> now trying to break into a real job and making an effort to actually grasp data structures beyond dynamic arrays OK, for an entry level to junior programmer

> now trying to break into a real job and making an effort to actually grasp data structures beyond dynamic arrays OK, for an entry level to junior programmer trying to get into the mid-career levels it's possible that leetcode problems are useful for weeding out garbage programmers, folks who went to a code camp program and don't know anything about data structures and algorithms. These days what's called "senior" is, thanks to title inflation, really a mid-level job at best. For genuine senior work, which is sometimes called Staff or Principal level, the important skills are softer. There's a point where pure programming skills are complementary to the ability to understand and work with the business and understand how the organization generates revenue. At that point, whatever title it might have, the ability to solve an easy leetcode problem has no bearing on the ability to do the work expected. The challenges at that level are not "how do you code X", but rather "does coding X solve a problem that contributes to revenue, why or why not?"