Cisco vs Qualcomm Interview Questions
Cisco lists 87 LeetCode interview questions while Qualcomm lists 62. They share 22 problems — 25% of Cisco's bank and 35% of Qualcomm's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 65 Cisco-only and 40 Qualcomm-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 22 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Cisco and Qualcomm.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Cisco-specific problems like Longest Palindromic Substring, House Robber, Predict the Winner and Qualcomm-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Cisco skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
22 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Cisco and Qualcomm.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Linked List Cycle | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Move Zeroes | Easy |
| Reverse Linked List | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Remove Duplicates from Sorted Array | Easy |
| Single Number | Easy |
| Merge k Sorted Lists | Hard |
| Unique Paths | Medium |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Number of 1 Bits | Easy |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Edit Distance | Medium |
| Permutations | Medium |
Unique to Cisco (65)
Problems in Cisco's list that do not appear at Qualcomm.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| House Robber | Medium |
| Predict the Winner | Medium |
| Lucky Numbers in a Matrix | Easy |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| Snakes and Ladders | Medium |
| Number of Valid Words in a Sentence | Easy |
| Maximum Difference Between Increasing Elements | Easy |
| Find Third Transaction | Medium |
| Implement Router | Medium |
| Word Search II | Hard |
Unique to Qualcomm (40)
Problems in Qualcomm's list that do not appear at Cisco.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| String Compression III | Medium |
| Maximum Number of Ones | Hard |
| Reverse Nodes in k-Group | Hard |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Remove Nth Node From End of List | Medium |
| Reverse Bits | Easy |
| Power of Two | Easy |
| Rectangle Overlap | Easy |
| Reverse String | Easy |
| Middle of the Linked List | Easy |
| Pow(x, n) | Medium |
| Design Circular Queue | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Cisco and Qualcomm share?
Cisco and Qualcomm share 22 LeetCode interview questions. 65 problems appear only in Cisco's list and 40 appear only in Qualcomm's list.
What topics overlap most between Cisco and Qualcomm?
The most common shared topics between Cisco and Qualcomm are Array (12 shared questions), Two Pointers (6 shared questions), Hash Table (5 shared questions), Linked List (4 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (4 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Cisco or Qualcomm?
Cisco has 24 Easy, 50 Medium, and 13 Hard questions. Qualcomm has 28 Easy, 25 Medium, and 9 Hard questions. Cisco has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Cisco and Qualcomm?
Start with the 22 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Cisco-specific and 20 Qualcomm-specific questions to round out your prep.