🧠 DSA Excellence: The Roadmap to FAANG¶

Data Structures and Algorithms is the gatekeeper for almost all top-tier tech companies. Here is how you master it.

🛤️ Level-Wise Learning Path¶

Phase 1: The Basics (Week 1-4)¶

• Learn Time and Space Complexity (Big O).
• Master basic Data Structures: Arrays, Strings, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues.
• Practice Recursion—the foundation of advanced topics.

Phase 2: Intermediate Concepts (Week 5-10)¶

• Searching & Sorting (Binary Search is crucial!).
• Hashing (HashMaps/HashSets).
• Trees (Binary Trees, BST, Traversals).
• Heaps (Priority Queues).

Phase 3: Advanced Topics (Week 11+)¶

• Dynamic Programming (DP) - The "fear factor" topic. Start with 1D then move to 2D.
• Graphs (BFS, DFS, Dijkstra’s, Minimum Spanning Tree).
• Tries and Segment Trees (For very high-level roles).

📚 Best Resources¶

• Free Courses:
  • Striver’s A-Z Sheets (Highly recommended)
  • Love Babbar’s 450 Sheet
  • FreeCodeCamp (YouTube)
• Platforms:
  • LeetCode: For interview-style questions.
  • GeeksforGeeks: For theoretical explanations and standard problems.
  • CodeStudio: Great for company-specific interview experiences.

✅ The "Interview-Ready" Checklist¶

• Can you implement a Linked List from scratch?
• Do you understand the difference between recursion and iteration?
• Can you solve a "Medium" LeetCode problem in under 30 minutes?
• Can you explain the Time Complexity of your solution clearly?
• Have you practiced "Blind 75" or "NeetCode 150"?

[!CAUTION] Warning: Don't memorize solutions. Interviewers will change one small detail of a problem to see if you actually understand the logic. Always focus on the approach.