Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

When you are young and in your first real job my experience is your best friends often are work friends. It's pretty natural to do things outside of work with the same people you really enjoy working with.

You're 19 and in your second semster, concerned about a post-uni job. It's great that you've started thinking about what the future could look like but also pretty pointless. There are too many factors out of your control when you'll be a new grad is 3+ years. Focus on the now. Explore classes that you really enjoy, take your breadth courses outside of CS or what you think employers will want. Do some dumb, fun things with other people, both technical and non-technical. Consider an internship or student position that lasts more than a summer - a 12 or 16 month work term delays graduation a year but look FANTASTIC on your resume when you go for that first post-grad job interview. Develop some interesting personal aspects beyond your technical skills. I love to hear about someone's exchange in Japan, or the non-profit they've worked with out of love vs. resume padding (it's obvious), or a deep passion for vintange computers or Russian lit or anything genuine and unique.

After you graduate you'll probably have 2 or 3 careers and countless jobs. This is amazing! Live in the now of each job, not always looking for your next move. The progression and change will come naturally or suddenly. Mapping out a decades-long career may still happen, but I've rarely seen it outside of a few industries/companies/fields.

You're going to make mistakes, the goal is not to be error-free. Don't make the same mistakes repeatedly and try not to make any fatal mistakes. Younger people are generally pretty good at try & failing and not destroying everything with their screw ups, but it's the good ones who avoid repeating them. New hires don't know much but this also means the good ones are willing to try anything and jump in to new areas. Be Courageous, not Fearless.

There are lots of other tidbits but I'm saving them for my opportunity to deliver a commencement address some day. If I only had one thing to say it would be that there is a lot more uncertainty about the future of a recent comp sci grad these days vs. the past ~25 years or so, when it was unambiguously really good or really bad. Prepare for this by cultivating flexibility and adaptability now.

It's very easy to end up with one or two pillars in your life that define it entirely, and that can make things harder when your life has ups and downs. And your life will have ups and downs. If the only thing in your life is your job, and you lose your job -- or are worried about losing your job -- it can really wreck your whole world.

Having a lot of things that are important to you gives you more resiliency. You may still care deeply about each individual part, but when one is going poorly you can at least take solace in and enjoy the parts that are going well.