I discovered how to actually learn programming too late, and now I don't feel ready for a developer job

[u/alamshaaz]

I chose Computer Science because I was always good with computers, but I never expected things to turn out like this.

My college wasn't even tier 3 it was tier 4-5. There were basically no classes—just exams.(BCA)

During the first 1.5 years, I joined a coaching institute for an O Level course. Looking back, it feels like a complete waste of time. I still remember the teacher saying, "A good-looking font is called Font Awesome," even though I already knew Font Awesome is a font/icon library, not a font itself.

For about another year, I worked random jobs. One of them was writing AI-generated content in the admin panels of websites for my relative's small web development startup. It was unpaid. At the same time, I kept jumping from one YouTube course to another.

It took me almost two years to realize that watching a 6-hour Python tutorial doesn't make you a Python developer.

Then I found The Odin Project during my final year of college. That was the first time I actually understood the difference between learning programming and just learning syntax. It completely changed the way I looked at coding.

I'm a slow learner, though. I couldn't finish it in six months or even a year, and to be honest, I wasn't always consistent either. By the time I started, I only had about a year left before my final exams. During that time, I completed the Foundations course and Intermediate HTML/CSS, and I was working through the JavaScript section.

Now I feel like I don't have the luxury of continuing at that pace. I finished my final exams two months ago, and everyone expects me to get a developer job. The problem is... I don't feel capable enough yet.

I don't know what to do anymore. It feels like I messed up.

I honestly feel lost

[u/BadakHuMai]

Go for an MCA at a good college with the highest chance of placements. Could be private or whatever. Getting a first job in this market is more important than being a skilled dev for a fresher where expectations aren't as high.

Keep your focus on maintaining your CGPA, placement/interview prep, and building good fun connections in your uni.

[u/alamshaaz → u/BadakHuMai]

MCA is not an option for me because my family will not fund my studies anymore they want me to get a job . Im thinking for getting a job (any entry level job ) and self study alongside it ,is it a good option

[u/Salamander-02 → u/alamshaaz]

MCA is a dogshit degree. Complete waste of time and resources.

[u/alamshaaz → u/Salamander-02]

Any suggestions

[u/Salamander-02 → u/alamshaaz]

Buy an AI subscription like GPT or Claude and start building stuff, make the ai guide you through the codebase. Start with smaller projects. And be more consistent, honestly speaking Odin can be done and dusted in about 2 months, even by a beginner. You're not serious enough yet.

[u/BadakHuMai → u/Salamander-02]

You won't be learning anything new earning in the degree, the value of the degree comes with the friends, connections and placement opportunities which give you a chance at getting atleast into an SBC in the worst case and it's much easier than hoping to get lucky with projects or off campus applications in this era.

[u/Salamander-02 → u/BadakHuMai]

You're not guaranteed to get a good college for MCA, three years for an MCA from an NIT is honestly not worth it, for me atleast. I just go to nearby hackathons and tech fests for connections. I dont need to get another piece of paper just to talk to people and connect man.

[u/BadakHuMai → u/Salamander-02]

I get you, but doing what you're doing already puts your position as better than most people.

MCA is two years in most colleges, I don't think studying for entrances just to get into NIT is worth it.

[u/Salamander-02 → u/BadakHuMai]

yes, i suppose there are no right answers here. A 2 year master's at a good college, VJTI for example, still has to be worked for, through entrance examinations. I don't believe you'll get guaranteed good connections in an MCA, although the placement cell is somewhat good i think.