What Should I Do While Pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science?

Date: 2023-09-12

Writer: Mahim Al Muntashir (CST21)

If you are pursuing a bachelor's in CSE or CS, this is how you can approach your four years of bachelor's.

▶️ 1st year:
✅ Technical part:
- Learn a language and OOP (C++, Python, Java).
- Learn Data Structure
- Learn Algorithms
- Post your daily learning on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Upload your codes on GitHub.

Explore awesome fields like
- Research Technologies: ML, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, etc.
- Modern Technologies: Block Chain, DevOps, Cloud Computing, Web3 etc.

✅ Community Part:
Apply for global programs like the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador Program, the AWS Community Builders Program, the GitHub Campus Expert Program, the CNCF Ambassador Program, Postman Student Lead, Auth0 by Octa, GitKraken, and many more.
Take sessions and arrange events.

▶️ 2nd year:
Decide on a path from modern technology to research technology based on your exploration, and then start learning them.
In your first year, you completed the DSA (Data Structure and Algorithms). Now solve problems daily (1 or 2) from Codeforces, Leetcode, and learn the decided modern or research technology.

▶️ 3rd year:
- If you chose research technology, start applying for research internships (by cold mail) to MIT and Harvard professors.
- If you chose modern technology, start contributing to open source projects, own projects, and also contribute to Google Summer of Code by Google , Reinforcement Learning by Microsoft Imagine Cup , Cloud Native Computing Foundation(a trillion-dollar company)
Take part in the Global Hackathon (Major League Hacking (MLH), HackerEarth, and DevPost). Apply for remote jobs.

▶️ 4th year:
Focus on your thesis and research publications.
Remember, if you have a CGPA of 3.5–4.0, you should also have a research paper published or give a talk at a conference to get a scholarship.
Moreover, when you apply for a Masters or PhD, try going for the top or well-ranked ones because those matters.
If you don't have a good CGPA, it's really tough to get a scholarship. So, you have to show an extraordinary level of work to get a scholarship.
But if you have no wish to pursue a Masters or PhD (which is needed for promotion at least), you can now focus fully on your technical skills and apply them to get some cool jobs outside of the country.

Moreover, there are some prestigious programs called:
- Microsoft's Most Valuable Program (MVP)
- GitHub Start
- Google Developer Expert (GDE)
- AWS Hero
and many more. These are not programs you can apply to. Very exceptional persons get nominated as this, and till now, we have many MVPs and one single GDE from Bangladesh. They travel the world and speak at events. Even someone I know who got offered a visit to Las Vegas by Amazon Web Services.

Finally, start solving 200 Leetcode problems to clear most of the interviews, including Google, Microsoft, etc.

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