mechanicalpencils

Ain Stein lead is good for any purpose, but what it's best at it minimizing breakage. I use it in all my 0.3mm pencils.

If you aren't having problems with breaking leads you may want to try Pilot Neox. They are still harder than average to break and they are the smoothest writing leads I've ever used. You get both a better writing feel and a cleaner line with Neox.

Fortunately, all of the major companies make good quality leads these days. If you aren't having trouble with what you can get easily there's probably no reason to change.

In 0.5mm I generally use B grade leads. 0.3mm is enough finer that want at least B and I prefer 2B for a slightly darker line. I've tried some 4B, and it looked nice, but I go through the softer leads awfully fast.

We have a lot in common. I've been working as a software engineer for almost forty years. I do more consulting and architecture work these days, but I still write code almost every day. The field has changed just a bit since I started. :-)

I hope you enjoy college. I learned an awful lot from it, not all of it from classes. And I had a great time doing it. For what it's worth, I recommend not focusing entirely on your major. Take some classes outside of your field just because they sound interesting. Having a broader range of knowledge and, especially, a broader perspective on the world really pays off in the long run.