We’re about halfway through the semester so here’s some key insights:
This semester has been quite hectic and probably my busiest so far in my time here at OSU. Between multiple class projects, senior capstone, applying to next summer internships, studying for interviews and grinding Leetcode, I can confidently say I haven’t been bored.
So what’s you senior capstone project about?
My team is currently working on a Job Hunting AI tool. Think LinkedIn but the simpler, built in a dorm room type version. Less fancy, but still gets the job done. Now AI? Everyone loves to throw the word AI around, but what is it really going to accomplish for us? How does it make our application unique?
Job hunting these days feels like shouting into a void – you send out dozens of applications but rarely get a response, leaving you feeling ghosted and discouraged. That’s where our new AI tool comes in. By crunching resume data and available job posts, we aim to curate hyper-targeted recommendations that actually match job seekers to opportunities.
So far our team has been hard at work on pre-production planning, hammering out features, architecture diagrams, you name it. There are still quite a few unknowns, and it’s during the development process that we’ll truly encounter unexpected challenges. However, I’m excited to delve deeper into web scraping, machine learning, and database storage in AWS. These three elements are currently hot topics in technology, and I believe they will greatly benefit us in our future endeavors.
Wow, sounds interesting but how are you managing in general? Any tips on handling stress?
If I told you that juggling a year-long software development project, working on other lengthy projects in different classes, securing a summer internship with multiple rounds of interviews, and grinding leetcode isn’t stressful, I’d be lying. However, I can share one valuable tip: time management. Let’s face it, us students have a tendency to procrastinate. But when you’re given 2-3 weeks for a project in another class, it’s because it genuinely requires that amount of time. Don’t wait until two days before and expect to accomplish everything. That will only stress you out. Staying ahead of deadlines is the number one crucial tip I have.
Okay, and what about technical interviews though, they all seem fairly tough. What if I feel stuck and just can’t seem to solve any problem whether it be tagged leetcode medium or leetcode hard?
Okay here’s the reality: Nobody knows everything. And if you do, well where’s the fun and excitement in that? The beauty of life lies in the constant journey of learning and discovering new things. Now I won’t get all philosophical here, but the bottom line is this: if you can problem solve, then you’re only a google search away from the solution. In technical interviews, you won’t always know every single question that comes your way. The real key is your approach. If you can come up with ideas and find ways to improve them, you’re already on the path to success. Anyone can be given an approach and code up a solution, but what truly matters is your problem-solving skills. The number one mistake is reading a question and not trying to understand it and directly thinking of solutions. Don’t rush to find solutions without fully understanding the problem first. After that, you can then start formulating approaches. One technique I heard from YK Sugi (CS Dojo on Youtube) is to think of the brute force approach first. How would you solve this from a non-coding perspective? Think as if you are a kid and someone tells you this problem, then what would you do? After brute force approach, you can then try to think of ways to optimize your strategy.
“A good engineer knows how to use tools; a great engineer knows how to create them.” – Anonymous
