I don't know, risky answer but I will give it nonetheless. This advice is given to many candidates, and I agree that Leet Code interviewing is bad and the industry needs to work on something better, but in the meantime, if you are starting out, think of it this way (and I have friends younger by 10 years or so and straight out of college and I say the same thing), a few months of studying gives you a huge salary. It's a win-win, and in the meantime, people will complain and hopefully the industry will fix it, but do not "Skip Leet Code" just because it's the cause du jour. That's just my opinion.