The Software Engineering Accelerator Podcast

Steve, a former Amazon engineer and popular YouTuber with over 170,000 subscribers, shares his transition from corporate life to empowering others. He discusses how many engineers misprepare for interviews, focusing too much on traditional coding tasks instead of real-world skills. Steve highlights the transformative potential of AI, presenting it as a tool for enhancement rather than a threat. He emphasizes the importance of personal branding, adaptability, and leveraging negative experiences for growth, making this conversation a goldmine for aspiring software engineers.

Computer science students, new graduates, and bootcamp grads…want to land your dream software engineering job or internship? Click here 👉 https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast_description&utm_campaign=neetcodeToday, I talk with NeetCode ( @NeetCode ) — a software engineering YouTuber with over a million subscribers who completely changed how the world learns LeetCode. We talk about how he built his channel, what most people get wrong about LeetCode, how AI is changing interviews, and whether computer science is still worth it. If you’re a CS student, bootcamp grad, or anyone trying to land a top-tier software engineering job, you need to listen to this episode of Liftoff. Hope you enjoy!🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off with Aman Manazir on Apple Podcasts and Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/2BAbr5KDWtI1nhmkwXczl9?si=8752638b2fa1459d&nd=1&dlsi=e29d5a5436cc47d0https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lift-off-with-aman-manazir/id1742843726Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow : https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1I’m Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student and get your dream job offer.📄 Get my free resume template – https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume🧠 Get my free LeetCode Roadmap – https://www.amanmanazir.com/leetcode💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter📕 All my free Notion templates – https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion📝 Sign up for Notion – https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazirTimestamps:00:00 – Intro: How NeetCode Rewired LeetCode00:34 – Is AI killing software engineering jobs?05:40 – Why the job market feels impossible for new grads16:19 – What NeetCode really did at Amazon23:00 – Google vs Amazon: the truth about big tech32:00 – The moment NeetCode knew he had to quit37:14 – The real reason NeetCode started uploading LeetCode40:16 – Is LeetCode still worth your time in 2025?49:49 – Why LeetCode might be dead in 5 years52:00 – How Roy Lee and AI are rewriting tech interviews59:02 – The fastest way to become interview-ready1:07:08 – How long it actually takes to master DSA1:19:53 – Final thoughts: is comp sci still worth studying?Let me know if you want a shorter version for Spotify or a custom pinned comment too.

Today, I talk with Amy Wang ( @wamyy5 ) a Caltech graduate with a degree in arguably the hardest major, Chemical Engineering. Learn how she got a 4.0 at one of the hardest universities in the world while battling severe migraines, balancing a social life and starting a YouTube channel with 600k+ subscribers. She shares her tips and tricks on how to succeed academically and socially on this episode of Liftoff. Hope you enjoy! Computer science students, new graduates, and bootcamp graduates...want to land your dream software engineering job/internship? Click here 👉 https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video_description&utm_campaign=amy_wang 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off with Aman Manazir on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2BAbr5KDWtI1nhmkwXczl9?si=8752638b2fa1459d&nd=1&dlsi=e29d5a5436cc47d0 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lift-off-with-aman-manazir/id1742843726 Listen our new podcast,  @TheEntropyShow  : https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 I'm Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student and get your dream job offer. 📄 Get my free resume template - https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume 🧠 Get my free LeetCode Roadmap - https://www.amanmanazir.com/leetcode 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice - https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter  📕 Get all my free Notion templates discussed here - https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion 📝 Sign up for Notion - https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 00:00 - Introduction 00:45 - Amy’s 4.0 GPA /Being Your Own Cheerleader 07:36 - The Yin & Yang Mindset 13:52 - Getting A’s The Cool Way 15:59 - The Software Engineering Accelerator 16:40 - What is The Point of Getting A's? 22:02 - Screen Time is Killing Your Social Life 31:38 - Social Media Addiction 41:56 - The Parasocial Relationship With Your Fans 44:49 - Practical Tips To Get That 4.0 51:45 - Battling Migraines 57:25 - Amy’s Childhood 1:04:04 - The Stanford Rejection 1:12:34 - The Caltech Experience 1:14:26 - Thoughtful Thursdays 1:14:43 - Amy’s YouTube Career 1:30:49 - The Plagiarism Outbreak on YouTube 1:47:02 - When Was It Time to do YouTube Full Time? 2:00:56 - Balancing Relationships & Career 2:07:10 - Conclusion *location-adjusted

 Today, I talk with my brother Aadil who landed a $600,000 quant offer and decided to turn it down. We talk about why he made that decision, what got him there, and what a day in the life of a quant trader is actually like. Hope you enjoy! Computer science students, new graduates, and bootcamp graduates...want to land your dream software engineering job/internship? Click here 👉 https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video_description&utm_campaign=shouldn't_be_engineer I'm Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student and get your dream job offer. If you're a dedicated programmer who wants to land your dream internship or job in 2025 without spamming LeetCode, spending hours at career fairs, or applying to thousands of positions, join the Software Engineering Accelerator and work directly with me. Click this link to book a call: https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video_description&utm_campaign=shouldn't_be_engineer 📄 Get my free resume template - https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume 🧠 Get my free LeetCode Roadmap - https://www.amanmanazir.com/leetcode 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice - https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📕 Get all my free Notion templates discussed here - https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion 📝 Sign up for Notion - https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - Aadil College Background 04:38 - Internship History 14:37 - Software Engineering Accelerator 15:06 - Getting The 600k Offer 26:52 - Aadil's Dream Job (Spoiler: It's Not Quant) 31:00 - Why Aadil Turned Down The Offer/Entrepreneurship 35:50 - What Would A Day In The Life Be For Quant? 43:42 - The Risks of A 9-5 45:57 - Thoughtful Thursdays 46:14 - Why Did You Leave Quant? 52:17 - Where Are You Now? 1:00:51 - Aadil's Next Step, Dating 1:03:36 - The Truth of Being in Quant 1:11:30 - Being In A Slump 1:15:59 - In What Situation Would You Go Back To Quant? 1:19:22 - Our Big Announcement 1:21:18 - Conclusion *location-adjusted

Today, I talk to my best friend from college, Vithi Peters. We talk about how to make friends in college, red flags in friendships, and if Vithi secretly hates me. Enjoy!Computer science students, new graduates, and bootcamp graduates…want to land your dream software engineering job/internship? Click here 👉 https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/ 🧠 Get my free LeetCode Roadmap - https://www.amanmanazir.com/leetcode I’m Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student and land your dream job. If you’re a dedicated programmer who wants to land your dream internship or job in 2025 without spamming LeetCode, spending hours at career fairs, or applying to thousands of positions, join the Software Engineering Accelerator and work directly with me. Click this link to book a call: https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching 📄 Get my free resume template - https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice - https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📕 Get all my free Notion templates discussed here - https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion 📝 Sign up for Notion - https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amanmanazir   00:00 - Introduction 00:26 - Our First Time Meeting 01:56 - The Second Time Meeting 05:00 - Why Vithi Hated Aman 08:14 - The Difference Between A Discussion And An Argument 09:02 - The Heated Dinner Party Argument 10:46 - What Changed In Our Friendship 12:05 - Q1: How Do You Approach New People Without Coming Off Weird 22:38 - The Software Engineering Accelerator 23:08 - Q2: How Easy Is It To Make Friends At The Workplace? 33:45 - Q3: How Many Friends Are Optimal? 36:46 - Q4: Do You Feel Like You Fall Out Of Friendships? 38:14 - Q5: When Can You Be Vulnerable With Someone? 41:38 - Sign Up For Thoughtful Thursday 41:55 - Q6: How Do You Make Friends Without Drinking? 52:07 - Q7: What Did You Learn From The Friendships That Ended? 58:54 - Q8: How Do You Choose The Friends In Your Close Circle? 1:09:38 - Q9: How Do You Know The Friend Group You’re In Is The One You Want To Stay In? 1:16:40 - Q10: How Do Friendships Change As You Get Older? 1:19:18 - Conclusion *location-adjusted  

Today, I talk to Karen Bello. We discuss how she started as a personal assistant making minimum wage to starting her own Air BnB empire with millions in revenue. Enjoy! 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice - https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📕 Get all my free Notion templates discussed here - https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion 📄 Get my free resume template - https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume 📝 Sign up for Notion - https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - How Did She Become a Personal Assistant? 3:54 - What Did She Study in College? 4:07 - How Did Her Mindset Change? 6:02 - Rich Dad Poor Dad 7:40 - Transition After Being a Personal Assistant 9:22 - What Made Her Think She Could Start A Business? 10:25 - Working as a Therapist 16:00 - Airbnb Business 21:55 - Growing her Business in The First Year 23:18 - Getting The Confidence to Start 26:20 - Rental Arbitrage 30:53 - Managing Time Working Two Jobs 32:05 - Scaling Her Business 34:05 - How Does Cohosting Work? 40:02 - Profit From Year One 41:04 - Cohosting vs. Rental Arbitrage 45:05 - Balancing Two Full Time Jobs 46:10 - Where Did She get her Drive From? 48:30 - The Value of Networking 51:07 - 3rd Year Numbers  54:50 - How is The Business Now? 58:45 - Where Does She Want to Take The Business? 1:00:00 - What Does The Team Look Like? 1:01:27 - How to Find an Assistant 1:04:15 - What Does an Assistant do? 1:09:04 - Advice for Airbnb Businesses 1:12:30 - How Does an Advanced Person Learn? 1:16:15 - What's The Next Step? 1:20:52 - Focusing on Your Niche Karen's Contact Information: bhstr.com karen@bellohomesstr.com 336-459-9756 I'm Aman Manazir, a career coach and former software engineer. I make videos about making it as a computer science student and landing your dream job. I post new videos regularly, run a tech interview podcast, and run an email newsletter (https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter).

In episode 4 of Lift Off with Aman Manazir, I talk to Sourish Kundu. We discuss how he landed a machine learning systems engineer job at TikTok, what it's like to work there, and how AI will transform the software engineering industry. Enjoy!If you're a dedicated programmer who wants to land your dream internship or job in 2024 without spamming LeetCode, spending hours at career fairs, or building a personal website, join the Software Engineering Accelerator and work directly with me. Click this link to book a call: https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice - https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📕 Get all my free Notion templates discussed here - https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion 📄 Get my free resume template - https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume 📝 Sign up for Notion - https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 0:00 - Introduction 0:58 - How Sourish got into Reinforcement Learning 6:29 - The Value of a Passionate High School Teacher 8:28 - Would Sourish Consider Teaching 9:59 - How did Sourish Land his First Software Engineering Internship 13:40 - Advice for Freshman/Sophomores Looking for Internships 16:55 - How to Supercharge your Experience with Personal Projects 18:40 - Recommendations for Contributing to Open Source 20:30 - How Sourish got Prestigious Internships at Amazon and Capital One 22:48 - Discord Bots Help to Prepare for Interviews 23:40 - How many Practice Problems do you need for an Interview? 26:05 - How Sourish Started at TikTok 28:02 - Advice for a Software Engineering Interview 30:00 - Sourish's Experience as a TikTok Intern 31:52 - Sourish's Advice for Getting a Return Offer 39:20 - Day in the Life as a TikTok Machine Learning Engineer 42:20 - How is Sourish's Time Allocated? 45:49 - How has Sourish Improved at TikTok 48:45 - How Engineers at TikTok are Different 51:12 - How is ML Different than Other Fields? 53:30 - Best Resources for getting Deep in ML 55:18 - Machine Learning Papers 57:18 - Advice to Prepare for an AI Future 59:12 - Sourish's Experience with Public Speaking 1:01:00 - @3blue1brown Inspiration 1:02:00 - Sourish's YouTube Channel 1:03:25 - How Sourish Gets Ideas for Videos 1:07:03 - How to Get Started on YouTube 1:09:31 - The Value of Mentors 1:11:24 - How did Exercise Help Sourish? 1:13:23 - Advice for People to Improve their Fitness 1:18:35 - How did Self-Improvement Content Help Sourish 1:20:42 - Living in California 1:22:40 - Starting a Social Life in a New City 1:25:31 - What Makes a Close Friend? 1:26:50 - Sourish's Advice for his Younger Self 1:27:40 - Where to Find Sourish 1:28:10 - Outro I'm Aman Manazir, a career coach and former software engineer. I make videos about making it as a computer science student and landing your dream job. I post new videos regularly, run a tech interview podcast, and run an email newsletter (https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter).

Access the BeamJobs FREE AI resume checker here - https://www.beamjobs.com/resume-checker?via=aman In episode 2 of Lift Off with Aman Manazir, I talk to math prodigy Sunny Sahu. We discuss how he got machine learning internships in high school, how he got a full scholarship to the University of California-Berkeley (and why he broke it), and why he turned down a $500,000/yr job offer at Headlands Technologies and so much more. Enjoy! 0:00 - Introduction 01:19 - Why Sunny Took Calculus At Age 11 05:19 - How Math Olympiad Changed Sunny’s Life 10:22 - Sunny’s Experience at USA Math Camp 11:36 - Writing a Great Software Resume: BeamJobs 12:51 - Sunny Gets Humbled at Math Camp 14:43 - How Sunny Landed Machine Learning Internships in High School 18:08 - Math Club at Rolling Meadows High School 19:34 - How Sunny's Father Changed His Life 21:30 - Why Sunny Chose to Pursue Computer Science 23:23 - How Sunny Landed a Full Ride Scholarship 30:44 - Breaking the Scholarship Contract 32:06 - Why Sunny Chose Berkeley Over Princeton 36:12 - Sunny Takes Graduate Classes as an Undergrad 39:42 - Sunny’s Advice for College Freshmen 44:09 - Which Path Should CS Students Pursue 51:54 - How Sunny Landed the $500,000 Quant Trading Offer 55:56 - How to Prepare for Quant Finance 59:30 - Where People Mess up Their Quant Interviews 1:02:16 - Will Sunny Take the $500,000 Quant Offer? 1:03:30 - Why Did Sunny Choose to Pursue a Statistics PhD? 1:08:17 - Sunny’s Research Experience & Advice 1:13:14 - Sunny’s Struggles With the Family Startup 1:16:05 - Sunny’s Advice to Tech Entrepreneurs 1:19:39 - Should You Create a Startup or Work in Industry First? 1:22:34 - Sunny's Biggest Challenge 1:25:22 - Sunny’s Advice for Young People 1:29:43 - Where Sunny Sees Himself in 10 years 1:31:16 - Outro I'm Aman Manazir, a career coach and former software engineer. I make videos about making it as a computer science student and landing your dream job. I post new videos regularly, run a tech interview podcast, and run an email newsletter (https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter).

Sponsored by BeamJobs — visit https://www.beamjobs.com/resume-checker?via=aman to access the free AI resume checker and take your resume to the next level. Sign up to my email newsletter: https://www.amanmanazir.com/newsletter Aadil Manazir is my younger brother. In this episode, we discuss how he landed a $500,000+/year job offer in quant trading at age 20, how he secured a Google software engineering internship (and turned it down) in his free time, and how he packed on 30+ lbs of muscle and much, much more. 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - 8th Grade MathCounts 05:29 - American Mathematics Competition 06:16 - High School Math Club 08:29 - Elite Math Summer Camps 12:36 - Writing a Great Software Resume: BeamJobs 13:47 - Summer Research Camp 15:28 - Why Aadil Picked the University of California Berkeley 18:25 - Transition to College Life 23:20 - Aadil’s Introduction to Software and Quant Internships 27:18 - John Deere Software Internship 31:15 - Aadil’s Sophomore Year 32:10 - Aadil’s Grind to Land a Quant Internship: 60 Interviews 38:20 - Aadil’s Reaction at Getting a $130/hour Quant Internship at IMC Trading 43:40 - Aadil’s Experience Working at IMC Trading 47:30 - How Aadil Landed a Jump Trading Internship 54:50 - Aadil’s $500k+ Quant Salary 56:20 - How Aadil Got a Google Software Internship for Fun 58:22 - How to Become a Quant 1:00:55 - How to Prepare for Software Engineering Interviews 1:04:22 - The Value of Obsession 1:07:27 - You Don’t Need to Be a Genius 1:09:20 - How Self-Improvement Changed Our Lives 1:18:40 - Aadil’s Gym Transformation Story: Adding 30 lbs of Muscle 1:22:13 - How Looksmaxxing Changed Aadil’s Life 1:29:50 - Was Bodybuilding and Looksmaxxing Worth It? 1:35:30 - What’s Next for Aadil?