I am thinking about switching my major from computer science to software engineering. I've realized that I'm wasting my time learning all these theories that I won't be using once I become a developer. I was wondering what methods/technologies I should be learning instead? For example APIs,cloud computing, Git are topics that most developers know nowadays. Any others that I need to be well versed in?
I definitely understand that you can learn a lot of useless stuff on your journey, but you need to figure out EXACTLY what the average recruiter/employer is looking for and this post shows you need a bit more structure. My recommendation is that you do some more research so that you don't waste more time on stuff that doesn't matter:
Ask people who have the job you currently want Completed here I suppose
- See what skills are repeatedly listed as prerequisites for the majority of advertisements for your job of choice.
- Figure out what the end goal/shortcuts are to show you posses that knowledge (Getting Certifications? Projects on Github? etc)
One book that gave me some structure when I was dabbling is:
Also, for better structure and increased efficiency when pivoting careers, I suggest Ultralearning:
Both books are available as audiobooks and probably can be gotten for free from your local library.