Preparing for coding interviews can feel a lot like navigating open waters without a compass. With thousands of problems to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in endless practice sessions, unsure if you’re actually moving closer to your goal. This “random grind” often leads to decision fatigue, burnout, and a growing sense of doubt.
That’s where curated lists like the Blind 75 come in. Crafted with intention, they act like a clear, reliable map—guiding you toward the most important problems while helping you focus your time and energy where it matters most. By concentrating on core concepts and common problem-solving patterns, the Blind 75 gives you a sustainable, confidence-boosting path to success.
What is the Blind 75? A Structured Path to Coding Mastery
The Blind 75 was created by former Facebook engineer Yangshun Tay as a direct response to the overwhelming number of coding problems out there. Instead of sifting through thousands of options, Tay curated 75 high-impact questions that strike the perfect balance between breadth (covering essential topics) and depth (ensuring you truly understand them).
Built on the Pareto principle—the idea that 80% of results come from 20% of your effort—the Blind 75 is a streamlined, efficient study plan. It’s especially valuable for busy learners who want to maximize their prep time without sacrificing quality.
Why it works:
- Efficiency – Focuses only on the problems that deliver the highest learning value.
- Depth – Encourages mastery of essential algorithms and data structures instead of shallow exposure to hundreds of topics.
Core DSA Topics Covered
The Blind 75 is designed to give you a rock-solid foundation in Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA)—the bedrock of technical interviews at top companies like FAANG.
Here’s what you’ll cover:
- Arrays & Strings – Essential for manipulating ordered data.
- Linked Lists – Key for dynamic data structures and pointer logic.
- Trees & Binary Search Trees – Crucial for hierarchical data and search efficiency.
- Graphs – Used to represent complex networks and connections.
- Dynamic Programming (DP) – Optimizing problems by breaking them into smaller subproblems.
- Backtracking – Exploring possibilities in problems like permutations and combinations.
- Binary Search – Fast searching in sorted data.
- Stacks, Queues, & Heaps – Managing data with specific access rules.
- Intervals & Matrices – Common in both theory and practical applications.
By targeting these topics, you’re covering the majority of concepts likely to appear in real-world coding interviews.
Why the Blind 75 Works
The Blind 75 stands out because it’s built on three pillars:
- Pattern Recognition: As you work through the problems, you’ll start recognizing problem-solving patterns like two pointers, sliding window, DFS/BFS, and dynamic programming. These aren’t just tricks—they’re frameworks you can adapt to new, unfamiliar questions.
Expert Insight:
“Getting great at DS&A style coding problems is all about recognizing the appropriate tool for the appropriate situation. It’s about realizing that this is a nail so I should use a hammer or this is a screw so I should use a screwdriver. Every problem belongs to a category. You recognize the category and then choose the tool that corresponds to it.”
— Cory Kane, Technical Coach at Coding Temple
- Time Efficiency: Instead of getting lost in thousands of random problems, you focus on the highest-value questions. This eliminates decision fatigue and helps you stay consistent without burning out.
- Confidence Building: By tracking your progress through a finite list, you can measure improvement and master interview pacing (usually 45 minutes per problem). This boosts both your technical skills and your self-assurance—key, since 39% of interview failures are linked to low confidence or poor non-verbal cues.
Expert Insight:
“It also gives you a strong foundation to relate new problems back to. What you’ll find is that, after completing the Blind 75 and you start working through broader problem sets is that every problem ends up simply being some variation on a Blind 75 problem that you’ve already encountered.
By working through the Blind 75 a few times and creating this rock solid foundation you can become fluent in these kinds of DS&A/Leetcode style problems. Meaning you can pretty much randomly select any old medium level problem and have a good chance at coming to an optimized solution by relating it back to a Blind 75 problem you’ve already solved, recognizing the category and choosing the right tool.”
— Cory Kane, Technical Coach at Coding Temple
Community Endorsement and Results
The Blind 75 has earned strong community support—from bootcamp graduates to experienced developers—because it works. Many credit it with helping them land roles at top companies.
The data backs this up:
- Hackajob reports that 85–93% of NYC software job postings require DS&A skills.
- Moldstud found that 85% of technical assessments for software dev roles, and 60–80% of data science roles, test DS&A.
- AlgoMonster shows that arrays, strings, dynamic programming, and graphs are the most frequently tested categories.
On top of that, candidates who solve over 300 LeetCode problems have an 85% interview success rate, compared to 35% for those solving fewer than 100. The takeaway? Consistent, structured practice leads to results.
Expert Insight:
“Most people prep for coding interviews by solving random LeetCode problems, which is like trying to learn a language by memorizing a new character every day without review — you’ll never be fluent. The Blind 75 is a curated set of problems that teaches you the core patterns. Once you’ve mastered those, almost every other problem is simply a variation.”
— Cory Kane, Technical Coach at Coding Temple
Blind 75 vs. Other Curated Resources
The Blind 75 is a powerful tool, but it’s not the only one.
- Grind 75 – Created by the same author, this version lets you adjust the number of problems, study pace, and difficulty. It’s ideal if you want a gradual ramp-up or more flexibility.
- NeetCode – Offers video explanations, code templates, and follow-up interview questions. It focuses on why a solution works, not just how to write it.
These resources reflect a shift toward guided, deep learning instead of just exposure to problems. Whether you stick with the original Blind 75 or mix in these tools, the goal is the same: build a strong, adaptable problem-solving mindset.
Deep Dive: Patterns & Problem-Solving Frameworks
Interview success often comes down to how quickly you can identify the right approach. The Blind 75 reinforces key patterns, including:
- Two Pointers – Great for array problems like finding pairs or managing partitions.
- Sliding Window – Perfect for substring or subarray problems that require tracking a dynamic range.
- DFS/BFS – Essential for traversing trees and graphs.
- Dynamic Programming – Breaks complex problems into smaller, reusable parts.
- Binary Search – Quickly narrows down possibilities in sorted structures.
- Backtracking – Efficiently explores possibilities for combinatorics or puzzles.
- Stacks, Queues, and Heaps – Manage data efficiently for specific operations.
Mastering these patterns means you can adapt to new problems on the fly—a skill interviewers value highly.
Beyond the Code: Real-World Relevance
DS&A isn’t just for passing interviews—it’s the foundation of efficient, scalable software.
Real-world examples:
- Arrays – Track grades, store weather data, manage to-do lists.
- Stacks – Browser history, undo/redo features.
- Queues – Customer service call handling, checkout lines.
- Linked Lists – Playlists and contact lists.
- Trees – File systems, organizational charts, decision-making algorithms.
- Graphs – Social networks, transport routes, search engine indexing.
- Hash Tables – Fast lookups in databases and caches.
- Sorting/Searching – Search results, database queries.
- Dynamic Programming – Optimization problems like coin change.
And don’t overlook scalability—designing systems that can grow without losing performance is a highly sought-after skill. Being able to discuss not just how you’d solve a problem, but how your solution scales, can set you apart in competitive interviews.
Expert Insight:
“Yes! Writing functions with efficient Big O time and space complexity is an incredibly valuable skill! Big O is really the lens that one should be viewing these problems through. The whole DS&A game is not just about whether one can solve the problem. It’s about whether one can solve the problem efficiently and with the most optimized time complexity. When your server is getting thousands of requests per second writing efficient algorithms matters!”
— Cory Kane, Technical Coach at Coding Temple
Recommendations for Aspiring Engineers
If you’re ready to make the most of the Blind 75, here’s how to approach it:
- Master Patterns – Don’t just solve problems—learn the strategies behind them.
Expert Insight:“Yes! Writing functions with efficient Big O time and space complexity is an incredibly valuable skill! Big O is really the lens that one should be viewing these problems through. The whole DS&A game is not just about whether one can solve the problem. It’s about whether one can solve the problem efficiently and with the most optimized time complexity. When your server is getting thousands of requests per second writing efficient algorithms matters!”
— Cory Kane, Technical Coach at Coding Temple
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Build Projects – Apply DS&A skills to real-world applications through personal or open-source projects.
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Prepare Holistically – Include system design and behavioral prep alongside algorithm practice.
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Use Enhanced Resources – Supplement your prep with tools like Grind 75 or NeetCode for more structured guidance and deeper explanations. Coding Temple’s Software Engineering program also includes Blind 75 Workshop, available every Thursday at 3:30 PM C, which repeats from the beginning at the start of each quarter.
Conclusion
The Blind 75 isn’t just a problem list—it’s a launchpad for your tech career. By mastering these questions, you’re building the problem-solving habits, technical skills, and confidence that will serve you long after your interviews are over.
If you want to take your preparation to the next level, Coding Temple’s Software Engineering program offers structured learning, expert mentorship, and real-world projects to accelerate your journey. You’ll not only sharpen your DS&A skills, but also gain experience in the full software development lifecycle, collaborate with a career services team dedicated to helping you land a role, and join a supportive community of peers and alumni. Many of our graduates have paired the Blind 75 with our program and gone on to secure positions at top tech companies.
Pair this focused practice with system design study, project work, and strong communication skills, and you’ll be ready to shine in any interview. Keep learning, keep building, and keep pushing yourself—the skills you develop here will carry you far in tech and beyond.