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In 2014, I relocated to the Bay Area with my spouse and one-year-old child, armed only with $9k USD and 2 bags of belongings for the whole family. I had secured a job, but unexpectedly, the company ran out of funds within six months. The first week after my termination, I was just lost in space and time, freaking out. Over the next two weeks, I applied to every possible software engineering job, sending at least a thousand emails. I spent all days long on the phone, switching ears when one became sore from holding the phone. It took me only two weeks to find a new gig. In the end, I allowed myself a week to decompress and then joined the new company, four weeks after losing my previous position. The stress was intense. My bank account hovered between $3k-$6k, and the stakes were high. If I didn't secure a job soon, my family and I faced the real possibility of going under the bridge. My advice to those in similar situations is this: don't let despair dominate your thoughts. Instead, think about your family, or imagine you have a child, or will have in the future, and now it's your time to prove you can do it. I believe this mindset is crucial. IMO, intensive preparation for leetcode is less important in desperate times. It's better to continuously apply to jobs. Leetcode is more suitable when you're already employed and can afford to spend time on it, ideally over a span of six months to a year, to thoroughly tackle those 300 popular questions. |