Have You Fizzed that Buzz?

Welcome to the fourth issue of Zero to Hero Weekly.

I’ve done a lot of stuff this week, some of which you can find as new articles on Zero to Hero, and some are still brewing and cooking in Zero to Hero Kitchens that will reach you in time.

Hello from the Zero to Hero Kitchens 👩‍🍳

Firstly, I’ve started creating a lot of video content; here’s a quick preview of what’s in the immediate production pipeline. The range varies from setting up a development environment to exporting DynamoDB tables… a lot of quality material is coming your way.

The items that have green indicators next to them are the videos that have already been published. The blue row is the one that I’m currently working on.

There’s a lot coming down the pipeline—for example, in the Setting Up a Development Environment video series, I start with brand new default Mac OS system. There, I step-by-step install and configure my opinionated sets of development tooling, environment, and applications.

FizzBuzz Pro

FizzBuzz Pro is a sister project cooking in the Zero to Hero kitchens, and I think it deserves its own section.

FizzBuzz Pro will be an app to provide you with algorithmic puzzles and tried and tested solutions to those puzzles, along with outlining strategies that you can reuse, and highlighting common patterns that you can exploit.

It’s no secret that companies are asking competitive programming questions in technical interviews. That’s the current norm, rather than the exception.

While I still don’t understand the efficacy of asking algorithmic puzzles in choosing the best candidate (here’s a short 3min video and a longer 30min “uncut” version of it that I’m ranting about the subject matter, in case you are interested), apparently the rest of the industry does not think like me. From startups to big corporations, everyone is drinking the same kool-aid.

Even worse, these algorithmic puzzles do not measure your aptitude as a software engineer, they do not measure your technical acumen. They are robotic—inhuman, even. They are merely benchmarks about how fast you can come up with a solution almost mechanically.

If you cannot change the game rules, then you’ll have to play the game by the rules. But, how?

Mastering competitive programming is not easy. Even if you have learned data structures and algorithms fundamentals in your college years, you’ll soon realize that competitive programming requires a much different mindset; a unique way of thinking and approaching problems.

But, there’s a bright side to it: Although it’s flocking hard work to study these questions—to the point that you’d rather want to have a root canal instead of balancing yet another binary tree, every single day—you can still be pro at competitive programming.

FizzBuzz Pro will help you to get better with the game—Well, not right now, but when it’s launched—we are working hard on it.

FizzBuzz Pro is a greenfield project, and as I continue developing and productizing it, I will be sharing the entire process with y’all.

I will keep you posted about FizzBuzz Pro’s entire development process.

I’ll create use case articles and videos about designing, creating, maintaining, scaling, and monitoring the app, and more—Stay tuned.

Right now, there’s only an ascii-art placeholder on the website, but things will change real fast real soon.

The thing is, you don’t have to be an algorithm wizard; you don’t have to be a data structures genius to nail a technical interview. You just need to practice and see the patterns and similarities between various kinds of questions.

Practice ( ~via https://tapas.io/episode/923459 )

In FizzBuzz Pro, I can, and I will help you with seeing the common patterns and similarities between various questions. I’ll help you realize ways and techniques to approach them; and I’ll provide you with enough tooling to nail any algorithmic problem that’ll be thrown at you.

Yes, “patterns”… that’s something that I can help.

Practice… however, is something to do on your own. You’ll have to allocate focused and uninterrupted block of two hours every day (weekends included).

The only way to flex your competitive programming brain muscles is through practice. I’m sorry, and there are no shortcuts.

Random Though of the Week

Have you ever doubted yourself? Like, have you ever had that nagging thought that you may fail this time, or you are undeserving your achievements?

Well, you are not alone. And you can constructively channel those thoughts and feelings to be more productive.

For example, instead of pushing back and shying away from experiences that make you uncomfortable, embrace them. See them as opportunities to learn. Who cares if you fail; you learned a lot, and you now know where to grow: There’s always room for growth.

This might sound harsh, and it’s okay not to be the most intelligent person in the room. Have the courage to ask about what you don’t know. That will—ironically—make you a more confident person. And your confidence will transform you into a person that everyone goes for advice.

Finally, cherish feedback. Yes, it’s sometimes hard to digest feedback from people that you are doing something wrong or not showing the desired behavior—who are them after all?—well, they are the people who care about you; they want to see you improve, and they wholeheartedly believe that you can.

Never assume malice. Cherish the feedback, thank the feedback giver, and take your time to reflect on and plan out how you can be an even better version of yourself based on all that feedback.

Recently on Zero to Hero

Here’s a quick video about installing Go on Mac OS, which is follow up to Setting Up Your Go Development Environment article.

Other than that, most of the work we did was under the hood.

More content is on its way and it’ll be ready for your reading and viewing pleasure in the upcoming weeks.

Look What I’ve Found

Here are the things that grabbed my attention this week.

I typically don’t share these anywhere else.

Exclusively hand-picked for you 👌. Enjoy.

Let’s do a Kubernetes roundup this time:

Thanks a Lot ❤️

That’s all for this week. Next week, I’ll gather more unique content and resources.

So, until next time… May the source be with you 🦄.