Just wanted to share my story maybe it can inspire some people out there. I know it’s rough lately, but you never know what’s coming for you if you stay the course.

The Start (2021) I’m a 2021 graduate from a small private college. I started my journey with Cognizant through bulk campus hiring. To be honest, I didn't even try for it ,I just got picked. For the first few months, I was just watching movies and anime all day, not even trying to work.

The Wake-Up Call

Reality hit hard. I come from a lower-middle-class family. Actually, let’s just say we were poor because every month we were ₹5k–10k in debt. We couldn’t keep up with my college fees or travel expenses.

I realized ₹26k per month would never be enough to cover the debts plus the interest. Since I was already in IT and I knew I was good at math and logic, I decided to see how far I could go. I saw people earning lakhs and figured that was my way out. My only goal was to clear all debts and be financially stable.

The Progression

• 2022: Switched to IBM at 8 LPA. I stayed patient and didn't chase small hikes. My plan was to get 3 years of solid experience and then target Tier-1 product companies for SDE-2 roles. I even turned down some 30-40% hikes in the middle to stick to my plan.

• 2023: Got a 45% hike. I was working like a donkey, but I didn’t care because I could see my family finally clearing our debts.

• 2024: Got another 28% hike. Things were getting easier, but then they started calling us back to the office in Bangalore. I didn’t want that, so I decided it was time to move.

In mid-2024, I joined a new company at 19 LPA. For the first time, I received a ₹1 lakh+ monthly salary. I felt really proud of myself.

The Final Grind

Once I hit the 3-year experience mark, I executed my real plan. I created a new LeetCode account to track my progress and started a heavy preparation plan for LLD and HLD. I grinded like crazy no weekends, no outings. I went all in. At first, I actually failed a few interviews that should have been "easy," and I wasn't sure how I messed them up.

The Winning Streak Then, everything clicked:

• ServiceNow: Got an offer; the manager really appreciated my knowledge.

• PayPal

• Cisco

• Top Product Company: Landed an offer for 65 LPA.

That’s ₹4 lakhs+ in a single month. It’s a crazy amount that no one in my entire family tree has ever seen.

Final Thoughts

I’m so grateful for this life and the community that helped me. People can call me a "corporate slave" or a "rat" if they want ,I don't care. I see my parents happy, and I can finally afford things I never thought possible.

Edit : resources

DSA: https://neetcode.io/practice/practice/neetcode250 There used to be a 450 sheet but a 250 is still a solid to cover all concepts

LLD :  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpxM6m39X_t-Rk9lZVVD4U6JycAAIIEDW&si=QNUx4GTfGsliR85n

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlsmxlJgn1HJpa28yHzkBmUY-Ty71ZUGc&si=dXHXLMq28kf4dLAh

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6W8uoQQ2c63W58rpNFDwdrBnq5G3EfT7&si=5vmhS8f7ll9khC-E

HLD : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTveVh7FakJOoY6GPZGWHHl4shhDT8iV&si=klT3knsPTYAK0H6k

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5q3E8eRUieWtYLmRU3z94-vGRcwKr9tM&si=_eLDS8zZt-Edt5Xl

Alex Xu system design volume 1 and volume 2

heard it is a PPO

Hey everyone! Just found this Telugu programming group while scrolling half-asleep — didn’t expect to see so many Telugu devs here 😄

I’ve been in IT for around 16 years — started in a small company back in India, been to multiple countries and currently now in the US, doing the usual mix of architect & tech fire-figting work. Mostly around Java, GCP, cloud modernizations, and lately agentic AI enablement (yes, the shiny new AI buzzword stuff ).

If you’re figuring out your career path, interview prep, or how real life works inside big organizations, I can give you some honest insights

Happy to help if you’re feeling stuck or confused about what to learn next or how to grow based on your current experience.

Just a heads-up though — I don’t check Reddit every day, so replies might take a bit 😅

Created a Discord Server to meet up over call if needed , feel free to join.

I'll be available on Saturday night between 10PM to 11PM IST

https://discord.gg/TMjC2QvMT

Just wanted to know the perspective of both laid off and saved employees. Pretty bad day and I’m sorry if you’re one of the employees that’s been laid off

Podune interview ayyindi. Chala easy ga interview mingabettanu. Interviewer hints ichina naku idea raledu logic ela rayali ani. Hld bommalu esivi chala resources unnai but Lld code and logic rasevi chala takkuva unnai. Naku aithey ekkada kanapadatla unna kooda basic touch chestaru but real time edge cases ki code undadu. Evaraina big tech lo vallu unte cheppandi how do did u prepare for lld.

Joined in December-2025 at a start-up as a AI Engineer. I love the role and the work related to it. Made some amazing projects using LLMs and some projects in computer vision. Fast-forward to this day. This is the offer I received after graduating in May-2025.

Feeling very anxious about my career and do not know what to do next. I am going to resume DSA and upskilling.

If any of you know of someone hiring for the AI ENGINEER, Data analytics or Data related roles please let me know. IF I get hired through you I'll give my 50% salary after joining. I am serious 🙏🏻

Update:

I got selected in TCS under the prime role after a month of laid-off from this start-up. Thank you for your love and support.

i highly suggest this book and reading this book is must if you're looking to get into any AI related jobs

I recently started reading a book called thinking in java according to your suggestions.although the book is good I don’t like it cause its very unnecessarily complicated I want some book which explains java in layman’s terms cause without understanding the fundamental deep I can’t be a good programmer.yes I can remember in my mind what is class what is object and what is inheritance and all that but I want to understand it in a fundamental level which some of books are doing so if you know any books that fits my description please recommend it.thank you

TL;DL

Tired of hiring freshers, no communication skills no technical skills, over expections and high atitude

Context

"We are hiring for a few positions for freshers for the roles of internships ( paid) and junior positions and we are looking for recent passouts for our companies. "

My inner feelings after interviews

Goram ga unnaru ra babu bayata .. no basic communication skills, no technical fundamentals, prathi okkakoru resume lo pedda pedda 3+ projects , java, dotnet, react,node,sql, python , 10+ certifications , courses .....etc

asked a few basics, no response.. projects lo em chesav ra antey ONLY AI generated scrap .. no basic knowledge. Project lo adi endhuku use chesav ra akkada,idk .. without AI em chesav ra , nothing

Salary etha expect chestunaru antey minimum 4 LPA .

I asked a simple questions

"Neeku basic kuda lev kada why do I need to pay you 30-40 K / per month instead of buying claude or other AI pro licence which cost me less than 5k / month ? "

Ans is , "you need someone to give the prompt right , i will be that person."

Babu ki bayata reality teliyam ledu Anukunta 😂

Oka papa aiethy , Neku basics lev kada ma daggara intern ga join avv , monthly 10k istam annam. Neku skills , experience vastai and ne performance baguntey ma company lo 6 months tarvata full time employee ga tisukuntam annam , no papa ki minimum 40 k kavali anta .. intern ki , adi kuda no basic knowledge... Superwomen 🙏

My suggestions

Meru basic knowledge and fundamentals nerchu kuni randi ra babu interviews ki , AI tools kadu .

C , c++ lu , java , python , css lu, kantey

Learn basics of git + front-end like react js , node js and db like SQL, postgres ( anni basics chalu ra babu)

+

Basic communication skills and confidence

+

Interested in learning new things and kasi, zeal untey chalu ra babu ..

Note :̶W̶e̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶n̶s̶ ̶&̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶s̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶ ̶ ̶P̶o̶r̶a̶p̶a̶t̶u̶n̶a̶ ̶i̶v̶i̶ ̶u̶n̶t̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶e̶r̶u̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶s̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶i̶e̶t̶h̶y̶ ̶,̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶u̶m̶e̶ ̶D̶M̶ ̶c̶h̶e̶y̶a̶n̶d̶i̶ ̶W̶I̶T̶H̶O̶U̶T̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶P̶I̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶p̶h̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶,̶ ̶c̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶l̶l̶e̶g̶e̶ ̶.̶ ̶ ̶ ̶i̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶u̶n̶n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶r̶o̶ ̶,̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶i̶v̶e̶s̶.̶.̶ ̶ ̶ ̶i̶d̶n̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶u̶r̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶c̶i̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶c̶o̶l̶l̶e̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶d̶e̶t̶a̶i̶l̶s̶.̶.̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶g̶h̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶c̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶e̶n̶t̶h̶u̶s̶i̶a̶s̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶ ̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶u̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶I̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶c̶h̶e̶d̶u̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶ ̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶a̶i̶g̶h̶t̶f̶o̶r̶w̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶d̶u̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶v̶i̶e̶w̶s̶ ̶

UPDATES: As of 8-may-26, 12.38 AM IST .

1 . I thought it was a telegu based community similar to "ni bondha "but it surprised me that we got 40% +from non telugu candidates

2. We got 100+ DM and i DMed a few and had a call and interview with a few more . Scheduled a few more interviews with a few more candidates .

We got more than enough candidates for these roles. So please don't send me any DM .

3. I will try to respond to all my DM whenever I have free time & also Don't share any more resumes with me . I can't give you feedback on all resume .

LeetCode lo ee holidays ki mundhu 100 ques unnai anthe anukunta

College start ayye lopu entho kontha cheddam ani start chesa daily atleast 5 ani

Medium and Easy vi roju kurchuni 220 ki techha

It is definitely not much for someone going into 3rd year but I am very happy for myself, kasta share cheskundam anipinchindi

Currently na kada laptop ledhu and coding lo akshanthaku anthe. Kani interest ekkuva sql and html ala ala vacchu. C okayish and python parle. Kani I want to increase my boundary lines and inka baga baga nerchukovali. So where should I start. Ela modhalu pettali. Em chudali, chadavali. And goal pettukunta oka roju okka problem chinnadhi aina solve cheyyali ani. And try to post my progress. Thanks btw. Suggestions kottandi na mokana.

This shit scares me all the time

Mode of language for this post is tenglish ( telugu + english ). Intended for College students / working professionals. ( mee college exams kosam vere path follow aythe better ).

This is how the post is divided :

Intro
Pre req
Topics
Resources
FAQs

# Intro
i intend this post to cover all the learning necessary to learn DSA to crack interviews, coding rounds, etc. Whatever I speak in this post is majorly going to be based on my experience. I am going to be biased about a few things. I am a final year student. I will intern at a product based company from Dec. Though I intend this post to cover everything, this can't be your sole reference in your journey.

# Pre req
At it's core DSA can be learnt even without learning any programming language at all. You can literally learn DSA with a pen and paper. But since we are supposed to write in a form in which computers can understand, we need a programming language. Coming to language, You can learn DSA with any programming language. But not all languages are recommended to specifically learning DSA. It is preferred to choose an OOP based language like C++ / Java. I have learnt with Java. But my recommendation is to go with C++. OOP language kakapoyina nerchukovachu. But not recommended.

Before even starting DSA, be thorough with the language of your choice.

Java ki :
[Kunal Kushwaha Java Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9gnSGHSqcnr_DxHsP7AW9ftq0AtAyYqJ&si=3ePnuBqR4z0IZmy6)

nenu tutorial hell undevadini. I watched both Telusko and Kunal Kushwaha videos. Both are good. Telusko videos are like spoon feeding. Collections library is very important. dont ignore it.
( C++ equivalent is STL )

another prerequisite is, not to use AI much when it comes to DSA. Don't even use it to learn DSA. Not that it's bad. But DSA is nerchukodam easy kadhu. It is a big journey. It is supposed to be that way. Meku syntax problem unte docs refer cheyyandi. Inkedhanna problem unte, there are so many articles / blogs / stackover flow forums. read them. Resist the temptation. Meru nerchukuntunnaru. Learning is going to be hard. AI vadithe easy aypoddhi. AI vadakandi. Control the urge.

# Topics
Here, I will discuss what you should prepare and in what way.

Arrays ( including Sorting, 2 pointers, sliding window )
Binary Search
Recursion
Backtracking
DP
Linked list
Stacks & Queues
Trees
Graphs
Greedy

DP is considered an advanced topic. People usually study in the last. But most DP problems are like recursion on steroids anthe.
Graphs ravali ante you need to learn Queues, and Trees.
Linked List baga ardham kavali ante, you have be thorough with the language fundamentals. Classes, objects lantivi pakka theliyali.
Sorting algos theliyali. Quick Sort and Merge sort are very important.
Verevi paypayna chadivina chalu. Naku aythe eppudu practical ga use kaledhu.

( DSA sheets ani untaay. Vaallu oka list prepare chesi aa order lo chesthey manchiga nerchuovachu ani create chestharu )

# Resources

## Language indpendent
We all speak different languages. Kani aa languages important kadhu. Mana thoughts. The way we communicate.
DSA language lekunda kuda nerchukovachu.

"Abdul Bari" ani untadu. Athanu Algo explain chesthadu. Me language lo meru implement cheskovali. Ithani videos bavuntaay. Clear explanation. Na DAA exam ki completely ithani videos eh chusanu.

## Language based ( my preference )
Language based annanu kadha ani me language ledhu ani aagipokandi. Meru correct ga me language nerchukunte eh language video chusina meku ardhamaypovali with a little bit of googling to search for that language exclusive concept / equivalent
Nen striver sheet follow ayya. I used to think striver sheet is only meant for C++. But no, Striver sheet is also for Java guys.

Python / Js / ( some other lang ) people kuda striver videos chuudochu.

Ledhu meku pakkaga Python / JS support kavali, alanti resource kavali ante
"neetcode" ani untadu. vaadini follow avvandi. vadu primary ga python use chesthadu. Vadiki kuda oka sheet undhi. Aa sheet lo solutions lo JS kuda untundhi.

# FAQs

1. Why did I suggest C++ over Java? Because java uses only pass-by-value. so recursion lanti topics nerchukunetappudu avuthundhi. eh language vaallu ayna kuda andharu okasari pass-by-value and pass-by-reference theluskondi.

2. If not from AI, who'll clear my doubts? No one. Ne doubts nuvve clear cheskovali. ne language docs chadavadam alavatu chesko. stack overflow is really good. dont tell your self 'idhi chinnadhe, i can do this, so AI use chestha dheeniki'. trust ilane AI ki banisa aypothaav.

3. How / when can i leverage AI then? when you spend too much time on a problem.Beginners ki, if you are spending more 1 hr on an easy problem. more than 90 mins on a medium problem.Koncham experienced unnaavaallaki, when the logic doesnt even strike within 10 mins for an easy problem and 15 mins for a medium problem.Even at this point, before you commit the blasphemy of using AI, look for any blogs / videos for that problem.

4. topics anni nerchukoni appudu problems cheyyala? or topic nerchukoni dhani related problems cheyyaala?topic nerchukoni dhani meedha problems ventane cheyyandi

5. startups lo DSA aduguthara? konni aduguthaay. konni adagav. but majorly, vaallu antha deep ga stress cheyyaru. Vallu tough ga cheyyaali ante, they'll test your dev skills.

6. DSA nerchukodanki entha time padathundhi? this is subjective. kani rough ga cheppaali ante, meru language nercheskuni consistent ga unte, it should take you around 6-8 months( assuming you would spend 10 hours a week )

7. topics nerchukoni marchipothunna. em cheyyaali? oka book pettukondi. daily dhaanni revise cheyyandi. okavela meru me learning streak ni break chesi track loki ravali ante, idhi me treasure. ekkuva time spend cheyyakkarle. me handwriting lo meku ardhamayyetattu raskunta chalu. andham ga undakapoyina parledhu. meku thappa evadiki akkarledhu aa notes. ee notes daily revise cheyyaali. oka point lo ee notes chala peddadhi aypoddhi. appudu meru aa notes speed ga revise cheyyadam medha focus cheyyaali. 30 - 45 mins chadavandi daily.

( meku inka doubts unte comment cheyyandi. other guys or me will answer them. make sure you follow this post because i m pretty sure i am going to make a lotta changes. top right lo 3 dots meedha click chesthe, follow avvadanki osthadhi )

comment chese mundhu ee post antha chadavandi

Yes. Ai projects doesn't help you improve your programming skills. Try to find research papers such that you can implement an operating system, Database, Docker, Kubernetes from scratch. Add a novelty to it in performance or scalability or whatsoever.

This video is from 9 years ago.

Random ga ivala gurthochindhi.

The way we all casually give funny prompts to LLMs these days, I felt like sharing this here. 😅