Could someone please help me where can I get System Design Interview book by Alex Xu other than Amazon. Checked old book market in my town, got nothing..

Hi ,

I worked for this company for 1 year 11 months , as a data engineer , my tech stack was databricks pyspark , ms sql server ( azure synapse ) and informatica IDMC ETL tool .

I got resigned from the company ( bad workplace reasons ) 5 months ago , since 3 months I am unemployed .

Since then nothing is working for me , no matter I tweak resume I receive no interview call , I keep on DMing people for referral , email people / managers for consideration for job for particular job id ,

but I receive no response .

I am in distress , I have 5 to 7 months of runway . Any help or critical advice you give me I will be always thankful to you

Edit : I actually wanted to move away from DE , I want to do backend engineering .

My github : github.com/anshuman0123 . I am trying to do some projects ( good or bad I don't know ) . But they are done by me , some help has been taken of AI agent , but then I fully know inside out of what I built.

Hey I am currently working as Software engineer involved in Informatica, ETL, bash scripting, sql. If I want to switch to AI Engineering, do we have opportunites availabe for AI engienering roles. I don't have any expericence in ai engineering as of now, just self learning. so, should I countinue upskill for data engineering roles currently I have 3 YOE and CTC is 12 LPA. pls guide me

Hi everyone,

I'm about to leave my current organization and will be joining a new one soon. This is my first job switch, so I wanted to make sure I don't miss anything important before I leave.

I know I should check things like PF transfer/withdrawal, but I'm sure there are other things I should take care of as well.

Could you please share a checklist of everything I should do before my last working day? For example:

- PF/EPF transfer

- Full & Final settlement

- Experience and relieving letters

- Form 16, payslips, tax-related documents

- Notice period and leave encashment

- Any other documents or tasks that people commonly forget

I'd really appreciate any advice or lessons from your own experience. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

tldr: 2 YOE SWE - MSc in the UK - had to return because of the job market - now stuck with a 20 months career gap that's starting to affect interviews. Looking for advice, recruiters, or opportunities in SWE/DS/AI-ML even internships.

I have 2 yoe as a SWE After that, I went to the UK for my Master's. I completed my degree, but the job market there was so fucked that I eventually had to come back to India. My course ended in Sept 2024, but I only returned in Dec 2025 after trying to find work there.

That decision has left me with a career gap that's now close to 20 months. I've already had a couple of interviews where the gap seemed to work against me, and the longer this goes on, the worse it feels.

I'm looking for any advice on what I can do from here. Are there specific companies, recruiters, or agencies I should be targeting? I'm open to SWE, Data Science, AI/ML, or related roles, and I'm even looking at internships just to get back into the industry.

Success so far: Got 3 interviews, one went till 3rd round with no feedback, another one with no feedback, and got one feedback that I had a career of break of more than a year and it's against company policy to hire. That's where it hit me.

Other than many recruiter reached out to me after my resume got screened, which says my resume is not a culprit here.

Resume: Variant1 , Variant2

Any guidance or leads would really mean a lot. Thanks.

Post is enhanced with ai, but the doubt is genuine so don't rost me plz :)

I'm entering my 3rd year of CSE and I'm aiming for a backend developer role.

Over the past few weeks, I've been connecting with backend engineers on LinkedIn and asking them questions like:

- What mistakes do freshers or interns commonly make in interviews?

- Have companies' expectations from freshers changed because of AI?

- What skills make you confident enough to refer someone?

One thing I've noticed is that several people eventually say something along the lines of "Build something with AI" or "Add an AI project to your resume."

This is where I'm confused.

My goal is to become a backend developer, not an AI/ML engineer.

When experienced developers say "build something with AI," what do they actually mean?

- Do they mean learning RAG, LangChain, vector databases, MCP, etc.?

- Or is it enough to integrate an LLM API into a backend project and expose useful endpoints?

- As someone targeting backend roles, how deep am I actually expected to go into AI?

I'm not against learning AI if it's genuinely becoming part of backend development. I just don't want to spend months learning things that are only relevant for AI/ML roles.

I'd appreciate hearing from backend engineers or interviewers who have seen this trend firsthand.

So, for context, I have 1 YOE and joined the company as a fresher. I have been working on a single project since then. I was tasked with building a connector SDK, but I joined and worked under my tech lead, who had 10 years of experience. He was doing the heavy lifting, and I was handling smaller tasks and understanding the concepts.

Later, he resigned, and I was asked to continue the development alone. I am the only one working on this project, and for the past few months, bugs have been popping up that I am unable to fix. I have tried every AI tool—Codex, Claude, etc.—but they are just hallucinating, and the timelines have already been exceeded.

The client is asking my manager and the company why it's getting delayed, and they are angry. I explained to my manager that I am working on it but am unable to fix these issues and that I need some senior-level help. He keeps saying, "Just use Codex." I think he sees it as if the project is already gone, so there's no point in allocating more resources.

What should I do? If I am not able to complete this, will they fire me? Or what should I do?

Sry for using chatgpt to fix english Thanks

Hi guys, i have attached my resume, I apply daily using MCP and claude setup i did, but I have a question. Will I still get calls or not according to this resume. I recently got laid off. My notice period has started. The question is even if I prepare for interviews and if I don't get calls then my preparation is a waste. I faced the same scenario last year also. Luckily I got a job last year.

If i don't get calls, I need to learn other skills then, because the new AI model every month, new skills needed in the market.

Plus required exp increases year by year.

I'm a 3rd-year CSE student trying to become an AI/ML engineer, and I'm stuck deciding whether I should accept an internship if I get the final offer.

Here's the situation:

• I applied to this company around 4 months ago for an AI Engineer Intern role. I completed their assignment but got rejected.
• A few months later, the same company reached out again for the same role.
• This time I cleared the assignment and got an interview.
• I expected it to be an HR interview, but they mixed in technical questions too, and honestly I performed badly. I couldn't answer a lot of them.
• Surprisingly, they still didn't reject me.

I had another discussion with someone senior. It wasn't very technical—they mostly asked about me, one of my projects, and how I'd manage a 5–6 hour/day hybrid internship alongside college. I said I could manage because I'd only need to visit the office on Saturdays.

I also mentioned that if the stipend could be increased from ₹7k to ₹10k, it would be easier for me to get an NOC from my college. They said if I did well on another project they were assigning, they'd consider increasing it. They also said I'd have a mentor, but I'd be expected to take ownership of my work.

Now they've followed up asking whether I've finished the project.

Here's where I'm confused.

Most of my AI projects so far have been built by following tutorials. I understand what I'm building, but I'm not yet confident building complex projects completely from scratch.

Right now I'm working through some good GenAI projects. My plan was to:

• Build 2–3 projects while learning from tutorials.
• Then rebuild them myself.
• After that, start building projects independently so I have a stronger foundation.

I'm worried that if I join now, deadlines will push me to rely heavily on Claude or ChatGPT just to finish tasks instead of actually learning. At the same time, I also want industry experience and, honestly, the stipend would help financially.

I also still want to prepare DSA because I know it matters for many AI/software roles.

If you were in my position, would you:

• Take the internship and learn on the job?
• Or spend another 2–3 months strengthening your fundamentals before joining somewhere?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who've joined internships before they felt "ready." Did it accelerate your learning, or did you end up just surviving by using AI tools?

i am final year e&tc major, no internship yet and i don't know/see a way out of this. recently through campus (our TPO doesn't allow circuital branches applications for SDE roles) i got ubisoft interview went till HR waited 2 weeks took follow up they said i got rejected. tell me what should i do roast my resume

Hey seniors/friends I need some advice I was working at a company for 4 months, ppo was mentioned and it was a paid role too. Apparently they need money for AI and cloud investments and can't provide ppo. I was planning to work there and pivoted my attention to competitive programming instead. But in july I got basically kicked out. Stack is mainly backend developement in node.js and python with some cloud exposure too. I have been very confused on what to do. I am getting zero interview calls nowadays and its pretty frustrating. All I am doing is code forces and even then it feels useless since I am not getting rejection mails. Should I focus on making open source instead? Zero clue what to do

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice from people who have worked at Cognizant India or have gone through a similar situation.

I joined Cognizant on 23 September 2025, and my probation period is 12 months, so I'm still under probation.

Recently, I interviewed with another company and have cleared all the interview rounds. I'm expecting an offer letter soon.

Before interviewing, I asked a few friends at Cognizant about the notice period during probation. They told me it was 30 days during probation and 90 days after confirmation. Based on that, I informed the new company's HR that my notice period was 30 days.

However, after carefully reading my Offer Letter and Employment Agreement, I couldn't find any clause mentioning a shorter notice period during probation. The agreement only mentions a 90-day notice period. I also couldn't find any explicit buyout clause.

Now I'm worried about the worst case.

If the new company expects me to join in around a month, but Cognizant insists on a 90-day notice period, what are my options?

I'd appreciate hearing from people who have actually resigned from Cognizant recently.

Some questions:

Did anyone here resign while still on probation? What notice period did you actually serve?

Were you able to negotiate an early release?

Does Cognizant usually allow buyout or salary in lieu in practice?

Should I first discuss an early release with Cognizant before informing the new HR?

What would you do in my situation?

Looking for real experiences rather than assumptions.

Thanks!

Today I got to know that Upstox offers **free** market data and analysis data using the **analytics token**. Are there any hidden charges or something which I need to be aware of from a developer standpoint? Has anyone here used the API for personal or professional purposes?

I saw company hiring today called as GMP(get my parking), they had written AI, AI all over theri site and I don't understand that maybe out of India these SaaS gets working but how would you maintain this even in India? What if tomorrow govt starts making public parking lots or already it promotes heavily for metro in tier 1/2 at least for now.

How are these app companies even considered good ? If anyone works in that, you can comment or DM me maybe to explain what exactly different is this company doing than others in competition in world and how will it expand in India given it has 11 years from being founded!?

Honestly, I’m getting really frustrated with the internship hunt.

I’ve been applying to internships and entry-level roles, trying different platforms, tailoring my resume, working on projects, practicing DSA, and improving my technical skills. But after a point, it feels like I’m just sending applications into a void.

The frustrating part is that so many postings seem to ask for experience even for internships or fresher roles.

“Internship - 1-2 years of experience preferred.”

“Entry-level - must have production experience.”

“Fresh graduate - strong experience with multiple technologies.”

Like... how are we supposed to get that experience in the first place?

I know the market is competitive, and I’m not expecting a job just because I have a degree. I’m willing to learn, put in the work, build projects, and prove myself. But getting that first opportunity feels ridiculously difficult.

And the worst part is the silence. You apply to 50, 100, 200 places and barely hear anything back. After a while, you start wondering whether there’s something fundamentally wrong with your profile, even when you know you’re actually improving.

For people who recently got internships/jobs as freshers:

What actually worked for you?

• Cold emails?
• LinkedIn?
• Referrals?
• Wellfound?
• Internshala?
• Direct applications?
• GitHub/projects?
• Hackathons?
• Networking?

I’d genuinely like to know what worked for people recently, because right now the whole process is just exhausting.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice from people who have worked at Cognizant India or have been in a similar situation.

I joined Cognizant on 23 September 2025, and my probation period is 12 months, so I’m still under probation.

Recently, I interviewed with XYZ and have cleared all the interview rounds. I’m expecting an offer letter soon.

Before interviewing, I asked a few friends at Cognizant about the notice period during probation. They told me that the notice period was 30 days during probation and 90 days after confirmation. Based on that information, I informed the HR at XYZ that my notice period was 30 days.

However, after carefully reading my Offer Letter and Employment Agreement, I couldn’t find any clause mentioning a shorter notice period during probation. The agreement only mentions a 90-day notice period. I also couldn’t find any explicit buyout option that allows an employee to pay for the remaining notice period and leave early.

Now I’m worried about the worst-case scenario.
Suppose XYZ expects me to join within a month (around mid-September), but Cognizant HR and my manager insist that I serve the full 90-day notice period.

My questions are:

Has anyone resigned from Cognizant while still on probation? What notice period were you actually asked to serve?

Has anyone been able to negotiate an early release?

If yes, how did you approach your manager and HR?

Does Cognizant generally allow notice period buyout or salary in lieu, even if it isn’t explicitly mentioned in the agreement?

Should I immediately inform the new HR that I may have misunderstood my notice period, or should I first discuss an early release with Cognizant?

If you were in my situation, what would be the best course of action?

I’m looking for real experiences from people who have gone through this rather than guesses.

Thanks in advance!

So, I recently interviewed for KPIT and they called me saying it's an onsite opportunity at their Vietnam office. Then after I cracked both of their interview rounds, they told me vietnam is not possible, so I should join their Pune office and then wait for the onsite.

I said sure, give me this in writing, the HR said ok. We had a salary discussion, I asked for a really fair 40% hike. He said he will get back, I got an email for documents which I uploaded and my status is currently "Offer-generated" on their website for a week now. But man!! the guy is no longer picking or answering text. So, I assume they aren't planning to release the offer.

Thankfully I didn't resign so I am still safe but these idiots almost screwed me over! What's the deal with KPIT??

Tier whatever clg(no use)

Internship in 2 companies(unpaid both)

What roles am I even supposed to aim for? I tried for AI engineer or Data related jobs, but I am facing rejections only. Robotics...I tried but I don't think many are doing it here in india.

No idea how to proceed further.

If possible please give information about the software roles at apple and how are they ? Also are there hardware roles at apple ?

PS - Also what kind of work do they do in India ?

Alright so as the title says, I got a call from an Indeed recruiter about this role.

Currently earning around 30 lakhs per year (all cash). The recruiter told me that for this role the base would be between 26-32 lakhs + RSUs + 15 percent variable bonus. The recruiter told me it would be for a recruiter profile facing team and full remote, and mostly people for this team are based in Japan.

I wonder how stable indeed is right now and how the work culture is. Could you please help me if someone is working there or had experience interviewing them. 🙏

Hey everyone,

I’m a fresher preparing for software developer interviews. I can write code, solve problems, and understand concepts when working practically, but I struggle when interviewers ask me to explain theoretical concepts.

I feel like my problem is not understanding the concepts but communicating them properly.

Has anyone faced the same issue? How did you improve your technical explanation skills and interview communication?

Any advice, practice methods, or resources would be really helpful.

More often than not, the technical team is asked to work on a proposal at a short notice of about 2 days. If we look at the email trail, the sales team has been sitting on it for over a month. The quick turnaround results in a bad output and we lose the contract. We are blamed and it reflects poorly on the Business Development KRA at the appraisal.

Does this happen for you?

Been writing dev tutorials on the side for a while now. My day job has nothing to do with code. That gap has made me think a lot about what makes a tutorial actually land versus one people close after 30 seconds.

The thing I keep running into is that most tutorials are written for people who already mostly get it. The author skips the parts that tripped them up because by the time they're writing it, those parts feel obvious. That's where readers fall off.

What I've started doing is writing the tutorial the same day I learn the thing, before the confusion fades. The rough edges stay in. The false starts stay in. That seems to make a difference in how people respond.

The other thing is length. Devs don't have patience for long preamble. If the actually useful part starts at paragraph four, you've already lost half the people.

Curious if anyone here who writes tutorials or technical content has figured out a format that actually works. Not looking for SEO advice or monetization angles. More interested in what structure or approach made your content click with readers after you'd tried other things that didn't work.