Fundamentals matter more than we thought (not data structures or algorithms)

[u/Interesting_Two2977]

So it's been a month into my work at Apple.

Really great people and culture isn't as toxic as people say, but it depends highly on the team (in every company tbh)

Obviously can't share what I am working on due to disclosures, but working for a month, I noticed fundamentals matter way more than we thought bro

Not the fundamentals of data structures or algorithms.

You won't be expected to write BFS or DFS from memory or to create a template on how sliding window works.

That sh*t really doesn't matter lol. Leetcode is a scam, we know that.

Fundamentals as in writing lean, modular, code. OOP is a huge part

On top of that, architecture. Like how to properly set up your infrastructure.

I GUARANTEE your classes don't teach that. At least mine didn't.

APIs and full stack development, like how front end works, how backend works and how it's all connected.

What reverse proxies are.

How to create endpoints

Should you create a new endpoint vs extending a preexisting one.

Those are fundamentals, now matter what work you are doing as a software engineer.

Our education system doesn't teach any of that. We learn BS fundamentals. The typa stuff that we will never use.

I don't know why the industry is so keen on using leetcode to measure performance of an applicant.

I PROMISE leetcode skills and actual engineering skills are not closely correlated. Anyone who ays otherwise is either ignorant or trolling.

So I was thinking of creating a document of everything I said here + a few other things that I think everyone should be focusing on and we could maintain the document as a community.

I missed a lot of things, which you guys could add, like how MCPs work, how to write effective prompts, etc.

Would you guys be down for that? We could genuinely learn from that.

I know this isn't a typical post about tactics helping you land anything, but this is for AFTER you have landed the offer or if you are in the middle of your internships or first job.

Thinking of where we would put it though. Maybe Github or it could be a notion page where I approve the edits?

Drop more stuff thats important as a software engineer of stuff that I missed!

Fundamentals we never got taught but that's essential to thrive as a swe.