Everywhere my friends are doing extra courses beside college studies, like web development, is it necessary for CSE students?

Not necessary, but definitely helpful! Think of it like gym workouts—you don’t need six-pack abs to survive, but it sure makes you stand out! Extra courses like web development, DSA, AI, or cybersecurity give you an edge in placements and internships. Plus, companies love practical skills over just theory. That said, don’t just do what everyone else is doing. If you enjoy development, go for it! If you prefer AI, cybersecurity, or cloud computing, explore those. Just don’t fall into the ‘FOMO learning’ trap—choose wisely and make sure you actually understand what you’re learning. What areas interest you the most?

It depends on what you want to do. If you're aiming to be a Data Engineer, then web development isn't necessary, but having basic knowledge won’t hurt either. Think of it like being a chef—if your goal is to master Italian cuisine (Data Engineering), you don’t need to be an expert in baking (Web Development). But knowing how an oven works might still come in handy someday. As a Data Engineer, your focus will be on databases, ETL pipelines, cloud platforms, and big data tools like Spark, Kafka, and SQL. Web development isn’t a core skill for this, but understanding how web applications interact with databases and APIs can be useful in some scenarios. So, don’t stress about mastering web development if you're set on data engineering. Instead, focus on Python, SQL, distributed systems, and cloud technologies. But having a basic awareness of how web apps work can help you in cases where your data pipelines need to interact with them.