I am a 11th Grade Student. I love Coding. I have already achieved the knowledge of Web Development but i want to take my Knowledge Furhter. SO What Shall i do to Enter in Software Engineering Directly Without completion of 12th Grade . Plz Help me with it
How to become #software_engineering for #undergraduated_ Students? #coding #technology #software-development
8 answers
Caroline’s Answer
That is great that you enjoy coding. The job market grows every year with more and more positions for this line of work. Not only that, but you are bound to find any type of cause that you could support with this praised skill set.
Considering you only have 1 more year to finish high school, I would recommend following through and finishing high school if there are no pressing reasons that would keep you from otherwise. Finishing high school would open up more opportunities for you from a resume screening perspective.
However, I would start putting in the work now if you are not planning on continuing a formal education. It is all about standing out and you can achieve this in many ways besides the traditional route.
1 - Start networking. Go to tech meetups. Join hackathons. Many people do hackathons with little to no coding experience. Mentors are there to help you onsite if you do want to hone your skills, but QA and idea creators are also just as needed. Both are cool, supportive spaces that promote collaboration.
2 - Ramp up your skills. Code academy is great for learning. I have learned a couple of new languages here myself. There are also many different certifications you can achieve online. Do your research and find what best matches your interest. After all, you will be most successful in pursuing something you like!
3 - Practice and hone. Create your own Webpages. Build apps. Solve problems in society or even among your friends - start by simply asking, "What would make life easier"? This may be the most important to differentiate yourself and show that you are a worthy investment for a company.
4 - Be confident in your abilities. Do not be surprised if you find job opportunities present themselves from networking and being involved in the community. Keep practicing and maintain sincere relationships in your network and you will find shortly that everything will come together.
Best luck!
Dhairya’s Answer
Good to see you're interested in web development. It is a huge space and there is a lot to learn.
I often find that rather than just working on tutorials, it really helpful to work on real projects. If you feel like you have a solid grasp of web development, the next step is build a website. What are you really excited about? For example if you love dogs, develop a blog about dogs. Depending on your skill level you can build it using a CMS (like wordpress) or code it from scratch using a tools like Node.js, Angular/React for the frontend, and Javascript.
The best way to develop and grow your skills is building real projects. The best part is that you can showcase these projects as part of your portfolio. Portfolios are a great way to show you can code and are helpful for college admissions and job opportunities. And if you're looking for ideas, build a website for yourself! It'll be useful to have your own personal website that showcases your portfolio and skills.
Good luck!
Ifran Xion
Ifran’s Answer
You can never really say that I have achieved the knowledge of web development, because new web technologies are being released quite often and a developer always stays in the loop to learn them and stay on top of their game.
I started freelancing and making websites when I was in 10th grade, I felt the same way as I was in your shoes. I thought I can accomplish a lot of things with the knowledge I had back then. But, as time passed my perspective changed.
Dropping out of school is not a good idea, I know that some of the greatest minds that are out there today are dropouts but the thing is being exceptional is not an example.
Having skills in web development alone won't help you succeed in software engineering. You need to learn programming languages for that such as C, C++, Java, Python, PHP, JavaScript etc.
Ifran recommends the following next steps:
David’s Answer
I highly suggest completing your schooling and get a diploma. From a career standpoint, a lot of the desirable positions/jobs you will want to work towards will even require a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. But, don't let this get you down. I have worked with Software Developers who were great developers who were finishing their degrees while working as a developer.
I would find projects and work on to get exposure to more development. Work in the full stack (database to front end) and use free technologies. Just one that comes to mind would be a MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, AngularJs, Node.js). And you don't even have to tackle all these at once. You can just create small little programs that do simple tasks. As you get exposure, try to combine two or three together to work in conjunction with each other.
Additionally, I would work through free, online courses and tutorials. MIT OpenCourseWare can assist with giving you the foundational information for understanding software development (and if you like it then you'll be a shoe in for pursuing a bachelors in Computer Science). Additionally, Udacy has (paid) options that are great for learning new languages with guided projects.
Michelle’s Answer
However, as Dhairya Dalal stated, you will have a significant challenge finding a job in Software Engineering without a high school degree. Many will likely require a college or graduate degree as well.
Ollie’s Answer
There may be a few examples out there of successful programmers without high school diplomas.
But, the media NEVER covers unsuccessful people without high school diplomas except in stories about the causes of poverty. If you don't finish high school, you WILL be very sorry ten years from now. Sorry to be blunt. But it's the truth.
Of course high school can be boring. Others have suggested finding ways to pursue more advanced work than your high school offers. Do that. Or, try working with your school's math or science department to design and carry out an independent study class, or maybe get an assignment as a teaching assistant.
I speak from experience. I took some time away from high school and then university to do programming. But, the people employing me told me I would never ascend beyond paid intern without the diploma and degree.
Ollie recommends the following next steps:
Jacquelyn Poticny
Jacquelyn’s Answer
I know here in the states students in 11th grade are eligible to start taking college courses. This would give you an opportunity to learn how to code and see if that is something you really want to do with your life.
Saumya’s Answer
If you believe in understanding more than mugging up, if you ACTUALLY love programming, if you DO with to become a good software engineer, then there are no shortcuts my friend. You can skip your school and go for a diploma or free-lancing etc, but that will make you just a coder earning money and not a software engineer. Choice is yours :)