#ProjectsForSuccess #CodingChallenges #TechIndustry #CareerGrowth
Hey there, fellow coder! ๐ Are you feeling stuck in your computer science journey, unsure of what projects to work on to catch the eye of potential employers? You’re not alone! Many aspiring programmers struggle with understanding what companies are looking for in terms of project experience. Let’s break it down together and discover practical solutions to propel your career forward!
##Understanding the Problem:
๐ค As a computer science major, you might have heard that companies value hands-on projects more than just a degree. But you’re left wondering what kind of projects stand out and make a meaningful impact. Classroom assignments can only take you so far, and you crave to work on something that showcases your abilities and creativity.
###Identifying the Solution:
1. **Real-World Relevance**: Companies seek projects that demonstrate practical skills and problem-solving abilities. Think about apps, websites, or software tools that can solve common issues or enhance user experiences.
2. **Open-Source Contributions**: Joining open-source projects allows you to collaborate with experienced developers, gain real-world experience, and contribute to projects used by millions worldwide.
3. **Personal Passion Projects**: Build something you’re passionate about, whether it’s a game, a personal finance tool, or a platform for social change. Showing genuine interest and dedication in your project will captivate potential employers.
###Actionable Steps:
– **Brainstorm Ideas**: Reflect on problems you encounter in your daily life or areas of interest that you’re passionate about.
– **Skill Development**: Enhance your coding skills by learning new languages, frameworks, or technologies that align with your project ideas.
– **Portfolio Development**: Create a portfolio showcasing your projects, including project descriptions, code samples, and project outcomes.
##Navigating Your Project Journey:
๐ ๏ธ Now that you have a clearer understanding of what companies are looking for, it’s time to embark on your project journey with confidence and determination. Remember, the projects you work on don’t have to be groundbreaking; they simply need to showcase your skills and creativity.
###Real-Life Example:
Imagine developing a mobile app that helps users track their daily water intake and stay hydrated. This project not only demonstrates your coding skills but also addresses a common health concern in a user-friendly way.
##In Conclusion:
๐ Building meaningful projects as a computer science major is a pivotal step towards securing your dream job in the tech industry. Embrace challenges, explore new ideas, and showcase your creativity through your projects to stand out in a competitive job market. Remember, the journey of a thousand lines of code begins with a single project idea โ so go forth and code on!
Here’s to your success in the world of tech! ๐ปโจ
Who specifically is telling you you need to build projects,? Where are you hearing this advice?
I hear a lot of ‘people say’ around this, but never any clarity on which people.
Build something youโre passionate about that will show off your skills. The more relevant to whatever subfield you want to go into the better. Build a game or a productivity tool or a data visualization of some kind. Whatever personal project you were originally inspired to go into computer science for, or something to solve a need that you or someone in your community has, or just something you think would be cool that nobody has done before.
You have all the technical skills to undertake a project like this, you just need to take charge and go research the specific tools you need to turn it into a reality.
I once built an “app” that computed my gas mileage and kept track of it. It was originally written in BASIC on a Burroughs mainframe and when they removed the BASIC system, I rewrote it in Algol. The key is to build something and then add features to it.
I tell people that projects aren’t for your resume, they’re for the interview. Companies don’t care about your project. What they care about is if you can take somewhat vague requirements, consult disparate documentation, and make something.
Sentiment checker bots are pretty sought after.
I would build a bit that scrapes twitter and the web for sentiment regarding various brands.
Either build a marketable business, or contribute to open source (your own projects or join existing ones).
Companies might be impressed by projects that are in their wheelhouse, otherwise they just want to see that you can work in a team and on your own.
>Don’t most programmers works as parts of a team with each handling a small part of an overall project?
If you can build an entire app yourself, probably you can handle a small part of the app as well, because you likely would have had to figure out how to do all of those parts yourself.
Also, if you have built apps yourself on your own time, it shows that you’re able to take initiative.
That you’re able to identify problems and design and develop solutions, as well as maintaining those solutions.
You might have an idea how customer service works, which would be an asset if you’re asked to sit in client meetings.
Basically, if you tell me that you have built such and such apps, or is the author of some library or framework, I’d have a better impression of your technical ability than someone whose major programming accomplishments is basically “reverse this list using recursion”
If you’re able to build something that others find useful, and possibly making money from it, that’s even better.
But whether it has purpose or not is not completely relevant when it comes to technical ability. If you built your own working operating system from ground-up but no one uses it, I’m sure most devs would consider that a fairly impressive feat.
Full disclosure, I have not done hiring before and this is purely based on whether I would work with you on a project. Looking at other professionals in this post who say projects are the least important part of your resume because hiring managers just don’t have time to look at those, we can see that my advice is completely irrelevant to employment in companies.
Dude, build anything. Itโs software, you can basically make anything as long as you have the skills and time for it. Donโt have the skills? Then learn. How do you learn? By trying stuff out.
Good luck!
Whatever youโre passionate about.
I like working out & nutrition so I built an app around that. A coworker is into music so he built apps focused on that.
The book I used to learn Python has three projects to follow along with in the back. That sort of thing–guided projects from tutorials–could be a good, easy place to start so that you know how multi-file projects are built.
Those might also give you ideas for other kinds of projects you could build, i.e. learn a new tutorial or framework, and think of something *else* you could build with it–useful or not, what matters is that you *make* something. One of the projects in the book I mentioned ([Python Crash Course](https://www.nostarch.com/pythoncrashcourse/)) uses the Pygame library to create a *Space Invaders* clone–after taking such a tutorial, you could go ahead and make another simple game. So, a project doesn’t even have to be a unique, practical idea to solve some problem in the world–it’s a good idea to make something just for the experience of making it.
One of the first things I tried to make myself in Python was a version of the game 20 Questions. It’s not useful per se, but it’s a project nonetheless. I just thought of “what’s something that’s complex-ish, but still simple enough for me to make at my skill level?” That’s all you need, really. It was also dogshit, but I learned from the experience and was eventually able to revisit it and make it decent.
Also, if you ever make any larger scale projects for a class, like a semester final project or something, go ahead and put it on your personal GitHub to show it off.
EDIT: disclaimer: I’m also a student so I don’t really know what employers are looking for
I donโt think it matters. The most important thing is that youโre constantly learning. College degrees are necessary but not sufficient.
When I hire developers in my team, I like to see projects if they post a link to their github.
I am not too focused on specific types of projects. If the job spec calls for Python and Pandas, it is nice to see a project that uses these. Otherwise I am looking for a well designed project with proper documentation, unit tests, and code that is written in a way that is easy to understand.
I look at the readme of a project to see if it clearly explains what the project does, provides examples, and shows how to install it. I look at the code to see if it was actively developed or whether they just uploaded it once 4 years ago. I look for a design document that describes the design. I look for unit tests. I look at the code itself to see if the choices for class names and functions names make sense. I look if most of the persons repos on github are just forks of someone elseโs projects or if they are original code.
Another thing I look for is whether they have contributed to other open source projects. If you like a particular technology or library, try getting involved and contributing. Fix bugs, write tests, fix documentation. This shows you can contribute to a bigger project and be a team player.
It can be anything, it doesn’t matter what. What does matter is that they are not trivial projects that could have been a youtube tutorial. It needs to be complicated enough that you struggle with it and work out your own solutions with time and research.
When it comes time to interview, you now have some experiences you can talk about. What problems did you face? Why did you choose one solution over another? What would you do differently if you were to start over?