Meet Sanjay Ankola, a Technology Associate at Morgan Stanley, who was able to apply his learning experience from Bosscoder Academy to help him better prepare for his interviews.
Sanjay was familiar with programming using Java and Spring Boot to create backend applications. However, as he prepared himself for his next career opportunity, he wanted to strengthen his DSA and System Design skills. That’s when Bosscoder Academy played a key role in his preparation process.
Strengthening DSA and Problem-Solving Skills
For Sanjay, solving DSA questions wasn't about rote-learning the solutions. What he wanted was to learn how problems can be solved in software engineering interviews and what are some typical problem-solving techniques and approaches.
Learning in a structured manner helped him keep up with his preparation process and concentrate on the concepts that will be required for software engineering interviews.
With regular practice, he got better at breaking down problems, analyzing various techniques, considering time and space complexities, and finally coming up with an efficient solution.
Building Stronger System Design Skills
One of the most valuable topics for Sanjay's preparation was System Design.
Having a background in backend development, he had some understanding of APIs, databases, and other backend-related stuff. Still, he wanted to learn more about building systems which are scalable and reliable.
During his preparation process, he learned such important topics as:
- Scalability and high availability
- Database design
- Caching
- Messaging systems
- API design
- Load balancing
- Trade-offs in architecture
The most valuable thing he learned during this preparation phase was how to solve a System Design problem.
Role of Mentorship
Mentoring played a crucial role in the process as well.
Sanjay credits a lot to his mentor, Arpit Godghate Sir, who guided him through the entire process. His mentors provided Sanjay with the necessary advice and helped him find the weak spots in his preparation process.
A proper guidance is essential for a working professional who prepares for tech interviews while doing a full-time job.
The Next Step in His Career Path
With the proper preparation in DSA, system design, and technical interviews, Sanjay became confident about solving the tasks and explaining his technical decisions.
All his hard work made it possible for him to take the next step in his career and start his position at Morgan Stanley as a Technology Associate.
In addition to that, he managed to get a 60% increase in his CTC.
However, what he considers the most valuable achievement is gaining confidence in his technical skills and preparing properly for an interview.
Through Sanjay's experience, one can learn that structured learning, consistent practice, and right mentorship are key in preparing a software engineer for the next opportunity.
From the improvement in DSA and System Design skills to the proper technical interview technique, Bosscoder Academy provided the direction and purpose to his preparation.
