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Complete Career Guide

SDE Interview Preparation Guide 2025

Complete roadmap to become interview-ready for Software Engineer roles — from Mass IT companies to FAANG.

Start SDE RoadmapDSA Study Guide

The 5 Pillars of SDE Interview Prep

1

Data Structures & Algorithms

Foundation
Arrays, Strings, Two Pointers, Sliding WindowLinked Lists, Stacks, QueuesTrees, Graphs, BFS/DFSDynamic Programming, GreedyHeaps, Tries, Union-Find

Action: Solve 150-300 problems on LeetCode. Focus on Medium difficulty.

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2

Object-Oriented Programming

Critical
Encapsulation, Abstraction, Inheritance, PolymorphismDesign Patterns (Singleton, Observer, Factory, Strategy)SOLID PrinciplesUML Class Diagrams basics

Action: Build a project using strong OOP principles. Be ready to explain design decisions.

3

Core CS Subjects

High
DBMS — SQL, Normalization, ACID, IndexingOperating Systems — Process, Threads, Scheduling, DeadlockComputer Networks — OSI, TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS

Action: Master 10-12 key questions from each subject.

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4

System Design

For SDE-2+
Scalability, Load Balancers, Caching, DatabasesDistributed Systems conceptsREST API design, MicroservicesDesign: URL shortener, Twitter, YouTube

Action: Start learning system design basics in your final year even for SDE-1.

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5

Coding in a Preferred Language

Table Stakes
Fluency in Java, Python, or C++STL/Collections knowledgeComplexity analysisClean, readable code

Action: Be able to solve DSA problems in your preferred language without looking up syntax.

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Company Tiers — Know Your Target

Mass IT (Tier 3)

TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Capgemini

Focus: Aptitude (NQT/InfyTQ), Core CS (DBMS, OS, CN), Basic OOPS, 1-2 simple coding problems

Prep Timeline: 2-3 months

Mid-Tier Product (Tier 2)

Zoho, Freshworks, Swiggy, Zomato, PayTM, CRED

Focus: DSA (Medium LeetCode), OOPS, Strong Projects, System Design basics

Prep Timeline: 4-6 months

Top Product (Tier 1)

Amazon, Microsoft, Flipkart, Atlassian, Goldman Sachs

Focus: Heavy DSA (150+ problems), System Design, Strong OOPS, Behavioral

Prep Timeline: 6-9 months

FAANG (Elite)

Google, Meta, Apple, Netflix, Uber

Focus: 300+ DSA problems, Advanced System Design, Leadership questions, Math/Probability

Prep Timeline: 9-12+ months

SDE Prep Resources on TomoLink

DSA Interview Guide

Topic-by-topic DSA roadmap with study plan

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System Design Guide

Core components and classic design problems

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DBMS Interview Questions

Top DBMS & SQL questions with answers

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OS Interview Questions

Processes, scheduling, deadlock, memory

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Amazon Prep

DSA + Leadership Principles for Amazon SDE-1

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Google Prep

Coding rounds + System Design + Googliness

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Start your SDE journey on TomoLink

Company-specific study plans, DSA questions, and career roadmaps — all in one place.

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