I am not an engineer but I am always curious - this must not be the case in all companies out there?
Same as for other professions, you would suffer in law for the first 5 years doing proof-reading (the grass is always greener).
But if you want creativity - why not just build your own stuff? You have a super power that majority of the planet does not have. Alternatively changing jobs to a different kind of company that structures this position differently?
> this must not be the case in all companies out there?
It isn't. There is a bubble where it is prevalent, and there are lots of companies where people actually talk with candidates, eg. about software they have written, why and what they were excited about it, discuss the company product and what they are looking for in terms of contribution, etc.
"Too low" is relative -- there's only so much talent out there at any given time, and it's generally going to go to the highest bidder. There is so much demand out there that many lower tier companies can't afford to filter based on even easy level leetcode problems.
this is good for top tech companies, highest bidders.
if mediocre companies cannot hire top engineers, they will not develop software in-house and instead will buy the SaaS software from those big tech companies that pay top dollar for leetcoders. Software scales up easily
I only have few data points from my circle, but all friends or mine who went to IOI/ACM ICPC and were good at solving these types of problems, all became quite extraordinary engineers in terms of types of problems they solve and individual productivity
> I am not an engineer but I am always curious - this must not be the case in all companies out there?
No, it's not.
Most of my non-SWE friends are from liberal arts circles. Interview process for their jobs had no "LeetCodes", no take-home assignments. Just a few steps of 1-on-1 conversations. The companies are also heavily relying on the trial period to accept/reject fresh hires.
Same as for other professions, you would suffer in law for the first 5 years doing proof-reading (the grass is always greener).
But if you want creativity - why not just build your own stuff? You have a super power that majority of the planet does not have. Alternatively changing jobs to a different kind of company that structures this position differently?