No doubt there is a lot to read on blogs, in books, and on Stack Overflow, but can we identify some guidelines for CS students to use while studying?

For me these are:

• Finish your course books early and read 4-5 times more material relative to your course work.

• Programming is the one of the fastest evolving professions. Follow the blogs on a daily basis for the latest updates, news, and technologies.

• Instead of relying on assignments and exams, do at least one extra, non-graded, small to medium-sized project for every programming course.

• Fight hard for internships or work placements even if they are unpaid, since 3 months of work > 1 year at college.

• Practice everything, every possible and impossible way.

• Try doing every bit of your assignments project yourself; i.e. fight for every inch. Rely on documentation as the first source for help and samples, Google, and online forums as the last source.

• Participate often in online communities and forums to learn the best possible approach for every solution to your problem. (After doing your bit.)

• Make testing one of your habits as it is getting more important everyday in programming.

• Make writing one of your habits. Write something productive once or twice a week and publish it.