How do I start learning system design as a fresher?
Every senior role wants system design but all the resources assume years of experience. Where does someone with zero production experience actually start?
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Accepted answer
Start from what you've already used, not from abstract theory:
1. Take an app you know — Instagram, WhatsApp, Zomato — and ask 'what happens when I press send?' Trace it: client → API → database → notification.
2. Learn the core vocabulary in context: load balancer, cache, queue, replication, sharding. One concept a week, and for each one find where a real company uses it (engineering blogs are gold).
3. Read 'Designing Data-Intensive Applications' slowly — one chapter a week with notes. It's the only book you need for years.
4. Build one thing that forces the concepts: a URL shortener with a cache and rate limiting teaches more than 20 videos.
Freshers aren't expected to know Kafka internals. You're expected to reason clearly about trade-offs.
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