Discussion

• Common Goals: Web Dev + Design
  • Learn to use Figma
  • Focus on web dev (frontend) - functionality, syntax, framework
  • How to prototype FAST with AI for different types of interactivity/interface
  • This week (Wed-Fri)

    • Wed - JS small practices: https://www.greatfrontend.com/front-end-interview-playbook/algorithms

    • Thu-Fri: Functionality + Creativity (Design Critique)

      https://padlet.com/than24/creativity-gallery-xjrqieg7ca58yilt

      https://www.greatfrontend.com/interviews/study/gfe75/questions/user-interface/star-rating

      1. Each person sends the other person the question they’re gonna ask
      2. We have to review and prepare beforehand without AI
      3. When we meet, we’ll share our solutions and use AI and each other’s brain
      4. Share our opinion and judgement and ideas about the traditional start rating interface.
• Esther:
  • Idealistic Goal: to become a designer as her heart desires and GET MARRIED and move to New York.
  • Realistic Goal:
    • First month, focus on web dev (frontend) - functionality + design
    • Become a tasteful and better designer
      • Vibe design every afternoon
      • Critique other designs
      • Creative pursuits/experiments
  • Ideas: develop taste and improve your frontend as well!
    • Creative challenge: daily prompt or weekly prompt
      • a building you really like and a building you really hate
      • how to redesign a “boring” app you use everyday
    • Practice end-to-end design-coding questions
    • Learn to use Figma for engineers
• Thu:
  • Idealistic Goal: to get a job at a company that has taste (startup) or big tech :) (married??)
  • Realistic Goal:
    • Habit: continue doing LeetCode (Exponent, have some friend who prioritizes LeetCode)
    • Accountability: Prioritize doing web dev + design with you
      • Functionality + Syntax + Framework Familiarity: Coding questions (small components for a web application)
        • Send you the whole code and questions we’re gonna ask each other. Prepare beforehand.
      • Design (end-to-end): how to use Figma, etc.
      • js trivia practice
  • Idea
    • Implement something web interactivity component based on the other person’s suggestion/proposal
    • Reverse-engineer and copy the other website
      • Find a website that we like or is similar to our idea and re-implement it
    • How to prototype FAST with AI for different types of interactivity/interface in a systematic way.

HC Applications

#estimation

• Button up estimation: total time → 6 months to be good at everything (Feb 2026)
• time to meet a company that I will work for
  • every months: wispr, brilliant, opus
• time to finish the companies interview
  • 2 weeks to a months
• conclusion: the time of getting good at all the things are too long given the visa constraints

#rightproblem

• initial state

  <aside> 💭

  The initial state of the problem is that I’m not strong enough in technical interviews compared to other job candidate. I currently passed 33% of the technical interviews I’ve had, which isn’t enough to get my ideal job. Due to the unstructured timeline and variety of question types for interviews, my preparation shift constantly results in low learning progress, energy depletion, and self doubt. I’ve not yet have a good idea on how a great performance looks like for non-leetcode interviews.

  </aside>

  • notes

• goal state

  <aside> 💭

  Based on 68 days of median search time to first offer, I aimed to get a offer around Dec (worst case: I need to like or interested in it. best case: the offer can do remote work after my visa ends). The breakdown for the subgoal will be increase my technical interview pass rate to 80% by Nov (pass 4 out of 5). Hopefully can also build a system that I can easily review for future interviews and skills that will be actually useful for my programming journey.

  </aside>

  • Get a job before Dec
  • sub goal:
    • increase my technical interview pass rate to 80% by Nov
    • retain enough skills that I can still use for future interviews
    • build skills that will be actually helpful for my programming journey

• obstacles

  • It’s too many things to study! The #estimation of how to be good at technical interviews made being good at everything nearly impossible
  • I don’t know what questions startups are asking, so it became hard to prioritize the practice.
  • Life about preparing interviews is unrewarding that I keep feeling resistance and want to delayed my interviews.
  • I don’t know what a great interview results look like. I don’t know what will be considered as a great candidates

• the scale of the problem:

  • short term esther: get a job she really likes in the US before her opt expired
  • long term esther: be a good engineer and explore potential interests

#breakitdown

• notes

basically a “i’m so fxxking unhappy bc I work too hard” problem