A complete roadmap for the first year of engineering
The first year of engineering can be quite overwhelming. It brings a bag full of new experiences along with tons of questions and confusion. Exposure to new technologies and buzz words is sometimes petrifying, primarily when you have never heard of them. Most of the students are clueless at the start of their journey. Seeking guidance from seniors is always useful and helps in making new connections. But…
I remember when I was in the first year of my engineering, I used to reach out to my seniors on Instagram and spam their inboxes with myriads of doubts. Some of my significant perplexities were, “should I focus on academics or should I start learning something apart from the curriculum”, “which programming language should I learn”, and “how should I start with Competitive Programming(CP)”. Initially, I had no idea what CP was, but later I learned about some websites to begin CP. These websites used to confuse me a lot. At first, I struggled and spent a few months gathering information and seeking guidance from multiple sources, which created a mess, and it took me a few months to regulate my plan of action.
The first year is labelled as the year of exploration, and indeed it is, but the prominent doubt is and will always be, what, from where, and how much to explore. Every teacher and every senior has different answers to these questions. Having so many sign boards on a single road can be confusing and lead to undesired destinations. Similarly, seeking guidance from multiple sources can sometimes leave you bewildered and lost. Below are a few points that may simplify your path and take you forward clear-headed.
Here is the complete guide for your first year of engineering.
1. Know the basics of emerging technologies
(a) Explore emerging technologies and future trends such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, AR/VR, 3D Printing & Drones. Study their fundamentals, applications, and use cases.
(b) Read blogs related to these trends and technologies to develop interest. At least know the basics of each of these.
(c) If you find any of the above-mentioned technologies interesting, you can pursue them further in your second year. Keep it simple for the first year.
(d) Maintain your interest by staying updated about trending technologies through the internet and participating in quizzes and competitions. This will also enable you to learn more about the same and retain interest.
2. Learn a programming language
(a) Choose a language that supports object-oriented programming, such as C++ or Java. This will help you learn a programming language’s syntax along with the concepts of OOPs. Object-oriented programming is essential when it comes to interviews and concept building.
(b) Understand the usage and working of pointers, functions, classes, and inheritance. This will help you in your academics as well as in competitive programming.
(c) You can also start with Python. It is used in various fields of computer science along with machine learning and data science applications. It supports OOPs, and you can easily build a few mini-projects to gain some experience.
3. Kick-off with competitive programming
(a) After learning the fundamentals of a programming language, you can start practicing it through competitive programming.
(b) CP helps develop problem-solving skills, which are a must for a programmer.
(c) Begin by solving simple to medium-level problems daily on coding platforms such as HackerRank, CodeChef, CodeForces, etc.
(d) You can learn new concepts through video solutions or blogs. Initially, it can look confusing, but don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Step into the ground and kick-off.
4. Choose your path
There are two major domains to choose from, namely, designing and development. It will be beneficial for you to choose your domain and start working on it by the end of the first year so that you can work on considerable projects in your second year.
(a) Designing
Designing covers the areas such as user interface(UI) and user experience(UX). It is the overall planning of how the application is going to look, feel and function. If you are creative and have an innovative imagination then you can definitely excel in this domain. You can start exploring UI/UX through websites such as Material.io, dribbble and Behance.
(b) Development
Development involves the actual coding and building of the website or the application. You can choose between web development and app development. Once you are clear with the basics of a programming language, you can begin learning development frameworks based on these programming languages, for example, Spring is a framework of Java and Django is a framework of Python. Later you can start building projects for your resume.
Reading blogs and the art of googling is the foundation of an efficient developer.
5. Pay attention to your grades
(a) The first year is the most scoring year of engineering as the curriculum is comparatively less challenging, thereby providing more chances to score well.
(b) Give your externals and internals very seriously, as scoring well in these exams will improve your overall GPA and benefit you further in your internals.
(c) You need to maintain a balance between your grades and your skills. Make sure you are eligible to apply to most of the companies for placements by maintaining at least a 75% overall percentage.
6. Attend seminars and workshops
(a) A workshop may introduce a new idea and inspire you to further explore it on your own. It is an opportunity to build relationships with like-minded people.
(b) You get exposed to many new technical terms during a workshop, which paves the way for you to learn and explore more.
(c) Jot down all the new terms you come across during a seminar and google them later. Also, develop a habit of reading blogs. This will widen the scope of your knowledge, and you will always have something new to explore until you find your area of interest.
7. Participate in every hackathon
(a) Try to participate in as many competitions as you can.
(b) Hackathons are generally a day-long competition between participants in which they have to develop a solution for a problem statement. You have to develop ideas to build a software or a hardware solution for the problem.
(c) Do not participate for the sake of winning; participate to gain experience and exposure.
(d) Try to learn from other participants. Notice their problem statements and solutions they built. This will help you when you are ready not just to participate but to compete with them.
(e) Also, it would be best if you go in for quizzes, treasure hunts, and programming competitions.
Hard work pays off, but only when it meets the right plan of action.
Wrap up
Make your journey memorable, involve yourself in extracurricular activities and participate in cultural programs to refresh yourself. You can also join your college’s cultural and technical societies. This will help bridge the gap between you and your seniors and build new connections in the college.
Accompany yourself with good friends and maintain your health. Do regular workouts to sustain your mental and physical health.
Best of luck with your future endeavours!
