Coding Interview Roadmap — From Zero to FAANG
The complete 12-week roadmap for coding interview preparation. Learn patterns, solve problems, and build the skills to ace Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft interviews.
Foundations
Week 1-2 · 15-20 problems · Easy → Medium
💡 Focus on Easy and Medium problems only. Build pattern recognition, not memorization.
Core Data Structures
Week 3-4 · 20-25 problems · Easy → Medium
💡 Start timing yourself — aim for Medium problems in under 25 minutes.
Trees & Graphs
Week 5-6 · 20-25 problems · Medium → Hard
💡 This is the hardest week. Slow down — practice building adjacency lists from scratch each time.
Dynamic Programming
Week 7-8 · 15-20 problems · Easy → Hard
💡 Go through the 4-step framework for every problem before coding. Define state → write recurrence → set base cases → optimize space.
Advanced Topics
Week 9-10 · 15-20 problems · Medium → Hard
💡 These patterns appear less frequently but are essential for Hard problems at Google and Meta.
Review & System Design
Week 11-12 · 10-15 problems · All levels
💡 Re-do 10 random problems from weeks 1-6 without looking at notes. Do 2-3 timed mock interviews.
Curated Problem Lists
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best coding interview roadmap?
The best coding interview roadmap follows a pattern-first approach: Weeks 1-2: Arrays, Strings, Hash Maps, Two Pointers, Sliding Window. Weeks 3-4: Binary Search, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues/BFS. Weeks 5-6: Trees, Graphs, DFS/BFS. Weeks 7-8: Dynamic Programming basics. Weeks 9-10: Advanced DP, Backtracking, Heaps. Weeks 11-12: System Design, Mock Interviews, Review. This covers 95% of what FAANG companies ask.
How long does it take to prepare for a coding interview?
Most engineers need 8-12 weeks of focused preparation. If you have a solid CS foundation, 6-8 weeks is achievable. The key is consistency — 2 hours daily beats 8 hours on weekends. A pattern-first approach (learn the template, then solve 3-5 problems per pattern) is the most efficient path.
What should I learn first for coding interviews?
Start with the most fundamental patterns: Arrays & Hash Maps (frequency counting, two-sum), Two Pointers (converging, same-direction), and Sliding Window (variable-size). These three patterns cover 40%+ of easy and medium interview problems and build the foundation for everything else.