3 answers
Anastasiya
Student
Concord, California
1
Question
Updated
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What should a community college transfer student in computer engineering prioritize during the first year at a university to become competitive for internships: personal projects, research, networking, or upper-division coursework?
I am transferring from Diablo Valley College to UC Santa Cruz for computer engineering. I want to prepare well for internships and future career opportunities, but I am not sure whether I should focus more on coursework, personal projects, research, networking, or applying to internships early.
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3 answers
Luke Robertson
Software Engineer
2
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Luke’s Answer
Hi Anastasiya,
You're doing a fantastic job by focusing on your priorities!
To keep it simple, everything you've mentioned is a great way to stand out. But here's some practical advice: as a first-year student, make sure your coursework and studies are in good shape. This is the foundation that will impress any employer, so focus on doing well in your classes.
After that, think about the type of internship or career you want. Sometimes, what makes you unique is doing something different from your peers. If possible, work on an interesting project, either through your coursework or on your own. This can really catch an employer's attention and show why you'd be a great fit for their team. Plus, it helps you gain practical skills and experience what working is like.
For early internships, a simple personal project is a great start. Choose something you're passionate about and build it! Make it your own and let your enthusiasm shine through. If you can, share it on your GitHub profile or resume. It doesn’t have to be big at first; it's a step towards bigger things!
Good luck!
You're doing a fantastic job by focusing on your priorities!
To keep it simple, everything you've mentioned is a great way to stand out. But here's some practical advice: as a first-year student, make sure your coursework and studies are in good shape. This is the foundation that will impress any employer, so focus on doing well in your classes.
After that, think about the type of internship or career you want. Sometimes, what makes you unique is doing something different from your peers. If possible, work on an interesting project, either through your coursework or on your own. This can really catch an employer's attention and show why you'd be a great fit for their team. Plus, it helps you gain practical skills and experience what working is like.
For early internships, a simple personal project is a great start. Choose something you're passionate about and build it! Make it your own and let your enthusiasm shine through. If you can, share it on your GitHub profile or resume. It doesn’t have to be big at first; it's a step towards bigger things!
Good luck!
William Vvuko
Retired engineer
236
Answers
Moyo, Northern Region
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Anastasiya,
Many factors contribute to a successful career.
Completing your studies with distinction puts you in a good stead to succeed. Practical knowledge, however, tends to set us apart from the crowd. You need to be really good at what you do.
Practical knowledge accumulates through experience. Internships, mentorships and apprenticeships are excellent opportunities for experiential learning. You need to take full advantage of them.
Being able to do practical work requires skills. Such skills include ability to plan, schedule & execute activities and work; organize; work in teams; communicate effectively; identify and solve problems; manage time effectively; collect, analyze and critically evaluate information etc.
Being able to get things done effectively and efficiently tends to make us get ahead - the better we are at this the better are our chances of success. Our willingnesss to get things done is influenced by such personal qualities as curiosity, passion, commitment, diligence, attention to detail, assertiveness, curiosity, perseverance, positive mindset, empathy, self-control, self-drive, willingnesss to take risks etc. - we need to integrate them in our daily routines.
I hope you find this useful. Best of luck in your studies.
Many factors contribute to a successful career.
Completing your studies with distinction puts you in a good stead to succeed. Practical knowledge, however, tends to set us apart from the crowd. You need to be really good at what you do.
Practical knowledge accumulates through experience. Internships, mentorships and apprenticeships are excellent opportunities for experiential learning. You need to take full advantage of them.
Being able to do practical work requires skills. Such skills include ability to plan, schedule & execute activities and work; organize; work in teams; communicate effectively; identify and solve problems; manage time effectively; collect, analyze and critically evaluate information etc.
Being able to get things done effectively and efficiently tends to make us get ahead - the better we are at this the better are our chances of success. Our willingnesss to get things done is influenced by such personal qualities as curiosity, passion, commitment, diligence, attention to detail, assertiveness, curiosity, perseverance, positive mindset, empathy, self-control, self-drive, willingnesss to take risks etc. - we need to integrate them in our daily routines.
I hope you find this useful. Best of luck in your studies.
Daniel O'Brien
Product Manager
4
Answers
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Updated
Daniel’s Answer
Coursework is the easy answer here. You're going to have lots of opportunities to do really fun, interesting, and challenging things over the next few years (and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of all of it), but in the end, you're there to earn a degree, and that's coursework. Your GPA won't follow you around the rest of your life, but in college, and immediately after, it will have a disproportionate impact on your options for internships and starting jobs. Not only does it reflect how well you perform in the structured classroom setting (book smarts), but it also shows how well you can ignore distractions and focus on the task at hand. There are some companies who won't even look at the rest of the cool things on your resume unless your GPA starts with a 3 or higher. Once you're solidly in the 3's in all your classes networking is a great follow-on. Having a great network will lead to everything else, and even help with personal projects. It's great that you're asking the question though - keeping your head up and looking down the road a little is a great way to make sure you're still on the right path!