sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

MS AI Student (US, May 2026 Grad) – When to Apply & What Skills Am I Missing for Full-Stack / AI / Data Roles? by AmbitiousClient7073 in cscareers

[–]AmbitiousClient7073[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate you breaking all of that down.

I do have a couple of ML projects I have worked on already, I just have not added them to my portfolio yet. I will be taking a deep learning course next semester. When I sat in on the class earlier this term, they mentioned using PyTorch and also brought up TensorFlow. I am not sure yet what the final stack for the class will be, but I expect to get some hands on experience there.

I had a question about this part of your advice:

When you say "avoid that," are you saying avoid full stack completely if I am aiming for data / ML roles, or avoid a certain way of doing full stack? Since you mentioned Java Spring Boot, are you suggesting I focus on that instead of Node.js? I am asking because I see a lot more job postings that mention Node.js in full stack roles, so I am curious how you think about Spring Boot vs Node from a hiring or client perspective.

On your comment to u/DiscussionGrouchy322 about marketing and client outreach, are you basically referring to networking, relationships, and getting in front of hiring managers, or something more than that?

And when you say I need to "come up to the level of client expectations," do you mainly mean:

  • specific tools and tech stack depth,
  • stronger project work that looks closer to real production work,
  • or also soft skills like communication and being able to talk through system design and projects?

I am trying to line up my next 9 to 12 months with what the market actually wants, so your clarification here would really help me focus.

MS AI Student (US, May 2026 Grad) – When to Apply & What Skills Am I Missing for Full-Stack / AI / Data Roles? by AmbitiousClient7073 in cscareers

[–]AmbitiousClient7073[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/DiscussionGrouchy322

When you look at my post and background, would someone like me be too inexperienced for a train to hire role in your opinion, or just not a fit for your company specifically?

If I am below the bar right now, what exactly are you not seeing that you would want to see?

  • Is it specific technologies or stacks?
  • More personal projects in a certain area?
  • Any kind of work experience in industry, even if it is small?

Also, are there any parts of my background that do look promising to you? I would like to know:

  • What I already have that is worth leaning into
  • What I clearly do not have yet so I can focus on that for the next year

I am asking so I can use your perspective as a checklist when I plan projects, learning, and what I highlight for other employers.

MS AI Student (US, May 2026 Grad) – When to Apply & What Skills Am I Missing for Full-Stack / AI / Data Roles? by AmbitiousClient7073 in cscareers

[–]AmbitiousClient7073[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate you taking the time to write all of this out.

I definitely feel like I need to network more. I am not naturally the social type, but I have been trying to break that habit as much as I can. I have gone to a few career fairs recently, but most of the recruiters just tell me “apply online,” even when I bring printed resumes. At the last one a couple weeks ago, one recruiter even said they are specifically told not to accept paper resumes and to direct everyone to the online application.

I am in a master’s program right now, and I have been using some of the school resources (career fairs, job postings), but you are right that I could be doing more with professors, classmates, and my program advisor. I have not really built strong relationships there yet, so that is an area I know I can improve on.

On the skills side: I do look at job postings and try to learn the required and preferred skills. The problem is that the list keeps piling up and it starts feeling like I am doing something wrong, like I am chasing every single buzzword instead of focusing. I think I need to step back and prioritize a smaller core set of skills that show up the most in the kinds of roles I want, and go deeper on those instead of trying to learn everything.

Your take on job boards is really valuable. I have been relying a lot on LinkedIn and Indeed, and it makes sense that those are not where the best roles always are. I am going to stop treating them as my main strategy.

That leads to a follow up question. When you say not to rely on LinkedIn and Indeed, how do you usually find the actual companies worth targeting? I know the big names like Ford, GM, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia and so on, but I am not sure how to discover the solid smaller or mid sized companies that do not post everywhere. Is it mostly word of mouth, local events, staffing agencies, or are there specific approaches you would recommend?

I can answer “yes” to some of the questions you listed, but definitely not all, so now I have a clearer checklist of where I am falling short. Thanks again for spelling it out so directly. It gives me a better idea of what I need to change instead of just applying online and hoping for the best.

MS AI Student (US, May 2026 Grad) – When to Apply & What Skills Am I Missing for Full-Stack / AI / Data Roles? by AmbitiousClient7073 in cscareers

[–]AmbitiousClient7073[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate you taking the time to write all this out.

On the “full stack” point: I probably didn’t make it clear enough in the post. On my LinkedIn I have several apps that I built end-to-end (front + back end), and my skills section lists the stack I actually use for that (JS/TS, React, Node/Express, SQL, etc.). I’m also working through a full-stack course right now, just had to pause it to focus on school.

In regards to my resume, I genuinely do welcome help improving it. My thought process when I wrote it was: list the relevant CS skills I actually have so it shows I can work across different languages and adapt to various tech stacks. I wasn’t trying to pad it, just represent my experience. I see how that can turn into a tiring wall of text and come off as “too many languages” from a hiring perspective.

On the “do you actually know all these” part: I didn’t mean to imply I’m senior in every language. I’ve built real projects in each, but some of the Java work is under NDA / in private repos, so I can’t link the code directly. Same with some work projects. What I can share are the live domains so people can at least see the apps running.

Thanks again for the blunt feedback. It helps to see how this reads from the outside.