From Mechanical Engineer to ShareChat: An Honest Scaler Academy Review
I had studied mechanical engineering in college, and there wasn't much coding around me. Software wasn't something I had planned for either. I didn't even know what data structures were.
And a few years later, I was working as a software engineer and interviewing with ShareChat.
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+1000 moreThe Mechanical Engineer Who Was Preparing for Bank Exams
After college, I wasn't thinking about getting into software at all. A friend and I started a business, and we spent about a year trying to make it work. In the end, we had to shut it down because it started incurring losses.
We were beginners and didn't really know how to run a business. We got conned by people because we didn't understand how things worked, and most of the time we were figuring things out as we went along.
Still, that year wasn't a complete waste. There was one experience I remember in particular. During one of our deals, I had to sit with someone and explain the entire business for almost an hour. It really excited me because you don't get that kind of practice in a classroom. If you're going to explain your business for that long, you HAVE to know it properly.
Once the business was over, I started preparing for bank PO exams. It was a completely different direction from what I had been doing before, and at that point I was still trying to figure out what I actually wanted to do.
While preparing, I started thinking about whether I could see myself doing the same kind of work for the rest of my career. And eventually, I just knew that I didn’t want to.
So I started talking to a few friends about what else I could do. That's when IT came up. I didn't have a computer science background; I had studied mechanical engineering and didn't even know what data structures were, but I decided to give programming a try.
And that was really the beginning.
My First “Hello World” Was in 2018
I started with Java. Most of what I was learning came from YouTube lectures, and later I moved to Python. I still remember writing my first “Hello World” program in 2018.
A few months later, I was in Bangalore.
It had been around three and a half months since I started learning, and I had managed to get a job. The interview was in Python, so that was what I was working with at the time.
For the next six months, development was my day-to-day work. And that's when I started running into things I had never really dealt with before.
Server-side. Client-side. Databases.
These were normal terms in software, but they weren't normal to me. I was in a different field altogether, and I didn't even know what DSA was when I started, so there was obviously a lot I was still trying to understand.
A friend helped me with some of the early questions, and I also kept picking things up as I went.
Then, after those six months, I went back to problem-solving.
And then it got me thinking. I was learning, but what exactly was I supposed to learn next?
I was jumping from one topic to another and practising whatever I happened to find. I could tell I was missing something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it yet.
When I Realised I Needed a Roadmap
The problem wasn't finding things to study. There were plenty of resources available.
I had started practicing coding through InterviewBit and platforms like HackerRank, but I was just doing whatever I felt like, jumping from one topic to another. If something looked interesting, I'd start learning it. Then another topic would come up, and I'd move to that.
I wanted to learn everything, but figuring out what was important was the real challenge.
There was no clear way to decide which topics I should prioritise, which questions I should solve, or what I could leave for later. I was putting in the effort, but I wasn't sure if all of the work was even being put in the right place.
That's when I started looking for proper guidance.
What appealed to me about Scaler Academy was that I wouldn't have to keep making those decisions myself. The curriculum already had the topics and questions planned out. I could focus on studying instead of constantly figuring out what I should study next.
That was probably the biggest thing I was looking for at that stage.
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Adobe1200+ moreClearing the Scaler Academy Entrance Test
By the time I took the entrance test, I had already been practising on InterviewBit and other platforms, covering topics like arrays, strings, maths and binary search, so I wasn't starting from scratch.
There were seven questions in the test, and I solved around five of them. I didn't find it very difficult because I had already solved similar problems and was familiar with the topics.
I cleared the test and joined Scaler.
What Six Months at Scaler Actually Looked Like
From then on, the best thing was that I just had to study.
I didn't have to keep deciding which topic to pick up next or whether a particular question was important enough or not. The curriculum took care of that part. My job was to follow it and do the work.
I tried to finish every assignment on the same day as the class. Whatever I couldn't complete, I'd take up over the weekend. While working, I was studying for around three to four hours a day and spending more time on weekends.
The six months also took me into areas that I don't think I would have learnt by myself. System design was one of them. We covered both high-level and low-level system design, and I hadn't really encountered either before.
I also remember learning Binary search very clearly.
I had already finished the binary search topic before joining Scaler. I knew how to code it and could solve the standard problems. Then I started solving questions where I never thought binary search could be used.
So, it was quite different for me, like how even though I knew a concept pretty well, there were still so many places where it could be used. And this also made me realize that learning a concept itself is not done. It all comes down to looking at a problem and making a judgment as to which concept could really work.
Whenever I got stuck, I could reach out to a mentor or TA. Some of those conversations were quite long; I remember one call going on for around 40 minutes and another for more than an hour. There was also an internal tool where we could message them, and they would reply even if the question wasn't directly related to the coursework.
Nikhil Varma, one of the TAs, helped me with debugging. He taught me to go through a problem properly, and that really changed the way I approached debugging.
I also had friends around who I could ask when I got stuck. Having someone to discuss things with made it much easier.
Turn Learning into Career Growth
How I Got the ShareChat Interview
By the time I interviewed with ShareChat, I was working as a software engineer at ClearTax.
I actually found the opportunity on LinkedIn. I saw a post saying they were hiring for SDE-2 and SDE-3 roles, so I messaged one of their employees and asked if they were hiring for SDE-1 as well.
And they were.
The interview had several rounds: machine coding, two design rounds, a DSA round, and a round with the VP. I don't remember the questions well enough to talk about them in detail, so I won't try to fill in the gaps.
There was one thing I was still conscious of, though. My degree was in mechanical engineering, and I had thought about that before. I remember asking myself, “Why will anyone consider my CGPA? My CGPA is in mechanical.”
By this point, I had some software development experience behind me. I had also spent months working on DSA and preparing for technical interviews.
When I started, I didn't even know what data structures were. Now I was sitting through multiple rounds for an SDE role at ShareChat.
And then, I got the offer!
My Honest Scaler Academy Review
If I had to pick one thing that made the biggest difference for me, it would be having a clear roadmap.
Before joining Scaler, I was already practicing on InterviewBit and other platforms. The problem wasn't that I wasn't studying. It was just that I was doing whatever I felt like, jumping from one topic to another. There was no practical way for me to know if I was covering the things I actually needed to know.
With Scaler, that part was taken care of. I knew what I had to study and which questions I was supposed to work on. From then on, the best thing was that I just had to study.
And the binary-search thing I mentioned earlier is the best way I can put it up. By understanding newer problems and getting to know what concepts worked best.
System design was another area where I got something I hadn't really come across before. We covered both high-level and low-level design, and those were things I don't think I would have reached as easily by myself.
I was working while doing the program, so it wasn't like everything else stopped. I usually spent three to four hours a day studying and gave more time on weekends. I also tried to finish the assignments on the same day as the class, rather than letting them pile up.
The people around me helped me quite a lot. If I got stuck, I could reach out to mentors and TAs. I remember some calls going on for quite a while, and there were people I could message when I had questions. Nikhil Varma, one of the TAs, in particular, taught me how to debug properly.
For interview preparation, I would still put DSA first. In my experience, that's what helps you get through the first two or three rounds at many companies. Projects are important, but I don't think you need ten different projects listed on your resume. Three or four good ones that you genuinely understand are enough.
So, is Scaler Academy worth it? For me, yes. Mainly because I had already tried learning on my own and knew what was going wrong. I didn't need someone to tell me that I should study harder. I needed to know what to study, what was relevant, and where I was missing something.
That's what I got out of the program.
FAQs
Can you switch to software engineering from mechanical engineering?
Karan started with a mechanical engineering degree and no computer science background. He learnt Java and Python, and got his first software job around three and a half months after starting to learn. Roughly 18 months after writing that first program, he received an offer from ShareChat.
How hard is the Scaler Academy entrance test?
Before taking the entrance test, Karan had already been practising on HackerRank and InterviewBit and had worked on topics such as arrays, strings, maths and binary search. He remembers solving around five of the seven questions and found the test manageable with that preparation.
How many hours a day do you need to study alongside a job?
It really depends from person to person, but in the case of Karan, he studied for around three to four hours a day while working and spent additional time on weekends. He also tried to complete his assignments on the same day as his classes, using the weekend for anything that remained.
Do projects or DSA matter more for interviews?
Karan's view is that DSA deserves more attention because it helps with the first two or three interview rounds at many companies. Projects are still useful, but he recommends having three or four solid projects rather than trying to build a large number of them.
Want to explore the program? Explore Scaler Academy to learn more.
