I’ve Solved 50 LeetCode Problems So Far – Here’s What I Learned (and What I Wish I Knew Earlier)

#webdev #programming #beginners #discuss

I recently crossed my first 50 problems on LeetCode and thought it’d be fun (and maybe useful) to share what I learned so far. Spoiler: I didn’t suddenly become a 10x engineer, but I definitely picked up some lessons that I wish I knew from the start.

1.What I Learned
Patterns > Memorization
Problems look different on the surface, but underneath they’re often the same trick wearing a different hat. Sliding window, two pointers, binary search – once you spot the pattern, you feel less like you’re drowning.

2.Brute Force is Not a Crime
I wasted a lot of time trying to be “optimal” from the start. Writing the dumbest possible solution first and then improving it is way less painful.

3.The Discussion Tab is Basically Free Coaching
Whenever I got stuck, the top-voted posts saved me. Some people write explanations so clean you wonder why they don’t charge tuition.

4.Consistency Beats Heroic Sprints
Doing 2–3 problems regularly works better than solving 10 in one day and then ghosting LeetCode for a week.

5.Speed Doesn’t Matter (Yet)
Early on, I worried about being slow. But in interviews, explaining clearly is way more important than typing like a speedrunner.

What I Wish I Knew Earlier

Jumping into DP or graphs too soon is like signing up for a marathon after jogging twice. Start with arrays, strings, hashmaps, and two pointers.
Use tag filters. Grinding 5 problems in a row on the same topic makes the “aha” moments come faster.
Re-solving old problems is not cheating. It’s how your brain finally gets the memo.
Don’t compare your numbers with people who’ve solved 1000+. Solving 50 problems properly is more useful than solving 500 with copy-paste solutions.