Before I share my journey, I want to tell you that even if you are not perfect in this field, it doesn’t count as long as you are disciplined with your learning. And the more you keep engaging with different aspects of this field, the more it entertains you. This is what I have experienced from beginning my journey at Mahindra Comviva to my current job at one of the biggest global financial software firms.
I started working with Mahindra Comviva immediately after my college. I didn’t get as many placement opportunities as my batchmates because I had dabbled into multiple fields in the 3rd and 4th years. Due to this, I was unable to hone any of the aspects adequately. Regardless, I don’t regret anything as much because I learned a lot. The problem, however, was that I only got exposure to working on the frontend with Mahindra Comviva. In terms of applicability, I knew it didn’t suffice and I had to somehow switch to a job that involved working on the backend. Wouldn’t life be so much easier if we could simply get what we wanted? But it is never that simple. I have heard many people saying that it’s easier to make a switch in jobs during early years but I didn’t find it true for myself. Switching from frontend to backend was one of the hardest things I had to do.
Meanwhile, I was working on my concepts and decided to join Scaler during that. It helped me with my preparation as the content was in a much more structured way. Since I was aiming to crack interviews of big firms, I loved that the course was inclusive and had systems designs part too. Before this, my preparation was centered around DSA for the most part. With Scaler, I got to learn the system design part of it. During that time, I got an offer from Ajio and started working with them. It was with Ajio that I finally started working on the backend. Even after my course, my learning didn’t halt.
I continued with my quest of finding a job that checked all the boxes in my list- from adequate compensation to scope of growth. I kept on learning and practicing on my own even after Scaler’s online course. Midway, I also switched to Tekion where I worked on the backend for the most part. Besides, the environment was quite fast-paced and I got to learn a lot. But after a while, the tech and projects that I was working on with Tekion became quite repetitive. I didn’t want my growth to become stagnant at any cost. Besides, as I said I aimed to get into a big firm where I could work on good products and contribute on a much broader level.
So finally, after 7-8 months of self-work, I interviewed with Goldman Sachs and Intuit. My main focus was on Goldman Sachs and I was even doing company-specific preparation at that time. I was using all the resources and preparing the probable questions asked in Goldman Sachs specifically. But fate has a way of surprising us, doesn’t it? I ended up receiving offers from Goldman as well as Intuit but decided to go ahead with the latter even when I wasn’t aiming for it in the first place. I decided on Intuit as their work culture and hospitality towards employees were much more appealing. Besides, they are a monopoly in a majority of the European countries so it was a no-brainer. I have been working with Intuit for 3-4 months now and I am loving the projects and the tech stacks that I am working on. It’s safe to say it was worth the wait after all.
I am still amused by the way fate has a way of playing with us. Not just during these interviews but even in my school, I didn’t have any plans of coming into computer sciences. I had my interest and inclination towards Economics majorly. But by 12th class, I realized the scope of personal and professional growth in computer sciences and ended up in CS at Jamia Millia.
It has been quite a journey till yet and I have never settled for anything less than what I wanted. I have had my share of rejections too. In that regard, I would suggest you never start interviewing with your dream companies. Always start interviewing with companies at the bottom of your preference list and then work your way up.
In the end, I’d just say that make this discipline your priority and it will give you unanticipated returns. In the process of acing this field, never stop learning. Even after so many years, I am still learning and trying to make myself the best at what I do!
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