What is the difference between UI Engineer and frontend developer?
Both roles are almost similar in most companies. Expectations for such roles will be as mentioned in the JD (Job description). Few companies dedicate UI Engineer role-specific to designing the webpages only using HTML & CSS. Those require lesser expertise in JavaScript & logic building.
Tell me about different role structures in the company
Roles/designations vary from company to company. The expectations and skill set are almost the same as explained in the role guide. To make the progression/promotion process motivating for employees, companies also have multi-level roles (SDE1, 2, 3, 4, ...) with a shorter span for each role. Many companies also follow Junior and Senior roles, with higher roles being tech lead/staff engineer.
What is the difference between tech lead and team lead?
- Tech lead role is equivalent to an SDE3 or higher role, in which the expectation is to have high technical skills besides managing the people technically. Most of the companies give this designation to a person who manages more than one developer.
- Team lead role is equivalent associate manager role or higher role, in which the expectation is to have excellent soft skills besides good technical knowledge. Most of the companies give this designation to a person who manages more than one person (need not be technical)
What is live coding round?
Live coding is generally a part of an interview round, where the candidate has to share the screen and write the program or code snippet. Also, the candidate has to explain the approach while solving the program.
What is bar raiser round?
Bar raiser round is a special technical round conducted to decide if the candidate is eligible or not. It is conducted generally in the below scenarios
- There are multiple eligible candidates for the same role, but vacancies are fewer
- The interview panel is not sure if the candidate is eligible for the role or not even after a couple of interview rounds
- The interview panel thinks the candidate is eligible for the higher role and is ready to check the eligibility of the candidate
Is it fine to move to a lower role than my current role while switching?
Roles/designations vary from company to company. If the opportunity and compensation match your needs, moving to such a role should not be a problem.
Why am I expected to code in pure HTML, CSS, JS for machine coding rounds of many companies?
Frontend development at its core, HTML, CSS, and JS. A person with strong knowledge of these can adapt to different libraries & frameworks with ease.
I had only a few technical rounds in a company & there were no rounds as mentioned above!!!
Companies follow the interview structure which best suits them. And depending on various factors (previous interviews, offer acceptance, conversion ratio, etc.) They adjust the interview processes.
I went through many of these mentioned interview rounds in a company. I have done very well but did not hear anything back from them!!!
- Selection criteria depend on various factors such as technical skills, soft skills, current company, previous company, the reason for the switch, etc. Interviews in which you think you have performed well may not be what the company is thinking.
- That said, the candidate deserves to know the application status after completing the interview process. Unfortunately, many companies (even well-known) ignore communicating the result to the candidate if rejected.
- It is good to drop a mail requesting the status of the interview and expect feedback. Instead of getting disappointed, consider it as an interview experience. It isn't recommended to post on social media to defame the company.
What factors should I consider while accepting an offer?
The preferences can vary from person to person
- Work culture
- Compensation (fixed pay + variable pay + joining bonus)
- Technologies in use
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Interview process
- Yearly increment/hike
- Policies (insurance, parents insurance, provident fund, WFH benefits)
- Leaves (paid + casual + sick) and holidays (10+ yearly and weekends)
- Company vision and review
- ESOPs (employee shares)
- Work shift/timings and flexibility
- Skills of colleagues & seniors etc.
What is the importance of DSA in frontend role?
Data structures and algorithms help to improve problem-solving capabilities and to optimize the solutions. Like web apps we are building nowadays are frontend heavy, problems/tasks to be coded efficiently. Many companies look for good knowledge of DSA, and hands-on will help you. However, advanced DSA is not very essential for general frontend development.
I directly started learning frontend framework without good knowledge of fundamentals (HTML, CSS, JS). What should I do now?
One of the below approaches you can follow
- If you aim for a long term and have enough time, start learning the fundamentals i.e. HTML, CSS, JS. It can be taken up, parallelly along with your routine work. Create a learning roadmap for yourself. It is more academic and organized.
- If you aim to improve your skills on what you are working on daily, you can explore & study the fundamentals as and when you face the challenges. It is a practical approach but has no roadmap and is unorganized.
I can follow video tutorials & create projects. But on my own, I get completely stuck. Where am I going wrong?
It is a common problem with most of us. Video tutorials take a lot of effort and trials by experts. But these videos are then converted to tutorials which include only the functional code and happy flow. Hence, it feels easy to follow while watching. As a suggestion, follow these tutorials only to understand the concepts and practice the coding yourself. Also, you can switch to reading the books, which will give your brain more work and will help you to think more to understand & come up with solutions (though it is time consuming)