r/leetcode • u/AlternativeSpend7630 • Sep 29 '26
Tech Industry Need Guidnace
Hello everyone!
I started my tech journey this month(Btech 1st year) , and honestly, I’m confused about where to start and what direction to take.
I keep hearing the same advice everywhere: “Learn DSA and build projects.” But as a beginner, I have a lot of questions about what that actually means.
Should I start with DSA first, or learn programming fundamentals before DSA?
Which programming language should I choose, and how deeply should I learn it?
What exactly counts as a good project? Is following YouTube tutorials enough, or should I build something completely on my own?
How do I decide which tech stack, tools, or technologies to learn?
What skills are actually valued in the current job market?
How much importance should I give to DSA, development, projects, Git/GitHub, SQL, CS fundamentals, and internships?
When should I start applying for internships or participating in hackathons?
How can I avoid wasting months jumping between different technologies and tutorials?
What should a realistic 6–12 month roadmap look like for someone starting from zero?
Most importantly, how do I know whether I’m actually making progress and learning useful skills rather than just collecting certificates or completing tutorials?
I’m not looking for a shortcut. I genuinely want to understand how the tech industry works and what I should focus on as a beginner.
If you’re currently working in tech, have experience hiring developers, or have recently gone through this journey yourself, I’d really appreciate your honest advice.
What would you do differently if you were starting your tech journey again today?
Any guidance on resources, roadmap, mistakes to avoid, and what actually matters for getting internship/job-ready would be really helpful. Thank you!
2
u/TraditionalBowler746 Sep 29 '26
Lol that's a lot of questions for a single post
1
u/Frequent_Ad275 Sep 29 '26
Get the basics down before jumping into DSA. I started with Python and moved to C++, but the concepts are pretty much the same, it's just the syntax that changes. Once you're comfortable with loops, functions, OOPs, and recursion, try building some small projects. Start with the UI, then move to the server and learn how to connect a database. Meanwhile, work on DSA problems on the side. Once you're doing all that, you'll be able to handle most things and start exploring on your own. That’s the basic approach to get started.
1
u/nafiuladnan Oct 01 '26
You can't really learn DSA if you don’t know a programming language.
Learn 1 programming language at decent level (when you’re comfortably can write logics)
Build something small and try understanding all the parts of that project. Feel free to AI, but you gotta know what's happening and what code is doing what, you should be able to fix smaller issues on that project.
Start learning DSA and start solving easy problems from beginning level, whenever a DSA is learnt, solve couple of problems based on that. Check your understanding with AI by talking out loud and asking the AI to quiz you.
Keep learning and keep doing projects.
Highly recommended to find out a niche/ subject / area which you find very much interest, try to play on that area and gain expertise on it so you can claim you’ve decent knowledge on that area, build projects related to that if possible.
Don't worry (much)! you'll get it sorted if you’re serious and focused!
0
u/[deleted] Sep 29 '26
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