Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart are great interview prep courses. However, Tech Interview Pro is the winner because it’s more in-depth (20+ hours of video lessons), beginner-friendly, and 10x cheaper.
Tech Interview Pro is the best interview prep program for software engineers looking to land a job in big tech. As of today, 2,000+ SWEs have received job offers from FAANG companies after passing through the program, nearly all of whom are earning $250,000 or more per year.
With more than 20 hours of video content, an active Facebook group, and twice-monthly Q&A sessions with TechLead (Patrick Shyu), Tech Interview Pro is a proven tool for securing a high-paying job as a software engineer.
In this post, I will be comparing Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart.
Landing job offers from big tech companies isn’t a walk in the park. You need to get everything right, especially the technical interview.
Acing technical interviews is no joke. Unfortunately, thousands of engineers fail when they get to this stage, and this is why you need interview prep training like Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart to ease the process.
If you’ve been having difficulties picking between Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart, read this post to the end.
Let’s get started.
Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart: Overview
Tech Interview Pro is an online program created by an ex-Google and Facebook software engineer, Patrick Shyu (popularly called Techlead), to help software engineers ace their technical interviews. The training comes in 20+ hours of video lessons, touching every aspect of the interview process, including coding and whiteboard problems, telephone screening, on-site interviews, etc.
Interview Kickstart is also an interview prep Bootcamp for SWEs. The program is managed by professionals (60+ instructors) who have a ton of experience conducting technical interviews. They aim to help Software Engineers get into the interview mindset.
Clearly, both Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart are potent tools for acing coding interviews. However, they operate differently, making them suitable for different individuals.
Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart: Full Comparison Review
Let’s break down the content of both courses so you know what you are paying for.
Tech Interview Pro Review: Content Outline and Other Benefits
The training contains nine modules plus some additional bonuses. Here is the breakdown:
Module 1: Understanding the Interview Process
The first module is to prepare you for the interview. Techlead will show you the best way to organize your resume to get an edge over other candidates, techniques to succeed with the phone screening, and things to expect from the on-site interview.
This lesson is precious because the instructor, Patrick Shyu, has been part of over 100 technical interviews with Google. So he knows things you should say to put yourself in a good spot and vice versa.
Techlead also talks about technical recruiters vs non-technical recruiters. He provides a structured framework to use depending on who’s interviewing you. Of course, you don’t always get a technical recruiter, so you need to prepare for both.
Module 2: Four axes of the Interview
The second module is where Patrick breaks down coding interviews into four solid parts. He then explains how to succeed with all of them. Here is the breakdown:
- Coding: It’s a no-brainer that coding is a core part of a technical interview. Techlead will prepare your mind on the kinds of coding questions to expect and how to solve them.
- Data Structures & Algorithm: Patrick also shares how to tackle DS&A in tech interviews. He went deeper into this topic in modules 4 and 7.
- Systems Design: You will also learn how to prepare your codes and algorithms for production. Techlead will teach you how to flex your systems design skills without making the common mistakes junior software developers make.
- Communication: Gone are the days when being a professional software developer alone can get you a job in big tech companies. These days, you need to have strong communication skills to work in a team. This section of Tech Interview Pro will teach you how to position yourself as a strong developer and a strong communicator.
Module 3: Interviewing Masterclass
In this module, you will learn how to fine-tune your resume to get interviews, kill those interviews like a pro, and one big mistake that can stop you from getting hired, even if you are a professional engineer.
You will also learn why the interview process is so cloudy and how to prepare for interviews in a way that you and the recruiter will be on the same page.
Basically, this module helps you prepare for your interviews and ace them.
Read: Reporting Ninja Reviews
Module 4: Data Structures & Algorithms
This is where Tech Interview Pro starts to get technical. Techlead, who has worked with both Google and Facebook, covers many topics in this module, including:
- Hash tables
- Linked lists
- Trees & graphs
- Binary trees
- Binary search trees (BST)
- Stacks & queues
- Sorting
- Bit manipulation
He explains all these topics in whiteboard videos and screencasts, so you see exactly how he will solve them in an interview. He also includes a few worksheets you can use for extra practice.
Related: Byte By Byte reviews
Module 5: 100+ Coding Sessions
This module provides you with hands-on coding instruction. Techlead will walk you through the common coding questions being asked during interviews and show you how to tackle them in a way that will impress the recruiter.
The coding sessions cover data structures, algorithms, and time-space complexity and provide a complete “Big O” analysis of problems and solutions.
Every video in this module walks you through the origin of the problem to the final solution. Techlead included mostly big tech companies’ interview questions since that was the purpose of the course.
Module 6: The Mock Interview
This module is fun. You get to know what the coding interview process feels like.
As I mentioned earlier, Techlead has been involved in more than 100 coding interviews. In this module, he acts as a recruiter to highlight applicants’ common mistakes.
At the end of the mock interview, he will point out the rights and wrongs. He will then share some powerful insights from a recruiter’s perspective that many applicants don’t understand.
Have you ever made it to FAANG interviews but didn’t get employed? This module covers your mistakes.
Module 7: Systems Design
Techlead dives deeper into Systems design topics in this module. Here are some of the areas he covers:
- Load balancing
- Caching
- Content delivery networks (CDNs)
- Databases
- Indexing
- Redundancy & replication
- Database sharding
- SQL vs. NoSQL
- API design
- Mobile systems design
This module is highly technical. Therefore, you need to give it your 100% focus and attention.
Module 8: Transitioning Careers
This module assumes you’ve secured a job in a tech company, so it prepares you for the future. Techlead covers everything about transitioning careers, including the technical, social, and strategic parts.
You will learn how to avoid companies that lock you into the technological siloes, how & when to talk to your manager about your plan to leave the company, and how to restructure your resume for a better role.
Even if you haven’t gotten a job yet, the lesson in this module is super-valuable.
Module 9: Negotiating and Accepting Offers
In the end, you want to be a well-paid engineer, right?
In this module, Techlead teaches you the salary negotiation framework he uses when applying for jobs in big tech companies. You have no reason to miss this module if you don’t want to be underpaid after acing your interview.
Additional Benefits
On top of 20+ hours of video lessons, Tech Interview Pro also comes with some extras and bonuses, which are:
- Student-Only Facebook Group: After signing up for Tech Interview Pro, you will be added to a private group with over 2000 TIP past and present students. The hub is super helpful. You can connect with like-minded people to discuss interviews and job offers. Students also post their success stories.
- Twice a Month Q&A Sessions: Techlead does Q&A sessions every two weeks to allow TIP students to ask him questions. Each session lasts for about an hour and is very detailed. You can ask questions like, “I want to get hired at Amazon, how do I get started?”. Every session is recorded so you can access all previous sessions.
- Reviewing of Resume: Once you sign up for Tech Interview Pro, Techlead will personally review your resume to fit perfectly with the company and the role you are applying for. He knows what recruiters are looking for in resumes, so you are in safe hands.
- Lifetime Access: Once you pay for this course, you get lifetime access to it, including the new materials that will be added in the future. This means you can always refer back to the course when applying for a new job.
Now let’s talk about Interview Kickstart.
Interview Kickstart Content Outline and Other Benefits
Here are the benefits of Interview Kickstart as an interview prep tool:
#1 Taught By Experts
Once you sign up for Interview Kickstart, you will have access to 60+ instructors you can choose from. These trainers are mostly hiring managers and tech leads who have worked for FAANG companies like Google.
This means you have nothing to worry about regarding the quality of the content you will be taught. A prominent edge, if you ask me.
#2. Structured & Guided Pathway
If you’ve ever prepared for technical interviews before, I bet you visited LeetCode to solve hundreds of questions, hoping to see some of those questions during your interview.
That’s the old technique, and it doesn’t work anymore because companies today have a database of 16,000+ technical questions to pull from, while the total questions on LeetCode are just 1000.
So just like Tech Interview Pro, Interview Kickstart teaches you a proven pattern to solve any programming questions thrown at you, even if you haven’t seen it before.
Interview Kickstart covers 17 courses spread across 12 weeks. They are:
- Algorithms (5 weeks)
- Systems Design (3 weeks)
- Data Engineering (4 weeks)
#3. Solid Track Record
Over 4,000 students of Interview Kickstart have secured jobs. The vast majority of them are experienced engineers. This record shows that the course is excellent.
#4. Personalized for Everyone
Another benefit of Interview Kickstart is the Personalized Feedback loops. Every week, you can get feedback from your instructor to know where you are lagging and how to get better.
This allows you to perfect your skill and improve in your challenging areas.
#5. Powerful Community
There are over 5000 members in the Interview Kickstart Community. These are software engineers who you can interact with and get help when you need it.
They can also give you feedback on your interviews, link you to job offers, etc. The community is a big plus for every member.
#6. Mock Interviews
Like Tech Interview Pro, Interview Kickstart also offers mock interviews. Members can get detailed feedback from all aspects of the interview and quickly identify the area they need to work on.
Since you will be solving coding questions in front of an interviewer, you will be free to make all your mistakes, then get corrections once you are done.
Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart: Price Comparison
Both Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart aren’t cheap. Just that one is cheaper than the other.
The regular price for Tech Interview Pro is $997. However, there’s a limited-time discount that’s ending anytime soon. If you will get this course at the end of the day, you should take advantage of the discount before it ends.
So If you use this special link, you can get access to Tech Interview Pro for only $597 (offer is ending soon), a $400 reduction from the regular price.
On the other hand, the total price of Interview Kickstart is $6,200. $600 for the trial and $5,400 to access the entire course. That’s 10x the price of Tech Interview Pro.
Tech Interview Pro Discount
As mentioned earlier, the normal price for Tech Interview Pro is $997. However, due to the ongoing discount, you can get the course for 40% off by clicking here.
Related: Is Code Ninjas Worth It?
Similarities Between Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart
Here are the similarities between Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart:
- Both courses are taught by instructors who have a ton of experience conducting technical interviews. They all have worked in FAANG companies like Google, Amazon, etc.
- The outputs from Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart are top-notch and well-structured because the tutors know exactly what you need to pass coding interviews.
- Mock Interviews are included in both programs allowing students to have a real experience of the technical interview process.
- Both Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart have solid track records of getting their students jobs. Many students have aced their interviews and secured good jobs after taking the courses.
- Both programs have strong communities allowing students to interact and learn from each other.
- Whichever interview prep courses you sign up for, you can get personalized feedback from your instructor. This allows you to know where to improve.
Differences between Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart
Here are the differences between Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart:
- Half of the Interview Kickstart students have 8-12 years of experience, making the program most suitable for experienced engineers. On the other hand, Tech Interview Pro is more beginner-friendly, making it ideal for everyone, including fresh college graduates.
- Tech Interview Pro is 10x cheaper than Interview Kickstart. The former cost $597 (use this link), while the latter cost $6,200.
- Valuable lessons like ‘Transitioning careers’ and ‘negotiating & accepting your offer’ are the most significant game-changers included in Tech Interview Pro but not included in Interview Kickstart.
- Additional bonuses such as ‘resume reviews’ and ‘bi-weekly Q&A sessions’ add more value and credibility to Tech Interview Pro. Unfortunately, they don’t come with Interview Kickstart.
- Interview Kickstart has 60+ instructors whose knowledge is of different levels. This means the value you will get from the course depends on the instructor you are attached to. But Tech Interview Pro is managed by Patrick Shyu, an ex-Techlead at Google and Facebook. So you know your teacher and what he can offer.
Tech Interview Pro vs Interview Kickstart: Which One?
Both Tech Interview Pro and Interview Kickstart are valuable courses that prepare you for your technical interviews.
However, if you are to choose only one, I highly recommend Tech Interview Pro over Interview Kickstart.
I mean, Interview Kickstart is a great course. You can’t deny it. You can give it a shot if you have $6,200 and 5+ years of software engineering experience.
But if you want to gain an edge over your peers and get the best chance of getting a big tech job offer without breaking the bank, Tech Interview Pro is better.
To be honest, Tech Interview could also be packaged super expensive if the creator wants to. But I think the price makes sense like this especially if you are lucky to get the discount.
It’s cheaper, extensive, beginner-friendly, and offers extra bonuses you won’t find in other Interview prep courses.
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