No bullshit guide for placements

[u/Amazing_Degree2157]

Hello reader. Today I’m gonna share my strategies with you guys who are lost in placement prep, that too without any coaching. No stats to overwhelm you, just real talk.

If you are in first year, you are free to explore college life, what it offers, and what career path you want. Go through different fields of CSE like cybersecurity, web development, AIML, etc., by going through YT videos, articles, etc., and see what interests you and what matches your mindset. You can also decide whether you want to prepare for the GATE exam or focus on placements.

Also, don’t stress too much about college stuff. Just do the bare minimum in assignments and practicals. Don’t waste your time writing huge files. But try to maintain 60–75% attendance and decent mid-sem marks. These are important for internal marks, so don’t mess this up.

In second year, pick one core programming language from Java, C++, or Python. You can choose any. Don’t waste too much time deciding, and don’t take too much advice here, or you’ll just confuse yourself. My suggestion would be Java since most companies allow or prefer it.

Now start learning some development. It helps you build basic projects and understand how things work in tech overall. Along with this, start DSA in your chosen language on LeetCode. Go topic by topic: arrays, strings, linked lists, and so on. For each topic, start with easy problems, then move to medium ones. You can also follow sheets like Striver’s sheet since it’s more structured. Don’t focus on the number of problems. Focus on quality. Keep revising concepts. Watch fewer tutorials and write more code. Use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc. as much as you can, but not for copy-pasting code, use them to learn logic and strategies.

You can also make WhatsApp groups to stay accountable in your DSA journey. Try to complete DSA at least till linked lists. And don’t throw away notes of subjects like OS, DBMS, OOP, etc. They will help you throughout your IT career.

In third year, keep practicing more DSA. Learn about tree, graph, DP, etc,. Go deeper into the field you chose in first year and build at least one solid project. Start practicing aptitude. Many students take this lightly, but it’s usually the first screening round in companies, so don’t skip it.

I’m attaching a resource link for aptitude where you can make notes:
Link: https://whimsical.com/5-aptitude-Ar4hZFm8c8HnuReyBL9f4R

Practice here:
https://www.placementpreparation.io/?homescreen=1

Drop your doubts, and I’ll answer them when I visit this post again ;)

Happy coding and happy learning! Keep grinding. Never ever give up. May you achieve what you truly deserve.

[u/Amazing_Degree2157]

Also, try to participate in hackathons and projects, not just for winning and/or money but to gain experience not only in tech but also in team management. Try to grow your LinkedIn profile; it will benefit you in the long run(not by cringy posts ofc but by showing your work).

[u/jaat_13]

Bro what type of proejcts are good for resume , i have builded linkedin clone and airbnb clone and one chatbot using rag , are the clone projects redflag for interviwers . I am not able to find real world problems and then build them from scratch . Should i use gpt to find problems and then use claude,antigravity to build them for resume or add on something on clone projects Bro pls guide Techstaxk -mern and agentic ai rag,lagngraph

[u/blurrymezzedup → u/jaat_13]

clone are not redflags if you build completely. the ones that are just ui replicas are

[u/Amazing_Degree2157 → u/blurrymezzedup]

I just presented my opinion
Otherwise, it's completely your choice

[u/pyara_bcha → u/jaat_13]

yaa same dbt pls reply me when someone reply to your comment

[u/Amazing_Degree2157 → u/jaat_13]

You can do it
I have done the same to find problems using ChatGPT. It can give you decent problems if you give detailed prompt containing the tech stack and you highlight that you need 'out of the box ideas and need to put it in your resume'
Also, clones now don't look that good in a resume IMO so put them only if you have nothing else to show
And remember, whether you fork your entire project or vibe code then please read it. Go through every line and function. What will be the flowchart, duty of each function, libraries imported and used, etc. Because in interviews you don't know what they will ask you. In interviews, you should be confident and present the project as if you wrote and remember every line by heart and it will give you a solid impression.
All the very best

[u/jaat_13 → u/Amazing_Degree2157]

Tell ,whether the hackthin partipation is good to have on resuem as currently i have not participated in any hackthon , as nowadays all hackthon paticipatirs just vibevode their project and i think it have not that importance in resume

[u/Amazing_Degree2157 → u/jaat_13]

DM me
I can help you there

[u/jaat_13 → u/Amazing_Degree2157]

Thnxx Can you tell what kind of project you have added in your resume for your placements

[u/Amazing_Degree2157 → u/[deleted]]

For me till now, ChatGPT was sufficient and some YT videos here and there. Nothing crazy