How tough is getting a job?
How stressful is getting a job? How much preparation is needed? How much time should I spend? How much better should I become? Am I ready? Will I be suitable for this job? Should I apply or not?
These are the questions running through my brain often. And honestly, I escape from them by procrastinating—scrolling through social media or distracting myself with other work instead of doing what’s needed.
Yes, I know this isn’t the right way. But the truth is, I don’t really know what I should do or how I should handle it.
The irony? I actually have good stories and experiences to share. I’m capable of competing. I’ve done the work needed for job seeking and building a career. All I need to do is put everything I’ve done over the past years together and prepare. But right now, it feels like a burden—or sometimes even useless.
Why? Because I’m not getting opportunities in on-campus placements. Off-campus companies reject me right at the resume shortlisting round. And the job market itself isn’t great right now.
Most companies seem to prefer experienced people. And even when there are fresher openings, many of them are purely for BE and BTech graduates.
Where I Stand ?
I’m not an Engineer, but I study in one of the top engineering colleges in India: College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), Anna University (AU). It’s a pioneer institution, built during the British era, with a long history and many achievements.
Technically, I’m not called an “engineer” because of my course. But the reality is—I follow almost the same syllabus, build the same skills, and work on similar projects as BE CS and BTech IT students. The only difference is the title.
I’m not even a scientist, though my degree is M.Sc. Information Technology, an integrated course at CEG. Professionally, I don’t fit into the “scientist” label either, since our course doesn’t involve research. Instead, it’s packed with the technical learning, tools, and hands-on practice that an engineer or IT professional would need.
The tough part? This course is managed by the Mathematics Department. So we don’t get CS scholars or experienced professors—only teaching fellows, most of whom aren’t strong enough to guide us properly.
Because of this, our course doesn’t get proper on-campus placement opportunities. Most companies reject us immediately after seeing the course name. From the placement cell’s side, there’s also little to no support, even though we’ve been requesting it for years.
The frustrating part is that our students are equally skilled, and some are even better than BE CS and BTech IT students in terms of projects and internships. Yet, we don’t get proper recognition or placements.
With all this happening, I honestly don’t know how to face the situation.
Have you ever felt like no matter how much effort you put in, the system just doesn’t see it?
My Journey So Far
From my 2nd year onwards, I started taking small steps for the sake of my career and professional profile.
- I created my LinkedIn account, began following students, alumni, professors, and tech pages.
- I started learning web development—first simple frontend projects, then functional pages. I built my portfolio and worked with a college team as a frontend developer.
During the transition from 2nd to 3rd year, I learned version control, handling packages, and frameworks. I moved into backend development, did a full-stack project, and took on more backend roles in different projects.
By 3rd year, I was deeply interested in backend development. I worked on a college project as a backend developer for 3 months. At the same time, I also took up responsibilities:
- I served as the General Secretary of my college, co-organizing events and fests, and voicing student concerns to the management.
- I led a team of 5 on an alumni platform project, managing the entire backend myself.
I barely had personal time, but I didn’t mind. I loved what I was doing and stayed true to my responsibilities. Isn’t it funny how when you truly enjoy something, you forget about time?
Between 3rd and 4th year, I had to get an internship as part of my curriculum. During the internship drive, I attended only one company’s process—and I got selected.
In 4th year, I worked as a Platform Engineering Intern at Invisibl Cloud Solutions. Some of my alumni were there, so I got the chance to connect with them. I learned a lot—new tools, frameworks, and technologies—throughout those six months. Around this time, I also started attending tech meetups, made new connections, and gained great experiences.
After the internship, I continued with my course. Around then, I took responsibility
- For sponsorship and logistics for my department symposium Mathrix, as the Head of Industry Relations.
- I worked hard, brought in sponsorships, managed logistics, and actually enjoyed the whole process.
Where I’m Stuck Now
Now, I’m in my final year, preparing for placements. Alongside that, I’m handling two responsibilities:
- I’m the Placement Representative, responsible for handling placements and bringing in companies.
- I’m also one of the Heads of Marketing and External Relations at Guindy Times, our college media club.
With all this going on, I still want to learn ML—but right now, I feel stuck and don’t know how to move forward.
I know some of you reading this might be in the same state as me. And some of you may have already been through this and moved forward. If so, please share your experiences—it might help me, and others like me. After all, sometimes hearing someone else’s journey is all the push we need.
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