system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Things you wished you knew while still studying

I am a recent graduate and I've been asked to give a small talk to current students regarding my experiences, how I've landed a job in one of the big 4 etc. I'm really grateful I can give back, as I remember talks like these were very motivational during my time at uni. 

I thought it would be awesome to include a section "Things I wished I knew while still at University", and it would be awesome to get input from the community here.

Things I have so far (and will expand upon) include:

* I’m not smarter than you - My grades were average, but I found that my confidence and perseverance helped excel more than my peers during interviews and work.
* You don’t owe your internship/workplace loyalty - It took me far too long to realize that I don't owe my first workplace loyalty (although I was pressured to stay). Leaving was the best decision I made, as I was underpaid and undervalued.
* Imposter syndrome is a heartless beast.
* Start applying for industry jobs early - They fill up quick!
* Don’t be scared of mistakes - As long as you learn from them.
* Testing is fun and important ;)

Any contributions and input are appreciated. I will add as many as possible to my talk.
gpt
computer science != software engineering/development != systems administration

this might be less applicable today with the advent of separate programs/degrees for all of these things. these didn't really exist back before i dropped out of college and so people interested in any of these fields would all be studying computer science.

the stuff you learn while studying compsci is usually applicable but doesn't scratch the surface of what you'll eventually need to know. chances are you're going to start your first job and not really know how to do anything.

try and learn on your own time about the stuff relevant to your career goals.

if you want to actually get into compsci academia, you're probably fine with just your classes. but, you probably want to start looking at grad schools and the type of research each one is doing to make sure it aligns with what you want to study (you'll get more support from your mentors if they're already familiar with your interests).

if you want to program for a living, you should probably start learning about source control management, design patterns, common tech stacks, and web development in general. you don't have to master any of these things, but at least being aware of them will greatly help you out when going into interviews and such.

if you want to get into systems admin, dick around with hardware. use linux. write scripts that automate simple computer tasks you do on a daily basis. learn about security groups, networking, disk imaging/cloning, and so on.