[bmitc]

No worries. I was basically just using your comment as a jumping point to say what I wanted to say anyway, as one does. Haha.

My experience has been rough and painful at times, because I tend to be very pragmatically and interest driven in terms of what I learn, outside of being pragmatic about what might be asked in interviews. I also do not have a computer science degree, as I studied mathematics, but I self-study on interests of mine and take interviews as they come. This has made interviews rough at moments, but it's worked out so far, because I would likely be very unhappy at a place that quizzes me on something I could learn over a weekend or two if needed and grades me solely on that. I had one particular interview that wasted an hour and a half on tree questions, then a few more hours on random discussion topics and behavioral questions, and they never once asked me about prior work or side projects. It was a complete waste of time and energy, for both of us, and I have held that interview experience as a prime example of what I have read about Silicon Valley and FAANG-style interviews.