Coding Interview University is a self-directed study plan that covers the computer science topics needed to pass technical interviews at major tech companies.

• Multi-month curriculum covering data structures, algorithms, and system design
• Originally created by a developer who studied full-time and landed a job at Amazon
• Includes curated resources like videos, books, and practice problems
• Translations available in over a dozen languages

Explore it here: https://osp.fyi/coding-interview-university…

I studied 8 months full-time and got hired at Amazon

Source: https://www.opensourceprojects.dev/post/coding-interview-university

The 8-Month Blueprint That Landed a Job at Amazon (And It’s Free)

You’ve probably seen the tweet:*“I studied 8 months full-time and got hired at Amazon.”*It sounds like a pipe dream, but the GitHub repository behind it is very real. It’s calledCoding Interview University, and it’s a self-study curriculum for people who want to pass FAANG-level technical interviews—without a CS degree, bootcamp, or paying a dime.

I’ve been through it myself (not for Amazon, but for a senior role), and I can tell you: it’s not magic. It’s a brutal, detailed, and incredibly well-organized roadmap. Let me break down what it actually does, why it works, and how you can use it today.

What It Does

Coding Interview University is amassive, curated study planfor software engineering interviews at top tech companies. Think of it as a free, open-source bootcamp that covers everything from basic data structures to system design.

The repository is essentially a single, hugeREADME\.mdfile (yes, it’s a beast). It’s organized into:

• Astudy schedule(8 months, full-time)
• Topicslike arrays, trees, graphs, dynamic programming, concurrency, and system design
• Curated resources(books, videos, practice problems) for each topic
• Practical adviceon how to solve problems under time pressure

The author, John Washam, built this after quitting his job and studying full-time. He went from not knowing how to invert a binary tree to landing an offer at Amazon. The repo is his raw notes, essentially.

Why It’s Cool

This isn’t a “watch 10 hours of videos and you’re done” kind of course. It’s abattle-tested, no-bullshit systemthat forces you to actually learn. Here’s what makes it stand out:

• **It’s brutally honest.**Day 1 starts with “You will feel dumb. That’s okay.” No sugarcoating.
• **It’s active learning, not passive.**You’re not just watching. You’re implementing data structures from scratch, solving LeetCode problems, and writing code on a whiteboard.
• **It covers the academic gaps.**If you never took a formal CS class, it teaches you exactly what you missed—like Big O notation, memory allocation, and how hash tables work under the hood.
• **It’s community-maintained.**Thousands of people have contributed fixes, updated resources, and added new topics. It’s a living document.

One clever trick: the repo includes aprogress tracker(checkboxes for each topic). It’s a small thing, but checking off “Understood recursion” after a week of struggling feels genuinely rewarding.

How to Try It

You don’t need to install anything. Just open the repo and start reading.

1. Go togithub.com/jwasham/coding-interview-university
2. Read theGetting Startedsection (it explains the mindset)
3. Pick a topic from the main list (e.g., “Arrays and Strings”)
4. Follow the linked resources and do the exercises
5. Repeat for 8 months (or at your own pace)

If you want a more structured approach, the repo also links to aGoogle Doc versionwith daily tasks. It’s a bit outdated, but still useful.

**Pro tip:**Don’t try to finish it in a week. This is a marathon. The author studied 8–12 hours a day for 8 months. If you have a day job, aim for 2–3 hours daily and adjust the timeline.

Final Thoughts

Coding Interview University is not a silver bullet. It’s aheavy, demanding, and sometimes boringcurriculum. But if you’re serious about passing a FAANG interview, and you’re willing to put in the work, this is one of the best free resources available.

I’d recommend it for:

• Self-taught devs who want a structured path
• Career switchers who lack CS fundamentals
• Anyone who’s tired of “watch this 5-hour video” courses and wants to actually build things

Is it the only way? No. But it’s a proven one. And it’s free. Fork the repo, start with one topic, and see how far you get.

**One thing to remember:**The repo is a guide, not a recipe. You’ll need to adapt it to your own learning style. But if you stick with it, you just might end up tweeting that success story yourself.

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