New Grad to Strong Software Applicant: Focused Learning & Projects

A recent 2024 graduate, despite lacking projects and strong general coding skills, has a degree and some niche experience in 'protocol-specific networking' and debugging. This indicates a foundational capacity for technical work. The path to becoming a strong applicant involves a structured, disciplined approach as suggested by comments: revisiting core computer science concepts (DS&A, OOP, databases, web dev), actively building personal projects to demonstrate skills, and potentially targeting specific niche roles like Network Engineer or Embedded Software Engineer where their existing debugging and networking interest might be more directly applicable. This will require 6 months to 2 years of consistent, dedicated effort.