Complete RoadMap For First Year College Students – B.Tech/BCA/B.Sc

Firstly, Congratulations on starting your journey in higher education! College life is always special in every student’s learning phase, it teaches them how to build a career, have real fun, explore opportunities, etc. Well, most of the students are probably not clear about the end goal where they want to finally land after completing their B.Tech studies. 

The bottom line is the race to complete a successful B. Tech is not an easy task. As per recent stats, above 10 Lakh students enroll themselves in B.Tech alone (including all branches), so to carve yourself and find out the right path, it becomes necessary to understand what paths you’ve to take to maintain consistency. After all, it’s all about Discipline and Dedication. Be it a guy from CS, IT, ECE, or any stream, if programming interests you, here’s a complete roadmap for you to start your journey. 

So, let’s get started; 

The roadmap of the first year to answer some of your self-made doubts or thoughts. 

Your college life starts with the 1st Semester and this is the best phase to explore, observe, and experience fascinating pieces of stuff. Since you’ve just joined the college, you meet new people, take part in activities, and feel like you’re on top. So, let’s go through the steps to be followed during your 1st and 2nd semesters one by one –

1^st Year (I^st Semester)

Your college starts and you have stepped into the world of programming, but you’re confused about which language to choose and how to start learning to program. If you’re a newbie, the answer to all your questions lies here:

• How to Learn Programming?
• Which Programming Language Should I Choose as a Beginner?

Setup your Laptop 

If you’ve not bought a laptop yet, buy a decent laptop (with 512 GB SSD and at least 8 GB RAM). DOS/Ubuntu laptops are generally cheaper than Windows Laptops but you can install a dual boot of DOS/Ubuntu OS in your Windows Laptop. Try to stop using Windows now.

You need to start using a UNIX-based OS. If you have a Macbook then you already have a UNIX-based OS. If you have a Windows or DOS laptop, install Ubuntu.

Install Necessary Softwares

• IntelliJ IDEA
• VSCode
• Google Chrome
• Slack
• Zoom
• Discord

Create Accounts on Below Mentioned Platforms 

• GeeksforGeeks
• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• Leetcode
• CodeChef
• Codeforces
• HackerRank

Also, below given are a few points you need to focus on before you begin your journey. 

• Those who are already familiar with computer concepts and had a computer as a subject in 12th should start right away with C++ or Java & those who were not into computers can start with the C programming language first.
• Apart from learning a programming language, you should also focus on “How to maintain CGPA”, and “What are the placement trends of your college”, and try to approach seniors for clarity.
• Start your journey without worrying much and allocate 1-2 hours/day for learning programming. 
• By the time when you enter your second semester, try to figure out how you can manage your routine and schedule yourself for studying, learning new things, hanging out with friends, and learning the programming language. 

To help you get started during your initial journey, we have compiled a list of beginner’s courses that are completely free that you must try, and the list entails:

Free Tutorials on Programming:

• C Programming Language
• C++ Programming Language
• Java Programming Language
• Python Programming Language

Free Courses For Programming Languages:

• Fork C++ Programming – Self Paced
• Fork Java Programming – Self Paced
• Fork Python Programming – Self Paced

Programming Languages Course – Basics to Advanced 

• C Programming (Basic to Advanced) – Self Paced
• C++ Programming Foundation – Self Paced
• Java Programming Foundation – Self Paced
• Python Programming Foundation -Self Paced

1^st Year (II^nd Semester)

Now, when you have ended your first semester, you must have got a good idea of how to schedule your daily routine. Solve coding questions as many as possible to get hands-on experience.

When you’re about to enter your second year, you should have well knowledge of the basics of OOPS and DSA concepts. Read:

• Basics of OOPs
• Data Structures and Algorithms Online Courses: Free and Paid

Here’s the Complete Roadmap To Learn DSA From Scratch for those who’re all new to DSA. 

Also, there are some people who’re afraid of the term “DSA”, here’s How to Start Learning DSA? where you’ll get step by step procedure to begin your journey of DSA. By the end of your 2^nd Sem, it is recommended to set up your account and start participating actively on GeeksforGeeks. 

Must-Read for Beginners:

1. Why Should I Learn Coding?
2. Best Tips for Beginners To Learn Coding Effectively

Things to Avoid During Your College Life

• Mismanagement of time. (Although you’re new here but try to be on track and not to get distracted)
• Not applying for internships, could be a major setback to your career as you would never get industry-level exposure. 
• Avoid procrastination (the task which is given to you should be completed then and there, don’t postpone it)
• Don’t try to master all programming languages in one go. 

To get more tips, read 10 Tips For First Year Computer Science Engineering Students

Since you’ve finished your 1^st year in college, learning basics, and going through college chores, now you can discuss and figure out where you want to go “Career Perspective” Below are a few recommendations, and based on your interest and field you can choose accordingly.

Always choose a career that attracts you, makes you learn new things, and is trendy such as: 

• Software Development
• Data Analytics
• Cyber Security
• Product Development
• Product Designing
• Product Management

Why is it important to look into Career Opportunities at the beginning?

The earlier you’ll start, the easier it’s going to be during the entire journey. All of these opportunities have their own key values. The only thing that makes it a primary factor is “Selection of Right Interest”, then only you’ll be able to focus on that path and can work towards this effect. They all are going to get inclined towards your selection.

No matter what career you’re going in, software or product or security, the only thing that you’ll have to make sure of is to maintain the CGPA, especially during the initial time. Companies that will be visiting your campus give a thorough brief on it and if the required one is not achieved, you’re likely to get disqualified from some of the major companies. Explore new fields, try to gain insight into each, and then find out which topic interests you more ultimately, when you see your goal, try to achieve it by working hard.

Note: If you are someone who wants to grow his/her career in “Development” choose careers like-

1. Web Development
2. App Development

Do You Want an Internship/Freelancing During Your First Year? 

Being a student, it’s always beneficial to learn and grow more, GeeksforGeeks, believes to provide a platform where people of all kinds (irrespective of their occupation) can share their knowledge by enrolling themselves in technical content writing. You can also engage yourself by participating in Technical Content Writing (GeeksforGeeks) at GeeksforGeeks and get assured payment on each successful “Published” article. For that, we offer the following benefits:

• We offer exciting payments (the best in the industry), and the billing cycle goes every month.
• You get the chance to commute with our review team and get to know the insights and learn more about different domains.

And the best part is you also get an opportunity to place your name in the GeeksforGeeks “Hall of Fame” through: 

• Geek of the Month: Here, you can contribute your articles and they will be reviewed by the review team. Depending on the number of quality content, you’ll be titled “Geek of the Month”. You get the opportunity to grab prizes along with Internship offers.
  
• Geek of the Year: Geek of the Year is selected by the end of every year on the basis of quality and the number of published articles or videos. You can also win this reputed title and add stars to your resume.

After completion of your 1st year we have sorted your complete roadmap for 2nd year also. So, don’t hesitate to visit our Complete Roadmap For Second Year College Students .