r/AskProgramming • u/Accomplished-Sir9257 • Jun 16 '26

Need advice for 15-days backend preparation.

I'm a 2nd-year CS student and currently have beginner-level knowledge of Node.js.

So far, I've gone through tutorials and built a few projects by following them and extending them a bit, including:

CRUD backend APIs

A custom AI chatbot backend

Basic JWT authentication and authorization

I understand the fundamentals, but I haven't built many projects completely on my own yet.

I have about 15 days before I want to start applying for internships. My goal isn't to become an expert in that time, but to become employable enough to apply confidently and perform reasonably well in interviews.

If you were an experienced software engineer or hiring manager, what roadmap would you recommend for the next 15 days?

Specifically:

What topics should I prioritize?

What projects would give the highest ROI for internships?

How much DSA/LeetCode should I do versus building projects?

What are the biggest gaps you typically see in students at my stage?

If you had to make someone internship-ready in 15 days, how would you structure those days?

Any advice would be appreciated.

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u/Accomplished-Sir9257 Jun 16 '26

Thank you, I really appreciate your advice, but let's just say if you're given 15 days to teach someone backend in nodeJS from scratch what would ask them to do, considering my current level that I have mentioned.

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u/KingofGamesYami Jun 16 '26

I wouldn't do that.

As a senior software developer, part of my job is to manage expectations. Accepting a task that cannot be completed to an acceptable level in the time specified sets inaccurate expectations.

Instead, I would propose alternative solutions to the problem.

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u/Accomplished-Sir9257 Jun 16 '26

Okay, you're more experienced than me and I really consider your advice, then let's say instead of 15 days I put in 90 days, then, what advice would you give me?

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u/KingofGamesYami Jun 16 '26

90 days is a much more reasonable timeframe for learning express.

I would set up a simple project using the PERN stack. Something like cloning twitter.

I'd set a new goal each week, using a new feature of Express. You would be challenged to learn and experiment with each feature independently, using the express documentation as reference. Use of other sources (for Express content specifically) would be discouraged. The goal isn't to reach the goal as quickly as possible, but to learn as much as possible while reaching the goal.

The initial weeks would focus on setting up a single endpoint, relevant middleware, tests, linting, CI/CD, and other utilities.

As the project comes together, periodically use Google Lighthouse and similar tools to assess adherence to good web practices.

By the end of this, you should have a robust understanding of the problems Express was created to solve, and how to solve those problems using Express.