It appears the OP describes his experience as a college student (presumably full time) at Stanford. As someone with a bit more atypical college background, who now works, the idea of devoting so much of my free time to studying boggles my mind. Programming 9-5 everyday makes me much less likely to want to do any coding when I get home.
And it really sucks that being a full time programmer isn't remotely sufficient experience for any kind of technical job interview. I'd be laughed out of the office if I suggested we write BST algorithms on whiteboards.
And it really sucks that being a full time programmer isn't remotely sufficient experience for any kind of technical job interview. I'd be laughed out of the office if I suggested we write BST algorithms on whiteboards.