My Journey as a Computer Science Engineer
By: Vaidhyanathan S M
Tags: Careers, Computer Science, Engineering

In this article, I am going to share my journey as a Computer Science Engineer. The aim of this article is to give an idea to you about how the life of a typical Computer Science and Engineering student would be and how can we take actions so as to make the journey more interesting and productive towards achieving our goals.

My First Computer 💻

I didn’t know much about computers until I got one when I was in 10th grade. It was in the year 2014. I used it for general purposes such as browsing, preparing PPTs, etc. Not having a proper foundation in Computer Science was a reason for my struggle 😔 during the initial days of my 11th and 12th grade. (I will talk in detail about why I took CS Stream in my 11th grade below).

Courtesy: Tenor

The Inevitable Dilemma

I completed my 10th grade with a pretty good CGPA and the next big thing was to decide the stream that I need to opt for in 11th grade. It was really a tough situation. I was sure that I would opt for the science stream because science was my favorite subject. I was in a dilemma to choose between PCM with Computer Science or PCM with Biology. I think everyone would definitely be able to relate to the cause of this situation. Yes! The cause was relatives. Initially, I had set up my mind to go for Biology. My aim was to become a doctor. My parents were really supportive. But, my parents received various comments from my relatives about the cost that they would need to incur if I pursued medicine. At last, after a lot of discussions, I decided to go for Computer Science.

The taste of school-level Computer Science 👨‍💻

The initial days of the 11th grade were really tough for me. I struggled a bit in understanding the fundamentals. Fortunately, the CS teacher was really supportive and made sure that students understand and study and don’t just mug up things. The first programming language that we learned was C++. I started loving the language in a few months. I started creating some small projects to get a better understanding and also began to explore various things apart from what was being taught in the class. I was successfully able to submit my final project for 12th grade, in which I created a Payroll Management System. Also, I wasn’t aware of IIT-JEE until I entered the mid-semester of my 11th grade. It was too late for me to join for coaching. But, my mom insisted to join a crash course for a period of one month in an institute in Chennai. I gave the JEE (Mains) exam. After the results were announced, I realized that if I had put even more effort and had joined for coaching during the start of 11th grade itself, I would have definitely qualified. I scored well in a sense that would justify the time and energy spent on the coaching. But was still low to get qualified for advanced, as there is something called the “Caste Reservation System” still prevalent in the society.

Yet another critical situation

I passed my 12th grade with a good percentage and secured 4th rank across all the streams in my school. It was a celebrating moment for us 🥳. Also, it was a critical moment for us to decide which college should I be admitted to. My cut-off was fairly good. I was determined to take up Computer Science as my field of study. We applied for Anna University counseling and after the process, I got an offer to join a reputed college in Chennai.

Courtesy: Reddit

College Diaries 📘

I entered my first year of college in the month of August 2017. It was a very different experience and after a few days, I got adjusted to the environment. We were taught Python during our first semester. I fell in love with Python and the faculty assigned to our class was simply great! I used to clarify all my doubts and became proficient with Python (Intermediate). Whenever I had some doubts, I also used YouTube which proved to be an excellent resource. I also started exploring many other technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Quantum Computing. I created accounts on LinkedIn and GitHub and was active on those platforms. Computer Science had had so much impact on me that I started exploring various different fields and also started making side-projects by then. These side-projects helped me immensely during placements as they posed as a plus factor. I also started to practice on platforms such as HackerRank and it really helped me to have consistent touch in programming. I will share all the resources which were really helpful in improving my knowledge and specifically prepare for my interviews at the end of this article 👇.

So, moving on, 1st year went well and I had the satisfaction that I didn’t waste much time and used the time productively. I eventually started developing an interest in the field of Android Application Development after attending an Android Workshop conducted in college. I started learning in-depth about android using various online resources and published my very first android app onto the Google Play Store. I also got various internship opportunities which helped me to gain industrial exposure and work in a real-world software development environment. After spending almost a year in Competitive Programming, I started focusing more on Development, which at a later stage had serious consequences during my interview preparation.

Read this article in which I have explained in detail the trade-off between these two (Projects Vs Competitive Programming).

Three years went by, I entered into my fourth year (currently in my 7th semester). Placement season began and I was in a state of full anxiety about what is gonna happen. My parents were in full hope that I would get placed early and would be on the list of first placed students. But, that didn’t happen. I struggled a lot and got rejected by many companies. Then I started putting a lot of effort and took a leave from social media as it was a major source of distraction. I managed to grab 3 offers from reputed organizations. It was indeed a great experience. Now you might think, “why did this guy end his story of placement journey so shortly ?“ Wait. Probably I think that would be covered in another article in detail! 😉

Mistakes and Learnings

I highlighted some of the mistakes that I did during this journey. Of course, I learned a lot from those mistakes and tried to improve myself to a large extent. I want to share some tips and some mistakes that you must avoid.

Start early, you will enjoy the journey. You will get a chance to make mistakes early so that you can improve yourself in a better manner. Make friends only with those people that don’t affect your productivity. Don’t be around those people who spread hatred and negativity. There is only one formula that you need to keep in your mind.

If you grind yourself today (work hard towards your goal), you will be happy tomorrow. But if you refuse to work hard and yearn for transient happiness, you will suffer for your lifetime.

My mom’s friend used to say this. It had a great impact on me. These are strong words. This is the ultimate truth of life and the way in which we can perceive what is success in life. 💯

4. Be good. Do good. But don’t be too good. Because, if you are too good, people will treat you as a doormat.

Some of the aforementioned points might seem silly. But they will have such a powerful impact on your life.

Some other important tips:

Maintain a great LinkedIn and GitHub profile Try to keep a balance between Competitive Programming and Project Development. Be consistent. Consistency is the only key to master Data Structures and Algorithms. Start investing some time in contributing to Open Source projects on GitHub.

Learning Resources that I used

HackerRank (Recommended for Beginners) LeetCode (Interview Preparation) GeeksforGeeks (Interview Preparation) Sololearn (To learn a new programming language / Technology) List of YouTube channels (No promotion):

5.1 edureka!

5.2 Telusko

5.3 freeCodeCamp.org

5.4 Tech With Tim

5.5 Computerphile

5.6 Gaurav Sen

5.7 Rachit Jain

As you can see I suffered a bit due to a lack of guidance and support. There were only a few seniors who guided me on this journey. So, please network with a lot of people especially on LinkedIn. So, this was all about my journey as a Computer Science Engineer. I hope you liked it! Dedicated to all the freshers, sophomores, and Juniors. With ❤️ from your Senior!

If you have any queries please post in the comment section below. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Also, if you want to look at my amazing collection of apps developed, don’t forget to check Google Play Store.

Know more about me here.

With that being said, thanks for reading my article, and Happy Coding!