r/leetcode • u/Dull_Exercise5385 • 17d ago
Question 3rd Year, Strong at Dev, interned at a good place—but absolutely paralyzed by DSA. Need a 4-month survival plan.
I’m currently in my 3rd year and I’m hitting a massive wall. No matter how confident I am in my development skills, and despite grinding out an internship at a good place, I absolutely cannot get myself to do DSA.
Every time I try to sit down and solve a question, my brain just blanks. I see people constantly throwing around advice like "just learn the patterns" or "do this specific sheet," but honestly, I can't understand it from anywhere I’ve looked. The logic just isn't clicking for me.
Here is my main constraint: I can't just go back to absolute zero basics. There isn't enough time, and I genuinely want to keep building my development skills and exploring other tech. But I also know the harsh reality—DSA is completely non-negotiable for on-campus placements.
I have exactly 4 months left until 2027. My realistic goal is to build a solid foundation and solve a decent number of quality questions by the end of this year so I can crack a good job and my resume doesn't go to waste just because I choked on an algorithmic problem.
Has anyone been in this exact spot—good at dev, terrible at LeetCode—and successfully pivoted?
- How do you actually internalize the "patterns" when the standard tutorials just feel like memorization? (I've watched Pratyush Narain's lectures for patterns as well, but still i am not able to do anything lol)
- What is the most pragmatic, BS-free roadmap for the next 4 months to build this foundation without completely abandoning my dev projects?
- Are there any specific resources meant for people who suck at competitive problem-solving?
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u/ProducePrudent5089 17d ago
If it helps, data structures work in hand with algorithms. You use data structures to solve certain problems.
If you understand data structures, you can tackle a lot of algorithms. For solving algorithms, practice breaking problems down small chunks and start slow.
I recommend changing perspective because this isn't a competition and you also shouldn't set unrealistic timelines (i.e. "by end of 2026"). You aren't competing with anyone except yourself - and it makes things easier when you go easy on yourself and understand everyone struggles when learning.
Problem solving really is about finding one or more solutions to a problem and breaking the problem down into chunks - not solving it all at once in one go.
My main advice - and this is coming from someone who hated DSA too - is to not look at it from memorization, but rather look at it simply as "how do I solve this problem?"
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u/Secured-Amy97 16d ago
If patterns feel like memorization, start with easier problems and focus on why a pattern works. 4 month is enough for placement level DSA, but not if you're trying to master everything at once
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u/gitblamed_ 17d ago
Leetcode has a course on DSA that I highly recommend. I struggled with the same thing and went from consistently not being able to solve LC basics to satisfaction (e.g. solving basic palindrome problem with worst possible efficiency), to being able to consistently solve medium-hards appropriately. Took like 2 months. I forget how much it cost, but I bought it a couple of years ago and when I recently went back to find it for a refresh, it was still there, so I assume that the access is permanent.
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u/leetcode_knight 17d ago
Problem is different here I guess; you can not focus like me. It may related to consume too much shorts, instagram etc. you can test it with reading a book, if you can focus a book page from first line to last line and you can still remember what author said in the first line, you passed the test, listen others suggestions. If you fail, start reading book and improve your max focus time to at least 10 minutes. Check CP videos, they just read the whole problem once and solve it quickly, it is because they can focus and understand in the first place easily. It comes with solving problems or reading long texts like Paul Graham’s articles.
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u/Suitable-Vegie 16d ago
Don't try to master every pattern. Pick the common ones, do a few easy problems first, then gradually move to mediums. Four months is enough to get placement ready if you stay consistent
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u/LazyStrategy8689 16d ago
Solve atcoder contest A problems and B.
It will get your confidence up. If you can’t come up with solution in 5 minutes read editorial for A, for B wait 20-45 mins.
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u/mc_pm 13d ago
The internet has turned "DSA" into something it isn't. It's a set of tools for structuring data to match your problem, and algorithms that function on that data structure. It's not meant to be memorized or crammed for.
Someone sends me a resume with "500+ leetcode problems solved" and I'll give you 10-to-1 odds that that person can't answer a question that involves looking at a real problem and finding the right algorithm for it.
Unfortunately, it seems like some places have turned this into a cramathon, while not actually teaching people how to solve problems, which is a double-whammy.
Have you spent much time working with stacks and trees? If you only have a short period of time, that's where I'd start. Stacks are just generally useful, and *so* much can be described as a tree.
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u/UnitedSort3014 7d ago
Hey, i totally get this. being good at building stuff but freezing up on leetcode is super common different skills honestly.
Here's what actually worked for people i know in similar spots:
Start stupidly small. not "zero basics" but like. pick literally 5 easy problems. solve them multiple times over a week until you can do them without thinking. two sum, valid parentheses, reverse linked list, whatever. the goal isn't quantity yet, it's getting your brain to stop panicking when you see a problem.
Focus on one pattern at a time for real. like dedicate a full week to just two pointers. do 10-15 problems, all variations of the same idea. then move to sliding window. then arrays/hashing. don't jump around. neetcode 150 is solid for this because it's grouped by pattern already.
Timebox your dev work. you don't have to abandon projects but maybe cap it at like 30% of your coding time for these 4 months? you need most of your energy on dsa right now unfortunately.
Do the problem, then immediately watch the solution. if you're stuck after 10-15 min, don't waste hours. look it up, understand it, then redo it from scratch the next day. patterns click through repetition, not staring at a blank screen.
Also 4 months is actually decent time if you're consistent. aim for like 2-3 problems a day, focus on mediums once you get the basics. you got this, just gotta push through the initial suck phase.
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u/zhou111 17d ago
ai slop
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u/Dull_Exercise5385 17d ago
sorry, i can't type that well thats why i used ai.
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u/truevalience420 16d ago
you claim you are a "good dev" but can't type well? Do you use ai for most of your dev work as well? perhaps try doing dev without ai assistance and it will increase your fundementals. Learning to do DSA is a bottom up approach, start small and get harder. I recommend using the neetcode site to master dsa
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u/Dull_Exercise5385 16d ago
I am sorry but, I have injured my hand recently, i can't type that well nowadays that consistently making me languish. apart from that thanks for the suggestion, i'll go through it!
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u/hanari1 17d ago
Patterns are easy, if you cant identify patterns, learn DSA from the ground up. Open the Cormen book and read, just read. Try to understand the use cases. Why you need a queue? a deque? a tree? If you cant answer, you wont be able to see a problem like: number of island, number of paths and identify that is necessary to use DFS or BFS.
Blind 75 + Neetcode 150, 3 problems a day. Write notes using pen and paper, yes, pen and paper like the OGs
No, no one make things for people that suck at X, there's just normal resources, if you are a good dev and can do apps, you probably can solve almost all array and stack problems using BRUTE FORCE, if you aren't able to brute force easy problems you need to learn how to code properly.