What Really Matters to an Engineering Fresher

A freshman or a fresher is a student who has just entered a college and is studying their 1^st year at a college. The transition from school to college life is known as “coming of age” and is considered as one of the most important phases of life. The first year of an engineering student matters a lot. A student enters the realm of engineering after completing their 12^th and most of them are unaware of the rules and regulations of a college.

In school days, you have been studying various subjects but truth be told, you never got the true hang of it. When you start studying engineering you would come to know what is the application of a particular subject or concept in real life. You start applying the theoretical part in practical examinations and projects, that you do, help you gain deeper insights into a particular subject.

The 12^th standard student is habitual to a yearly study pattern but in engineering, the case isn’t the same. Here, a student has to get acquainted with semester wise study which is of 6 months i.e. 2 semesters in a year. The 12^th standard students think that they have an ample amount of time in their hands but in engineering, things go very fast as there are only 60-70 hours of contact classes. A student has to be mentally ready for such changes.

Time management becomes an important aspect of engineering as in the 1^st year there are minimum of 12 subjects to be covered. A fresh engineering student must manage their time meticulously. In this blog, we cover – various tips that help a budding engineer to ace their first-year studies, such as – focus on academic fundamentals, take part in extra/co-curricular activities, develop leadership qualities, take up good projects that would shape your career, and many more. So, let’s start with…

Tips for Engineering Students to Ace Their First Year Studies

Stop playing the waiting game: Good things come to those who wait but remember, the best things come if you go out and grab the opportunity. A few engineering students might tell you that you’re not an actual engineer if you haven’t got any arrears. But that’s not the case! Also, remember that in school, you don’t have the concept of backlogs but in engineering, you would be introduced to this concept. You need not worry about any backlogs; just focus on your current subjects and give importance to the backlog subject as well. Just keep one thing in mind that by the 5^th semester your every previous backlog must be cleared.

Look at the options available at hand: Apart from your curriculum don’t forget to spare time for projects, training and certification. When you start focusing on these in the earlier days you won’t have to worry much in the imminent future. When you would be in the 3^rd or final year you would be completely ready for all kinds of recruitment activities. Thus, you stay ahead of the curve than your peers and by the final year, you would be industry ready, i.e. ready to be deployed in any industry.

Good Networking: It is pivotal to build good networking in the 1^st year of engineering. Remember, when the placement drive is imminent you would be sitting with your friends and future colleagues, and chances are quite high that you and your buddy might get selected in the same company. So, maintain a harmonious rapport with everyone as you don’t know which person’s help you might need in the future. Also, good networking helps you with studies as you can get notes and clear your doubts with the help of fellow engineering students.

Prepare of Higher Education – focused on your goal: In the era of cutthroat competition, never forget to prepare for higher education. A master’s degree after a bachelor’s is like a cherry on the cake. Going for higher studies calls for research intuit. If you have it in you, then go for it. The recruiters and HR professionals are on a constant lookout for such students who have a Master’s degree for Research projects. Almost 90% of the final year students go for placement opportunities, but if you wait for a few more years and pursue a higher degree, you would definitely have a brighter future. Keep your life goals clear – what you want to do in life and where do you want to see yourself after 5-8 years?

Co-curricular activities: Top engineering colleges, like Rungta College of Engineering and Technology, focus equally on extra and co-curricular activities. For the holistic development of a student, it is pivotal that a student must participate in seminars, presentations and other events that take place on campus. We also have various students club under our RSDC initiative. A few of them are –

• RUBEC: A club fostering Entrepreneurship Development & In-House Incubation for Innovative Minds. Members participate in Hackathons, conduction of events related to incubation, participation & conduction of e- summits & conferences.

• R1 Infinity Coders: This club focuses on providing students with state of art programming learning & competitive coding environment. Various clubs like Google. Students’ development center and allied establishments will be done. Participation in various national coding competition by multinationals and intra-college coding events are organized.

• R1 Xcella: This is an in-house fully functional club accelerating automobile pursuits of students. Events include conduction of automobile events, participation in national automobile designing events like BAJA, SAE, etc. and liaising with SAE chapter.

Focus on academic fundamentals: A fresher must have an undivided focus on academic fundamentals. For example, if you are a computer science engineering student you must focus on Database Management System, Data Structure, and OOPS. The fundamentals change as per the branch. For example, a mechanical engineering student must focus on Engineering Drawing, strengths of materials, and solid mechanics. Polish your fundamentals and sharpen your skills; you would find that engineering is not at all a rocket science.

Get involved in a good project: Live projects and organization-driven projects are the best. This helps a fresher get deeper insights about a particular technology – Java, C#, DBMS and many more. These live projects have great value and add a spark to your resume. This boosts credibility amongst recruiters that your skills haven’t gone out of fashion and you always keep up with the latest and most important industry trends and norms.

Work on your language skills: Theoretical and practical knowledge is a must in engineering but as a fresher, you must also focus on your language skills. Most of the students taking admission in a top engineering college may be from a Hindi speaking background. For this, we have personality and communication skills development training that helps a student boost their self-confidence. Remember, it doesn’t matter how good you are in theoretical or practical skills; when the time comes, you have to give the interview in English, and polishing your spoken, written and vocabulary skills are the need of the hour.

Develop Your Leadership qualities: As mentioned earlier, a student must take part in events, seminars and presentations. These, in turn, boost the self-confidence of a student and help them develop leadership qualities. Leadership qualities are important to nurture other skills such as – increased emotional intelligence, enhanced listening and communication skills and ability to work under pressure. Start developing your leadership qualities from the 1^st year and you would see that you have become a beacon of light for others when you reach the final year.

Enjoy and have fun: Yes, we do understand that engineering is an intense course and can be hard-hitting at times but as a fresher, you can conquer it with your grit and having fun. Remember, a smile is the only curve in the world that can make everything straight. So, live your life to the fullest and don’t forget to have fun. When you start having fun in life and with your subjects, everything would seem easy for you. The subjects that would have haunted you would become your best friend.

So, now you know what really matters to an engineering fresher. Don’t forget to take part in events and seminars. Hone your theoretical and practical approach towards a subject, polish your communication skills, take up a good live project and indulge yourself in training programs and certification courses. Remember to have fun and you would see that you and the engineering course are getting along with each other without any friction or fuss.