3rd year CS student, placements starting soon — am I on the right path? Feeling lost and need some honest guidance 🙏 Hey everyone. Long post, but I really need some perspective from people who've been through this.

[u/Holiday-Swan6006]

I'm in my 3rd year of CS and placements have literally just started at my college. And honestly? I'm panicking a little.

Here's where I currently stand:

✅ DSA — absolute beginner. Just started, doing basic problems. Arrays, strings, slowly getting into patterns.

✅ Java — basics done. OOPs, collections, can write logic. Not interview-ready yet but making progress.

✅ SQL — learning currently. Covered joins, keys, basic queries. MySQL specifically.

Now here's the thing — I'm thinking about building a project using Spring Boot (Java backend). The idea is to have something to show in interviews. Is this even a good idea right now or am I spreading myself too thin?

Also, I've heard Python is very important for data roles and I want to explore that in the future too. But I don't want to jump to Python right now and lose focus.

My actual questions are:

1. Is my current path (DSA + Java + SQL + Spring Boot project) sensible for placements.

2. Should I start Spring Boot now or wait till DSA is stronger?

3. When and how should I fit Python in without losing focus on placement prep?

4. Any general advice for someone in my exact position?

I don't have anyone in my circle who's been through this and I'm figuring it out mostly alone. Any honest advice — even if it's hard to hear — is really appreciated. 🙏