DSA Learning Experience

Hello Geeks,

Today I’m gonna talk about my DSA journey as a college student. I’m Pratik, a second-year B Tech student at NIT Durgapur.

As a boy from a small town, I always had a curiosity for technology and its endless possibilities. However, I never had any formal coding training or exposure to computer science. I’m a boy from a state government school and our school didn’t have any kind of computer course in our junior high or even in our +2. I came to know about the term DSA after coming to college and it interested me a lot. So I started exploring this domain.

At first, the concept of Data Structures and Algorithms sounded somewhat scary. As I didn’t have any prior knowledge in any language, I started learning C++. At first, everything was quite demotivating and I faced numerous moments of frustration. But I decided to stick to the goal. Gradually, as I spent more time studying and practicing, things started to click. I started understanding how data structures could efficiently store and organize information, and how algorithms could manipulate this data to solve problems.

Besides DSA, I also started learning web development. The idea of creating websites and applications from scratch fascinated me. I learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and soon enough, I was building my own projects and experimenting with different ideas. Currently, I’m learning REACT.js side by side.

The more I learned, the more my confidence grew. I joined coding communities and forums. I also became a member of the open-source promoting community of our college and started to use a lot of FOSS applications. I found them quite interesting and I also want to contribute to them as a fellow community member.

Now, after more than six months of dedication and hard work, I can proudly say that my skills have come a long way. I am no longer the same person I was when I started this journey. DSA has not only improved my problem-solving abilities but has also taught me valuable life lessons like patience and the importance of continuous learning.

If someone like me, with no prior coding background, can learn the data structures in just 6 or 7 months, then I genuinely believe that anyone can do it too. I know there’s still a long way to go. I started practicing from GFG and some other platforms too. I also started giving contests regularly, everyone suggests you give as many contests as possible as it’ll help you think and make decisions quickly. There’s a huge community that can help you if you got stuck anywhere during your learning. Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. Together, let’s inspire and motivate each other to chase our dreams, for the journey, which is worth every step!