6-Month Amazon L6/L7 Interview Study Plan¶

📅 Complete Preparation Timeline¶

This comprehensive study plan is designed to prepare you for Amazon L6/L7 Engineering Manager interviews over 6 months, requiring 15-20 hours per week of focused preparation.

Success Story

January 2024 L6 Hire: "Following a structured timeline was crucial. I spent 6 months preparing, landed multiple L6 offers."

📚 Real Timeline Examples¶

📝 See Actual Preparation Timelines for detailed day-by-day schedules from successful candidates:

8-Week L6 Intensive: IC to Manager transition success story
12-Week L7 Strategic: Director to Principal Manager approach
6-Week Recovery: Second attempt success after targeted improvement

🎯 Study Plan Overview¶

gantt
    title 6-Month Interview Preparation Timeline
    dateFormat  YYYY-MM-DD
    section Foundation
    Fundamentals & Assessment    :2024-01-01, 30d
    Core Concepts                :30d
    section Deep Learning
    System Design Mastery        :2024-02-01, 60d
    Advanced Topics              :30d
    section Practice
    Intensive Practice           :2024-04-01, 30d
    Mock Interviews              :30d

📊 Time Allocation by Role¶

For comprehensive L6 vs L7 differences and expectations, see L6 vs L7 Complete Guide.

Preparation Time Allocation¶

Level	Total Hours	Weekly Hours	Success Rate
L6	360-400	15-17	65% with proper prep
L7	400-450	17-20	45% with proper prep

Detailed Time Breakdown¶

Area	L6 Hours	L6 Weekly	L7 Hours	L7 Weekly
System Design	120 (33%)	5 hrs	150 (38%)	6 hrs
Coding/Technical	100 (28%)	4 hrs	100 (25%)	4 hrs
Leadership/Behavioral	80 (22%)	3 hrs	90 (23%)	3.5 hrs
Mock Interviews	60 (17%)	2.5 hrs	60 (14%)	2.5 hrs
Total	360	15	400	16.5

📆 Month-by-Month Breakdown¶

Month 1: Foundation Building¶

Week 1: Assessment & Setup¶

Day 1-2: Initial Assessment¶

Morning (1 hour) - [ ] Complete self-assessment quiz - [ ] Identify target level (L6 vs L7) - [ ] Document current gaps

Evening (1.5 hours) - [ ] Set up study environment - [ ] Create tracking spreadsheet - [ ] Join study communities

Resources Needed: - LeetCode Premium - System Design Course - AWS Free Tier Account

Day 3-4: Baseline Testing¶

Tasks: - [ ] Solve 3 LeetCode problems (measure current level) - [ ] Complete 1 system design (45 minutes) - [ ] Write 2 STAR stories

Baseline Metrics to Track:

Python
baseline_metrics = {
    "leetcode_easy_time": 0,  # Target: 15 min
    "leetcode_medium_time": 0,  # Target: 30 min
    "system_design_completeness": 0,  # Target: 80%
    "star_story_quality": 0,  # Target: 4/5
}

Day 5-7: Study Plan Creation¶

Create 6-month calendar
Block daily study time
Schedule weekly reviews
Plan first mock interview (Week 8)

Week 2: Core Fundamentals¶

Daily Schedule Template¶

Markdown
6:00-7:00 AM: Coding practice
- Warm-up: 1 easy (15 min)
- Main: 1 medium (35 min)
- Review: Solutions (10 min)

12:00-12:30 PM: Reading
- System design articles
- AWS documentation
- Leadership principles

8:00-9:30 PM: Deep work
- Mon/Wed/Fri: System design
- Tue/Thu: Behavioral stories
- Sat: Mock practice
- Sun: Week review

Week 2 Specific Goals¶

10 LeetCode problems solved
2 system designs completed
5 STAR stories written
AWS: Understand EC2, S3, DynamoDB basics

Week 3-4: Building Momentum¶

Coding Focus (Week 3)¶

Pattern: Two Pointers - Day 15: Two Sum, 3Sum - Day 16: Container With Most Water - Day 17: Trapping Rain Water - Day 18: Remove Duplicates - Day 19: Practice day - Day 20-21: Review and reinforce

System Design Focus (Week 4)¶

Topic: Distributed Systems Basics - Day 22: CAP Theorem deep dive - Day 23: Consistency models - Day 24: Design URL shortener - Day 25: Design Pastebin - Day 26: Caching strategies - Day 27-28: First mock system design

Month 1 Deliverables Checklist: - [ ] 40 coding problems solved - [ ] 4 system designs completed - [ ] 10 STAR stories drafted - [ ] 5 AWS services studied - [ ] 1 mock interview scheduled

Month 2: Technical Deep Dive¶

Week 5-6: Advanced Algorithms¶

Coding Patterns Schedule¶

Day	Pattern	Problems	Time
29-30	Sliding Window	5 problems	2.5 hrs
31-32	BFS/DFS	5 problems	2.5 hrs
33-34	Binary Search	5 problems	2.5 hrs
35-36	Dynamic Programming	5 problems	3 hrs
37-38	Heap/Priority Queue	5 problems	2.5 hrs
39-40	Graph Algorithms	5 problems	3 hrs
41-42	Review and Practice	10 problems	5 hrs

Week 7-8: AWS Services Mastery¶

Service Learning Schedule¶

Markdown
Week 7:
- Mon: DynamoDB deep dive (partitioning, GSI/LSI)
- Tue: S3 architecture (consistency, storage classes)
- Wed: Lambda & serverless (cold starts, limits)
- Thu: SQS/SNS (fan-out patterns, DLQ)
- Fri: API Gateway & CloudFront
- Weekend: Build sample project

Week 8:
- Mon: RDS & Aurora (replication, scaling)
- Tue: ECS/EKS (container orchestration)
- Wed: Kinesis (streaming, sharding)
- Thu: ElastiCache (Redis vs Memcached)
- Fri: CloudWatch & X-Ray (monitoring)
- Weekend: Second mock interview

Month 2 Deliverables: - [ ] 80 total coding problems (cumulative) - [ ] 8 system designs (cumulative) - [ ] 20 STAR stories (all LPs covered) - [ ] 10 AWS services mastered - [ ] 2 mock interviews completed

Month 3: System Design Mastery¶

Week 9-10: Design Patterns¶

Daily Design Practice¶

Markdown

Week 9 - Core Patterns:
Day 57: Microservices vs Monolith
Day 58: Event-driven architecture
Day 59: CQRS and Event Sourcing
Day 60: Design Twitter
Day 61: Design Uber
Day 62-63: Mock and review

Week 10 - Advanced Patterns:
Day 64: Cell-based architecture
Day 65: Service mesh
Day 66: API Gateway patterns
Day 67: Design YouTube
Day 68: Design WhatsApp
Day 69-70: Mock with feedback

Week 11-12: Scale Challenges¶

L6 vs L7 Design Problems¶

L6 Focus Problems: 1. Design a ride-sharing service (Uber/Lyft) 2. Design a video streaming platform 3. Design a payment system 4. Design a notification system 5. Design a search engine

L7 Focus Problems: 1. Design AWS S3 from scratch 2. Design a global e-commerce platform 3. Design a machine learning platform 4. Design a multi-region database 5. Design a container orchestration system

Month 3 Deliverables: - [ ] 100 coding problems (cumulative) - [ ] 16 system designs (cumulative) - [ ] All STAR stories polished - [ ] 3 mock interviews completed - [ ] Design portfolio created

Month 4: Leadership & Behavioral¶

Week 13-14: Leadership Principles Deep Dive¶

Leadership Principles Story Development Schedule¶

Markdown

Week 13 - Core LPs:
Mon: Customer Obsession (3 stories)
Tue: Ownership (3 stories)
Wed: Invent and Simplify (3 stories)
Thu: Are Right, A Lot (3 stories)
Fri: Learn and Be Curious (3 stories)
Weekend: Practice delivery

Week 14 - Additional LPs:
Mon: Hire and Develop (3 stories)
Tue: Highest Standards (3 stories)
Wed: Think Big (3 stories)
Thu: Bias for Action (3 stories)
Fri: Remaining LPs (6 stories)
Weekend: Full behavioral mock

Week 15-16: Integration Practice¶

Combined Practice Schedule¶

Daily: 1 coding + 1 behavioral
Every other day: System design
Weekly: Full mock loop
Weekend: Review and refine

Month 4 Deliverables: - [ ] 120 coding problems (cumulative) - [ ] 20 system designs (cumulative) - [ ] 48+ STAR stories (3 per LP) - [ ] 5 mock interviews completed - [ ] Weak areas identified

Month 5: Intensive Practice¶

Week 17-18: Problem Solving Sprint¶

Daily Sprint Schedule¶

Markdown
Morning (6-8 AM):
- 2 LeetCode mediums (30 min each)
- Review solutions (20 min)
- Note patterns (10 min)

Lunch (12-1 PM):
- System design reading
- AWS service review
- LP story practice

Evening (7-10 PM):
- Full system design (60 min)
- Behavioral practice (30 min)
- Review and plan (30 min)

Week 19-20: Mock Interview Marathon¶

Mock Interview Schedule¶

Week 19: - Mon: Coding mock (Pramp) - Tue: System design mock (friend) - Wed: Behavioral mock (coach) - Thu: Review all feedback - Fri: Address weak areas - Sat: Full loop simulation - Sun: Rest and review

Week 20: - Mon-Wed: Daily mini-mocks - Thu: Amazon employee mock - Fri: Bar Raiser practice - Weekend: Feedback integration

Month 5 Deliverables: - [ ] 140 coding problems (cumulative) - [ ] 28 system designs (cumulative) - [ ] All stories memorized - [ ] 8+ mock interviews - [ ] Consistent 4+ scores in mocks

Month 6: Final Polish¶

Weakness Targeting¶

Python
# Track and improve weak areas
weak_areas = {
    "graph_problems": {"current": 60, "target": 90},
    "distributed_systems": {"current": 70, "target": 95},
    "think_big_stories": {"current": 2, "target": 5},
    "speaking_pace": {"current": "fast", "target": "measured"}
}

# Daily focus on lowest scoring area
for area in sorted(weak_areas, key=lambda x: weak_areas[x]["current"]):
    practice_intensively(area)

Week 23: Peak Week¶

Final Week Schedule¶

Markdown
Monday - Wednesday:
- Light practice only (1 hour/day)
- Review notes
- Polish top stories
- Mental preparation

Thursday - Friday:
- Mock interview conditions
- Full loop simulation
- Early sleep

Weekend before:
- Saturday: Light review
- Sunday: Rest completely

Week 24: Interview Week¶

Interview Day Preparation¶

Day Before: - [ ] Review top 10 stories - [ ] Practice power poses - [ ] Test all technology - [ ] Prepare questions to ask - [ ] Get 8+ hours sleep

Interview Day:

Markdown
1 2 3 4 5	`-2 hours: Light breakfast -1 hour: Warm-up problem -30 min: Review notes -15 min: Power poses 0: Begin interview`

Month 6 Deliverables: - [ ] 150+ coding problems - [ ] 30+ system designs - [ ] 10+ mock interviews - [ ] All stories polished - [ ] 90%+ confidence level

📖 Weekly Study Schedule Template¶

Optimal Weekly Schedule (15 hours)¶

Day	Morning (1hr)	Evening (1-2hrs)	Focus
Monday	Coding practice	System design study	Technical
Tuesday	AWS service deep dive	Behavioral stories	Mixed
Wednesday	Coding practice	System design practice	Technical
Thursday	Leadership principles	Technical reading	Leadership
Friday	Coding practice	Week review & planning	Review
Saturday	Mock interview (2-3hrs)	Feedback analysis	Practice
Sunday	System design (2hrs)	Portfolio work	Projects

Daily Minimums¶

Coding: 1 problem (even on non-coding days)
Reading: 1 technical article
Review: 15 minutes of previous work
Notes: Document one key learning

📚 Resource Schedule¶

Books by Month¶

Month 1: "Cracking the Coding Interview" (review)
Month 2: "Designing Data-Intensive Applications"
Month 3: "System Design Interview" (Alex Xu)
Month 4: "The Manager's Path" (leadership focus)
Month 5: "Building Microservices" (architecture)
Month 6: Review and reference only

Online Courses Timeline¶

Weeks 1-4: AWS Certified Solutions Architect prep
Weeks 5-8: Distributed Systems course (MIT/Stanford)
Weeks 9-12: System Design Interview course
Weeks 13-16: Leadership/Management course
Weeks 17-24: Practice and mock interviews only

🎯 Milestone Checkpoints¶

Month 2 Checkpoint¶

50 coding problems solved (80% success rate)
6 system designs (can complete in 45 minutes)
15 STAR stories (memorized)
5 AWS services (expert level)

Month 4 Checkpoint¶

100 coding problems (90% success rate)
18 system designs (production-ready)
25 STAR stories (polished)
10 AWS services (expert level)
3 successful mock interviews

Month 6 Target¶

🔄 Adaptation Strategies¶

If Behind Schedule¶

Prioritize: Focus on system design and leadership
Extend: Add 1 month if needed
Intensify: Increase to 20 hours/week
Get Help: Consider coaching/tutoring

If Ahead of Schedule¶

Deepen: Add more L7-specific content
Broaden: Include adjacent technologies
Mentor: Help others (teaching reinforces)
Innovate: Create novel solutions

If Struggling with Specific Area¶

Double Down: Allocate 50% more time
Get Support: Find specialized resources
Practice More: Increase repetitions
Simplify: Break into smaller chunks

📊 Progress Tracking¶

Weekly Metrics¶

Python
# Track these every Sunday
weekly_metrics = {
    "coding_problems": 0,      # Target: 6-8
    "system_designs": 0,        # Target: 1-2
    "mock_interviews": 0,       # Target: 0.5
    "study_hours": 0,          # Target: 15
    "confidence_level": 0,      # Scale: 1-10
}

Enhanced Weekly Tracker¶

Python
# Week X Progress
week_x = {
    "coding_problems": {
        "target": 10,
        "completed": 0,
        "success_rate": 0
    },
    "system_designs": {
        "target": 2,
        "completed": 0,
        "quality_score": 0
    },
    "behavioral_stories": {
        "target": 5,
        "completed": 0,
        "memorized": 0
    },
    "mock_interviews": {
        "target": 1,
        "completed": 0,
        "average_score": 0
    },
    "study_hours": {
        "target": 15,
        "actual": 0
    }
}

Monthly Review Template¶

Markdown
Month X Review:

Achievements:
- [ ] Met coding target
- [ ] Met design target
- [ ] Met behavioral target
- [ ] Completed mocks

Challenges:
- 
- 

Adjustments for Next Month:
- 
- 

Confidence Level: _/10

🎯 Success Metrics by Month¶

Expected Progress Curve¶

Month	Coding Success Rate	Design Completeness	LP Story Quality	Mock Score
1	40%	50%	⅖	2.5/5
2	55%	60%	⅗	⅗
3	70%	70%	3.5/5	3.5/5
4	80%	80%	⅘	⅘
5	85%	85%	4.5/5	4.⅗
6	90%	90%	4.7/5	4.5/5

💡 Time Management Tips¶

Efficient Study Techniques¶

Pomodoro for Coding: 25 min problem, 5 min break
System Design Batching: 2-hour deep sessions
Story Practice: During commute/walks
Mock Review: Video record and 2x playback

When Behind Schedule¶

Recovery Strategies: 1. Focus on high-impact areas (System Design for L7) 2. Reduce breadth, increase depth 3. Add 30 min daily for 2 weeks 4. Skip low-frequency patterns 5. Get professional coaching

When Ahead of Schedule¶

Enhancement Options: 1. Add specialty areas (ML/AI for 2025) 2. Extra mock interviews 3. Help others (teaching reinforces) 4. Build demonstration projects 5. Write technical blogs

⚠️ Common Timeline Mistakes¶

Starting Too Late: 3 months insufficient for L6/L7
Inconsistent Practice: Daily practice beats weekend marathons
Ignoring Weak Areas: These become interview killers
No Mock Interviews: Real practice essential
Burning Out: Plan rest days

🏃 Sprint Weeks¶

Coding Sprint (Month 3, Week 2)¶

Solve 30 problems in one week
Focus on medium difficulty
Time each problem strictly
Review patterns daily

Design Sprint (Month 4, Week 2)¶

Complete 1 design daily
Each from different domain
Present to study group
Incorporate feedback immediately

Interview Sprint (Month 5, Week 3)¶

Daily mock interviews
Different interviewer each day
Video record everything
Detailed feedback analysis

🎯 Final Month Schedule¶

Week 21: Peak Practice¶

2 problems daily
1 system design daily
1 behavioral daily
Review all materials

Week 22: Mock Loop¶

Monday: Full mock loop
Tuesday-Wednesday: Address feedback
Thursday: Mini mock loop
Friday: Final adjustments

Week 23: Polish¶

Review top designs
Practice problem variations
Refine STAR stories
Mental preparation

Week 24: Interview Week¶

Light practice only
Review notes
Rest and relaxation
Confidence building

💡 Success Tips¶

Proven Strategies

Consistency > Intensity: Daily practice beats weekend marathons
Active > Passive: Solve problems rather than watching solutions
Feedback Loop: Get external feedback weekly
Simulate Reality: Practice with time pressure and constraints
Health First: Maintain exercise, sleep, and nutrition

🎯 Final Month Checklist¶

30 Days Before¶

All stories written and polished
100+ coding problems solved
20+ system designs completed
5+ mock interviews done
Schedule cleared for final month

14 Days Before¶

7 Days Before¶

📋 Pre-Interview Checklist¶

1 Week Before¶

1 Day Before¶

Interview Day¶

You Can Do This!

Following this timeline, hundreds of candidates have successfully landed L6/L7 roles at Amazon. The best preparation combines consistent practice with strategic focus. Trust the process, stay consistent, track your progress, and remember: preparation breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success.

Next: Quick Reference Guide →

6-Month Amazon L6/L7 Interview Study Plan¶

📅 Complete Preparation Timeline¶

📚 Real Timeline Examples¶

🎯 Study Plan Overview¶

📊 Time Allocation by Role¶

Preparation Time Allocation¶

Detailed Time Breakdown¶

📆 Month-by-Month Breakdown¶

Month 1: Foundation Building¶

Week 1: Assessment & Setup¶

Day 1-2: Initial Assessment¶

Day 3-4: Baseline Testing¶

Day 5-7: Study Plan Creation¶

Week 2: Core Fundamentals¶

Daily Schedule Template¶

Week 2 Specific Goals¶

Week 3-4: Building Momentum¶

Coding Focus (Week 3)¶

System Design Focus (Week 4)¶

Month 2: Technical Deep Dive¶

Week 5-6: Advanced Algorithms¶

Coding Patterns Schedule¶

Week 7-8: AWS Services Mastery¶

Service Learning Schedule¶

Month 3: System Design Mastery¶

Week 9-10: Design Patterns¶

Daily Design Practice¶

Week 11-12: Scale Challenges¶

L6 vs L7 Design Problems¶

Month 4: Leadership & Behavioral¶

Week 13-14: Leadership Principles Deep Dive¶

Leadership Principles Story Development Schedule¶

Week 15-16: Integration Practice¶

Combined Practice Schedule¶

Month 5: Intensive Practice¶

Week 17-18: Problem Solving Sprint¶

Daily Sprint Schedule¶

Week 19-20: Mock Interview Marathon¶

Mock Interview Schedule¶

Month 6: Final Polish¶

Week 21-22: Targeted Refinement¶

Weakness Targeting¶

Week 23: Peak Week¶

Final Week Schedule¶

Week 24: Interview Week¶

Interview Day Preparation¶

📖 Weekly Study Schedule Template¶

Optimal Weekly Schedule (15 hours)¶

Daily Minimums¶

📚 Resource Schedule¶

Books by Month¶

Online Courses Timeline¶

🎯 Milestone Checkpoints¶

Month 2 Checkpoint¶

Month 4 Checkpoint¶

Month 6 Target¶

🔄 Adaptation Strategies¶

If Behind Schedule¶

If Ahead of Schedule¶

If Struggling with Specific Area¶

📊 Progress Tracking¶

Weekly Metrics¶

Enhanced Weekly Tracker¶

Monthly Review Template¶

🎯 Success Metrics by Month¶

Expected Progress Curve¶

💡 Time Management Tips¶

Efficient Study Techniques¶

When Behind Schedule¶

When Ahead of Schedule¶

⚠️ Common Timeline Mistakes¶

🏃 Sprint Weeks¶

Coding Sprint (Month 3, Week 2)¶

Design Sprint (Month 4, Week 2)¶

Interview Sprint (Month 5, Week 3)¶

🎯 Final Month Schedule¶

Week 21: Peak Practice¶

Week 22: Mock Loop¶

Week 23: Polish¶

Week 24: Interview Week¶