u/Jealous-Look-7241

I’m joining my first company as a Software Engineer Trainee in ~2 weeks and have no idea what to do with the time 😂

I thought once I got placed, I’d just chill, travel, binge series, sleep, etc. Because we anyway get grilled in jobs that we actually miss our free days.

But I’ve been building a personal project for the past few weeks and I’m actually too invested in it to stop now.

Another catch is that the company’s tech stack (.NET, C#) is also quite different from what I’ve worked with (mostly MERN/Next/TS). Although the first 3 months are dedicated training.

So what would you guys recommend?

1. Do absolutely nothing, chill and enjoy the free time
2. Learn the basics of the company’s tech stack
3. Continue building my project
4. Some combination of the above?

For those who went through this, what do you wish you had done before your first job?

What a masterstroke by Kullu man!
I mean i have always been on Traitor’s side and I was wishing so hard for Kullu to flip his vote
And he did! I was like phewww

I mean this was so peak!

And Krystle also defended herself fairly well. Although feeling bad for Parul because idk how her instincts were so right everytime we have to give credit to her for that.
But as i said I am rooting for traitors so It’s a WIN!

Got placed on campus and will be joining as a Graduate Engineer Trainee at a company that builds enterprise software for the energy & utilities sector (power distribution, smart grids, etc.). Their stack is mainly C#, .NET, ASP.NET.

My long-term goal is to switch to a good product-based company (₹20+ LPA) in about 1–1.5 years.

The thing is, I've been learning and building projects in the MERN + Next.js + TypeScript + PostgreSQL/Prisma ecosystem, so this is a pretty different direction.

A few questions for people who've been in a similar situation:

• Is starting in this domain/stack likely to make future switches harder?
• What should I focus on during my time there to maximize my chances of switching?
• Should I fully embrace the .NET ecosystem, or continue building side projects in my current stack?
• Any mistakes you wish you'd avoided as a fresher in a similar role?

Current CTC is ₹6 LPA, if that changes the advice.

Would appreciate honest experiences from people who've been in a similar situation, or even those who've seen friends/colleagues make a similar switch.

Got placed on campus and will be joining as a Graduate Engineer Trainee at a company that builds enterprise software for the energy & utilities sector (power distribution, smart grids, etc.). Their stack is mainly C#, .NET, ASP.NET.

My long-term goal is to switch to a good product-based company (₹20+ LPA) in about 1–1.5 years.

The thing is, I've been learning and building projects in the MERN + Next.js + TypeScript + PostgreSQL/Prisma ecosystem, so this is a pretty different direction.

A few questions for people who've been in a similar situation:

• Is starting in this domain/stack likely to make future switches harder?
• What should I focus on during my time there to maximize my chances of switching?
• Should I fully embrace the .NET ecosystem, or continue building side projects in my current stack?
• Any mistakes you wish you'd avoided as a fresher in a similar role?

Current CTC is ₹6 LPA, if that changes the advice.

Would appreciate honest experiences from people who've been in a similar situation, or even those who've seen friends/colleagues make a similar switch.

Turns out, getting the offer was the easy part.

I got an on-campus Business Analyst offer right at the end of my 3rd year. The pay was decent, and after months of placement stress, saying no didn’t really feel like an option. The catch? I had almost no idea what I’d actually be doing in the role. (Yeah, I know… red flag.)

A few weeks into the job, I realized it just wasn’t for me. The work was basically project management lite. A lot of coordinating between teams, tracking timelines, updating stakeholders, and trying to keep everything from falling apart. It was all about managing the chaos of deliveries, juggling priorities, and making sure things moved forward even when nothing was clear. I get why people crave that kind of role, but I just wasn’t wired for it.

I kept waiting for it to click, but instead I found myself constantly thinking about software engineering and building things.

I eventually quit and decided to prepare for SDE roles full-time. It was a scary decision, but staying felt even worse.

Has anyone else gone through something similar with their first campus placement? Did you stick it out, switch domains, or realize early that you were in the wrong career?

Turns out, getting the offer was the easy part.

I got an on-campus Business Analyst offer right at the end of my 3rd year. The pay was decent, and after months of placement stress, saying no didn’t really feel like an option. The catch? I had almost no idea what I’d actually be doing in the role. (Yeah, I know… red flag.)

A few weeks into the job, I realized it just wasn’t for me. The work was basically project management lite. A lot of coordinating between teams, tracking timelines, updating stakeholders, and trying to keep everything from falling apart. It was all about managing the chaos of deliveries, juggling priorities, and making sure things moved forward even when nothing was clear. I get why people crave that kind of role, but I just wasn’t wired for it.

I kept waiting for it to click, but instead I found myself constantly thinking about software engineering and building things.

I eventually quit and decided to prepare for SDE roles full-time. It was a scary decision, but staying felt even worse.

Has anyone else gone through something similar with their first campus placement? Did you stick it out, switch domains, or realize early that you were in the wrong career?

I'm currently studying DSA using Striver's A2Z sheet and I'm struggling to decide whether I should be taking notes or not.

For easy problems it's fine (although if it's easy then not much point of notes), but for harder ones, writing down the intuition, dry runs, edge cases, and approach takes a lot of time, which can instead be spent on solving more problems.

Do you guys take notes at all, or just rely on revision and re-solving problems and watching video solutions if needed in future? If you do take notes, what do you write down?

Also, handwritten notes vs smth digital like Obsidian/Notion - which would you recommend?

I'm currently studying DSA using Striver's A2Z sheet and I'm struggling to decide whether I should be taking notes or not.

For easy problems it's fine (although if it's easy then not much point of notes), but for harder ones, writing down the intuition, dry runs, edge cases, and approach takes a lot of time, which can instead be spent on solving more problems.

Do you guys take notes at all, or just rely on revision and re-solving problems and watching video solutions if needed in future? If you do take notes, what do you write down?

Also, handwritten notes vs smth digital like Obsidian/Notion - which would you recommend?

I’m learning web development through a Udemy course, and I’m confused about the “best” way to make notes while learning web dev.

I’m comfortable with handwritten notes, but I’m not sure what’s actually worth writing down vs what should just stay in code/projects/docs.

One reason I want to make notes is because I tend to forget things pretty quickly if I only watch and code along once, so writing helps me retain and revise concepts better. But at the same time, making notes takes time.

For example,

Recently I built a simple HTTP server using Node.js core modules like http, fs, and path.

While building it, I learned things like:

• routing
• request/response handling
• headers & status codes
• MIME types
• reading files with fs
• serving static files
• using res.writeHead() and res.end()
• handling errors like 404/500

Now I’m confused about what’s actually worth writing down.

For experienced devs:

• What do you personally make notes for?
• What should just stay in code/projects/docs?
• Are handwritten notes even useful for coding?
• Is it better to focus on concepts, debugging mistakes, or just build more projects and let repetition do the work?

I’m learning web development through a Udemy course, and I’m confused about the “best” way to make notes while learning web dev.

I’m comfortable with handwritten notes, but I’m not sure what’s actually worth writing down vs what should just stay in code/projects/docs.

One reason I want to make notes is because I tend to forget things pretty quickly if I only watch and code along once, so writing helps me retain and revise concepts better. But at the same time, making notes takes time.

For example,

Recently I built a simple HTTP server using Node.js core modules like http, fs, and path.

While building it, I learned things like:

• routing
• request/response handling
• headers & status codes
• MIME types
• reading files with fs
• serving static files
• using res.writeHead() and res.end()
• handling errors like 404/500

Now I’m confused about what’s actually worth writing down.

For experienced devs:

• What do you personally make notes for?
• What should just stay in code/projects/docs?
• Are handwritten notes even useful for coding?
• Is it better to focus on concepts, debugging mistakes, or just build more projects and let repetition do the work?

P.S. Many people recommend obsidian for note-taking. How useful is that? Should I switch to that entirely to save time and still have some notes for revision?

I’m learning web development through a Udemy course, and I’m confused about the “best” way to make notes while learning web dev.

I’m comfortable with handwritten notes, but I’m not sure what’s actually worth writing down vs what should just stay in code/projects/docs.

One reason I want to make notes is because I tend to forget things pretty quickly if I only watch and code along once, so writing helps me retain and revise concepts better. But at the same time, making notes takes time.

For example,

Recently I built a simple HTTP server using Node.js core modules like http, fs, and path.

While building it, I learned things like:

• routing
• request/response handling
• headers & status codes
• MIME types
• reading files with fs
• serving static files
• using res.writeHead() and res.end()
• handling errors like 404/500

Now I’m confused about what’s actually worth writing down.

For experienced devs:

• What do you personally make notes for?
• What should just stay in code/projects/docs?
• Are handwritten notes even useful for coding?
• Is it better to focus on concepts, debugging mistakes, or just build more projects and let repetition do the work?

P.S. I think some people are misinterpreting my question - my question is from experienced dev but the question is in context of beginners who have just started learning development!

Also I see people recommending Obsidian over reddit, is it actually useful for learners or should i continue using notebook and pen?

Looking for serious people who are studying daily for 6-7 hours or more - LeetCode, web dev, projects, DSA, interview prep, whatever - and want a buddy to stay accountable

We can sit in a meet, screen share while studying, set daily goals, keep each other focused, etc.

Preferably Indians because similar language + timings + same placement/job market struggle.

Looking for people who are genuinely ready to lock in for the next few months, not the ones who disappear after the first conversation

Looking for serious people who are studying daily for 6-7 hours or more - LeetCode, web dev, projects, DSA, interview prep, whatever - and want a buddy to stay accountable

We can sit in a meet, screen share while studying, set daily goals, keep each other focused, etc.

Preferably Indians because similar language + timings + same placement/job market struggle.

And please don’t DM if you’re gonna vanish after 2 days. Looking for people who are genuinely ready to lock in for the next few months.

Looking for serious people who are studying daily for 6-7 hours or more - LeetCode, web dev, projects, DSA, interview prep, whatever - and want a buddy to stay accountable

We can sit in a meet, screen share while studying, set daily goals, keep each other focused, etc.

Preferably Indians because similar language + timings + same placement/job market struggle.

And please don’t DM if you’re gonna vanish after 2 days. Looking for people who are genuinely ready to lock in for the next few months.

Not another dead server with 1000 members and 3 people talking. Small but active servers are welcome.

Looking for active + serious people grinding:

• DSA
• Leetcode
• Web Dev
• Placements
• Projects

Would love accountability/study rooms where people actually sit and work instead of just chatting.

Even better if the server is active throughout the day, not just evenings or night.

If you know a server with a strong “lock in” culture, please drop it 🙏

Not another dead server with 1000 members and 3 people talking. Small but active servers are welcome.

Looking for active + serious people grinding:

• DSA
• Leetcode
• Web Dev
• Placements
• Projects

Would love accountability/study rooms where people actually sit and work instead of just chatting.

Even better if the server is active throughout the day, not just evenings or night.

If you know a server with a strong “lock in” culture, please drop it 🙏

Not another dead server with 1000 members and 3 people talking. Small but active servers are welcome.

Looking for active + serious people grinding:

• DSA
• Leetcode
• Web Dev
• Placements
• Projects

Would love accountability/study rooms where people actually sit and work instead of just chatting.

Even better if the server is active throughout the day, not just evenings or night.

If you know a server with a strong “lock in” culture, please drop it 🙏

Not another dead server with 1000 members and 3 people talking. Small but active servers are welcome.

Looking for active + serious people grinding:

• DSA
• Leetcode
• Web Dev
• Placements
• Projects

Would love accountability/study rooms where people actually sit and work instead of just chatting.

Even better if the server is active throughout the day, not just evenings or night.

If you know a server with a strong “lock in” culture, please drop it 🙏