Study Plan & Timeline

A structured study plan is the difference between months of aimless grinding and focused preparation that lands offers. Here's a proven 90-day plan.

The 90-Day Framework

Phase	Weeks	Focus	Daily Time
Foundation	1-4	Data structures, basic patterns, easy problems	2-3 hours
Pattern Mastery	5-8	15 core patterns, medium problems, system design basics	3-4 hours
Interview Simulation	9-12	Mock interviews, hard problems, full system design	3-4 hours

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-4)

Goal: Build rock-solid fundamentals.

• Week 1-2: Review core data structures (arrays, hash maps, linked lists, trees, graphs)
• Week 3-4: Solve 40-50 easy problems focusing on pattern recognition
• Daily: 2 easy problems + 30 min data structure review

Tip: Don't rush to medium problems. If you can't solve easy problems in under 15 minutes, your foundations need more work.

Phase 2: Pattern Mastery (Weeks 5-8)

Goal: Recognize and apply the 15 essential patterns.

• Week 5-6: Two pointers, sliding window, binary search, BFS/DFS
• Week 7-8: Dynamic programming, greedy, backtracking, heap patterns
• Daily: 1-2 medium problems + 1 system design topic per week

Phase 3: Interview Simulation (Weeks 9-12)

Goal: Perform under interview conditions.

• Week 9-10: Timed problem solving (45 min per problem), mock interviews
• Week 11-12: Company-specific preparation, hard problems, full mock interviews
• Weekly: 2-3 mock interviews (with friends, online platforms, or recorded self-practice)

Recommended Resources

Resource	Best For	Cost
LeetCode	Problem practice, company-tagged questions	Free / $159/year Premium
NeetCode 150	Curated problem set organized by pattern	Free
ByteByteGo	System design (Alex Xu)	Subscription
Educative (Grokking series)	Pattern-based learning	Subscription
Pramp / interviewing.io	Mock interviews with real engineers	Free / Paid

Daily Practice Structure

Morning (1 hour):
  - Solve 1 fresh problem (timed, 45 min max)
  - Review solution and optimal approach (15 min)

Afternoon/Evening (1-2 hours):
  - Review 1 previously solved problem
  - Study 1 pattern or system design concept
  - Spaced repetition of key concepts

Weekend (2-3 hours):
  - 1 full mock interview (coding or system design)
  - Review week's mistakes and pattern gaps

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Solving problems randomly -- Follow a pattern-based approach instead
2. Memorizing solutions -- Understand the pattern, not the specific answer
3. Skipping easy problems -- They build the intuition for harder ones
4. Ignoring system design -- Even if you're junior, you'll face basic design questions
5. Not doing mock interviews -- Solving problems alone is different from performing under pressure

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Next, let's understand the salary landscape so you know what you're working toward. :::