Next year, will I get a B.Tech CSE in a top college?
That one thought is probably driving your exam prep, your board prep, your entrance coaching, everything. And you’re not alone. Lakhs of students across the country are preparing for the same goal because everyone around you says it’s the smartest and safest choice.
But here’s a question worth asking: Are you choosing CSE because it genuinely excites you, or because everyone around you says it’s the right path?
This isn’t about whether you’re smart enough or hardworking enough. It’s about understanding what CSE actually involves and seeing if it aligns with who you are and how you think.
Most students figure this out only during placement season when they realize the skills they built don’t match what companies need. By then, four years have passed.
But you’re here now. You have time. Let’s figure this out together.
Why Everyone Says CSE is the Obvious Choice
Nobody sits you down and says, “You must choose B.Tech CSE.”
But look around.
Every other post talks about coding and AI. College brochures highlight their highest placements in Computer Science Engineering. Friends obsess over package numbers. Career advisers often recommend it as the safest, smartest, most future-proof path.
Slowly, without even realizing it, you start believing it too. CSE becomes the obvious choice not because you reflected on your own strengths, but because the crowd made you feel so.
It’s not peer pressure in the traditional sense. It’s something quieter. A belief planted by repetition, not reflection.
And the risk? When you make a big life choice based on trends instead of alignment, you end up chasing skills that don’t excite you, struggling with concepts that don’t click, and feeling like you’re constantly falling behind.
Take Shankar Mahadevan. He studied computer science. He worked as a software engineer. He did everything right. But he soon realized that tech wasn’t where he truly thrived. He made a bold choice and switched paths. Today, he’s one of India’s most celebrated musicians.
Not because music is better than tech. But because he chose what truly fit him, not what looked safe.
You don’t need to make a dramatic shift like Shankar. But before you follow the crowd, pause and ask yourself: Is this really where I’ll thrive?
Because it’s not just about whether you’re capable. It’s about whether this path is truly yours.
What CSE Actually Demands (That Nobody Tells You About)
There was a time, maybe around 10 years ago, when software companies would hire you based on potential. You’d join a team, get trained for weeks or months, and slowly grow into your role. Even if you struggled a bit, they’d give you time because loyalty was valued.
But that world doesn’t exist anymore.
Today, the tech world isn’t just moving fast. It’s racing forward. Since the AI boom, thousands of startups have launched globally, each racing to build the next big thing. Every month, there’s a new framework, a new tool, a new expectation. If you can’t keep up, you’ll fall behind.
Even giants like TCS, once symbols of job security, are laying off employees. Why? Because even they can’t afford to wait. Companies don’t want freshers anymore. They want freshers who can perform like professionals.
There’s no warm-up period. No slow onboarding. No room to figure things out later.
Companies now hire only those who can contribute from day one: write code, solve problems, ship features. If you’re not ready to perform immediately, you simply won’t be picked.
And this isn’t just an industry trend. It’s the standard set by the best.
Laszlo Bock, former head of people operations at a leading global tech company, writes in his book Work Rules: “It’s an error ever to compromise on hiring quality. A bad hire is toxic, not only destroying their own performance, but also dragging down the performance, morale, and energy of those around them.”
This isn’t just a quote. It’s a mindset.
Companies are extremely selective. They don’t hire based on potential alone. They hire based on readiness.
Bock also shares: “Hire by committee. Set objective standards in advance. Never compromise. And periodically check if your new hires are better than your old ones. If they’re not, stop hiring until you find better people.”
This mindset has become the norm in the software industry today. And that’s exactly why so many graduates remain jobless, not because they’re incapable, but because they’re not job-ready yet.
So what does job-ready actually mean?
To be job-ready, you need to:
- Practice coding regularly
- Build real projects
- Learn new technologies constantly
- Sharpen your creativity and communication
- Solve problems that don’t have obvious answers
- Adapt continuously
That’s the reality. And it’s not easy.
The Gap Between College and Career
Here’s the problem: most engineering colleges aren’t keeping pace with the tech industry.
It’s not just our opinion. Even the NITI Aayog report reflects this:
“In response to the dynamic shifts in technology, industry demands, and societal changes, government colleges must undertake a comprehensive reassessment and restructuring of their course offerings. This entails updating curricula to reflect the latest knowledge, skills, and technologies relevant to contemporary job markets while also emphasizing critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability.”
So it’s clear. Your college curriculum alone won’t make you job-ready. It moves slowly. It skips what matters. And no one is going to close that gap for you.
If you want to stand out, you have to put in the hours outside the classroom. Burn the late nights. Give up some weekends. Build projects. Take online courses. Join hackathons. Apply for internships. Face rejections. Learn. Improve.
That’s the real path.
And if you don’t want to do that, if you prefer comfort over challenge, if you’d rather wait to be taught instead of figuring things out yourself, then CSE might not be the right fit. And that’s okay. It’s better to know now than to regret it later.
Exam Success vs. Real-World Problem Solving
You might argue, “But I’m already working hard. I’m putting in effort for exams.”
And that’s true. But here’s something important to understand: the exam race is not the real-world race.
In exams, you prepare for questions that have already been asked. You study patterns, memorize formulas, follow a syllabus. You know what’s coming, and you get marks for recalling it.
But in the real world, there’s no syllabus. No fixed paper.
You face problems no one has solved before. No one tells you how to solve them. You don’t get marks. You get judged on outcomes, on what you build, how fast you adapt, and how well you think.
That’s not academic pressure. That’s performance pressure.
And unless you train for that, not just study for exams, you won’t be ready.
Three Questions to Ask Yourself
So, is CSE right for you?
Before you decide, ask yourself these three questions honestly:
- Do I enjoy solving problems that don’t have clear answers?
CSE isn’t about memorizing syntax. It’s about figuring out how to make things work when nothing is obvious. - Am I willing to learn constantly, even outside the classroom?
The pace of change in tech is relentless. If the idea of learning new tools every few months feels exhausting rather than exciting, this might not be your path. - Am I choosing this because it fits me, or because it feels safe?
There’s a difference between alignment and avoidance. One leads to growth. The other leads to regret.