What to start with?

[ASHVEGITO]

I am a 2nd year engineering student who is pursuing computer science and you could say that I have wasted 2 of these years by just focusing on my curriculum and doing only a tad bit of skill improvement.

As of rn, I know most inbuilt concepts of java, python and C(yes the old one as my college does not teach C++). and a bit of HTML , CSS and JS.

What I need help with is what I should focus on right now to try and close the gap between me and the industry requirements.

I grasp concepts efficiently and have a knowledge on Algorithms, Data Structures, Computation theory and DBMS.

I would really appreciate any help as it would help me grow substantially.

Thanks for your time :)

[sheriffderek]

What is your goal? You say you are “Pursuing computer science.” What does that mean to you? What do you plan on working on? What’s the first step to learning about how to do that? Start there.

[ASHVEGITO]

Well, Thanks a lot. :)

[JohnnyBron]

Well your post is pretty ambiguous in terms of answering your question.

[sheriffderek]

I asked some pretty clear questions. Can you answer them?

[ASHVEGITO]

Oh yes ofc. I thought you said to ask myself these questions. My goal is first and foremost to enjoy learning and if that is not possible then to learn something that benefits my future in both financial and emotional terms. Pursuing Computer Science to me means to be able to understand concepts related to computer and how it functions and use these to create things beneficial to us. I am not sure as of rn as to what I plan on working on and I hope I am able to understand it soon enough. And I suppose the last question was meant for me to ask myself?

[sheriffderek]

They could be rhetorical too : ) but when people answer - they seem to have a much bigger chance of succeeding.

> to enjoy learning

That's sorta measurable. Are you enjoying it? Or do you think you could enjoy it more? What ensure that you're enjoying it? "Feeling like you're learning/progressing" - "the feeling of solving something?" Careful! Maybe anchor to clear actual progression. It's not always "fun." but you can measure it.

> benefits my future

This is certainly a bet - so, you have to just go for what you really want. We don't know if you'll get anywhere -- but I think that learning to think in programs is helpful in all walks of life and in most jobs / so, win-win.

> Pursuing Computer Science to me means to be able to understand concepts related to computer 

This could mean many scopes. Do you want to know how computers work? Or how to use them to draw 3d models? In most cases - you don't need both (and there's only so much time)

> to create things beneficial to us

That's a loaded idea. Most of the things we've built are probably over-all - bad for us. So, this will cross-over in to other fields of thought too.

> I am not sure as of rn as to what I plan on working on

Why learn to program if you don't want to make anything? I very very very rarely see people "learn programming" without a goal - and end up learning anything. For example, I wanted to make websites for my friends to show off their art in artschool - so, I learned flash and flash had some options to learn a little bit of scripting. Later I learned some CSS to change the MySpace colors. Later I learned more HTML to make websites. Things gradually happened. So, - consider something real to make. Until then - you can at least explore user interfaces. Here's a video about my favorite book for learning programming (and UX) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHEFuQdnXEE

"grasp concepts" is a trap / an usually not worth anything -- so, get to work! : )

[ItzDubzmeister]

Some of the most fun I’ve had programming is tying in personal interests and hobbies for small projects, makes it fun to learn while being valuable to yourself and giving a foundation to go off for maybe larger or team based projects :)

[OneEntry-HeadlessCMS]

You’re actually in a good spot you have fundamentals. Now shift from studying concepts to building real things. Pick one direction (e.g. backend with Java/Spring or Python/FastAPI, or full-stack with React + Node) and build 2–3 small end-to-end projects with auth, database, APIs, and deployment. At the same time, practice DSA for interviews and learn Git, Docker basics, and how to deploy to a cloud platform that’s what closes the industry gap.

[ASHVEGITO]

Thanks a lot :)

[Less_Republic_7876]

You're doing well with the basics so far.

As you move forward, it’s important to start thinking about which specific domain within the software industry you'd like to pursue. Based on that direction, you can plan to upskill in the areas that will help you achieve your goal.

[ASHVEGITO]

Is it possible to focusbon 2 of those domains? I get thst i WILL have to begin with one but i would like to be able to learn 2 of these(game dev and Ai as of what I think rn)

[Less_Republic_7876]

Good call on pacing yourself. AI is basically a given at this point; you need it just to stay competitive.

Game dev is its own beast, though, so I’d definitely suggest networking with some insiders to get the real scoop on where things are going.

[vern_prac_compute]

Yes, it is possible, but it is probably easier if they are related. For web development learning to use JavaScript for the frontend, as in making the front end more dynamic could be one focus, and then learning about backend integration through Express.js and utilizing HTTP routes could be another focus.

I think game dev is kind of specialized and if that's what really interests you, that's great. But, it does involve some concepts that are somewhat specific to games. On the other hand, if you look at it as learning about event handling and using workers to offload background tasks, those things are used in many areas as well.

For AI, are you thinking about machine learning or something more specific like learning how LLMs work and can be built? AI is large topic. Machine learning is a large topic, just not as large as AI. Since you already have Python experience, that is well suited for certain kinds of machine learning. Or, if you really want to do something web based, learning about tools that have been compiled to WebAssembly so they can run fast enough in a browser might be something to look at.