How My Life Lessons Will Help You Get Good Grades
In this article, I will share the lessons I learned in my Computer Science degree and how they’ll help you to get good grades. These lessons are based on my actual experiences.
After many years of completing the degree, there are so many ifs and buts. However, I can’t change the past, can I? The only thing I can do now is I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did so that you could get better grades.
Let’s dive into them.
1.Learn to Code Challenging Programming Assignments Fast
First things First. In my university, I did the following units. Most of them had programming entirely except the Operating System unit:
1st Year:
- Introduction To Software Development: It taught me basic programming principles such as sequence, selection, repetition, and opening and closing files using VB.Net
- Object Oriented Principles: C# was the language here where I learned all that I did in VB.Net, in addition to basic OOP (Object Oriented Programming) concepts, including Inheritance, Polymorphism, Abstraction, and Encapsulation.
2nd Year
Based on the foundation of the above two languages, I then learned :
- Data Structure and Algorithms: Using C# to code binary trees, Sorting algorithms, stacks, queues, and heaps.
- Operating Systems: In this unit, we have to write code to mimic some of the basic management functionalities of the OS, including memory management, deadlock prevention, and socket programming using C.
3rd Year
Until now, my mind was tired of learning so many languages, and I was looking forward to the final year project.
Guess what?
Again, I had to go through the entire process of learning a new language from the beginning when the team leader for the final year project decided to go with PHP.
- eJouranl System: For the front-end we used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and PHP and MySQL for the back end.
Mistakes When Learning To Code Challenging Programming Assignments
As you can see, it’s a lot of languages to learn. I initially did well in my first year’s programming units(VB.NET and C#) because the assignments and the exams were based on all the lessons that they taught in the class. However, here are the mistakes that I made in 2nd and 3rd year for some of the units mentioned above.
#Mistake 1- 2nd Year Operating System
I completely screwed up the assignment part in the Operating Systems unit. Because the unit didn’t teach any programming, all it did was theory parts of the Operating System’s major functionalities like deadlock, file, and memory management
Then, for the assignments using C programming, we have to practically create programs to mimic the behaviors of these Operating system’s core functionalities.
So, since C was new to me, I wasted time learning all the initial syntax of the language from scratch instead of providing priority to the task of the assignment at hand.
#Mistake 2-Final Year Project
I made the same blunder when doing the final-year project. As mentioned above, I didn’t have the guts to learn PHP as I had never learned it up to then.
So, I told my team leader to give me tasks associated with front-end development and other tasks such as DFDs, UML, and Database diagrams and modeling. So little did I realize then that I was going to miss out on future opportunities for not taking the challenge to learn PHP.
How Could You Learn From My Mistakes?
When somebody gives you a complex programming assignment on a language you haven’t done thus far, don’t try to learn that new language from scratch if you have any programming knowledge or have a computer science background.
Instead, read the assignment carefully and plan the program by writing a pseudocode. Once you have the pseudocode, work on the program, bringing the language’s syntax into play. Then, you can search on Google and other online resources to achieve each step in your pseudocode with the language’s syntax.
The key takeaway is that any language will have sequence, selection, and repetition followed by OOP concepts if the language supports it. So, given the tight deadlines of the university or college assignment, don’t try to study the language from scratch. Instead, work on the logic and then the syntax.
2.Coding Is Not The Only Skill In Computer Science
Another lesson I realized after the degree was that I wasted precious time testing and re-writing code when it didn’t compile. As a result, I was falling behind in some of the other units that were equally important as programming.
I was able to pass them with merely 50 marks and above but not over 60 marks. Nevertheless, had I put more effort into them, I could have easily landed a career in technical writing, content creation, or business analysis.
So, if you’re a Computer Science student who’s not into coding but still has to do it as part of the course, then always discuss your coding assignments with your mates rather than struggling by yourselves. Post your problems in the student forums and talk to your lecturers.
Simultaneously, manage time wisely and give more weight to any other area in the degree program that you’re good at. Some of these areas include:
- Business/System Analysis: Requires sharp analytical skills, technical knowledge of the current information systems, cost-benefit analysis, and good communication and persuasive skills.
- Data Analysts: requires knowledge of statistics, advanced mathematics, databases, and statistical applications such as MS Excel, SPASS, and SAS.
- Technical Writing: If you are naturally gifted with writing, writing software manuals, user guides, and how-to guides is a good choice. You must also be familiar with writing software such as Markdown and, at minimum, MS Word.
- Quality Assurance: You must know the entire Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC), QA methodologies, and Agile framework.
These are just a handful of areas; there could be a lot more in your degree program. So make sure you find the right skill relevant to you.
Next, let’s talk about non-technical skills.
3.Non Technical Skills Are Equally Important
Now, if you’re a Computer Science student, it’s easier to be sitting in front of a computer screen and coding the whole day. Although it might make you an exceptional coder, you’ll not go beyond that point.
If you want to go higher up the ladder in your programming career, you can’t be an introvert. Because higher positions require people management, communication and negotiation skills.
So, to become a technical lead, project manager, or scrum master, make sure you work on communication skills and people management skills by doing the following:
- Take Leadership Responsibilities: Take it as a challenge and become the project leader in your final year project. However, ensure you don’t fill up the group with just colleagues from your own country. Mix with people from different backgrounds.
- Become Marketing Oriented: You need to be able to sell yourself. Now, you may have outstanding grades in your coursework. But if you can’t sell yourself, you’ll never land a trainee job to start your career. Here’s an excellent free place to start.
- Improve Communication Skills: Be prepared to give presentations and speak confidently to a large crowd. If you’re too shy, you may begin by asking questions in your lectures and gradually build your confidence. If you can afford to join any Toastmaster group in your area it will boost your confidence immensely.
4.There Is A Life Outside Coding or Computer Science
Being an international student in a foreign country alone makes it easy to get into studying mode 24/7. As a result, you’ll miss the other fascinating skills/things that life offers, such as partying, dating, clubbing, movie nights, going on trips, etc.
Fortunately, engaging in such activities will enhance your non-technical skills mentioned above.
Also, plenty of part-time job opportunities are available for international students in restaurants, pubs, supermarkets, and fast food outlets, and you name it.
Just move out of your apartment and hand in your CV; then, you might be lucky.
Ultimately, the experience you will gain in your part-time work will enhance your personality, growth, and non-technical skills required in your career in the IT sector in the long run.
5. Building A Portfolio To Showcase Your Accomplishments
Most fresh graduates out here often complain that their potential employers ask for experience in the field and how to show them when you don’t have any.
Well, it’s a valid concern, and I’ll cover a separate article on this. However, in a nutshell, to showcase your experience in the field, you can do the following:
- Build a portfolio website by designing it in Figma, Adobe Photoshop, or any other graphical software package. Then, convert that to a live website using HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript or jQuery. You can even design the website in the browser using HTML and CSS if your site doesn’t need sophisticated graphics.
- In this portfolio website, include links to your university work and projects and convincing your leadership skills.
- If you’re into programming or web development, build something simple, such as a basic CRUD application. This way, you can show off your PHP (or any language of your choice), Database, and front-end web development skills.
In addition, you need to create your CV so that employers feel attracted to hiring you. It’s also vital to prepare for interviews, which I’ll share some valuable tips in another article shortly.
Wrapping it Up
I’m sure after reading this article, you found some valuable life lessons from my experience. Getting good grades and enhancing your technical and nontechnical skills is integral to successfully completing your Computer Science degree program.
So, work on your strengths and weaknesses and complete your degree with flying colors. I wish you all the best.
Please clap, comment and follow if you found this interesting. Thanks for reading.
