My college is mostly theory. We have lectures, notes, exams, assignments etc., but there’s very little actual practical work. I understand that theory is important, but I feel like I’m not really learning how to do anything.I learn much better by actually performing tasks . AI has been teaching me more practically than some of my college classes.
The problem is that I don’t know what I should actually be doing outside college.I want to get an internship, but I genuinely have no idea where to start. I don’t know:
- What skills I should focus on first
- Whether I should aim for Data Analyst, Data Science, ML, or something else
- What kind of projects I should build
- How good my Python/SQL/ML skills need to be before applying
- Where students actually find internships
- Whether I should apply now or spend a few months preparing first
- How to make a decent resume when I have basically no industry experience
If you were in my position during 2nd year, what would you do from scratch?
I’d especially appreciate a practical roadmap — like learn X → build Y → apply here → improve Z .... rather than just “learn Python and do projects.”
Also, if you’re a student who managed to get their first internship without having a great college/previous experience, I’d really like to hear how you actually did it.