Things I wish I knew as a computer science freshman.
A couple of things I wish I knew during my freshman year in light of finding academic and career success. I hope someone is able to find one or two takeaways from my experiences and shortcomings.
Coming in as a freshman, I was overwhelmed with opportunities from student run clubs, hackathons, undergrad tutoring, and many other sightings that felt like, “this is it, I made it!” Sure, many of these clubs have given me opportunities I could have never even dreamed of and I will be eternally grateful, but it is extremely saddening to see hundreds of posts on my college Facebook page about how many current students and alumni are unemployed for years after graduating (in computer science).
Leetcode & Algorithms
I wish someone had told me to study data structures, algorithms, and practice these concepts on sites like Leetcode from day one of my college career. Populating your personal GitHub with projects or going to a hackathon is always fun and useful when you learn something new, but there comes a point when you have to be employable in industry. Now that’s not to say that you shouldn’t work on side projects — you most definitely should. They serve as excellent end-to-end software development experiences, something you won’t get from academics alone. But rather, there comes a point when the cost-benefit hits rock bottom. I used to develop these complex systems, spending many months on UI/UX and scalability, thinking that somehow, “this is the project that will get me a job at Facebook.” Maybe. But when a recruiter has around thirty seconds to look through the entirety of your GitHub, it’s not worth your time. Keep it short and sweet.
Yes, there are the lucky few who strike up that instant connection and miraculously skip the interview process, but this is far and few in-between. And as harsh as it is, many of these companies are transitioning to a process where a brainteaser is the norm. Doesn’t matter if these problems have anything to do with the work you do on the job, the reality is that ninety-five percent of all tech companies are adopting this practice. You have to beat the game first before you can try to modify it.
I really do believe that it comes down to paying attention in data structures & algorithms classes and then practicing what you learned on sites like Leetcode or HackerRank. And for the people who didn’t get much out of said classes, don’t give up! This isn’t something that can’t be learned on your own. I’m serious — I went into interview season not knowing how to reverse a linked list. And now I’m coming out of a FAANG internship thinking about where to go next.
I wish someone had told me to apply to jobs my freshman year. I didn’t even know what an internship was until early March, when I was almost done with my first year at university. When people ask, “when the best time to apply for a job or internship is,” the answer is almost always yesterday, or the next best thing: right now. Every single day you delay is another day where spots are filling up. I tried applying to Google in October of this year and to my surprise, the application for new-grads was already closed. The industry is oversaturated, and will continue to be so as more and more prospective students declare computer science as their major. You have to fight to stand out, and play the game until you are powerful enough to change it for next generation.
Do literally everything in your power to land your foot in the door. I remember meeting people who were ashamed of using a referral from a previous intern or asking someone they barely knew. Just do it! The worst thing that can happen is that person will say no. But on the off-chance they do say yes, you’ve just jumped ship. Low risk, high reward. We are all struggling together. Whether it is something as simple as sharing a referral code or performing a mock interview, I really appreciate students who take the initiative to help those around them.
Don’t get comfortable
Never, ever, get comfortable with where you are at. The moment you aren’t working, learning, or moving forward — someone else is. Now, I don’t mean that you should be working sixteen hours a day on homework or studying for exams. I think there are a lot of areas to self improvement, whether it is doing some soul searching or going to the gym, just keep pressing on. In computer science, it is really easy to get comfortable, especially when you have that $45/hr intern salary coming in — as a college student. Don’t let that be you.
I remember my junior year, I gave up an easy opportunity with Amazon because I got comfortable after receiving an offer from a smaller company. Don’t be afraid to hunt around for a better opportunity. Know that a corporation isn’t going to hold your hand, you are solely responsible for your career. (In hindsight, things worked out pretty well the way they happened but I always wonder where I could’ve been if my skills were sharper)
Take every opportunity you can until you are truly in a position where you get to pick and choose. A Summer is only three months. You can do literally anything for three months. My first programming job, I was making less than minimum wage working forty hours a week. Fast forward to Summer my freshman year and I was on a four hour commute. I remember questioning whether or not I’d be able to take the opportunity because of how much traveling I’d have to do, but boy am I glad to have that job on my résumé now. Don’t skip out on the easy or boring stuff, just do it because you can. Trust me, there is someone else out there wishing they were in your shoes.
