My Career Journey from a Beginner to an App Developer

So, let’s start from the beginning. After my 12th class, I had no idea what I should do in my life. One of my relatives suggested I pursue a B.Tech in computer science because AI (artificial intelligence) was booming at that time. Without much thought, I jumped into CSE and started pursuing my engineering from a Tier 3 college.

Before joining college, I had 2 months free. I decided to start learning about computer science and the various opportunities in this field. First, I began with basic programming using C. I learned the basics, such as variables, loops, strings, if-else statements, etc.

When my first year started, like everyone else, I made many friends and enjoyed hanging out with them. During this time, I met some people who were very good at coding, which inspired me a lot. I began improving my Python skills. There were many ups and downs in my learning process. Sometimes, I got frustrated with questions I couldn’t solve, like binary search. I wrote that code 10 times to understand the logic behind it.

Learning C was not a waste of time; it helped me develop my problem-solving skills. While other first-year students struggled with building logic for problems, I found it relatively easy. My only issue was syntax errors, which I often encountered. Believe me, it feels hard in the beginning, but with practice, it gets smoother and smoother, leading to zero syntax errors.

Then came the hardest topic for me: the OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) concepts in Python. I didn’t understand anything at first, but I’ll discuss how I eventually grasped it later. During my first semester, I explored various topics like web development, basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript, blockchain, app development, cloud computing, DevOps, and of course, AI. I created a Python project using the Pygame library; it was a simple 2048 game, but it earned me full marks for my Python project.

My first semester ended, and my results came out. I got a 6.32 SGPA. I know why my result was low; I wasn’t good at Mechanics, Math, and ECE. I barely passed these subjects, but I excelled in Python, getting an A+ grade. It hurt me a bit, so I knew I needed to focus more in my second semester, where I would be learning Java.

During my 14-day break, I started learning Java up to the OOP concepts. Again, I got stuck here, but a YouTuber named Kunal Kushwaha helped me a lot. He explained everything in depth that all my concepts became clear. Now, I only needed to focus on my theory subjects since my Java labs were going smoothly, and I had already mastered Java. I also had to create a project using Java. Since I had already researched app development with Java during my first semester, I started learning how to develop apps. It was my first time, so I didn’t create anything great, but I managed to build an app where users could sign up, log in, and reset their passwords through a Firebase API. Logged-in users could chat in a group chat. This project also earned me full marks.

With my understanding of OOP in Java complete, I started learning sorting techniques, as well as time and space complexity. After that, my first year ended, and I scored an 8.42 SGPA in my second semester. I was expecting a 9 SGPA, but once again, I struggled with Mechanics and Math.

During my 2-month vacation, I started learning C++. Initially, it was easy, especially up to the OOP concepts. However, my entire third semester was spent learning Data Structures, including arrays (in depth), linked lists, trees, stacks, queues, priority queues, maps, graphs, and tries. For my project, I wrote an algorithm to recommend movies based on emotions. There was no front end; the entire project ran on the terminal. Learning Data Structures helped clarify my OOP concepts, and I mastered them. I also learned MySQL for DBMS and the basics of AI since I chose AI as my specialization. My SGPA increased to 8.82.

In my fourth semester, I continued with C++ and started doing LeetCode to practice algorithms. I also lost interest in AI and became more interested in developing apps. I started learning Flutter for app development since it is easier than Java. Up until now, I have been focusing on Flutter and learning algorithms.