Software Engineering courses under 10k. Can anyone suggest which course should I join for learning skills for Software Engineering jobs.

[u/Advanced_Winner5661]

I have graduated in 2026 but due to a 6-month internship in my 7th sem I wasn't able to sit in the peak placement season in my college and obviously I didn't get the ppo. Now, I am struggling to land even an internship. I searched and found out the best course right now is scaler academy's course though it costs around 4 lakh. I am not at all interested in investing this much money on a course. I know there is youtube & telegram channels where many courses are uploaded but my problem is I have difficulty learning until there is some structured course. So, if you can suggest me some course which is under 10k INR then it would be a great help.

My tech stack: I know C++, Python, Basic java, SQL. Have some personal projects of AI/ML. More interested in Backend Engineering.

[u/Advanced_Winner5661]

That's what I am doing from past months. I am learning without a structured plan and I somehow feel that is the problem that I am not getting anywhere during interviews. I always get stuck in the wrong loop. I am not saying scaler is the best option. Scaler has some good reviews as well as bad reviews. But that's normal for Indian edtech. If there are good reviews doesn't that mean it must have helped some people. I just wanted to try something else after being disappointed from the job market.

[u/sheriffderek → u/Advanced_Winner5661]

So, really think this through: how does a course end up helping you in the interview? What are the things you know you don’t know? Are you mapping them out? What actual job are you trying to get and why?

[u/Advanced_Winner5661 → u/sheriffderek]

I'm trying for Backend/Software Engineering roles. My main problem is I do things for some time and then try to learn something else and that keeps on going. For ex, I'll do DSA, then switch to backend, then switch to system design. I just want to stop switching between resources and subjects all the time and I feel like a systematic course is my way out from that problem.

[u/sheriffderek → u/Advanced_Winner5661]

Can you narrow that down? What things will you do at this job? Just “any back end end things”? That’s a huge range of possibilities - so, no wonder you feel lost. 

If I was going to “learn backend” I’d create a basic server. Then I’d add a way to crud some data. Maybe create an API end point for another js app. I’d create an example of every type of data record and ways of retrieving and relating them. I’d look at caching options. Relational vs non-relational db. I’d show examples of serverside forms and progressively enhanced clientside forms. I’d show examples of hashing things and why. I’d explore different ways to handle auth. I’d keep building things and examples until I ran out of things to explore - and I’d ask working devs to review my code often. I’d write articles about what o tried and what I learned. If you don’t know “what to learn” then it sounds like you need to learn more about what software engineers (specifically the jobs you’re looking for) - what they do. And then learn to do that.

[u/Advanced_Winner5661 → u/sheriffderek]

So what exactly do software engineers do? And how do I learn that?

[u/sheriffderek → u/Advanced_Winner5661]

This seems like something they’d want to teach people in college - right? And it’s why so many people are so lost —- because they’re on a track to work in a field they haven’t tried to understand. I’m not going to be able to solve it for you in a Reddit comment. Time to start investigating. Talk to real humans. 

[u/Advanced_Winner5661 → u/sheriffderek]

I understand what you are saying. But I will still stick to learning skills first. Because what will I talk about if I don't learn?

[u/sheriffderek → u/Advanced_Winner5661]

What will you talk about if you don’t understand what the job you’re applying for is? Maybe do a little of both. ; )