Road Map For First Years.

First year? sounds exciting right 🤩 but if you want your life to be as exciting as your first year is going to be it is very important that you should follow a road map from today itself.

confused about how to start? do not worry we have got you covered!

Let me guess 🤔 if you are reading this then most probably you have joined VIT or you are in your first year. In both the cases I’d like to welcome you to this amazing place, from here on life is going to be a roller coaster for you but one thing I can assure is that at the end of the day all of it is going to be worth it . No matter how many ups and downs you face during your journey with a proper plan and motivation you can get through everything and I’ll help you with that plan don’t worry.

Every one can code-Tim Cook(Apple CEO)

1. Competitive Programming 👨🏻‍💻:

I am in my second year and made quite a few mistakes in my first which I do not want you all to repeat. Let me tell you one thing, each mistake teaches you some thing new and do not shy away from going on to new adventures. Their is nothing such as right time or wrong time, balance is most important. Start doing Competitive Programming from Day 1 and here I don’t mean to say that spend you entire day doing that instead just spare one hour for it. Choose one language, preferably c++ or java but you can go for python as well it’s totally upto you and be consistent no matter what because here consistency is this key.

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” -Lucille Ball

In my first year I tried competitive programming but failed miserably and got frustrated when I saw people doing questions so fast and eventually I gave up which turned out to be my biggest mistake and then in second semester I left it completely because of which I lost track totally and now in my 3rd semester I had to start from scratch but you know “it’s better late than never!” So keep trying no matter how many times. Now many of you might be having questions like :

I have never done anything in technical domain how am I going to cope?

Others know much more than me, is it even possible for me to match their level?

and many more questions like this but you know all the experts have started with “Hello World” at some point of time in their life and if they would have thought like this and given up on their dreams then they wouldn’t have been what they are today. Do not succumb to the peer pressure and keep working on your self.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
― Albert Einstein

VIT as it says a “Place To Learn And A Chance To Grow” this stands true only for people who wish to learn and are zealous enough to aspire great things.

2. Grades and CGPA 🎓:

Now for someone who is starting from scratch let me answer this frequently asked question that many students have wrong assumptions about which is Grades Matter Or Not? How Important is CGPA?. One answer to this question is It surely does matter. Never take them for granted and maintain it from first semester itself but at the same time do not spend too much time on it and focus on you developer skills try and maintain a decent CGPA of 8.5+ and you are good to go.

3. Many of you might be wondering what all domains are there and what do I mean by development skills ⚡️:

Below are few of the many domains you can go for:

📌 Front end development

📌 Back end development

📌 App development

📌 Machine Learning

📌 UI/UX

📌 Design

4. Frontend & Backend Development 👩🏻‍💻:

Just ask yourself “do I enjoy making mock ups come to life” and answered yes? then probably you should go for Front End. In case you find yourself asking “How to use a particular algorithm and make an informed decision”, then probably Back End is the right choice for you. But let me tell you their is no harm trying various fields and then choosing the right one for yourself. At max what will happen, you will choose a wrong domain? But you can always switch your domains.

Front end and back end is one of the most common domains that are been explored these days.

5. Machine Learning 🧠:

If you are good at mathematics and love to understand and explore the mystery behind all those statistics and algorithms then Machine Learning is waiting for you.

6. Web Design and App Design 📱:

If you love to play with colors, have an innovative mind set, can think out of the box and Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch etc. are your buddies then you might explore Web Design and App Design. The scope for designers is increasing every day and this field is something that is still not explored to that extent so you will have an upper hand in terms of competition .

If creativity is your weapon then design is your domain!

There are various other skills that you can dive into and explore but what I believe is that you should give a fair chance to all the domains(here I am not asking you to spend too much time on all of these)so that you know exactly where your interest lies.

7. Hackathons ⌨️:

Apart from all this, VIT is a place filled with opportunities and amazing people who are always ready to help you. Do take part in various hackathons held in VIT every year and most importantly do not let anyone tell you that you don’t know enough to take part in it.

8. Clubs and Chapters 🤘:

There are so many clubs and chapters in VIT, take part in any one of the reputed technical chapter and believe me you will grow exponentially. Today what ever knowledge I have in the technical domain I owe it all to my chapter and my seniors because without their help and support I am nothing.

9. ENJOY!(Most Important) 💯 :

Lastly, do not be a nerd and have fun! make the most out of your college journey because this time is not going to come back so use it wisely. I wish you all the best for your new journey and start working from day one is all I can say!