> And then she asked "So, how to join Toptal?"

The question I have heard a lot of times during past weeks. It was a little bit
confusing to forward the same message, so I decided to prepare an article.

Below you can find my ultimate description of Toptal interview and work process 👇

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<hr />

## Table of contents

- Part 1. [Interview process](#interview-process)
  
- Part 2. [Preparation](#preparation)
  
- Part 3. [FAQ](#faq)
  

<hr />

## Interview process

### Application / CV

The inital stage for toptal application includes registration on the platform
using LinkedIn or Email.

Recommendations:

- Don't forget to attach your CV
- Prepare professional photo for the application.
  <a
    target="_blank"
    rel="noopener noreferrer"
    href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12NFL9vVDXss3c9TU52T-ZRGPnPnM0QkI/view?usp=sharing"
  >
    Sample
  </a>

Toptal usually checks applications quickly.

<a
  href="https://topt.al/4bcPwK"
  target="_blank"
  rel="noopener noreferrer"
>
  <button
    type="link"
    style={{ backgroundColor: "#1f4fce" }}
    className="w-full flex items-center justify-center px-8 py-2 border border-transparent text-base font-medium rounded-md text-white hover:bg-indigo-700 md:py-2 md:text-lg md:px-10"
  >
    Join Toptal
  </button>
</a>

For referrals:

- In case of any question, feel free to reach me out using one of the social links in website [footer](#footer).
- Using my referral link will help you to earn additional bonuses when you join the network (up to $2500).

### 1st stage: English Screening / ☕️ 15 min

When your application is accepted, the very first stage of your journey starts!
You need to schedule a quick call with English Screener.

Usually the whole process is going to take around 10-15 minutes and
the goal of this stage is to check English speaking and listening skills.

Recommendations:

- Don't panic and be confident.
  Your english most probably is more than enough for this stage.
- Prepare the environment. Toptal is using BlueJeans for all sorts of calls
- Prepare to answer for questions like these:

  > Tell me about yourself?

  > What's your strenghts?

  > Tell me about your past experience?

  > What you love about being an engineer?

### 2nd stage: Online testing / ☕️☕️☕️ 90 min

So, right after the process of screening your English
you are going to get an email about the next stage which is an online coding test.

The test is 90 minutes long(from the moment you clicked the link)
using the [Codility](https://www.codility.com/) platform.
During this stage, you are free to use google.

Recommendations:

- Play with Codility before taking test.
  I started without getting acknowledged with platform and it costed me valuable time.
- Prepare to get algorithmic questions (see [Preparation](#algorithms-and-data-structures) section).
- Prepare for react in case of frontend track (see [Preparation](#frontend-track) section).

### 3rd stage: Live coding / ☕️☕️ 30-60 minute

After the online test, you will get a chance to schedule the next step which is Live Coding
with TopTal technical screener.

During this stage, the hardest part is time restriction:
you must solve 1-2 tasks under short time frame.

You will start screen sharing, get the task description and after
confirmation that requirements are clear, the countdown starts.

Recommendations:

- Try using timer during preparation in order to get ready for this step
- In case of algorithmic tasks get acknowledged with platform (Codility)
- In case of frontend track prepare environment (disable Copilot, prepare code editor, language syntax highlights)
- Understand your salary expectations: this is the first step when interviewer asks about your desired rate

### 4th stage: Technical Task / ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ up to 1 week

The last and the longest step is the technical task. Technical screener will send
requirements by email and you will start working on the project using GitLab.

Recommendations:

- Get acknowledged with GitLab (Merge Requests, Squash commits)
- Test everything before submission
  - Validations
  - Access Rights
  - Paginations, etc.
- Avoid using technologies you are not famillar with
- Prepare 10-20 hours for the task
  Use vacation or have weekends ahead before starting

## Preparation

### Algorithms and Data Structures

1. [Grokking Algorithms](https://www.amazon.com/Grokking-Algorithms-illustrated-programmers-curious/dp/1617292230) —
   The best book to start your journey of learning algorithms.
2. Solve tasks using one of the websites

- [Codility Lessons](https://app.codility.com/programmers/lessons/1-iterations/)
- [Leetcode](https://leetcode.com/)

3. If you are looking for something like a course with tons of materials prepared earlier, then use [AlgoExpert](https://www.algoexpert.io/)

### Frontend Track

1. [React Docs](https://reactjs.org/) —
   Don't forget to pay attention to both Class components (lifecycle) and Hooks.

2. [Articles](https://www.robinwieruch.de/) —
   Use Robin's articles regarding different topics

## FAQ

1. How the payments work?

> Toptal sends the money to your Toptal wallet (during 20 days), then you can use 2 options to get the money:
>
> 1. Visa Digital or Physical card — has additional fees (see in payment portal)
> 2. Wire Transfer (1-2 working days) — costs $10 per transfer

2. What about english proficiency?

> You should not be native english speaker to cope with the interviews
> and daily conversations with clients. Good listening and speaking skills
> (around B2) is enough.

3. How long it takes to prepare?

> I'd set aside 5-10 hours for frontend track and 1,5-2 weeks for algorithms

4. Will you help me?

> Use my [referral link](https://topt.al/4bcPwK) and feel free to reach me out in case of questions.

The most ultimative guide on how to apply and pass toptal interview process.

🙋‍♂️ How to Toptal?


_“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that”. (Lewis Carroll)_

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In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote that we need to run _twice as fast as we can_ just to go anywhere in Wonderland. More than 150 years of intensive scientific and technological progress turn the IT industry into the new Wonderland. As a result instead of the paradise on Earth, we got burnouts, crashed work-life balances, and infinite threads of holy wars regarding new programming frameworks and languages. I think that we got into the trap of Wonderland where consuming matters more than creating.

In the article, I want to discuss the main problems of the so-called Wonderland and will try to propose a solution and a new way of existence in the IT world. So, wear masks, and let's dive deep into this land!

### Burnout

As I have mentioned earlier, in the new circumstances the only way to progress is to adopt "study harder, work longer, and never give up" paradigm. Surely, this paradigm might make you feel happy and fulfilled in the short-term cause you will start to see how quickly your skills are improving by mastering different technologies, but in the long-term, you won't be able to follow "running faster" approach because of the rhythm. Your health [won't be able](https://tonsky.livejournal.com/317265.html) to continue this kind of life and you will start to feel depression and burnout.

To dig deeper into different approaches to being motivated, productive, and healthy, I will recommend starting understanding the ways your organism (especially brain) works. I'd recommend to from my article about [learning and management](../self-management-tips/) and then give some time to ["Learning how to Learn"](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn/) course on Coursera.

### The lack of work-life balance

Nowadays it's quite popular to forget about life by placing work at the center of life. Similarly to burnout, in the short term, you will get a better job and portfolio, increased salary, while in the long-term you can get ruined life and relationships.

The one thing some might understand is that the quality of the ability to work mostly depends on your life. To avoid being trapped in the 'hard work pays off' paradigm try to alternate the periods when you are working hard and getting rest by planning it before important projects and deadlines. Make sure that after some time of exhausting projects you can get enough rest.

### Holy wars about "yet another framework"

The topic that drives me crazy is infinite wars about the next important technology which is going to change the way we <del>live</del> write code. The stories of successful companies show us that stack doesn't matter, that different languages, frameworks, and paradigms can create projects that customers love.

By holy warring about the next great framework, we're moving important things like customer satisfaction, performance _(still regretting that I used gatsby for blog)_ and security to the background of our attention.

So next time, when you start to discuss the next revolutionary thing, try to answer can it bring valuable improvements <del>to your cv</del> for customers.

### Think Different

In my opinion, the only way to break the chains of burnout is to start doing stuff differently because as we can see previous paradigms of life showed us their unsustainability.

By differently I mean to stop putting ourselves in the position of a squirrel trapped in a wheel where we are working hard to have abilities and skills to work more without any goals.

By differently I mean to follow examples of the people who built the Wonderland for us and their principles were: inventing, exploring, and building stuff.

By differently I mean to get out of the wheel and start to explore and build stuff that might encourage our interest.

The video below may help to understand the idea better:

<iframe
  className="rounded-md grow w-full"
  style={{ maxWidth: 560 }}
  width="560"
  height="315"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GEPhLqwKo6g"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
/>

## Additional Materials

- [Steve Jobs at MIT](https://youtu.be/Gk-9Fd2mEnI)
- [Как устроена IT-столица мира / Russian Silicon Valley (English subs)](https://youtu.be/9lO06Zxhu88)


My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that. (Lewis Carroll)

Alice in IT


Recently I had a webinar (in Armenian) where I was talking about programming languages and stacks, their differences, and how to choose one.

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In the article we're going to speak about five major software application types and ecosystems (languages, frameworks, libraries they have):

## Table of contents

- Part 1. Software Application Types
  - [Web Applications](#web-applications)
  - [Mobile Applications](#mobile-applications)
  - [Desktop Applications](#desktop-applications)
  - [Machine Learning](#machine-learning)
- Part 2. Algorithm for choosing a language
  - [Tips](#tips)
  - [Experience](#experience)
- Part 3. [Materials](#materials)

<span class="text-red-400">Note,</span> I've created also a <a
  target="_blank"
  href="https://mm.tt/1772184228?t=1vsSDGshVQ"
>
  Mind Map
</a> for the information I'm going to tell below. Make sure to follow mind map using
the link or images that I've attached to each chapter.

## Web Applications

When speaking of web apps one should imagine sites that he is using every day. They usually consist of two parts: frontend and backend.

> Frontend — is the practice of converting data to a graphical interface, through the use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so that users can view and interact with that data. (Wikipedia)

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HTML stands for hypertext markup language — the backbone of every page that lives on the web.

> Hypertext is the text which contains links to other texts. (Ted Nelson, 1965)

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and its main purpose is to make sites look gorgeous.

And JS stands for the most popular language that millions of people use daily.

> The front end is an interface between the user and the backend. The backend has three parts to it: server, application, and database. To handle the backend of given applications, programmers or backend developers have to deal with backend technologies that include languages like Java, C#, Python, Ruby, Node.js, PHP, and many others.

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One of the groups of backend languages includes those that have a strict type system and tight coupling with OOP ideas. These languages are Java, C#, C++, and many others. They are very popular among big enterprise companies due to their strictness and safety. Usually, newbies find them hard as a first language because of the high entry threshold.

Another group of languages includes those that have a dynamic type system, mostly they are multiparadigm with a low entry threshold. They are easier for learners because you can jump into the language very fast and see the result. JS (Node.js), Python, Ruby, PHP are the most famous languages. Big tech companies, like Twitter, Github, Basecamp are using Ruby (and Ruby on Rails framework) for backend development. Facebook and VK have been created using PHP (at least first versions).

Pros of web apps:

- One development team for all Operating Systems (user only needs browser)

- Development speed due to the infrastructure of libraries and frameworks which allow solving almost all problems.

- Low entry threshold

Cons of web apps:

- They lose to native apps because of the lack of access to hosting platforms (for example, Notifications, GPS, Cameras). Although I hope that Web 2.0 and PWA's will change the situation and WEB will be great again.

- There's no way to create high GPU-consuming apps (like big games) in WEB.

## Mobile Applications

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Researches by Statista are showing that in the third quarter of 2020 the half of the traffic worldwide came from mobile devices. I'm almost sure that half of the readers are also using mobiles so there is no need to describe what mobile applications are.

What is not clear when we're speaking about mobiles is their types and what languages one should master to start coding. To clarify that, let's explore three approaches to mobile development.

### 1. Hybrid applications

> A hybrid app is essentially a combination of a native app and a web app. Although this type of app can be installed on a device like a native app, it technically is a web app. These types of apps are built with HTML, CSS, or JavaScript and run in a web view.

So technically you still are writing your HTML, CSS, and JS
 code like you was doing in the case of web apps but now you're running the code in a web view.

One might think that this is brilliant technology and we should use it as a standard because now we can share the code between web and mobile, but things are not that easy. Hybrid apps are not showing good performance: apps are freezing and their UX suffers a lot (you can sense that even physically that the app is written for the web, not the mobile world).

### 2. Native Applications

When speaking about native apps, we should mention that there are two major operating systems for mobile: iOS and Android and both of them have their languages with big ecosystems.

For many years in the iOS world, the main language was Objective-C but then apple presented Swift which is easier for developers and now it's a de-facto standard for iOS applications.

In the case of Android, there's the same scenario, Java was the main language but then JetBrains presented Kotlin which took part in the market.

Native Apps had better UX due to their connection with host OS and direct access to the Notification, Camera, and other APIs.

At the same time, companies need two development teams to handle both Operating systems because it's not frequent when one developer knows both languages. It's the main disadvantage of native applications.

### 3. React Native

React Native combines the best parts of these worlds: it allows to write code that runs on both Operating Systems (actually 70-80% of the code), it allows companies to use frontend developers and their knowledge of JS and React and during the parts where React (and js) are close to their limits (GPU-consuming operations), you can write code on Swift or Kotlin and connect it with React Native via the so-called bridge (see RN docs for more info, it's really interesting. I promise).

## Desktop Applications

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The desktop world is similar to mobile. As the main advantage, we can see better UX because of the access to the Host Environment.

And as in mobile, here in Desktop, there are two popular approaches to development.

1. Native Applications
   Here we can use a lot of languages, like C# (created by Microsoft and works great on Windows), C++, Java, etc. The only problem is that in some cases we need multiple languages for different Operating Systems.

2. Electron Applications
   JS Ecosystem has reached even this point and using HTML, CSS, and JS we can build cross-platform desktop apps. VS Code, Facebook Messenger, Figma, WhatsApp have been created with Electron. Also, it worth mentioning that Electron applications are cross-platform which means the code can be run in different OS environments.

## Machine Learning

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There are many languages that one can use for creating ml products: Python, R, JS, C, C++, Java, C# but the big part of the market are developing the products using Python because of its big infrastructure: tons of libraries and platforms like Tensorflow are available for Python (also for JS). That's why Python is the number one choice for ML.

## Tips

Finally, we know about most software application types and now we can create an algorithm for picking a language and our algorithm will base on three criteria.

### Skills and interests

If you are interested in visual information representation and working with the product that end-users are gonna face, then maybe frontend, mobile or desktop stacks are for you. Elsewhere, if you're not interested in visual and more in data processing and manipulation then you should consider Back End or ML stack is right for you.

### Mentors and Environments

Mentors and people who surround you are also very important. So if most of your colleagues and friends know any programming language, then you should consider that one because their role in your first steps will be crucial.

### Languages by market

The one thing that newbies should also take into consideration is the market. If there's no need for developers for the language that you consider then maybe it's not the best option. That's why it's really important to check what the market needs. I'd recommend to stard with [Stack Overflow survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020) to understand market needs better.

## Experience

I chose JS and React Ecosystem because of their cross-environmental approach. JS and React are being used in Web, Mobile, Desktop, and even ML which allows me to focus not on technologies but on creating applications. I also understand that JS Ecosystem is not the best performance-wise and sometimes reaches its limits but in most cases, it gives me tons of other benefits.

I hope that I helped to create a framework that will help you to find your language and most importantly, your ecosystem.

## Materials

1. [Mind Map for different languages and their infrastructure](https://mm.tt/1772184228?t=1vsSDGshVQ)
2. <a target="_blank" href="/static/slides/how-to-choose-language.pdf">
     Get Slides
   </a>
3. [Stack Overflow Survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020)
4. [Frontend Interview Questionnaire](https://github.com/vre2h/interview-questionnaire)


Text version of a webinar that I've been given on 27th of March, 2021.

How to choose a programming language?

Designers are the most important people in the product creation process

😈 Unpopular opinion. Ep 2

Ep 2: Designers are the most important people in the product creation process

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🙋‍♂️ How to Toptal?

Alice in IT

How to choose a programming language?