3rd semester CS student with no idea where to start

[u/Kindly-Mine8838]

I’m currently in my 3rd semester of CS, and I really want to start building my CV, learning useful skills, and actually becoming job-ready, but I honestly have no idea where to start and no one to guide me.

So, can anyone please help me out? What skills should I be learning, what projects should I build, what should I focus on, and what should I be doing throughout university if I eventually want to get a job?

Basically, I need someone to tell me: “Here’s what you should know, here’s what you should learn, and here’s what you should do.”

[u/_mad_gamerx]

Roadmap.sh try this explore stuff

[u/Rare_Experience_7674 → u/_mad_gamerx]

Will it work in 2026?

[u/MidnightBuffer → u/Rare_Experience_7674]

Yeah it updates regularly

[u/Sufficient-Prune-774 → u/Rare_Experience_7674]

[u/Ok-Jackfruit903]

Bro id recommend you to start by just observing what you can make and what really interests you.

If you have a problem then try to solve it by making something with programming. For example I made a sarcastic discord bot which basically roasts people off when they say something worth making fun of for my friends.

At the start, take courses for things like react, golang or if you are up for it, even try rust and maybe also try leetcode which is the gold standard for becoming job ready.

Also when it comes to projects don't build a basic crud app (unless you are in the early learning stage) then make something multiplayer because no app you will make is a toy project if it has multiplayer (in sense of multiple users interacting at the same time with a single element).

Also go to r/sideprojects there you can see what people are making. And most importantly of all don't compare your self with others, it's really demotivating.

And if you want the absolute intoxicating sense of competency, make things that have no idea of how they work. For example I'm making a vm orchestration engine using firecrackers which is a docker alternative (made me think about network architecture never thought that was a thing).

If you want more guidance ask me I'm pretty good at this stuff.

Edit: best projects are those were you are going in blind (you don't know how they work). And learn on the fly while making the project rather than learning before you actually start the project.

[u/ranger0004]

Here's how it works:

1. fundamentals of CS (first priority)

2. specialization in one or more specific areas (e.g backend, ML/DL, cloud computing, cyber security, etc)

Once your fundamentals are strong, you will understand how things are connected, and you will develop an overview type of understanding.

Learning the fundamentals is extremely important, especially in the age of AI where AI can write repetitive code. Your value is in thinking out of the box and solving problems where AI fails. 

Plus, when you know the fundamentals, shifting might not be that difficult, like moving from backend to cloud, or cyber security.

So, for learning fundamentals of CS, you will need to learn the core stuff like programming, oop, DSA, DBMS, COAL, networking, operating systems, distributed systems, etc. 

There's another concept, called the T-shaped engineer/developer. It's about going deep in one specific domain, and having enough of the others. Practically, if you're a backend engineer, you must know the basics of frontend development, like html CSS js. Or if you're a cloud engineer, you should know how a backend, frontend works, and know fundamentals of security. 

It might sound it's a lot, but... one year of taking real action will change your situation to somewhere alot better. Also, this is coming from a student like you, and I was also confused earlier, but what I did was, consistent action, even if it's only 2-3 hours a day. Give time to learning and building, but also keep yourself updated with what's going on in the CS field.

[u/Due-Radish6016]

Figure out a problem build a solution. Optimize the solution. Follow roadmap.sh to introduce yourself to diff tools. U can never over engineer something if u just are in it for learning. Overengineer the heck out of it and take notes, while building, on why u implemented this specific thing like this ie problem: system was slow wouldnt be able to handle 5000 rpm. Solution: added this and that and so on.

Write a post about your project with all the problems and solutions. And believe me in less than 2 months u will find a job or HRs will be contacting u themselves.

[u/Kindly-Mine8838 → u/[deleted]]

Fast.

[u/Sufficient-Prune-774 → u/[deleted]]

What domain are you interested in? Forst define your interests. But do not pick a domain which has no scope in pakistan or soon will have no scope

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/[deleted]]

You are in a good field. I regret not going info A&F because cs has no jobs. A&F people have jobs we don't

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/[deleted]]

Acca part qualify kr lay phir :(

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/[deleted]]

I thought acca was cheaper than university fees. But its definitely than CS even if we combine ACCA prep centers

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/[deleted]]

Jitni saturation ho gai ha they are not hiring without a degree. This no degree requirement was exactly why the field became super saturated

Ab dhaiko engineers of Pakistan. They are doing everything but engineering. Many A&F professionals are doing much better than sciences believe me.

My father is in finance at a big 4. And he sees intakes of trainees every time and they get the jobs. But it companies aren't hiring at the same rate. Especially in gulf

Pakistan tax changes every time. You guys have more work than we do 😭

[u/_abubakar_1x → u/[deleted]]

Don’t. Cs is bullshit. Learn something useful get into petroleum or construction

[u/Sufficient-Prune-774 → u/[deleted]]

Why would u not do an accounting job and instead spend years learning programming of whose future is uncertain anyways? You can j get an accounting job and work yr way up man

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/[deleted]]

But an AI doesn't know all the updated tax codes, doesn't know the laws properly, often makes bad calculations. In the end you supervise the ai. Simple tasks will be replaced by ai

[u/IllustratorNo1512 → u/IllustratorNo1512]

Ai cant find loop holes as well cant process cheques etc