[cutthegrass2]

Completely agree re the value of having side projects. I wish I had the luxury of time right now, maybe in a few years once the kids are older.

The leetcode dance is, at least for me at this point, much lower effort than starting a side project on the understanding the code I produce will be reviewed during interviews. It's like Sudoku, once you've done a "few", you get to the point where you're able to solve them quickly.