. Really confused about the definition of the position and what to expect in interviews. It seems like companies want SDEs with soft skills, analytics/bi background, and know all the big data tooling/framework. I'm currently a DE by title. I'm doing more backend role. Not strong enough in leetcode to land an sde role or even get a call based on background and experience. Been through some DE interviews lately and didn't land anywhere. Anyone facing the same? What's the path forward?
This is basically why I just grind leetcode and do backend roles that don’t advertise js
I need to grind leetcode more for sure. Don't have a cs background so feels overwhelming outside of common DE questions around arrays, hashmaps, and strings. Seems like it's the only way out maybe.
For LC, start with strings and arrays. Most interview questions for DE are around string manipulation. Then you can work your way up
DE roles differs widely in different orgs. But core trend seem to be distributed computing, SQL, problem solving using dsa and some role specific tech stack. I think it’s only orgs that treats engineers as IT look for specific tech skills apart from generic ones
The interviews are a crap shoot though. Some are using karat where you are asked leetcode, system design, and data modeling in one hour. Just to make it on-site and do more acrobatics.
That’s way too much for an hour though. I’ve seen 1-2 topics (with questions ranging from easy to medium) / slight behavioral for first call though.