Cracking the Code: IT Careers for Young Grads

The IT sector is a dynamic and promising field for engineering students to explore. It offers fantastic opportunities for growth and innovation. This blog, has listed out steps that engineering students can take to get ready for an IT career, along with real experiences shared by young IT professionals. 

Experiences from the IT Trenches:

We spoke to young IT professionals who were once in your shoes. Here are some valuable insights they shared:

Programmer Analyst at Cognizant Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd 
Gouravi Atul Mardhekar says,

"It has been almost 1 year for me working in IT. Working as a fresher you need to give your best on the task allotted. Each day is challenging as we need to learn everyday. Every new task teaches you something new everyday you learn. Once you step in IT not only in IT now-a-days but in every field it's mandatory for you to be updated, gain more knowledge, give your best and also learn new things daily. Not every task you do gives you the right output. Sometimes you fail but you also learn from it. Step by step you learn coding. It doesn't mean you should work as a developer every time you work, you should be a good tester as well. You should have some testing knowledge too.

You should maintain good relations with your colleagues, your manager, etc. Everyone thinks IT means only coding but that's not the truth IT has many different roles in it. It was my campus selection. I have basic knowledge of coding.

 I suggest everyone as a student learn any 1 coding language and be strong in it. Clear your basics which will help you further while applying your skills in the real world. Apart from coding you should also focus on your communication skills, extra curricular activities, soft skills and most important your projects and internships. It will help you during your interviews. Do as many internships as you can so you get clear on your skills and learn many new things. Also, most important thing if you know JAVA, Python or any coding language it doesn't mean you will be assigned for doing the development using same coding language, Company assigns you to do similar or the role as per their requirements. So, you should prepare yourself to do any assigned task. 

No matter from which college you study or which course you do whatever you do just give your best and try to gain as much knowledge as you can in the field you want to work."

Analyst/Software Engineer at Capgemini India 
Mansi Sanjay Darwade says,

"Before sharing my experience till now I would like to share a quote "Confidence is something you create when you believe in yourself", which has a hidden message of positive attitude. 

Eventually being a science student I ended up with engineering(I am an E&TC engineer), like majority students do. I wanted to do a decent job, with a decent amount of salary. While doing my engineering, I developed interest in Coding and learnt all the basic computer languages, which was actually very helpful in my small career till now. 

In the 4th year we had many companies in our college hiring students. I was a bit nervous (not feared) about the aptitude tests and interviews, because I didn't like Maths at all, and it was the mandatory part of aptitudes. There comes the role of the above quote being confident about myself, I started focusing on things which I enjoyed learning i.e. Coding, logical reasoning English. Being an English Medium school student I didn't find any difficulty in spoken and written English. It's ok even if you don't know English, important point is how you express your points in simple English. And I cracked the interviews for two MNCs Capgemini and TCS. In this time I learnt to believe in myself and understood the importance of positive thinking, because when you continuously think positively, the things start to happen the way you think. One more thing I would to like to tell is that whenever you want to do anything, do it sincerely and whole-heartedly, universe will definitely fulfill your wish.

After my last year result, I got a call from Capgemini. Now the base location was Mumbai, a very tough situation for me, as in my life I have never travelled more than 3kms for my education. But I chose to go with this opportunity, and this was actually the correct decision for which I will never regret at all. Though in the beginning I thought that all my friends got Hinjewadi, why not me then?

I started as a trainee software Engineer in SAP ABAP, many of us at this stage don't know what on the planet is this. I was trained for 2 months on this technology. SAP is like our ERP, which our college makes use of to maintain our database, and ABAP is a programming language used in SAP, similar to SQL. As I liked coding, it was a bit easy to catch up with SAP. Here also we had theory and practical tests. After two months I was obviously on bench. Even this time all my batchmates were getting calls and tagged into projects, but I didn't get any call for 1 month. I always said to my friends, even though I didn't get calls, I will get some good and big project. And this helped me a lot. I got a call from the project Maserati, where I was working as shadow for 3 months. Now the real struggle starts, the things which you learn in school and College are very different from what you do at your workplace. Being new to this technology, I was like I had to always search for everything on Google. Whenever you start with your work, first understand what exactly you need to do. It's you don't understand all your seniors, confirm from them and then start with your work. Unfortunately or fortunately I got a strict but a good manager, unfortunately I said because he was always strict in his work and fortunately because he helped me a lot in my journey, I got to learn many things from him. This project was a bit hectic one. I never left hope in myself and my god. I tried to give my best, and things turned out very surprising. My manger referred my name to my program manager, and he referred me to the Lamborghini project - The  Italian Super Car where I joined as a billable resource. The new manager again gave me assignments to test my knowledge in SAP, and eventually I was selected. This project is very nice, the people, my new manager are very friendly. I had great seniors and managers to now. After 10 months I got relocation to Pune.

Many people are still struggling for projects. There are very few people who get good opportunity to learn new things.

During my this one year career, I understood that even if you don't have much knowledge and skills, just believe in yourself and keep a positive attitude, and a smile on your face, things will be in place, the way you want. Even if the person in front of you is not good to you, always try to find something good it that situation. I think this would have happened because of my love towards music and dance which has helped me lot to develop myself. Because many people say that art helps you to develop the skill to focus on you work and builds  confidence. So I would suggest to at least follow one hobby."

Some Steps:

• Building a Strong Foundation: Before diving into the vast IT landscape, it's crucial to lay a strong foundation. Focus on excelling in your engineering coursework, especially in computer science-related subjects. Get involved in coding competitions, hackathons, and IT clubs to gain practical experience and showcase your skills to potential employers.
• Embrace Continuous Learning: The IT industry evolves rapidly, with new technologies emerging regularly. Make learning a lifelong habit. Online platforms offer a plethora of courses on programming languages, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and more. Stay updated with the latest trends and developments to stay competitive.
• Projects and Internships: Beyond academic knowledge, hands-on experience is invaluable. Working on personal IT projects that demonstrate your creativity and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, seek internships or part-time jobs in IT companies, as they provide a real-world taste of the industry, networking opportunities, and a chance to learn from seasoned professionals.
• Networking:Building a strong professional network is key to finding opportunities in the IT sector. Attend industry events, seminars, and conferences to connect with experts and potential mentors. LinkedIn is an excellent platform for building and nurturing professional relationships.
• Certifications - Accelerate Your Journey: Certifications can add a significant boost to your IT career. 

An IT career offers endless possibilities for engineering students. By building a strong foundation, embracing continuous learning, gaining practical experience, networking effectively, and obtaining relevant certifications, you can set yourself up for success in the IT sector. Remember, it might be challenging at times, but with determination and the right attitude, you can reach your goals.