How I mastered Data Structures and Algorithms
How I mastered Data Structures and Algorithms
- How to learn Data Structures and Algorithms?
2. The best course to learn Data Structures and Algorithms in Java and Python
3. How to crack coding interview?
4. How to use Leetcode effectively?
I will answer all these questions in this video.
► FREE resources:
1. Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms in Python: https://imp.i115008.net/dsa-python (Promo Code: CAREER25 for 25% off if it’s not free)
2. Algorithms 1 in Java: https://imp.i384100.net/algorithms-1
3. Algorithms 2 in Java: https://imp.i384100.net/algorithms-2
4. Data Structures and Algorithms using C++: https://www.edx.org/course/data-struc…
5. Top Algorithms from GeeksforGeeks: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/top-10-…
6. Data Structures And Algorithms in Javascript (not as comprehensive as other courses I mentioned in the video) : • Data Structures and Algorithms in Jav…
Disclosure: Resources above are all FREE in the US. However, If you pay for a Coursera or Udacity course using our link, we get paid a small amount.
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#datastructures #datastructuresandalgorithms #leetcode #codinginterview
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Content
0 -> This is you in a Coding interview. And this is
the dream job that you really want. If you don’t
4.44 -> prepare data structures and algorithms, there’s
a good chance that you will be rejected. Now,
8.94 -> I am no Love Guru when it comes to
relationships. But for coding interviews,
12.36 -> I do have some expertise. And to crack all these interviews, the only course I have ever used is called
17.46 -> Data Structures and Algorithms. And the best
part is that I did not master DSA sitting in
21.54 -> a classroom of a fancy university.
I did it online, all by myself,
24.72 -> because I have no Computer Science degree.
Today, I will share my entire journey in detail
28.92 -> so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes
that I made when I was struggling with DSA.
32.64 -> Before we go too deep into how to
learn data structures and algorithms,
35.76 -> we need to first understand what data structures
and algorithms means. Believe it or not,
39.84 -> you might have already used data structures and
algorithms in your life. For example, I want you
44.34 -> to remember the time when the meaning of every new
word was not available on Google and you had to
48.78 -> use an actual physical dictionary to look up the meaning of
a word. To find a word, let’s say “programming”,
53.88 -> you would open the dictionary in the middle and look at
the words that are there on that page. Let’s
58.26 -> say you landed on a page with words starting
with “m”. You know that “m” comes before the
62.4 -> “p” of programming. So, the word “programming”
must come after the page you just opened. So,
66.6 -> you start looking for “programming” in the right
half of the dictionary. If you repeat this step
70.5 -> multiple times, you will end up finding the
word programming. The process or in other words,
74.76 -> the algorithm that you just saw is called “Binary
Search''. And the way data is stored, which
79.32 -> is “dictionary” in this case, is called a data
structure . Don’t confuse this “dictionary” with
83.22 -> the data structure “dictionary” that we might have seen in Python because they are slightly different.
86.88 -> But why does a Software Engineer even need
data structures and algorithms? Imagine that
91.14 -> in the dictionary example I just gave you, someone
starts from the beginning and keeps flipping one
95.82 -> page at a time to find the word
“programming” . It will take them many
98.82 -> minutes to find just this one word. With “binary
search”, you will find it in a matter of seconds.
103.14 -> That’s the power of algorithms. Now imagine
that instead of giving you a dictionary where
107.64 -> the words are neatly organized in alphabetical
order, I gave you a bag full of paper slips each
112.62 -> containing a word and its meaning. How long do you think
it would take you to find the word “programming”? At
117.84 -> least a few hours unless you are really lucky.
That’s the power of ‘Data Structures'.
121.56 -> I hope that this example makes you even more
excited about learning Data Structures and
125.52 -> Algorithms.To make learning DSA easier for you,
I recommend that you learn at least one Object
130.234 -> Oriented Programming language before you start
DSA. That’s because most online resources for
134.82 -> DSA will be using an object oriented programming language.
You can pick any popular language like Java,
140.16 -> Javascript, C++ or Python. If you already
have a language that you are comfortable with,
144.42 -> you can continue with that. But if you don’t,
I recommend that you pick Python for DSA.
149.04 -> That’s because Python is less verbose and you
can write code really fast in Python. And in
153.72 -> an interview, where you only have 45 minutes to
solve a question, this would be really helpful.
158.4 -> Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk
about how I started my DSA journey. If you have
163.44 -> seen any of my previous videos, you know that
I am a strong advocate for “Learning by Doing”.
167.4 -> Unfortunately, for DSA, I don’t think there is
any good resource that you can jump
171.48 -> into and start learning by doing. That’s because
DSA requires a good theoretical foundation before
176.4 -> you can actually apply it to any problems.
That’s why, I took the online course
180.9 -> route for DSA. I used this course called Algorithms by Princeton University on Coursera.
185.34 -> This course is divided into 2 parts and is taught in Java. But if you are
189.36 -> looking for a good DSA course in languages other
than Java, I do have some recommendations for
194.04 -> you later in the video. Professor Sedgewick, who
is one of the instructors of this course, is
198.54 -> famous for taking the worst case space complexity
of Quicksort from big o of n to big o of logn in
205.26 -> 5 extra lines of code. If you don’t know
what that means, don’t worry about it. The point
209.76 -> I am trying to make here is that this course is
taught by the best of the best. The instructors
214.26 -> of this course have seen many algorithms come and
go during their career. Their book on Algorithms
219.18 -> has been a bestseller since the 1980s. That’s why
instead of just saying: “here are data structures
224.28 -> and algorithms that exist”, they are able to
provide a complete context of why a particular data
228.54 -> structure or algorithm exists and when to use
it. And purely from a learning standpoint,
232.92 -> this course make you fall in love with algorithms. I can not recommend this course enough.
237.48 -> But there is one big issue when it comes to
learning DSA. Most people don’t know how much
241.86 -> is enough and where to draw the line. And I
also made a same mistake here. This is the first
246.06 -> of the 3 big mistakes I made on my journey. I will share the other 2 later in the video. The mistake I made was that I
251.596 -> I ended up completing both algorithms 1 and algorithms 2. I realized it much later in my journey that I did not need full
258.66 -> Algorithms 2 for coding interviews. If I could
go back in time, I would skip the entire Week 3
263.76 -> and everything after Week 4. I am not saying that
these things are not useful, it’s just that they
269.1 -> are rarely asked in the interviews. And even if
there is some uncommon question that uses them,
273.36 -> you would be able to solve it if you follow what
we are going to discuss in the rest of the video.
277.5 -> Anyway, if Java is not your primary
language and you want to use C++ instead,
282.3 -> there’s this course by IBM that you can
use. If Python is your language of choice,
286.68 -> you can use this free course by Google on
Udacity. This Udacity course might not be
291 -> free in your country but it’s free in the US. All
the links will be in the description. By the way,
295.92 -> in case you are wondering, I do not
get paid anything if you use any of
299.82 -> the resources I am recommending today. So, the only
way to support us is by subscribing.
304.44 -> After finishing a course on DSA, you will
become very powerful. And you might start
308.7 -> believing that you can bend the entire
universe to get that dream job. And that
312.84 -> would be the second big mistake that I made. I
applied for many jobs after completing DSA but
318.06 -> it did not get me anywhere. That’s because
knowing all these different algorithms and
321.72 -> actually applying them to a new problem
are very different things. Add the
325.161 -> interview time limit of 45 minutes on top of that
and it suddenly starts looking like an impossible
330.24 -> task. For those who are having a hard time
finding a job even after learning DSA, trust me,
335.16 -> I have been in your place. Here is how I solved
this issue. I went to Leetcode and started solving
340.8 -> some interview questions there. If you don’t
already know, Leetcode is pretty much the best
344.76 -> resource out there to practice DSA questions. All the
questions are labeled easy medium or hard based
349.86 -> on difficulty level. In the beginning, you might
not be able to solve medium or hard problems. So,
354.78 -> stick to easy questions. And when easy problems
really become easy for you, move on to the mediums
359.76 -> and so on. And when
mediums start feeling easy, you are ready for
363.12 -> the coding interviews. If you want me to make
a full video on how to use Leetcode efficiently,
367.26 -> let me know in the comments. Another resource that
I would like to mention here is “Top 10 algorithms
372.18 -> in interview questions” on GeeksforGeeks. If you
have done your Leetcoding well, you would already
376.56 -> know most of the algorithms here. But, it’s still
a good place to revise what you have learnt.
380.64 -> But before you start applying for jobs, it’s very
important to set your expectations right. The
385.32 -> first few interviews are most likely going to be
a disaster. And that’s perfectly fine. That’s why,
389.76 -> I recommend that you don’t start by applying
to your dream companies in the beginning. Do
393.54 -> some practice by applying for companies that
might not be your top choice. And once you
397.992 -> are doing well there, move on to the ones
that you really desire. And always remember
401.58 -> that rejections are part of the process. Like
they say, there are two ways to walk in life.
406.02 -> The first is to walk like you are the king of
the world. The second one is to walk like you don’t
410.64 -> give a f**k who the king is. Choose the second
one and don’t let anyone’s opinion discourage
415.14 -> you from working towards your goal. And
as always, we are here to support you.
418.68 -> Before I forget, let me tell you the third
big mistake that I made. I used to think
422.76 -> that mastering DSA will make sure that I can crack
any software engineer interview. But in reality,
427.44 -> DSA is not the endgame. You still need
to impress the hiring managers and crack the
432 -> behavioral interviews. If you
want to know how to do that,
434.507 -> you can watch this video at the top. My name is
Sahil and I will see you in the next one.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2mYsPWzLjg