I am a Software Engineer by Profession with Mechanical Engineering Background. Looking back, I realized the impact of the time I spent in the college and how it shaped me as a person in further life. In this blog, I will share my experience, the ups and downs, the memories from that time period. To make this blog useful for you, the reader, I will share some conclusion/ advice at the end of this blog. So lets begin..

I done my graduation in Mechanical Engineering from Pune University. The first year of college was all about getting adjusted to the hustle and bustle of the city, making new friends and exploring hill stations nearby.

We had a subject as "Fundamentals of Computer Programming 1&2" for the first and second semester. And those were the only two subjects that I failed in my Engineering life. It still reflects in my mark sheet. I was unable to fathom the basic concepts of C and C++ at that time. I saw my friends clearing those exams effortlessly and felt like idiot at that time. Eventually I cleared those subjects in the retests. But that made me curious about the programming in general. I started to learn by my own but couldn't wrap my head around C and C++.

Years went by, And now I became typical engineering student who studied only for exams and copy practical's from other people. Then comes the end of all, The placements. I got job in Mechanical design company but did not get to work there because the company went bankrupt. Now I was on my own to find a job, which is seems impossible at that time. I had no practical skill whatsoever and to find the job of your liking was very hard for that time. I tried applying at career pages of the companies but none of them would reply.

Then I found out about the course in Java Programming which was offering job referrals at the end of it. I took it as a last chance to get employed and studied Java rigorously. Finally I got the job as software Engineer 3 years after completing my graduation and life has not been same since then. Now I am able to see the vast opportunities to learn the new skills and to grow professionally.

To conclude I would like to highlight some points. These are the things I realized way later after completing the graduation. I like to highlight these points here so the new students or recent graduate can learn some lessons from them, So that they could excel in their career of choice.

So the things to remember in your University years :

• Do not study just to clear your exams but instead try to learn new skills like programming, freelancing, video editing etc.

• Try to apply those skills practically. Do some projects get them verified from your seniors or professors. ask for feedback from them.

• Apply for internships (So many online resources are available these days to find good internships). This will give you idea about the real world problems and also you will be able to connect with great people.

In the end the journey as University grad was awesome and still put smile on my face when think about those years. Now I am looking forward to try my hands on writing blogs, opensource and also to attend seminars and technical events as much as possible. So remember to keep you head high no matter what and to keep learning !