Stories about taking time off/quitting to practice for interviews?

I probably wouldn't quit entirely right now given the economy. You mentioned Leetcode so I'm going to give options for DS&A focused top tier companies. But if that's not your goal, ignore all this! If you want to go the unpaid/cheap route, I would look and practice the Blind 75 after hours. When you are feeling good, do a mock at Interviewing.io and see how you do and then re-evaluate your options. If you want to go a paid route, I know this is going to seem like a giant ad, but I'm also the co-founder of [Formation.dev](https://Formation.dev) and you should seriously look into it if you are aiming for FAANG-level companies in Canada (we support Canadians). You can prepare part time and not waste time. Don't want to say much because it will come across scammy but check it out and do your own research, and it's not cheap but it works. Other paid programs you can look at are [Outco.io](https://Outco.io), and Interview Kickstart to help prepare and get whipped into shape. All of these are expensive and roughly in the same price ranges (Formation is on the more expensive side).