I'm a beginner Java programmer who has finished studying object-oriented programming and data structures. I'm considering using LeetCode to improve my problem-solving skills and eventually strengthen my portfolio. Should I pay for a subscription, and what's the best way to use the platform alongside other programming practice?
3 Answers
LeetCode can help with algorithms and technical interview preparation, but it won’t automatically make you a better general programmer. Spend most of your time building actual projects too—such as a CRUD application, command-line tool, or small Java service—because those will demonstrate more practical skills.
You probably don’t need to pay at first. The free problems are enough to build a regular practice habit. Try solving two or three problems each week, focus on understanding the solution, and revisit problems you couldn’t solve instead of rushing through as many as possible.
Don’t list individual coding exercises as portfolio projects. A portfolio is better served by a few complete applications with clean code, useful features, documentation, and tests. Use LeetCode privately to improve problem-solving and prepare for interviews, not as a replacement for creating software.
That makes sense. I’ll use coding problems to practice algorithms while putting more effort into building projects that I can actually explain and show.