Are you in your freshman or junior years of college or maybe in your final year, this simple yet elegant blog is for you I have tried to put my thought process in this from my Engineering days.
-The early beginnings
Back then I did not know about the college tiers in India my only goal was to get a government seat in a good college(where companies visits the campus for placements). When I got into college I wanted to Know about the college placements in our college so I asked my seniors and the replies I got from them just demotivated me. Because I think the online/intenet awareness was not that good at that point of time (forget about competitive coding and participation coding contests, hackathons or participating in ICPC contests)nobody ever utter a single word about how to practice data structures and algorithms which are essential to crack product based company interviews. Most of us convinced themselves that they will do what the college professors tell us to do and try to get placed in any of the companies that are going to visit our college.
-Stop looking for the best to start with(language,tutorial,projects,books,time)
I got access to internet and mobile phone after my pre university, as a curious human being started googling about the best language to start with or the best thing to do while I'm in college Since I did not know a thing about internet and web. I wish I knew there no such thing as best tutorial, best book or best course etc. So if you're in this phase stop searching for the best thing and start executing what you already know.
-Start as early as possible
Subjects like C programming, Discrete Mathematics, Object Oriented Programming, Data structures and algorithms, Database Management Systems, Computer Networks and Operating systems helps you undrstand the computers and the web works which makes you good software developer. So it is always advicable to make your foundation strong by starting early and practicing more often.
-Start leveraging Internet
In today's time you can learn from anything to everything on internet that too for free. If you know what you are really intersted in start googling for it and learn on the go. And it is also very easy to get distracted on internet, self discipline is the key to overcome this and just be aware.
-Practice daily jurnaling as it wil really helps you in many ways
Daily journaling helps to be more accountable and to start taking actions in right direction of your goal. By daily journaling you dont need to remember everything which inturn cluter your brain. Daily journaling helps you to become better writer, orrator and express your thought process to clearly.
Conclusion
- Start as early as possible do not wait for the perfect time or perfect resource that don't exist.
- Start leveraging internet and learn as much as possible.
- Practice daily journaling for self accounatblity
- Participate in Coding contests, hackathons.
- Give your health the atmost priority.
- Start contributing to Open Source Projects which inturn helps you long run. All the best!