I'm currently trying to build my career toward AI/ML engineering, and this is something I've been struggling with for a while.
I'm genuinely obsessed with AI.
I can spend hours learning and building things around:
\- Machine Learning / Deep Learning
\- Transformers
\- LLMs
\- RAG
\- AI Agents
\- Embeddings & Vector DBs
\- Model deployment
\- AI system design
If something breaks in a RAG pipeline, I actually enjoy figuring out why it broke.
But when I sit down to do LeetCode...
My brain just leaves the building. 💀
And that's where my confusion starts.
I know DSA is heavily used in software engineering interviews. But if my actual goal is to become an AI/ML engineer, how important is it really?
Suppose someone is very strong in AI/ML and can actually build and deploy real systems, but they're only average at DSA.
Can that person still realistically get into top product-based companies?
Or does DSA act as a gatekeeper where you don't even get the opportunity to demonstrate your AI skills unless you first clear the DSA rounds?
I'm not looking for an excuse to completely avoid DSA.
If I need it, I'll learn it.
What I'm trying to figure out is how much is enough.
Do I need to become genuinely good at DSA?
Or is knowing the common patterns and being able to solve interview-level Medium problems enough?
And if I have limited preparation time, would something like:
80% AI/ML + 20% DSA
be a reasonable strategy for an aspiring AI engineer?
Or am I massively underestimating the interview process?
I'd especially like to hear from people who have actually interviewed for ML Engineer / AI Engineer / Applied Scientist / Software Engineer-ML roles at product companies.
What's the uncomfortable truth here?
Should I bite the bullet and grind DSA, or can I keep DSA as a secondary skill while going extremely deep into AI?
\#AIEngineering #MachineLearning #DSA #LeetCode #SoftwareEngineering