From Classroom To Coding At A High Level With Shubham Malhotra

With the influx of programmers and computer science graduates, finding a meaningful job in a high-profile company can be hard, especially when you do not have a stellar profile. A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Shubham Malhotra, speaks out on the techniques he employs to get noticed by the big players after graduating. Ironically, he claims that his hard work started long before he graduated.

Life doesn't start at graduation

It doesn't mean that graduation isn't important, in fact, Malhotra attributes his capabilities to his academic experience at RIT. The rigorous curriculum equipped him with essential technical skills and helped hone his problem-solving and critical thinking. 

"RIT gave me a solid foundation in theories, but it was hands-on projects that truly prepared me for the challenges that I deal with daily, even today…" Malhotra goes on to share that "Education is one thing, but experience is another. We often see memes talking about how companies want graduates with experience, resulting in jokes that it seems to be entirely unrealistic, but it really isn't. Experience doesn't start at graduation, experience starts from university, or as early as high school. Volunteering and working on projects are all part of your experience that companies would be keeping an eye out for. What meaningful contributions have you made?" 

In 2020, while still a student at RIT, Shubham had already created an algorithm that decompresses and re-compresses file sizes, saving more than 50% of space with this innovation. Before his graduation, he also designed Scan Writing on AWS, which handles and uploads handwritten documents effectively. 

Meaningful volunteering, internships, or collaboration

Volunteer projects are a great way to get experience, or as Malhotra puts it, "Free labor is one way to convince companies to give you a chance. It won't always work because they will have to train you, so unless you already have some kind of portfolio to show them your competency, you might find yourself rejected from volunteering or interning, though charities are a good place to start as they are often overlooking any ‘superfluous' aspects to their cause, and that could mean a good CRM system or management tool."

Shubham goes on to encourage computer science students to start personal passion projects. For example, he made sure he was familiar with several programming languages, databases, and other coding essentials, such as Django, Node.js, Bootstrap, JQuery, Azure, AWS, etcetera.

"There is no such thing as knowing too much," he would answer when asked about how many platforms and tools he is familiar with, "in fact, it would give you the upper hand when it comes to landing an internship or a job. Being knowledgeable about your industry is a definite must, though I understand that many programmers may just stick to a handful of coding languages, if you want to excel, you will need to learn something new just to stay ahead of the curve. At the end of the day, it really is a matter of determination. How much do you really want to thrive in this industry?" 

Image Credit: Shubham Malhotra

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