Plan & Practice DSA in 2024

Here is your plan to practice DSA in 2024

I know for many of us we don’t like practice coding, or it seems to be very hard. Well, I am not saying it is a false statement. But if you want to break this then only thing you need to have is Consistency.

Well, if you are just a beginner or if you have at least 2–3 years of experience. Then it is a right time to start practicing and improve your (Data Structures and Algorithm) DSA skills.

But why it is so important? Can’t we get a job without DSA skills?
The answer is yes, you can get a tech job without DSA skills also, but if you are planning to join in big product based or FAANG companies then DSA is must.

See, it is not like you will be pro in DSA in 2–3 days or in a week. It will take a very long time because it is not like you have to learn answers, rather than you have to build logical thinking which takes time and effort. So, planning and to consistent with the plan is must.

Don’t Worry, in this article I will help you out to plan and practice DSA in a very easy manner.

1. Language Specific Concepts

Before Jumping directly to practice DSA Questions, instead you should start or brush up with your language specific concepts. For example, c++ has pointers, pass by value & pass by reference, Java has collections, strings, arrays, oops, streams and many more.

I know there are a lot of websites which can help you with but in my opinion if you have a book or a guide with you then understanding concepts and memorizing things becomes easier.

The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan / Dennis Ritchie
https://amzn.to/3Rh904O

C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup
https://amzn.to/47E3jDS

Java: THE COMPLETE REFERENCE by Herbert Schildt (Author)
https://amzn.to/3GlBML6

Python: The Complete Reference by Martin C. Brown (Author)
https://amzn.to/47uwHwf

Also start making your quick notes. for example, if you are reading arrays or streams topic in java then you can write the method declaration, what type of parameters and when to use that method.
Believe me it will save hell lot of time in your coding problems also your coding standards will be improved rapidly.

2. DSA Concepts

Well, there are lot of DSA concepts you need to learn if you are a beginner. But don’t worry start with topic wise, for example — Array. Then start doing coding question of that topic. After completing then jump to next topic.

Here is the best book to learn DSA — https://amzn.to/49W6RCD

3. Coding Questions

• GeeksForGeeks — https://practice.geeksforgeeks.org/explore
  After having your basics strong start with questions in geeksforgeeks.
  1. Start with topic wise Question
  2. Start with easy then medium Questions. Don’t worry about hard question as beginner.
  3. Don’t spend more then 40 minutes in a single question.
• Leet Code Interview Question — Top Interview Questions — LeetCode
  After solving a quantity of questions from gfg then start solving interview questions with same pattern that you have practiced in geeksforgeeks.

Tip 1— If you don’t able to get the logic in 15 minutes. Don’t jump to see solution directly. Instead take the help of hint or discussion window then try to solve. Remember you need to build logical thinking not to memorize answers.

Tip 2— When you solve a question then don’t directly leave it instead make a note that which type of question is solved by which logic and how it is optimized.

4. Revision

It is very important that before 1 week of any interview revise your notes that you have made. Many of us just leave new questions when it solved but the chances to forget new questions that you had previously encountered is very high. That’s why revision is necessary to be confident in coding interviews.

At Last, if I need to say one thing is —
Be Consistent and Stick with your plan. No matter what.

Thanks for reading.
Akash Shukla