As a CS Student, you should have worked on multiple programming homework assignments. However, have you ever thought of “Turn Programming Homeworks into Portfolio Projects” that could give you a job?
Many programming homework assignments given in your academics can be converted into real-world projects. You just need to make some small refinements to your programming homework code.
In this article, we will talk about such effective steps that you can follow to convert your programming assignments into attractive projects that get you hired. Let’s begin our discussion.
TL;DR: Turn Programming Homework Into Portfolio Projects
Aspect | Summary |
What Recruiters Look For? | Clear project purpose, clean, readable code, visible output or visuals, version control via GitHub, and scope for scalability. |
Step 1: Pick Up The Right Homework | Choose assignments with a clear goal, transferable concept, and potential for real-world use beyond classroom testing. |
Step 2: Improve The Code | Improve code with clear variable names, modular structure, comments, and optimization to look professional. |
Step 3: Include Some Real-World Enhancements | Include User Interface, file or Database connections, or real data sources like APIs, CSV, and XML. |
Step 4: Upload To GitHub | Create a proper repository with organized folders, meaningful commit messages, and make it public for recruiters. |
Step 5: Add Documentation | Write a descriptive README file with project overview, features, setup steps, and tech stacks used. |
Step 6: Promote Your Project | Highlight on Resume, post on LinkedIn, and share GitHub links to showcase your work. |
Example Project | A basic “Average Calculator” homework converted into a Python-based “Simple Data Analyzer” using CSV files and Matplotlib. |
What Recruiters Look For In A Portfolio Project?
Before we start discussing the steps to turn programming homework into projects, we have to understand what recruiters look for in a portfolio project, as our end goal is to get hired in a good organization.
To make that clear, the following points you should remember. These points will guide you on this journey.
- Your portfolio project should have a clear purpose. It should solve any real-world problem.
- The project codes should be clean and readable. This helps to clarify the project logic easily.
- The portfolio project should have visual elements like output, data visualization, etc., as proof.
- The portfolio project should be connected to any version control system like GitHub.
- Your portfolio project should show scalability, where the code can be expanded further in the future.
Steps To Convert A Programming Homework Into A Portfolio Project:
Now, it is time to teach you the art that you can use to convert your programming assignment homework into projects to showcase your professional programming skills. Here, we will talk about the steps for that.
The entire method has been broken down into 6 efficient steps. Let us start with the very first step.
Step 1: Pick Up The Right Programming Homework
The very first step is to pick up the right programming homework. Every programming homework is not meant to be converted into a programming project. So, you have to first identify the programming homework.
If you pick up a homework that is not worthy as a portfolio project, then you will be wasting your time on it, and it will end as a simple classroom project. So, be very careful with this step as it is the main foundation.
The following tips can be used to pick up the right programming homework for the future project conversion.
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- If the homework has a clear goal, like building a calculator, a Chatbot, etc., then it can be picked up.
- You have to be sure that the homework can work beyond your school testing environments.
- The programming homework should teach a transferable concept such as APIs, algorithms, etc.
Step 2: Improve The Code
Whatever code you have developed for the programming homework is solely to serve the academic needs. But when you convert the homework into a project, you have to make some refinements in the code.
You have to rewrite and restructure the code to make it more efficient, clear, scalable, and professional. However, you have to ensure the functionality of the code is not getting destroyed in this push.
To improve the code for scalability, the following tips can certainly be used to make this step easier.
- Give proper variable names using naming standards and add comments to make the logic clear.
- Break the long code blocks into modules using the Classes, Functions, Methods, etc.
- You have to optimize the code by removing unnecessary items like Nested Loops for professionalism.
Step 3: Include Some Real-World Enhancements
Now, this is the step that will truly convert your programming homework into a professional project. The earlier steps were the foundation of this main step. Here, you have to add a real-world enhancement to the code.
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Recruiters don’t only look for your programming ability, but they also look for creativity and initiative. In this step, you have to take your program beyond what it was earlier asked for by adding some practicality.
If you are confused about the real-world enhancements in the program, then the following tips can be used.
- You can try to add a simple user interface to the program using Tkinter, React, or HTML.
- Without taking user input, you can enable connection to file storage or database management.
- Try to work with some real-world data using APIs, CSV Files, XML Files, etc.
Step 4: Upload The Project To GitHub
Now, you have worked on the program, which has ended in the last step. Now, you have to showcase your project to the recruiters and the entire public. And to do so, GitHub is the best platform that you can use.
GitHub acts as a Digital Portfolio and helps recruiters evaluate your coding skills. Also, GitHub is a version control system that is needed for any modern software development.
While uploading the project to GitHub, the following tips should be remembered and used.
- Create a separate repository for every project and give a proper name to it.
- Inside the repository, add or upload the project in the proper folder structure for better understanding.
- While adding the codes, you have to use the proper commit message name for reference.
Step 5: Add Documentation Through README
If you are thinking that adding projects to GitHub ends your job, then you are thinking wrong. Even if your code is working, you might not get hired as the recruiters will never understand without documentation.
So, in your GitHub, you have to add the proper documentation, and that can be done through the README.md file. It will work as the bridge between you and the audience. So, pay attention to this step.
The following tips can be used to create the proper documentation for GitHub projects.
- In the README file, write the description using the proper heading and paragraph tags.
- Include the Installation Steps in a bullet format if anything needs to be installed.
- Also, always mention the technical stacks that have been used to develop the program.
Step 6: Promote Your Converted Project
Now that your project is ready, you have to promote it. Otherwise, recruiters can’t even know about its existence. So, to get hired in any company, you also have to master promoting your developed projects.
The more you can clearly promote your developed projects, the more chances you will have to get hired. There are multiple ways to promote your projects. You can use social media and college premises.
Here are some more tips that you can use to promote your projects to get hired in a company.
- You must highlight the completed projects in your Resume.
- You need to add the GitHub Profile link to your Resume so that recruiters can review it.
- You can give a short LinkedIn Post after developing projects from homework.
Real Example: Conversion Of A Programming Homework To The Portfolio Project
We hope the above-discussed steps have become clear to you. Now, in this section, we will share a real example where a programming homework will be converted to a portfolio project using the same above steps.
So, let us first start with the problem statement. Later, we will move through each and every step.
Problem Statement: Write a Python program that reads a list of numbers and prints their average.
Step 1: Pick Up The Right Programming Homework
At first glance, the problem statement might look simple, and you might reject this for the portfolio project, but this is the right programming homework that you should choose. Here is why:
- The problem statement has a clear mathematical goal, which is calculating the average.
- This can be expanded easily to real-world problems like analyzing the data.
- The problem statement does not depend on any external test factors. So, it is independent and usable.
Step 2: Improve The Code
Let us assume the following code has been developed for this programming homework, which was submitted to your university. This code is working, but it is a very basic and simple one.
Original Homework Code:
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
average = sum(numbers) / len(numbers)
print("Average:", average)
Code Improvement For Project:
Now, the code is restructured and redeveloped to give a professional look. Let us check it out.
def aver (num): # Function For Average Calculation
if not num:
return 0
return sum(num) / len(num) # Returning The Average
try: # Try Block Implementation
# Taking The Input Values
user = input("Enter Numbers Separated By Commas: ")
val = [float(num.strip()) for num in user_input.split(",")]
res = aver (val) # Calling The Function
print(f"The Average Is: {res:.2f}")
except ValueError: # Except Block Implementation
print("Numbers Is Not Valid")
In this code, we have added the following changes to make it more professional. Let us check the changes.
- The code is now accepting the dynamic inputs from the user.
- The code is divided into modules using functions to increase modularity.
- The Try-Except Block has been added on the errors to avoid code termination.
Step 3: Include Some Real-World Enhancement
Now, it is time to add some real-world enhancements to the project. You have to go beyond the simple input and output structure. For that purpose, the following enhancement ideas you can try to include.
- You can read the data from the CSV File that will have all the values instead of the Python Lists.
- Go beyond the Average Calculation. Calculate the Mean, Median, and Mode from the data.
- You can use Matplotlib to visualize the calculated data and show it as output.
Step 4: Upload The Project To GitHub
Now, as the project is created, you can upload the project to GitHub. Upload the code in the SRC Folder and create another folder as DATA and store the CSV File there. And upload the following things.
- Give the repository name as ‘Simple Data Analyzer’ and follow the structure.
- The README.md should be uploaded to the main repository folder.
- Make the repository public and get the public link from the repository.
Step 5: Add Documentation Through README
Now that the project is uploaded to GitHub, you have to add the README.md file. We have prepared the sample README File for this project. You can use the same structure for other projects as well.
# Simple Data Analyzer
Here, a Simple Data Analyzer project has been developed that can read numeric values from the CSV File. Then, it calculates the Mean, Median, and Mode. Not only that, it visualizes the data using Matplotlib.
## Features
- It reads data from CSV files.
- It calculates the average, min, max, and standard deviation.
- We can visualize the data using box plots.
- The results can be saved as an image.
## How to Run
1. First, place the CSV file, like data.csv, in the project folder.
2. Then, run the script: python analyzer.py
Step 6: Promote Your Converted Project
In the end, after everything you have completed, it is time for project promotion. You can give a short LinkedIn Post like the one below. We have given a sample. You can use this for other projects as well.
From Programming Homework to Portfolio Project!
I am glad to let all of you know that recently I turned a simple “Average Calculator” college homework into a Python Data Analyzer Project using Pandas and Matplotlib. I was very excited about this journey where a small assignment is getting changed into a real-world project.
Check the project on GitHub: <GitHub Repository Link>
And in your Resume, you have to mention the ‘Simple Data Analyzer with Python, Pandas, and Matplotlib’ along with the GitHub repository link below it.
Key Takeaways:
- Programming Homeworks are often considered only for academic needs, but that is not true.
- By making some simple changes in the homework code, it can be converted into portfolio projects.
- Picking the right homework, improving the code, adding real enhancements, etc., we can convert them.
- Also, uploading the project to GitHub along with the proper README.md file is necessary.
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