By Eklavya Koshta
I developed an aversion towards coding in high school and decided that I wouldnt pursue a career in software engineering. I cleared the IITJEE, but struggled a lot with programming in C++ when it was introduced as a compulsory course in my syllabus. I could hardly write a good program and started hating the system for teaching programming language to students of industrial engineering. As a result, I scored far fewer marks than most students. The bad grade haunted me and lowered my confidence significantly.
I also lacked the skills of solid model designing and so decided to do a training on AutoCAD. As I was working on a project in electronics where I really needed a base of coding, after some research, I decided to learn Python too. At first, I thought of learning it through free video tutorials available online, but I knew they wouldnt help me given the lack of time limit and lack of guidance. And so, I finally decided to do two online trainings simultaneously to make the most of my winter holidays. I started looking and found that Internshala Trainings provided both training programmes at a reasonable price.
The introduction of both programs included recommended deadlines for different modules and practice tests, and so I knew how to plan my learning according to those dates. I prepared a timetable after deciding when to cover which training and the required amount of time for each. This made my six-week learning journey a smooth one. The study material was clear and to the point, and the examples given in the modules helped me understand the concepts. The video lectures in AutoCAD were well prepared and most of the basic functions were explained clearly. Assignments in both the programs were well planned and covered almost every topic taught in the modules.
I had the freedom of choosing my own time. Even when I was bored, I could switch to another task and resume it later. After attending college lectures where I had to compulsorily attend an early morning lecture, this was a refreshing alternative. The support team and subject experts were helpful too. Once, I posted about 25 queries at a go and was surprised to see that almost all were answered! The online chats with the expert was also a great way of clearing doubts on complex concepts.
The preparations for practice tests required a good understanding of the concepts as sometimes many tricky questions were asked. I made notes for important concepts and scored good marks in the practice tests and in the final exams. Studying for these tests and practicing additional questions diminished the fear that had haunted me for the last couple of years. After the winter break, when I started learning OpenCV (a library for real-time computer vision) for my electronics project on Occupancy Monitoring, I realised that I was able to understand the basic script of codes and their relations. The Internshala training had indeed proved to be valuable. After learning AutoCAD, I also represented my team in at IIT Roorkees SAE innovation challenge where I designed a unique solid model of a transmission system for automobiles. I bagged the first prize.
Eklavya Koshta is pursuing B.Tech in Production and Industrial Engineering from IIT Roorkee. He joined Internshala Trainings to learn Python and AutoCAD.
This story is published via Internshala, the internship and training platform.