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Why do companies still ask DSA in interviews?

Jun LiuJun Liu
8/30/2025
362

Hot take: DSA interviews test your ability to solve puzzles under pressure, not your ability to build real software.

I've seen excellent developers fail interviews because they couldn't invert a binary tree on a whiteboard. And I've seen people who grind leetcode daily but can't design a proper REST API.

Why hasn't the industry moved to more practical assessments? Like take-home projects, pair programming on real tasks, or system design?

Or am I just salty because I'm bad at DP? 😂

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Comments (3)

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Taro Johnson
Taro Johnson6 months ago

I feel you, but sometimes DSA skills are useful for optimizing algorithms in real-world applications. Maybe the problem is more about balance? We need both DSA and practical assessments.

Lakshay Desai
Lakshay Desai11 months ago

Totally agree with you, Jun! The emphasis on DSA can be super frustrating. I think it's more about testing nerves than actual skills. Have you noticed how many companies are starting to add system design interviews though?

Sanjana Banerjee
Sanjana Banerjee11 months ago

I think DSA interviews are a bit of a tradition now. 😅 They do filter candidates, but I agree they don’t show everything you can do. I'm curious if anyone here has had a job with zero DSA interviews?