I feel like I'm wasting my time here if no one wants to learn or discuss how to improve things in a concrete way.

One of my coworkers flat-out said he "Just here for a job and to go home at the end of the day." No curiosity, not interested in learning, and they don't have a software development background.

I'm looking for contacts in other departments, making notes of what sort of pain points there are at-scale, and trying to meet people who are outside the department.

This might be off-topic...but you're saying these are devs with only 1-3 YOE, have a "don't care" attitude, and are employed at a MAANG company? I must really be naive b/c I thought it was only cream-of-the-crop that got employed at MAANG companies. I keep telling myself those companies are for other/better people, not me. So what exactly is the barrier to entry if these devs are working there? I always hear "study leet code" but thought it was a joke. Is that really it? Nail the formulaic interview and you're in? I ask sincerely b/c your coworkers sound like a joke. I consider myself a "senior" dev in experience and abilities and would love to work under/with a more senior dev with 15 YOE that wants to engage and educate.

> I always hear "study leet code" but thought it was a joke.

Unfortunately its not a joke. I would recommend reading the first few chapters of Weapons of Math Destruction to understand the motivation behind this type of interview. Average MAANG engineers nowadays aren't nearly as smart as you imagine. Some of them outright say they have no interest in software, they are just there for the paycheck. Let's see how long this can last...

> I always hear "study leet code" but thought it was a joke. Is that really it? Nail the formulaic interview and you're in? I ask sincerely b/c your coworkers sound like a joke.

That's literally it. As in, not just algorithms (the "leetcode" per se), but also design/architecture interviews. And then, applying ad nauseam, until you get in.

A non negligible chunk of MAANG in my age group I've seen is "I want to make money, money is all that matters, job hop every other month in SF for salary increases, side project hustle just for money not to learn, what's your TC? ew"