The Algorithm Problem
The lore around algorithms as a new Bootcamp attendee made them seem like the ‘final boss’ of learning to code. I remember people recommending that I jump into practicing them right away, just to make sure I could wrap my head around it early. On my first foray onto LeetCode, (keep in mind I had absolutely zero coding experience whatsoever) I ended up in near-tears. I barely knew a coding language, and it felt like the actual problem was written in some pseudo-English designed specifically to confuse me.
Several months later I reached out to a friend for their help and ended up in much the same situation even with more experience under my belt. I kept asking, ‘Why will I need to know this if I’m learning to be a full-stack engineer? I’m not going to be sending rockets to space!’ To which my tutor would reply, ‘well this is what you’ll have to do in technical interviews’ and I would just feel despair over-take me. I simply couldn’t do algorithms, I was terrified.
Post-program I still found myself putting off my algo practice. I was spinning my wheels because I knew it was something I was going to struggle with. In different circles, I found many conflicting ideas about how valuable practicing algorithms really is. Some students told me it was all they were focusing on, and others staunchly disagreed that it was worth the effort at all. Finally, I got an invitation I couldn’t refuse. It was to attend the school’s informal algorithm practice club where I could get, ‘plenty of practice and get used to coding in front of other people!’ 🤢
I won’t pretend that I was immediately sold on it, the first few days were rough. I set a goal that for week 1 I would ask every question that came to mind, without shame. My week 2 goal was to pseudo-code every problem, and not worry if I didn’t finish it. By week three, I had finished a handful of problems on my own and was feeling pretty sharp. By now, several months in without missing a meeting… I’m still not great but I am so much better.
I also now have an answer for why algos are important to practice. The repetition of digging into the nuance of any coding language every day, especially if you’re not working is priceless. I also believe that once you understand the language the problems are written in, it’s easier to see complicated problems from many different sides. All of this is to say, practicing solving problems makes you a better coder because that is what coding is - solving problems.
Not to mention the value of doing them with friends, which many of us don’t have the opportunity to do. I can honestly say without the team I wouldn’t have found a way to have fun with it as I have, and I think that’s what I’ll hold on to more than anything else from this experience.
