Hi, I am Shivam Bhasin, currently doing B. Tech in CSE from a tier III college and I am here to tell you that college does not matter if you want to become a good software developer, only skills matter

So at the start of this year, I had my eyes open because at the end of last year I had seen that there is a lot of things out there in the industry, and to grab those things I needed to start growing both as a person and as a software developer.

- Plan It out So the first thing I did as any normal person would do was to plan out some habits that I want to build throughout the year which will help my personality and skill development.

And that according to me that is the first and the most important thing you need to do while on your journey.

An empty mind will always get distracted. An arrow without direction will never hit the target.

Without a correct vision, you will never be able to get to the right path or achieve your goal. Currently, I am reading the book "Atomic Habits" and it states that the first step to creating a long-lasting habit is to make it so obvious that your brain can not resist not doing the thing.

- Start Today - As small it is and try to make an improvement every day The thing is that you are there for yourself more than anyone else, more than your family, more than your friends, more than your mentors. These all people can guide you and help you but if you do not put in the required work you end up staying in the same place.

So I say why not start today. why wait for a friend to start with you, why wait for your family's approval. If it is in your control to start today and stay consistent to growth.

Currently, I see this in so many of my friends. Whenever I tell them what all they can learn or develop most of them rather than being free in their day-to-day routing are so afraid of the change they do not want to put in the time.

The fact is that when you will start learning a language or working on a project you would first search through the net to find advantages, disadvantages, possibilities, time, etc. And it is natural, I also do that because we do not want to contribute our time to something that we believe is eventually gonna be up wasted. I used to think so in 2021 so I researched so many frameworks rather than learning ReactJS. And after 6 months I realized I had just spent a lot of time researching rather than learning.

So my advice is you should research. Sure, if u find a better option good, but at most give this research 1-2 days and just start the grind. Do not get stuck on what is better, what is worse, as you will end up wasting your time. Even if you learn a technology that is not currently of any usage to you it is not waster because somewhere in the line you will use the skills acquired in your industry.

And just try to give like 8 hours a day to your growth.

I read an article once that said

24 hours a day = 8 hr grind + 8 hr me time+ 8 hr sleep

Although I like this quoted statement the first thing that came up in my mind was my college is 8 hrs long XD.

- Find a Source to keep you Accountable

After you are done creating a vision and taking the first step, you should get a source of accountability. I for myself at first started telling one of my senior Pranav Aggarwal, whom I consider as my mentor and go-to for advice, and one of my friends who is learning development Sairam Kaushik. I do not know if I am doing the right thing or not by doing so because some people say to keep your goals a secret but I like being accountable.

So you can tell some people who will listen and understand you. Or if you are really introverted like me and do not have many friends you can start journaling, blogging, posting tweets. Currently what you are reading is a part of my accountability.

Also, I was in a state of motivation-driven force for the last 4 months of 2021 and I am telling you that if you get dependent on motivation** to get work done you will stay dependent on it. Instead, get disciplined, and stay consistent by becoming accountable**.

That is all I have learned from the process in the past month and all the advice I can give to all beginners. It does not matter in which year you are in college or school if you want to and you can, you have to for your future self... So that your future self can be proud of you.