Reddit Interview Insights

Introduction

The projected growth rate for employment in the technology sector is significant. As illustrated in the accompanying bar graph, there is a consistent increase in net tech employment, leading to a projected ~9 million jobs in 2023, a +3.0% increase from 2022.¹ The growth in the preceding year, 2022, saw an addition of +286,424 tech jobs, amounting to a +3.2% increase. The data highights the quick and sustained expansion of the tech industry, and in 2022 alone, tech employers advertised 4.1 million job openings, reflecting the sector’s vast potential for employment.[^2] The tech industry offers a wealth of opportunities for job seekers, particularly students aiming to enter the field. Nevertheless, tapping into these opportunities typically demands robust and dedicated preparation for technical interviews, a crucial step for those aspiring to join the competitive tech workforce.

Students preparing for technical job interviews frequently utilize social platforms for guidance. Reddit, for example, is an invaluable resource for communical knowledge and support regarding a variety of topics. Subreddits, keywords dedicated to the vast array of topics, can point to specific technologies, programming languages, and career advice. Job seekers can use those subreddits to find threads discussing interview questions, tips on how to effectively present their skills, and strategies for tackling technical challenges.

Prior to April 2023, Reddit’s API was free which allowed for big data aggregation and analysis. Such open source access helped users obtain a strong understanding of online communities and their thoughts. This accessinility allowed for a website, named Pushshift, to compile nearly a decade’s worth of Reddit data. Despite the fact that Reddit’s API is no longer free and updates to this dataset have ceased, valuable insights remain.

Due to the dataset’s size, big data analysis tools are essential. AWS Sagemaker offers cloud computing solutions for handling big data, while PySpark provides a powerful language for data manipulation. Using AWS Sagemaker and PySpark, a dataset was created focusing on specific subreddits frequented by individuals seeking guidance for technical interview preparation. These subreddits include leetcode, interviewpreparations, codinginterview, InterviewTips, csinterviewproblems, interviews, and big_tech_interview. The aim of this website is to dive deep into this dataset to uncover insights on various topics related to technical interviews, assisting job seekers in refining their study strategies for tech roles.

Footnotes

Source: Cyberstates.↩︎

## Introduction ::: columns ::: {.column width="70%"} The projected growth rate for employment in the technology sector is significant. As illustrated in the accompanying bar graph, there is a consistent increase in net tech employment, leading to a projected ~9 million jobs in 2023, a +3.0% increase from 2022.[^1] The growth in the preceding year, 2022, saw an addition of +286,424 tech jobs, amounting to a +3.2% increase. The data highights the quick and sustained expansion of the tech industry, and in 2022 alone, tech employers advertised 4.1 million job openings, reflecting the sector's vast potential for employment.[^2] The tech industry offers a wealth of opportunities for job seekers, particularly students aiming to enter the field. Nevertheless, tapping into these opportunities typically demands robust and dedicated preparation for technical interviews, a crucial step for those aspiring to join the competitive tech workforce. Students preparing for technical job interviews frequently utilize social platforms for guidance. Reddit, for example, is an invaluable resource for communical knowledge and support regarding a variety of topics. Subreddits, keywords dedicated to the vast array of topics, can point to specific technologies, programming languages, and career advice. Job seekers can use those subreddits to find threads discussing interview questions, tips on how to effectively present their skills, and strategies for tackling technical challenges. Prior to April 2023, Reddit's API was free which allowed for big data aggregation and analysis. Such open source access helped users obtain a strong understanding of online communities and their thoughts. This accessinility allowed for a website, named Pushshift, to compile nearly a decade's worth of Reddit data. Despite the fact that Reddit's API is no longer free and updates to this dataset have ceased, valuable insights remain. Due to the dataset's size, big data analysis tools are essential. AWS Sagemaker offers cloud computing solutions for handling big data, while PySpark provides a powerful language for data manipulation. Using AWS Sagemaker and PySpark, a dataset was created focusing on specific subreddits frequented by individuals seeking guidance for technical interview preparation. These subreddits include leetcode, interviewpreparations, codinginterview, InterviewTips, csinterviewproblems, interviews, and big_tech_interview. The aim of this website is to dive deep into this dataset to uncover insights on various topics related to technical interviews, assisting job seekers in refining their study strategies for tech roles. [^1]: Source: [Cyberstates](https://www.cyberstates.org/#:~:text=Projected%20growth%20rate%20for%20tech,twice%20the%20national%20jobs%20rate). ::: ::: {.column width="5%"} ::: ::: {.column width="20%"} ![](images/intro_tech.png){font=small width="490" height="340"} </br> ![](images/reddit.png){width="190" height="170"} </br> ![](images/aws.png){width="190" height="170"} </br> ![](images/pyspark.png){width="250" height="130"} </br> ::: :::