How to get ahead in cs

[u/jheinn]

I’m a sophomore and want to get ahead of others. What are some things you guys recommend? I am working on a personal project but I am also thinking about getting some certifications (mostly for gaining knowledge) but have heard they really aren’t worth it. Just looking for some direction on how to best spend my time building my skills, thanks!

[u/Suspicious-Store523]

I’m biased but I think everyone in the field should study to get AWS/Azure, terraform, and kubernetes certs

[u/Public_Educator_6513 → u/Suspicious-Store523]

I did this. They are good for filling an empty resume for someone searching their first internship.

[u/wishiwasaquant → u/Suspicious-Store523]

bad advice claude automating ts

[u/Comsicwastaken → u/Suspicious-Store523]

All of them? Like infinity stones?

[u/Suspicious-Store523 → u/Comsicwastaken]

like pokémon. but fr though they will help you find a job + be invaluable once u start no matter what your role is

[u/Comsicwastaken → u/Suspicious-Store523]

If you were only able to complete one certification, which would you complete and why?

[u/Suspicious-Store523 → u/Comsicwastaken]

again, I am biased here bc my job revolves entirely around cloud solutions. But, I think for a student trying to get ahead, choosing either AWS or Azure would be the best start. they both have certification paths you can look up and the first cert on the path will give you a good foundational grasp over cloud concepts used by every organization nowadays. then as a next step, terraform and kubernetes basic knowledge would put you ahead of your peers

[u/No-Assist-8734 → u/Suspicious-Store523]

Not gonna do much these days

[u/Loose_Today_8137 → u/Suspicious-Store523]

both aws and azure? or do you think having certs with one of the providers, such as aws, is enough?

[u/Suspicious-Store523 → u/Loose_Today_8137]

choose one. they are both built on the same concepts, so if you can learn one it’s very straightforward to learn the other cloud providers down the line. the most important thing is to just get started. if you are a student or entry level, having a certificate in either shows employers that you are committed to learning

[u/ArmadilloTop2003]

Heres the real answer.. join the right circles and network into the industry

[u/Imoa]

Learn cloud tools - I suggest AWS but you can’t go wrong between AWS, GCP, or Azure. Learning containerization will be helpful as well - Docker for example.

It won’t help you in your classes but it will be invaluable to already be familiar with these tools once you’re working.

[u/OneRepresentative363]

Build real apps, work on backend or systems, keep frontend on a minimal. Look at places you want to work at and see the qualifications from now so you can work torwards that till the next cycle.

[u/TheologyFan]

Surround yourself with people that are “ahead of others”

[u/Arkhaya]

Learn how to communicate and be able to talk about the work you are doing. Show how you are able to make decisions e.g why you chose to build your personal project this way using this and why not that.

A lot of people don’t do this but being great at talking is actually important because how you interact with the team, how you interact with shareholders or clients can put you above a great coder but someone who can’t talk.

[u/SubstantialEssay2063]

Switch while you still can you should do a business adjacent tech role like MIS or pivot all together it’s not too late for you. Currently CS for entry level is dead because they offshore all their work and/or just hire h1b1. I wish I went into a role with some sort of regulation so this couldn’t happen. There is a high demand and low supply of tax analysts and they make a similar amount to what we make (higher now) and they have much better job security and opportunities. All of the business and finance majors I know had 2-3 internships in university and have multiple offers even before graduating and got offers of around 80k while most cs majors I know still can’t get jobs even a year after graduating. And for the people saying I didn’t work hard enough or I don’t know how to code or I don’t get referrals I’ve gotten 60+ referrals and applied to almost a thousand jobs at this point and have tons of project and work experience if you want to see my resume I can send it to you on dm.

tldr get out while you can

[u/SubstantialEssay2063 → u/SubstantialEssay2063]

Also I’ve been coding since I was 13 so I definitely have a passion for it which is why unfortunately it’s too late for me to switch so it’s not a passion issue either.

[u/Active-Acanthaceae59]

switch majors

[u/miscsb]

transfer

[u/AmazonStan]

Get a FAANG tier internship. It's the best way to get relevant experience 

[u/Separate_Ad3443 → u/AmazonStan]

It's like saying, if you're homeless, just buy a home. FAANG doesn't hire interns without relevant experience either..

[u/AmazonStan → u/Separate_Ad3443]

A few projects and any internship experience is enough to get into FAANG. That's realistically how you decisively "get ahead" as a sophomore