Hi everyone,

I'm a CS student about to complete my degree, and I'm trying to be very intentional about how I spend the next year before graduation.

I originally completed CS50x and CS50P, and they helped me build a much stronger programming foundation than my college has. I finished both in about five weeks each, and they gave me a lot of confidence that software engineering is something I genuinely enjoy. Since then, father got fired, then got really sick, I encountered major health issues, adulting and stepping up for the family, and a rigorous but useless college schedule, and other stuff didn't allow me to upskill much. I really want to improve but feel intimidated.

Here's where I currently stand:

Languages

• Python
• C
• Java (basic)

Web Development

• HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Bootstrap
• Flask
• React (beginner)

Databases

• SQL

My long-term goal is to become a strong software engineer and eventually work internationally. I know my college won't carry much weight, so I'm assuming my skills, projects, and interview performance will have to do the heavy lifting.

If you were in my position today, what would you prioritize over the next year?

Some specific questions:

• Which area would give me the best combination of learning and career opportunities: backend, AI/ML, full-stack, cloud, systems, or something else? Should I focus on web development, backend, AI/ML, systems programming, mobile, cloud, or something else? (I am highly interested in AI/ML)
• Should I spend more time on LeetCode and DSA, or focus on building increasingly complex projects? I am decently well versed with data structures/algorithms but haven't done any LeetCode or the likes.
• What skills or technologies you think I should learn that are missing from my current stack?
• What kinds of projects actually stand out to recruiters?
• If your goal was to land a high-paying software engineering job as quickly as possible, what roadmap would you follow?
• For those who eventually moved abroad for work, what helped you stand out despite not having a prestigious degree?

I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know it'll take years of consistent work. I'm just trying to avoid spending hundreds of hours learning things that won't move the needle.

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been through this journey. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a CS student about to complete my degree, and I'm trying to be very intentional about how I spend the next year before graduation.

I originally completed CS50x and CS50P, and they helped me build a much stronger programming foundation than my college has. I finished both in about five weeks each, and they gave me a lot of confidence that software engineering is something I genuinely enjoy. Since then, father got fired, then got really sick, I encountered major health issues, adulting and stepping up for the family, and a rigorous but useless college schedule, and other stuff didn't allow me to upskill much. I really want to improve but feel intimidated.

Here's where I currently stand:

Languages

• Python
• C
• Java (basic)

Web Development

• HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Bootstrap
• Flask
• React (beginner)

Databases

• SQL

My long-term goal is to become a strong software engineer and eventually work internationally. I know my college won't carry much weight, so I'm assuming my skills, projects, and interview performance will have to do the heavy lifting.

If you were in my position today, what would you prioritize over the next year?

Some specific questions:

• Which area would give me the best combination of learning and career opportunities: backend, AI/ML, full-stack, cloud, systems, or something else? Should I focus on web development, backend, AI/ML, systems programming, mobile, cloud, or something else? (I am highly interested in AI/ML)
• Should I spend more time on LeetCode and DSA, or focus on building increasingly complex projects? I am decently well versed with data structures/algorithms but haven't done any LeetCode or the likes.
• What skills or technologies you think I should learn that are missing from my current stack?
• What kinds of projects actually stand out to recruiters?
• If your goal was to land a high-paying software engineering job as quickly as possible, what roadmap would you follow?
• For those who eventually moved abroad for work, what helped you stand out despite not having a prestigious degree?

I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know it'll take years of consistent work. I'm just trying to avoid spending hundreds of hours learning things that won't move the needle.

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been through this journey. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a CS student about to complete my degree, and I'm trying to be very intentional about how I spend the next year before graduation.

I originally completed CS50x and CS50P, and they helped me build a much stronger programming foundation than my college has. I finished both in about five weeks each, and they gave me a lot of confidence that software engineering is something I genuinely enjoy. Since then, family problems, health issues, adulting and stepping up for the family, and a rigorous but useless college schedule didn't allow me to upskill much. I really want to improve but feel intimidated.

Here's where I currently stand:

Languages

• Python
• C
• Java (basic)

Web Development

• HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Bootstrap
• Flask
• React (beginner)

Databases

• SQL

My long-term goal is to become a strong software engineer and eventually work internationally. I know my college won't carry much weight, so I'm assuming my skills, projects, and interview performance will have to do the heavy lifting.

If you were in my position today, what would you prioritize over the next year?

Some specific questions:

• Which area would give me the best combination of learning and career opportunities: backend, AI/ML, full-stack, cloud, systems, or something else? Should I focus on web development, backend, AI/ML, systems programming, mobile, cloud, or something else? (I am highly interested in AI/ML)
• Should I spend more time on LeetCode and DSA, or focus on building increasingly complex projects? I am decently well versed with data structures/algorithms but haven't done any LeetCode or the likes.
• What skills or technologies you think I should learn that are missing from my current stack?
• What kinds of projects actually stand out to recruiters?
• If your goal was to land a high-paying software engineering job as quickly as possible, what roadmap would you follow?
• For those who eventually moved abroad for work, what helped you stand out despite not having a prestigious degree?

I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know it'll take years of consistent work. I'm just trying to avoid spending hundreds of hours learning things that won't move the needle.

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been through this journey. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a CS student about to complete my degree, and I'm trying to be very intentional about how I spend the next year before graduation.

I originally completed CS50x and CS50P, and they helped me build a much stronger programming foundation than my college has. I finished both in about five weeks each, and they gave me a lot of confidence that software engineering is something I genuinely enjoy. Since then, family problems, health issues, adulting and stepping up for the family, and a rigorous but useless college schedule didn't allow me to upskill much. I really want to improve but feel intimidated.

Here's where I currently stand:

Languages

• Python
• C
• Java (basic)

Web Development

• HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Bootstrap
• Flask
• React (beginner)

Databases

• SQL

My long-term goal is to become a strong software engineer and eventually work internationally. I know my college won't carry much weight, so I'm assuming my skills, projects, and interview performance will have to do the heavy lifting.

If you were in my position today, what would you prioritize over the next year?

Some specific questions:

• Which area would give me the best combination of learning and career opportunities: backend, AI/ML, full-stack, cloud, systems, or something else? Should I focus on web development, backend, AI/ML, systems programming, mobile, cloud, or something else? (I am highly interested in AI/ML)
• Should I spend more time on LeetCode and DSA, or focus on building increasingly complex projects? I am decently well versed with data structures/algorithms but haven't done any LeetCode or the likes.
• What skills or technologies you think I should learn that are missing from my current stack?
• What kinds of projects actually stand out to recruiters?
• If your goal was to land a high-paying software engineering job as quickly as possible, what roadmap would you follow?
• For those who eventually moved abroad for work, what helped you stand out despite not having a prestigious degree?

I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know it'll take years of consistent work. I'm just trying to avoid spending hundreds of hours learning things that won't move the needle.

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been through this journey. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I just finished CS50x and CS50P, and I wanted to thank this community, and especially people on Discord, because it was incredibly helpful throughout both courses.

I completed both in about five to six weeks each. They were intense, but it's my final year and I locked in so I had time to finish them due to fewer classes, and I loved every minute of them. More importantly, they gave me a lot of confidence that I genuinely enjoy programming and can become really good at it if I keep putting in the work. I made good projects for it too.

I'm about to graduate from a college that doesn't have a strong reputation, and I know I can't rely on my degree to open doors. My CGPA is a 9.05 right now. I live in a third-world country, and one of my long-term goals is to eventually build a career abroad. More than anything, I want to become financially independent as soon as I can.

So I'd really appreciate some advice from people who've been further down this path.

Some questions I have:

• If you were starting over after CS50x and CS50P, what would you learn next?
• What skills actually make someone employable in today's market?
• Should I focus on web development, backend, AI/ML, systems programming, mobile, cloud, or something else? (I am highly interested in AI/ML)
• How much does solving LeetCode and learning data structures/algorithms matter compared to building projects? I am decently well versed with data structures/algorithms but haven't done any LeetCode.
• What kinds of projects would make recruiters take me seriously even without a prestigious degree?
• If your goal was to get a high-paying job as quickly as possible, what roadmap would you follow?
• For people who eventually moved abroad, what made the biggest difference in making that possible?

I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know this will take a lot of work. I'm just trying to spend my time on the highest-leverage skills instead of randomly jumping between technologies.

I'd love to hear what worked for you, what you wish you'd done differently, or what you think someone in my position should prioritize over the next 6–12 months as I move towards graduation.

Thanks!