A movie called The Social Network came out when I was in college, and that’s where it all started.
I have always had great admiration for Mark Zuckerberg and was greatly influenced by the movie. Its dark tone and technical atmosphere intrigued me so much that it made me want to be him.
I started off as an electrical engineer from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida. Previously, I lived in Lucknow all my life and I have worked with Adobe as a software engineer and then, as a developer.
I really liked computer science in high school. I used to participate in Hackathons and other competitions. I got introduced to computers during high school. That’s how I developed some interest in programming. In the beginning, I took engineering because my parents advised me to; they wanted me to opt for a government job as they were unaware of other options. They were supportive of my wishes when I started programming in college though.
I created a website in college after watching The Social Network. My website helped seniors give their books away to juniors without any hassle. It got noticed by the Head of Department of the electrical engineering dept. And was encouraged to go into this field. This gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities and proved to be a good motivator as well.
Despite that, like many others, I was confused during my college days. I prepped for GATE and MBA. During college placements, big companies used to come for sought-after courses like CS. I used to urge the HR from companies to at least let me sit for an interview. However, there were some restrictions. I did not get any opportunities from the campus. I showed up for the aptitude test by eLitmus. They got me two interviews, and I sat for one of them. It was later that a friend’s relative referred me for the Adobe job.
That did a number on my confidence. I had the skills and I was good at it too, but because of some rules, I couldn’t sit for the placements I wanted. It was while I was pursuing my job at Adobe and simultaneously looking for avenues to upskill myself that I got to know about Scaler from google searches. I went through the curriculum, and it checked most items on my bucket list. I wanted to bind myself to a course like coding. I tried earlier too, but I used to study for a week and then give up. I wanted to improve my programming skills and learn coding online.
I used to take 2-3 hours of lectures every alternate day. On days we did not have lectures, I would study for 3-4 hours after my job on alternate lecture days. I used to get a lot of time for prep during the pandemic. It was comparatively comfortable because I was at home and my parents supported me. I used to get overwhelmed at times, but I would take time off and then re-energize.
I like how concepts were taught through questions. It was new for me, so I was very excited. The teachers had comprehensive explanations for every topic. I admired Pragya Sir because of his dedication towards his students. When I was interviewing for Google, I was very nervous and could not understand DP Logic. Sir took out two hours and explained it to me then and there!
Giving an interview is an art- jotting down algorithm, giving time complexity, etc. When I first interacted with a mentor, he pointed out where I was going wrong. As cliche as it may sound, facing one’s fear is the only way to overcome them so I would practise giving interviews each weekend with my mentor. Now, giving interviews is like second nature to me. Currently, I am working at Microsoft as a Software Development Engineer II
Scaler does not have a magic wand that they are swerving and creating magic. It is like a school. It is up to you to take advantage of the knowledge they are providing you. There is no IIT and NIT in Scaler. Everyone is on the same ground. Everything depends on your determination.
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