Preparing for Java Interview?

My books Grokking the Java Interview and Grokking the Spring Boot Interview can help

Download a FREE Sample PDF

Thursday, April 4, 2024

DesignGuru.io Review - Is Grokking Advanced System Design Interview Course Worth it?

Hello guys, Before I give my review of DesignGuru's Grokking Advanced System Design Interview course, let me tell you a little bit more about this course so that we are on the same page. As you must already know if you have ever gone through for a software engineering interview, system design questions are an integral part of the process. System design plays a very important part as it is considered more important than solving coding problems. And in order to impress your potential employers, you have to be able to show your real design skills and convince them that you are able to work with complex design systems.

Also, I don't have to say that giving a good performance in a system design interview will give you a more senior job profile with greater pay and stability. That is where this course comes into the picture. 

DesignGuru's Grokking Advanced System Design Interview is basically an architectural review of famous distributed systems. The main aim of this course is to filter out very important design details that can be very relevant to system design interview questions. 

The course is also the second part of popular Grokking the System Design course by Arslan Ahmed, founder of DesignGuru.io website, and also has a wonderful list of system design patterns that make up the common design problems as well as the solutions that different distributed systems have developed  over time.

Another key feature of this course is that it is entirely text-based. You will not see any flashy videos here. This makes sure that you stay focused for longer periods of time. You also do not have to sit through hours of boring video lectures and you will also learn about key System Design Patterns like Bloom Filter and Consistent Hashing.

Also, here is a great System Design Template from DesignGuru.io which you can print and keep on your desktop. This template list essential System Design concepts and topics for interviews in a nice visual way.

DesignGuru Review - Is Grokking Advanced System Design Interview Course Worth it?



Review of Grokking Advanced System Design Interview Course on DesignGuru.io

You can think of this course as basically a sequel to the Grokking The System Design Interview course on the DesignGuru.io learning platform, which is also one of the most popular DesignGuru.io courses out there.

As you must have guessed from the course title, this course takes things a bit further. You will not see any run-of-the-mill system design interview questions here.

The course is basically made up of summaries that describe the inner workings of some of the most popular, widely used, and widely deployed distributed systems out there. 

For starters, you will get to learn about systems like DynamoDB, Cassandra, Kafka, Chubby, GFS, HDFS, and Big Table as well as key system design patterns like Consistent Hashing and Bloom Filters.


As you must have already guessed, most of these systems belong to the Big Data world. This will help you implement concepts from distributed systems theory. Another interesting feature of the course is that it will simplify complex systems for you by breaking them down into small blocks and asking you to build them back together.

You will learn about stuff like reading, writing, the split-brain phenomenon, fencing, leadership, and follower.  You will also be able to understand all the complex distributed systems by learning about the concepts behind them. You will get access to loads of public documentation.

The course excels in extracting the very important details of the design and working of these systems and presenting them before you in a mini-digest so that you can go through all of it and impress your interviewers. For example their chapters on Apache Kafka and Messaging queue is essential for any Software Engineer. 


Coming to structure and content organization, the course structure is well-organized, starting with foundational concepts before delving into advanced topics. The instructor's writing style is clear and concise, making complex ideas more accessible for learners. 

The use of real-world examples and case studies further enhances the practical application of the concepts discussed.

One standout feature of the course is the emphasis on problem-solving strategies and scalability considerations. The instructor not only guides you through the design process but also encourages critical thinking about trade-offs and optimization strategies. 

This approach is invaluable for candidates looking to not just ace interviews but also develop a deeper understanding of system design principles.

The platform itself is user-friendly, with an intuitive interface that makes navigation straightforward.  The ability to revisit lectures and review materials at one's own pace is a significant advantage, especially for those balancing job commitments or other responsibilities.

Here is the link to join this course -  Advanced System Design Interview Course

Is Grokking Advanced System Design Interview Course on DesignGuru Worth it?


That's all in this review of DesignGuru's second most popular System Design Course. If you liked this review of DesignGuru's Grokking Advanced System Design Interview course, feel free to share it with your friends and family. I have no doubt that this course will transform you from a complete novice to an expert system designer within a matter of weeks or months.

By the way, if you like these Grokking interview courses from DesignGuru, you can get all of them for a big discount by purchasing their All course bundle. This bundle include their most popular Grokking courses like Grokking System Design Interview, OOP Design, Coding Patterns, as well Grokking Dynamic programming interview. You can also use code GURU to get 30% discount.

Another great thing is that they also have mock interviews, where you can get access to system design experts like Arslan himself doing your interview before real interview. 

Other Programming and System Design Tutorials you may like

In conclusion, the Advanced System Design Interview Course on Design Guru is a great resource for anyone preparing for system design interviews and definitely worth it for its coverage of advanced System design concepts and tips on tackling complex question, making design choices, and choosing the right technology for the job. 

Whether you are a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, the course offers a comprehensive and well-structured approach to mastering the intricacies of system design. I highly recommend it to those seeking a competitive edge in their technical interview

You can also drop a comment if you have any doubts about the course and we will get back to you in an instant.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Between DesignGuru, Exponent, and ByteByteGo, which course platform you recommend for System Design interview?

Anonymous said...

Is this course same as the System design course on Educative?

Post a Comment