Maybe it's just not for me

[devgugu]

Hi, I’m a front-end developer. I’ve been working with Angular and React for five years at a small company. In my work, I consistently perform exceptionally well. I’ve built numerous significant projects, including complex bank management systems all on my own. I’ve also received multiple promotions since I joined this company. Currently, I hold the second-highest position in the front-end department (we are a team of around 20).

Everything might seem perfect, doesn’t it?

Well, sadly, it’s not entirely true.
Despite excelling in my job, I have limited knowledge of data structures, algorithms, queues, stacks, LIFO, FIFO, etc…, . Whenever I attempt LeetCode or codewars questions, I often struggle with those labeled as easy (though I can handle the genuinely easy ones without any issues). The lack of theoretical knowledge is a significant challenge for me. Whenever I encounter an unfamiliar data structure or algorithm, I find it difficult to focus and comprehend it.

I’m genuinely eager to progress as a developer, but I sometimes doubt my ability to do so. I wonder if this field is the right fit for me, especially when I’m working at a company that assigns me relatively straightforward front-end tasks.

This can be disheartening.

Thanks, everyone.

[JeremyLT]

LeetCode isn’t as important as some interviewers make it out to be!

You can clearly do the job, since you’re doing it right now! That’s the big part! You are successful!

Now, I totally get wanting to learn Algorithms. Its super useful stuff. Just don’t take them as the only worthwhile measure of your skills!

LeetCode and CodeWars are algorithmic practice platforms, so not algorithmic learning platforms. Since you have the experience to contextualize the information, this is where id personally use a book, coarse, or videos to learn DSA. The idea with DSA is that they are common patterns you see in lots of different code so you can use them to inspire a better design for your code. They aren’t meant to be a cookbook to memorize!