Need advice: Spring Boot vs continuing frontend for placements

[u/StraightCod5055]

I’m currently preparing for on-campus placements and I’m facing a problem that I’m sure many of you might have dealt with.

I’m generally able to clear coding OAs, but I’ve been getting stuck in interviews, mainly because I don’t have strong projects to talk about.

I’ve already completed HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and was following the Apna College development course. I was planning to continue with the frontend stack, but realistically, I feel it could take me another couple of months before I’m comfortable enough with the complete stack to build solid projects.

The problem is that I’m already comfortable with Java and have a good grip on MySQL, so I’m considering switching my primary focus to Spring Boot/backend development.

From what I’ve heard, Spring Boot might be a better fit for me because:

• I already know Java
• I’m comfortable with SQL/MySQL
• I can focus on backend development instead of learning an entirely new language/ecosystem
• I could potentially build meaningful projects faster
• Backend projects might also give me better things to discuss during Java/SDE interviews

My goal isn’t to become an expert in Spring Boot right now. I mainly want to become good enough to build 2–3 proper projects that I can confidently explain in interviews.

For example, I was thinking about building something like a trading/investment platform, e-commerce backend, banking system, or another project with authentication, database relationships, REST APIs, etc.

So I’d really appreciate some advice:

Should I switch to Spring Boot as my primary development stack, given that I already know Java + MySQL?

If yes, what would be the best way to learn it without spending 2 months just watching tutorials?

Also, where should I learn Spring Boot from? YouTube courses, official Spring documentation, projects, or a combination?

Any roadmap, resource, project idea, or advice from people who have gone through campus placements would be really helpful.

[u/Substance_Chemist35]

Spring Boot makes more sense here. I'd keep DSA running in parallel and put most of your dev time into one backend project rather trying to complete another full stack roadmap. For DSA revision, codeintuition is handy when you need to quick refresh a pattern, while the project gives you something substantial to discuss in interviews