u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9246

Hi everyone, I’m a first year ECE student from India and I’m interested in getting into VLSI/semiconductor roles in the future. My CGPA isn’t great right now, so I want to focus more on building strong skills and projects early.

I wanted to ask seniors and people working in the industry:

• What skills should I start learning in first year?
• Should I focus more on coding or electronics fundamentals?
• Is Verilog worth learning this early?
• What projects would actually help for internships/off-campus hiring?
• How important is CGPA for VLSI companies?
• What should I do differently if I want to target companies like NVIDIA, Intel, Qualcomm, AMD, etc.?

Right now I only know basic C programming and college-level electronics. I’m ready to spend time learning seriously, but I don’t want to waste time on random things.

Would really appreciate roadmap advice from people already in VLSI/design/verification roles.