#learning computer programming specifically python atm

The technology is slowly taking over everything that imagining a world without it seems impossible. Electronic appliances and e-communication have become integral parts of our life, resulting in the growth of Electronics and Communication.

Smart phones, television, electronic appliances etc. are just at the forefront of the digital world. Still, this industry penetrates further into vast areas like Modern Satellites, Robotics, Railways, Mechatronics, Internet of Things, Automation, and many other domains. Engineering in Electronics and Communication promises a bright future and is one of the reasons why the interest of many in this field has also heightened over the years. The scope of job opportunities is broad in this new-age E & C division, and some of those are listed below:

- Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things is a network of objects connected via the internet and can exchange data online. IoT today is being utilized for making things, cities, agriculture etc. smart. One of the great examples of this can be Home Automation Systems that controls all the electronic devices like lights, ACs, TVs, alarm systems, etc. and make a home smart. Every industry is using this latest technology and is on a lookout for proficient individuals in this field.

- Electronics Engineer

Electronics engineers are responsible for developing and designing electronic devices, including mobile phones, computers, music devices, ATMs, medical devices, airplanes, etc. 

They learn this in colleges using science and maths but they are supposed to innovate and bring in new things constantly to stay relevant in this fast-paced, technologically-driven era. 

Apart from having a deep technological understanding, for this role, one must have excellent problem-solving and systematic abilities. The primary employers for such a job profile are mobile phones, radio, TV companies, medical equipment manufacturers, aviation companies, etc.

- Desktop Support Engineer

Desktop Support Engineers play a key role in any enterprise, irrespective of its scale. DSEs are mainly responsible for handling the technical problems, resolving issues, fixing broken servers, security problems, etc. that the organization may face at any point. This is an important role because this directly affects the operations of a company and can bring everything to a halt. DSE's effective and continuous support helps the entire company function smoothly as far as technology is concerned.

- Robotics

Robotics, as a field, is slowly expanding to all the industries. The first word that comes in our mind, as soon as we hear robots is automation. Many students get into electronics and communications to enter the fascinating world of robotics and artificial intelligence. Companies, in order to improve the efficiency and quality of work in their organizations, are introducing the use of robots to perform specific tasks. 

To make a career in this field, one must gain practical skills in Python Programming, Artificial Intelligence Basics, Machine Learning, etc. The one with these skills will have the edge over others and subsequently high employability rate.

- Network Planning Engineer 

Network Planning Engineers are in charge of the maintenance of internal and external networks, including hardware, software, system configurations, etc. of a company. They are the ones responsible for implementing new standards for new projects after discussing strategies. A BLS report had suggested that by 2026, the growth in jobs for engineers in this sector would grow by 7%. The reason for this is the diversity in this field. Other than the technology industry; manufacturing industry, research companies, MNCs, armed forces and among several others are always on a lookout for E & TC Engineers.

- Railways

Working in railways as an engineer can become a career for a lifetime. That is a gamut of opportunities for E & C engineers in this sector. The sector is driven heavily on technology and innovation, and it can be a dynamic career choice for engineering students. But this is not a very preferred job sector, as many are unaware of the opportunities this offers.

To get admitted to the railways as a professional, one needs to take up one of the two ways. First, either take the Engineering Services Exam (ESE) conducted by UPSC and join the Indian Engineering Service as Group A Gazetted Officer or second, clear the Railway Recruitment Board’s (RRB) entrance exam and become Group C Non-Gazetted Officer. In both cases, there are various job profiles available for electronic and communication engineers like IRSSE, Senior Engineer for Signal, Senior Telecommunications Engineer, etc.

- Technical Director

The role of a Technical Director is offered after gaining practical experience of years. But this is a high-profile role that many dream to undertake. The responsibilities of a Technical Director include supervising the entire project from inception to conception and maintain the technical quality and efficiency of the product. In-depth knowledge comes in handy when they are supposed to initiate performance-oriented strategies and implement result-oriented methods.

EXAPUNKS

2018 Video Games Produced by Zachtronics

As I mentioned with Opus Magnum, EXAPUNKS segued perfectly from my interest in scripting with Python. Though this game shares the same mindset and framework as Opus Magnum, it is vastly different. You are literally scripting. In EXAPUNKS, you have to learn the language they’ve created for this game. It is extremely limited and that’s why its approachable, but challenging nonetheless. 

EXAPUNKS ramps up in difficulty quite quickly. Essentially, each puzzle challenges you to parse data in specific ways. There’s a visualizer for your script, but unlike Opus Magnum, the concepts are abstract: the solutions are largely worked out in your mind. One of the first missions requires you to retrieve a file from a Russian research network. You’re not sure which host this file is in, so you soon resort to brute forcing your way through Canaries (I learnt this real programming term a lot later on the EXAPUNKS wiki). Another mission has you dispensing all available cash from ATMs. The challenge here is that the number of connected ATMs are random, and you must dispense only the amount that each ATM has, or else it’ll cause an alarm.

The latter missions increase their complexity by several fold. One has you entering the US Government DNA database, to make it seem like one person is the clone of another. The final mission itself is absolutely ridiculous. There’s usually an exponential but steady increase in difficulty between each mission. The jump between the penultimate and the ultimate mission, however, is incredibly high. I had to shut the game down after realizing what the challenge was. 

What makes this game interesting is that your code needs to be robust. Each puzzle has 100 test variations, so you can’t make any specific references. At times, EXAPUNKS feels like a chore. I can only handle doing 1 or 2 puzzles in a session as it expends most of my brainpower. But when you do accomplish the task, it feels incredibly satisfying! That is until the results screen tells you the size of your solution is too big, so you cannot compare your results with anybody else... This happened to me twice. The first time, I went in and optimized my solution so I was slightly under the size budget, but the second time was the final mission, and I did not have any more energy to look at that script again. 

The game is wrapped in a nice aesthetic package. Its set in a retro cyberpunk world, where most of the story is told through a chat server. The story itself is interesting; at times you must hack your own body because you have a debilitating disease known as the Phage, which transforms your body parts into computer parts. I also bought a limited edition package of zines (there are also digital versions) which furthers the world building, as well as being necessary in understanding how some of the systems in the puzzles work. It’s a strange game with very disparate parts, but one that is highly rewarding. 

+ The greatest thing about this game is that, although it doesn’t teach you a programming language, it teaches you scripting logic. Learning scripting usually involves two components, the syntax and the logic. Learning the logic is by far the hardest, and these puzzles helps you wrap your head around it.  

- It took me until the second last mission to realize that Activities play in sequence, and calculations are played in sync across multiple EXAs. (I knew the former, but didn’t know the latter. It would have made counting cycles less random.)