josephl.'s blog

By josephl., 2 years ago, In English

Hey all!

As one who has passion in competitive programming, I would like to ask you guys about certain topic.

As we all know, this world of programming has different "fields", e.g.

  • Web Development

  • Software Development

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Cybersecurity

and many more...

(By excelling in these, one for instance can become a software engineer in Google, or an AI developer in another huge company.)

But, I'm wondering if CP is really that important for one to get these spectacular jobs?

Yep, it's really fun and exciting to have your submission ACCEPTED, that amount of joy, is simply inexpressible, especially after hours of thinking and thinking, (and I personally love that kind of feeling too)!

However, I wonder if CP is really beneficial for one's "career"? Like, should one just focus on competitive programming or have to focus other areas as well? I mean, if one who's really strong in CP, but doesn't really as strong in software developing, will his/her CP experiences aid him/her in getting a job, possibly at FAANG?

What do you guys think? I hope to get some invaluable opinions from you guys!

If I do have any misconception, feel free to correct me.. (Btw, this is the my first time of writing a blog, pls excuse me from some amateur mistakes.)

Thanks in advance guys!

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2 years ago, # |
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One of the possibilities for those who only focus on CP, is to become a teacher, a trainer, a coach, etc. I know this doesn't really have to do with "development", but still it's a possible career option.

CP is perhaps not the most important thing. You can get a good job and do your job well without involvement in CP (which I believe is the case for the majority). One can rather spend time gaining experience in the actual development field, instead of trying to solve some random bs problems on the internet that would never be useful irl.

However, doing decent at CP can be an advantage, as problem-solving skills are developed through the process of, well, solving problems. People can learn a new programming language or a new framework fairly quickly to use it, but you can't just be good at problem-solving overnight. I think this is probably a reason why companies do consider being good at CP as a plus during job interview.

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    2 years ago, # ^ |
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    One can rather spend time gaining experience in the actual development field, instead of trying to solve some random bs problems on the internet that would never be useful irl.

    Well, does this mean that more attention is suggested to be given towards actual development field, instead of solving CP problems?

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2 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

anime developer

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2 years ago, # |
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However, I wonder if CP is really beneficial for one's "career"?

competitive programming teaches you the most important skill, how to learn new stuff and implement it in code. And what exactly you'll be implementing after that, web stuff, AI or whatever, is up to you.

I mean, if one who's really strong in CP, but doesn't really as strong in software developing, will his/her CP experiences aid him/her in getting a job, possibly at FAANG?

the first step on this path is passing an algorithmic interview. The thing is, it's very hard to find time and energy for e.g. solving leetcode when you already have a full time job. I see a lot of people sacrificing their work-life balance, desperately bying all sorts of books and courses (absolute majority of them are, let's just say, not so good), etc. So don't miss the opportunity to get better in competitive programming.

Also, for example, good result (*cough* this years Round 2) in Google Code Jam is the most straightforward way to get an interview invitation — you don't need polished CV, referrals, etc. (the rest is, again, up to you)

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2 years ago, # |
Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

that amount of joy, is simply inexpressible

Really?