Life of student who want to become a Developer

My journey as a developer began in high school when I chose science as my stream. After that, I dedicated two years to preparing for the JEE Mains and Advanced exams, which are the entrance tests for engineering colleges in India. I scored a 97 percentile in Mains but unfortunately did not secure a rank in Advanced. Being from the general category, I couldn't get a seat in the prestigious NITs or IITs.

This was a huge disappointment, and I spent months feeling disheartened. Eventually, I started searching for private colleges that could offer me a seat in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department. I ended up at HKBK College of Engineering, which is not highly regarded.

Like many students who have spent years preparing for entrance exams, I thought I could relax a bit during college, believing I had plenty of time. This turned out to be a significant mistake. The time for chilling never seems to end, but college life does, and I realized this too late. It wasn't until my final year that I understood the importance of working on my skills. I managed to secure an off-campus internship at a startup that needed a good developer but offered less pay. I cleared three rounds of interviews and got selected. As a college student, money wasn't my first priority; gaining skills was.

My college life ended without a placement because I was part of the COVID batch. During our placement season, a recession hit, and only a few companies visited our college with very limited openings.

I believe many developers make this mistake during their college years. After college, they find themselves working hard to improve their skills to become good developers. During my college years, I also secured an off-campus internship as a full-stack developer intern at a startup, which lasted for 8 to 9 months.

Now, I am actively looking for a job and upskilling myself every day. My advice to every developer entering college is to focus on building your skills and seek internships or open-source projects where you can apply those skills. Many people gain skills, but very few gain experience. So, work hard and also enjoy your college life.

Thank you.