Software Engineer (SDE) Job Preparation: 6-Month Plan

A realistic plan to go from a fresh CSE degree to clearing service-company and product-company hiring rounds.

8 milestones · ~304 hours total

1. 1

   Audit where you stand

   ~4h

   Take one rated DSA test, one aptitude test and one CS-fundamentals test on Codveri. Write down your three weakest topics and your target companies.

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2. 2

   Aptitude and reasoning base

   ~30h

   Revise percentages, ratios, time and work, series, coding-decoding and data interpretation. Practise timed sets until accuracy is stable.

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3. 3

   Core data structures

   ~60h

   Arrays, strings, hashing, stacks, queues, linked lists and trees. Solve problems by pattern, not by random order.

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4. 4

   Algorithms

   ~70h

   Sorting, binary search, recursion, backtracking, greedy and dynamic programming with 5 problems per pattern.

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5. 5

   CS fundamentals

   ~40h

   Operating systems, DBMS and SQL, computer networks and OOP. Be able to explain each topic in two minutes without notes.

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6. 6

   Projects and résumé

   ~40h

   Finish two projects you can demo live, write a one-page ATS-friendly résumé and get it rated on Codveri.

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7. 7

   Mock interviews

   ~40h

   Do timed mock tests weekly, practise explaining your approach out loud, and review every mistake in a log.

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8. 8

   Apply and iterate

   ~20h

   Apply in batches, track every application, and use each rejection to fix one specific gap.

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