New member, attending University

[baingar]

Hey guys I am new on here to check out the forum. Been a lurker for quite some time now.

I am currently attending SFU in my 4th year. I seem to be really bad at coding, I don't get a lot of practice from school since most lecture are all theory based. I don't even have my own time to do coding as practice. Most of the spare time I have is at part time jobs and doing volunteer work. I feel like I'm really bad at programming and losing interesting in the programming field. I'm currently pursuing a BSc in Computer science concentrated in Database.

I was wondering if you guys have any input on how my future jobs are like?
How can i improve my ability to write code for my assignments( i feel like i struggle on the assignments)

Thanks!

[Tony]

baingar @ Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:45 pm wrote:

Most of the spare time I have is at part time jobs and doing volunteer work.

Ideally your primary responsibility at those jobs should be technical. Barring paid positions, you can always contribute to open source projects (sign up at https://github.com/ and start following interesting projects. Reading other people's code is the first step and a big part of developing your own programming skills).

The other path is to grind out experience with personal projects. Many find small video games to be interesting, challenging, and fulfilling. You'll have something that's completely your own to show off (retail work doesn't really count for "work experience" on a technical resume). On the other hand, you'd be working somewhat in a vacuum... so you'd want to find some way to get feedback on your code, for optimal results.

[baingar]

any more suggestions? Im enhancing my C/C++ skills. Also learning to program android apps