Growing up in the town of Ajmer, I remember having a lot of fun playing games on computers. I knew I had an inclination towards computers from Class 8 — but I also knew back then that playing games and making a career out of it is totally different.
After my Bachelors in computer science at Rajasthan University, I pursued my Masters at the International Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad. That was where I developed an interest in programming. We had a course on advanced problem solving and it was truly an eye-opener for me. Through it, I discovered the wide world of programming languages. At IIIT, we worked on coding assignments everyday — it was a great learning atmosphere. There was excellent senior-junior collaboration as well.
I’m Rishi Mittal, and this is the story of how I started mentoring at Scaler.
I got the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant at IIIT-H and that was how I gained confidence in my mentoring abilities.
I now work at Careem in Dubai — my fourth job — as an Engineering Manager. I previously worked at Zomato , Practo & C-DAC. At Careem, I am lucky to do what I love every day.
At Careem, which is an Uber subsidiary, I work on building software products for Careem SuperApp. Building a super app for the Middle East, which is an untapped region in terms of a technological revolution, is exciting and challenging in equal measure.
I really like the work InterviewBit is doing — the educational training sessions are amazing. I have worked on some problems too on the platform and I enjoyed it. The co-founder Anshuman Singh is my college alumnus. Scaler and InterviewBit is revolutionising knowledge distribution — it is available to everyone, even those without degrees from elite Tier 1 colleges.
My mentorship journey at Scaler has been rewarding. When one of my bright mentees landed a job at Amazon, I was very happy to hear the news. I am currently mentoring two students at Scaler: one of them has already been placed, and I’m working with the other mentee now.
The best part about my mentorship duties is being able to watch the students grow and solve problems on their own. I am getting to work with so many people who all remind me of my younger self. All of them have the same struggles as I did. Nobody should have to quit just because they don’t have someone to guide them. Knowledge and information is everywhere but what young people need is direction. And I am here to provide direction — this is what keeps me going.
I have had mentors in all the companies I worked at. Several times when I felt conflicted about career decisions, I have been able to talk to them about it, receive advice, and also learn through their constructive criticism. Mentors are great companions and everyone needs them on their journeys.
A piece of advice I would like to share with young techies: try to solve the right problems and always work hard. Do not get bogged down by anything particularly about which institutions you got to study in. Organisations like Scaler help you gain that edge you need. Stay motivated, don’t be discouraged, be persistent — you will get there.
As for my future goals, I aspire to start my own journey as an entrepreneur. I would also love to lead in my current company as I find a lot of scope to do good work here. I see myself building software products that can help a wide range of people.