Top 5 Things Every CS Student Should do Outside of Class
Hello, I’m Jeff, a third year computer science major at DePaul University in Chicago. In this post, I am going to break down five things that I think every CS student should be doing outside of their classwork if they want to maximize their career options and possibilities once they graduate. If you want my credentials, I participated in a year-long, paid machine learning research program sponsored by Motorola Solutions during my second year, and have accepted an IT Infrastructure internship at a major health insurance company for this coming summer. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I have learned a lot in my time as a CS student and I’ve participated in some very beneficial career opportunities, so I think my advice holds up pretty well. Above all, the unfortunate reality is that you need to do more than just classwork to get a good job with a CS degree in today’s world, so I wanted to create this post to help make the situation a little more clear.
1. Work on CS-Related Stuff
At this point, I am guessing you are tired of hearing some variation of “build projects” as advice. Too bad. You are hearing it again from me. But, I would like to add a little more flavor. You don’t have to build a full stack ecommerce web app or whatever from scratch as a freshman, to me that is an insane expectation and also would take way more work than I am personally willing to put in outside of classes to be actually successful and functional. I would recommend you find some technology, or programming concept, or technique that interests you (you can do this by searching those exact words online and exploring) and figuring out what the most doable deliverable project is for that. This can be as simple as code that runs and outputs as little as one word to the console, or it can be a full stack ecommerce web app that functions and makes money. It’s up to you, the technology you choose to learn, and how much time and effort you want to put in. You can also contribute to open source projects online, or work on a friend’s project, or do unpaid labor for a company, a professor, or something else at your university. Just do something so you gain a sliver of experience and have something to bring up in interviews. There is also no cheat code to finding the perfect thing to work on, if nothing is jumping out at you just pick something and work on it, you will eventually develop an understanding of what you like.
2. Get Some Teamwork Experience Related to CS
Whatever you have done for number 1 may have already covered this tip, but if not I urge you to take it into consideration. Coding and building stuff on your own is one thing, but it’s an entirely different world when you are working with a team. Everyone has different skill sets and skill levels, and we all have different ways we like to solve problems and do work. That’s why it is so important to gain experience working with others, and that’s why you will without a doubt be asked if you have worked with others and what that was like when you interview for an internship or job. The experience you talk about doesn’t have to be an internship or job itself, it can be university research, a hackathon you did, or even a small app you and some friends made. If you can’t find any options to work with people, make the option yourself by asking classmates if they want to work on something with you outside of class. A lot of CS students are kind of awkward and quiet, but I can guarantee you there will be at least one that will be excited and motivated at this idea.
3. Network!
To me, this is the most important factor if you want to get an internship and a job. Regardless of your career goals, whether you want to just get really good at some certain skill or concept and only look for jobs doing that, or you will take any and all opportunities you can find, networking will improve your chances. I can attest to this, the internship I have this summer was only available to me because I networked. Someone in my research team was a masters student who currently works at the company and I saw they had an internship I was interested in, so I introduced myself and we had a short but respectful conversation, and then asked if they would refer me for the internship. Guess what? They were happy to! Because people who you actually meet and talk to usually are! As a result, I was one of the first people interviewed for the position, I had experiences to talk about (thanks to tip 1) and I got the internship! The next tip is sort of a continuation, but I think it is such a valuable tactic that it deserves its own spot on the list.
4. Connect with Alumni on LinkedIn
This is my secret weapon (it’s actually a very well known strategy). But, I think this is where the advantage of going to somewhere like DePaul, being both moderately large and located in a major city, comes into play. Here’s what you are going to do: 1. Make an account on LinkedIn if you have not yet, you can follow guides online to make it look good. 2. Compile an extensive list of companies that do or might offer internships or jobs you would want (this can take long, but the more companies you find the more chances you have). 3. Go to your university’s LinkedIn page and navigate through the alumni list to find alumni at each of the companies you listed. 4. Send a connection request to alumni who are ideally in a job you would like to have, but if not that’s alright too, and add a short message saying you go to the same university and would love to connect and have a quick chat about their career journey. 5. If they respond and accept your offer, have a polite and quick conversation, be genuinely interested in them, and respectfully bring up the internship or job and potential for a referral at the end of the call. This process is repetitive and not quick, but it will allow you to leverage a large portion of your university’s alumni network for a referral. Also, you have to go in expecting that 99/100 people will not accept your connection, or will accept and not meet you. But, that 100th person could lead you to an internship or job.
5. You do NOT Have to be Constantly Working on Stuff
This last tip may seem counterintuitive to what I’ve been saying and what you have heard from many others, but I stand by it. During my second year in 2023 I recognized that the job market was going to be tougher than I anticipated when looking for internships and full time jobs, and it has only gotten tougher since. A lot of people have chosen to double down as a result of that and devote even more time and effort than originally planned to projects and other things outside of class, and I admire that. However, that is not what I wanted to do, it’s not what I have chosen to do, and I don’t think it is absolutely necessary if all you want is a stable job in this field. If you can do worthwhile work outside of class, you don’t need to do an insane amount of it. You can build/work on one or two cool things, meet a handful of cool people, and network your way to some opportunities. You don’t need to give up your entire college experience just because the job market is a little tougher and you want to commit to CS. It is possible to make it happen without insane work outside of class, and my situation is proof of that.
Overall, I hope these tips can both provide you with a basis for some things to do outside of your schoolwork once you start classes, and also alleviate some of the stress that comes with taking on CS as a major. The script has completely changed, and the once secure tech field seems very competitive. However, if you make the right choices and do beneficial things outside of your classes, you can be successful in your career and also enjoy your college experience without feeling bogged down by expectations and things you feel you have to be doing, and there is no better place to do it than DePaul!
~Jeff