There’s quite a few mistakes we make in our CS degree. Some are degree specific and some are more tech job application specific. Today, I’m going to focus on the common 3 mistakes that come up and how you can avoid making them, or if you are making them, how you can stop!
Focusing solely on getting a 1st in the CS degree
This one is understandable. Many people believe that a 1st class degree is worth its weight in gold. Some just wanna flex how well they can study.
Whilst the drive to secure a high grade in your CS degree is commendable, for most companies your degree is merely a checkbox. Beyond getting the 2:1, employers don’t care much about your degree. A 1st may sound nice and provide you with extra bragging points, but it’s well known that companies prefer experience over degrees.
If an employer has to choose between someone with a 1st and no work experience vs someone with a 2:1 and loads of work experience, they will take the person with the 2:1. In some cases they may even take the person with a 2:2 or lower. Experience is more practical than your degree grade.
In many cases, getting a 1st isn’t an easy feat. You spend a lot of additional time in the library studying, and revising. The same extra time that could be used for securing work placements.
How to fix this?
Diversify your time so that you’re spending a greater amount of time securing work experience and building a strong portfolio for jobs. Your degree classification matters but it doesn’t need to be the main focus of your time.
Only making friends and connections with people in CS
I made this mistake myself. I focused so hard on making myself known to the CS community that I completely neglected meeting people on other courses. This meant that I was constantly around people with similar thought processes to me, which didn’t really expand my horizons.
Not to mention how annoying and antisocial many CS students are. It’s not a surprise I struggled with making uni friends. Whilst making some friends in CS is definitely helpful, I wouldn’t recommend locking yourself solely to CS students. There’s great people to meet in other courses and domains, and CS is a field that combines so well with other fields.
How to fix this?
Join societies in other subjects or activities. Start posting on social media to meet new people outside of your local circle. Make an effort to be known outside of CS. It’s better to have connections spanning multiple fields than loads of connections sitting in CS.
Spending so much time grinding LeetCode
Many companies love spamming LeetCode in their assessments. It’s become a meme at this point to grind LeetCode for hours and hours. Learning all the coding patterns, doing the 100 most liked problems. It’s seen as essential.
What if I told you that LeetCode questions in most companies are pretty similar? Unless you’re applying for a very technical role, the questions are never really hard enough to warrant several hours of LeetCode. Especially when it comes at the expense of other important application practices, like having a strong CV or portfolio.
For my Google coding interviews, I did maybe a few hours of coding practice every other day and I passed the interviews just fine. They weren’t completely easy but they definitely didn’t require me spending every waking moment on LeetCode.
For every company that uses LeetCode to filter candidates, there are other companies that are not as coding rigorous. LeetCode is not a prerequisite for getting a tech job!
How to fix this?
This links greatly to the 1st point of diversifying your time. Focus less on LeetCode and more on having a good CV and a good portfolio. You don’t need to spend as much time as you think on LeetCode to succeed, and there’s plenty of companies that don’t require LeetCode as part of their application process.
Sum up
Avoiding these 3 mistakes will help you approach your CS degree effectively, especially if you’re targeting a tech job. Success in the tech industry as a CS student is 80% what you do outside of the degree and 20% what you do inside the degree.
- Get your CS degree, but don’t sacrifice everything to secure the 1st.
- Meet CS students, but don’t lock yourself away from other fields
- Practice LeetCode, but don’t overdo it!
Good luck!