How do I go about doing some "work" while in college?

[VirusDumb]

So I took admission into a very reputed college in my state and my parents had to pay a handsome sum to do so

 

I am doing a Bachelor's in CS, now in India people on average make about 3lpa (lpa stands for lakhs per annum which in this case is ₹300,000 a year pre tax or €3000) after doing their bachelors, in my college it's a bit better the average placement here is 4.48 lpa (₹448k per annum or €4480) but the highest go upto 72 lpa(₹7.2mill/€72k) now

 

I really want to do something while in college through which I can learn things(improve coding skills being able to do stuff as well as find something which I like to do) and use em in the future, as well as make some cash to pay my phone bills and save for a PC upgrade, a PS5 and some games, and maybe, just maybe contribute something to my college fees

 

Now I went on Google and YouTube and the term "freelancing" was thrown around alot, hearing things like people make about ₹5k-100k a month, but I couldn't find a single perfect explanation on how do I go on about it or what skills I need to learn and how do I make something out of it

 

Please help me out here, right now all the skills I have is some simple Python and SQL, I learnt in school, AI ML and stuff really caught my eye but I don't know if I can do something there while studying as a college student 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

11 hours ago, VirusDumb said:

So I took admission into a very reputed college in my state and my parents had to pay a handsome sum to do so

 

I am doing a Bachelor's in CS, now in India people on average make about 3lpa (lpa stands for lakhs per annum which in this case is ₹300,000 a year pre tax or €3000) after doing their bachelors, in my college it's a bit better the average placement here is 4.48 lpa (₹448k per annum or €4480) but the highest go upto 72 lpa(₹7.2mill/€72k) now

 

I really want to do something while in college through which I can learn things(improve coding skills being able to do stuff as well as find something which I like to do) and use em in the future, as well as make some cash to pay my phone bills and save for a PC upgrade, a PS5 and some games, and maybe, just maybe contribute something to my college fees

 

Now I went on Google and YouTube and the term "freelancing" was thrown around alot, hearing things like people make about ₹5k-100k a month, but I couldn't find a single perfect explanation on how do I go on about it or what skills I need to learn and how do I make something out of it

 

Please help me out here, right now all the skills I have is some simple Python and SQL, I learnt in school, AI ML and stuff really caught my eye but I don't know if I can do something there while studying as a college student 

Freelancing wouldn't be for someone who is still in school. Basically it's someone making a callout that they want someone to write them some code to perform a specific task and that they'll pay the person X amount upon completion and acceptance. But to be successful, you'll need to have some professional experience because the kind of tasks you'll see are far above what you would do in the classroom. 

 

And if you do come across one that's as simple as a classroom exercise/assignment, be wary as those are likely actual students posting their coursework on there. I was in a course where someone did that and not only did they get into a ton of trouble, but the rest of us had our work scrutinized more closely. Thankfully at the time I was using Java and not Python which is what that person was asking for in their posting so it didn't affect me.

[VirusDumb]

11 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Freelancing wouldn't be for someone who is still in school. Basically it's someone making a callout that they want someone to write them some code to perform a specific task and that they'll pay the person X amount upon completion and acceptance. But to be successful, you'll need to have some professional experience because the kind of tasks you'll see are far above what you would do in the classroom. 

 

And if you do come across one that's as simple as a classroom exercise/assignment, be wary as those are likely actual students posting their coursework on there. I was in a course where someone did that and not only did they get into a ton of trouble, but the rest of us had our work scrutinized more closely. Thankfully at the time I was using Java and not Python which is what that person was asking for in their posting so it didn't affect me.

So what'd be the best thing to do for me right now

[Blue4130]

3 hours ago, VirusDumb said:

So what'd be the best thing to do for me right now

Personal projects so that you can build a portfolio of work to show potential clients. It's lightyears easier to get jobs if you have something to show the clients.

[Kilrah]

Find some job or internship local to you, in-person.

 

The problem is that as soon as you do something online you'll be in compatition with basically the entire world. 

 

 

[DeerDK]

if possible, get some work within a company you could consider working for afterwards. This can serve as a "compatability test" for both parties, and if you fit in well with the team, its a great way to get a position even before finishing your education.

 

The rationale here is that a decent performer who is a good fit in the team is a better hire than a potentially high end performer that can be a misfit in the team, it doesn't always work that way and depends on what industry you are in, but in general, the whole recruitment process is a big time and money sink, so getting "pre-vetted" can be gold.

[wasab]

On 4/8/2024 at 1:38 AM, Kilrah said:

Find some job or internship local to you, in-person.

 

The problem is that as soon as you do something online you'll be in compatition with basically the entire world. 

 

 

Not really. I mean everyone around the world can blindly hit apply on LinkedIn but companies will only hire locally most of the time. In fact, 80%+ of the resumes and job applications get filter out precisely because the candidates are overseas/international, most of who are from India strangely enough. 

[Kilrah]

I was referring to the mentioned freelance stuff like fiverr. You're in competition with people who have experience and work for almost nothing, so getting in there before you have the skills you're not going to get much.