So I’m currently in my first semester of my freshmen year and will be switching my major from biomedical sciences to computer science. I’ve always had an interest in computer science but never fulfilled it until now. How do I get more experience even though I don’t have any at all? How do I get into internships? Companies look for experience and I just want to know how I can get more experience even though I’m starting from basically nothing!
Coding/programming is one of the fields you can practice and learn on your own. Do personal projects.
And definitely practice a lot. I took a few computer programming classes and code flows from your fingertips if you spend enough time practicing. I’m no expert, so whatever I say below should be taken as such.
What would you like to do with computer science? Are you looking to break into app development, web development, game development, cyber security? If you’re looking at coding/programming specifically, see if you can partner with students in your class who are studious and reliable. You can think of a project to develop which you could use as part of a portfolio. I’m sure you could also do any of those yourself, as well, but by working with classmates outside of the classroom, it would show you’re capable of working in a team environment.
For example, if you’re interested in web development, your group could work on a fully-functioning social media website for your university - both the front and back ends - which would definitely be a good piece to show off in an interview, I’d think.
Your university should be able to set you up with some sort of internship at some point also. I and a few of my classmates in our first programming course were offered internships, and we were at a community college. I’m sure you’ll have similar opportunities!
What language does your university teach in the first course? Ours offered Java and some weird, mostly-unused language which I forgot the name of. You might learn C, C#, Python, etc. Take a look at your course catalog and find out, then take a look online for materials related to it. If it’s Java, I can recommend a good textbook for you which did wonders for me.