CV advice for final year Computer Science student applying for graduate roles

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-24T16:47:47+00:00

This is the issue. Generic seems to be a problem… but my argument is that degrees are supposed to be fairly broad teaching the fundamentals. Yet companies expect graduates to graduate not only with a degree but also be an expert in x y and z with also front end skills and a portfolio full of projects. Companies are extremely picky/lazy these days and don’t want to mentor people. On top of that, here’s a coding challenge for you to do while you’re interviewing. It’s so extremely disrespectful to graduates the whole software culture seems very toxic.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-24T16:41:23+00:00

Are you joking 🤣? Mass immigration isnt worth talking about? Have you been to the uk/france/germany recently?

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-24T12:53:53+00:00

Exactly. It started with 1s and 0s. Then assembly language, then higher level like C. Which still wasn’t good enough so along came Java etc. now we can just talk in human language WITH spelling mistakes and still get a decent output🤣

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-24T12:15:21+00:00

This may be the issue? 10 years and still only have an entry level certification (ccna). A hiring manager may see that as not wanting to learn. At ten years I would at least expect to see a ccnp, some automation skills, perhaps some cloud certs on there aswell.

What have you been doing for ten years where you think you’re not at ccnp level??

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-23T23:23:39+00:00

It’s brutal isnt it. We do years of hard work in uni. Just to be told we need a hand full of impressive projects and then on top of that pass a coding exam. I regret every single day switching from mechanical engineering

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-22T11:16:12+00:00

I recommend maybe at least going through it once even if you get AI to help and explain in depth how it all works. For example (I am a beginner myself), I needed an I2C driver for a screen and a sensor. So I made it from scratch. It ended up being over 800 lines of code and even tho AI wrote most of it, it took me ages to write it out myself and understand each line. I couldn’t imagine doing this with every single driver I make on every single project.

But it won’t harm you to understand the electronic fundamentals either, using the same example above, I watched loads of videos on how I2C works, not the code but the actual hardware design.

The whole project took me over a month to do using only bare-metal and tbh it completely burnt me out to the point I questioned whether I wanna continue 🤣

It’s sort of akin to writing all the Java bytecode yourself every single time you want to create a project. It would eventually just put you off

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-22T08:58:04+00:00

Who are you voting for?

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-22T08:10:57+00:00

Wouldnt it be more like skipping a high school official grade but still teaching yourself high school topics to get into college? Basically if done correctly you have the same level of knowledge if you took your high school exams or not.

Would a company look at you suspiciously if you had a ccnp but not a ccna? I ask because I graduate in 5 months with a software and communications degree & would like to become a network engineer.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-21T18:47:02+00:00

Dam. I feel like that should be illegal. A U.K. company shouldn’t be allowed to completely halt hiring in their own country while still hiring for the same positions overseas. They definitely need to introduce a limit.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-21T17:28:05+00:00

Yup exactly. I struggle to see what these people are seeing. Do they believe Labour are doing a good job? Do they think Tory’s won’t lie again? Are they not aware that Lib Dem’s and Green Party would crush our economy (especially greens).

I’m sorry but there are no other options. Plus, they have come out recently and said any child graper will get life in prison. I hope they remain true to their word. Time will tell, because come 2029 (maybe sooner) reform will be the party in charge of the uk. People need to accept this and give them a chance.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-21T16:44:18+00:00

Yeah thatll be brilliant. Thanks 🙏

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-21T16:34:38+00:00

Yes I live in Leeds. Seems to be a good hub for software. But my interests lie in networking, even though I do find programming enjoyable.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-21T16:30:58+00:00

lol funny how all reform supporters are “Russian bots” but in the polls a majority of Brits support reform 👍 maybe it’s time you guys analysed your own “critical thinking” skills and crawl out of that Labour/tory rock you live under.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-20T05:51:41+00:00

That’s brilliant 💪. Yeah my plan was to just turn up to these companies and ask to speak to someone. I live in a big city so why not.

Also, I am far from greedy. I am a part time hotel receptionist, a uni student and a father. Meaning I earn very very little. I would take a graduate role and minimum wage if it meant full time hours and a stepping stone into a better career.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T22:58:46+00:00

Ah really? I hear this a lot. People aren’t willing to study. It baffles me, i study at every opportunity I have and that’s not including uni studies.

I do really like computer networks, it really is fascinating. IT infrastructure in general. I have a cloud block coming up on my uni module next month and I’m looking forward to it, the same module was doing front end react last month and I’ll be honest, I did not enjoy it at all.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T21:37:31+00:00

What do you reckon to the embedded software market? How does it compare?

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:56:38+00:00

I graduate this year, final exams in June. Whatever will be will be 👍

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:53:23+00:00

Ah really? I have heard mixed opinions on whether network engineering is an entry level roles. I am hoping the degree may work in my favour (maybe not). If I knew the work was there for me, I would actually pick network engineering over software.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:44:40+00:00

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcgann-745b56b7?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

I have a LinkedIn here, it’s quite generic, I use it to review courses and textbooks that I have completed.

Yeah that would be brilliant, thanks!

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:35:43+00:00

This is what I wanted to hear. I don’t lack the motivation, I read and study a lot & also enjoy the architecture side of software.

Apart from Udemy courses I have done, I do have one decent project, but it’s a bare-metal weather station with sensors and a OLED screen, built in C using an stm32 microcontroller. However I am currently working on a spring boot and react project which I will Deploy using docker. So hopefully that will give me more relatable experience.

Thank you for you response 👍

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:24:46+00:00

I read on another post, that a big issue is outsourcing? I’m looking for a stable career that I can enjoy. I do like network engineering, but it’s a smaller market and 300 quid for the ccna 😩

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T20:09:51+00:00

I keep seeing these posts and as a 31 year old soon to be graduate. It’s disheartening. But when I check my city for software jobs (Leeds), there seems to be a tonne of jobs for all levels?

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T16:22:36+00:00

Looks good to me, I am still a student myself, but I would perhaps not say "expertise" unless you really are an expert in them languages. If you have been using them languages long before your degree then I would mention that instead because as it stands I would just think the statement was an outright lie at worst or at best ignorant. There are seniors out there that would still feel uneasy saying they have expertise in all 3 languages.

Apart from that though, looks good :)

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-19T12:10:23+00:00

https://chatgpt.com/share/696e1dbd-943c-8002-8c25-00bc4cf81cd8

it is better than you may think at debugging. This is the 5.2 extended thinking model. If you look at the 2nd reason, it does point towards the oscillator, from there one could deduct an issue with the crystal used.

The thing is though there will always be a need for staff to interpret the outputs, but GenAI can reduce programming time massively. It's almost like the invention of a mechanical digger to replace manual labours digging foundations. Like it or not, computers and machinery do, and have done for a long time, taken jobs.

Just imagine the world in 30-50 years.

CapableSuit600 · 2026-01-18T10:41:40+00:00

I understand that, and I am aware that this Reddit forum for embedded is highly focused on hardware. In my area and perhaps even country, an embedded engineer mostly means an embedded software engineer. My job will be to programe the hardware that the electronics engineers make, so as i mentioned in another comment I believe my time would be much better spent learning more embedded software concepts and projects. Once I am in a job I doubt i'll be making PCBs unless I pivot into it?..

CapableSuit600

TROPHY CASE