As a kid, I always wanted to make a career in sports - especially cricket. But as fate would have it, I sustained a major injury and that put a full stop to my childhood dreams. I had to switch career paths and landed picking something every academic in nature. This was a major turning point in my life as I had to revamp my goals without any fault of my own.
I was lucky to have an extremely supportive family and I drew a huge amount of inspiration from my elder brother. Being an overachiever himself, he always knew how to navigate the ups and the downs of academic and professional life - something I learned from him.
Early on, I realised the importance of having a role model - something you can look up to in difficult or confusing times.
Apart from my brother, I always turned to a senior from my previous job. He was extraordinary in everything he did, not because of his skills alone but because of his resilience and “never give up” attitude. Whenever I am stuck in a situation that seems too challenging to be true, I channel his spirit and get back to work with a refreshed attitude.
My journey hasn’t been easy and I made some mistakes that could have been easily avoided in hindsight - for instance, I lost all my money in a trading spree. This, on top of getting rejected for jobs that I was qualified for, made me feel dejected in the worst of ways, and I started believing that I would never succeed professionally, no matter what I did.
During this all-time low phase of my life, I was willing to try anything to better my chances by bettering my qualifications. Coupled with my cousin’s suggestion and some research of my own, I joined an academy - now known as Scaler. For professionals like us who work 9 to 5 jobs, their online teaching style was convenient and even considerate.
I personally believe that learning is only as potent as how well it is practised. Just like in sports, where you have to put your body through hours and hours of toil and practice, with coding you have to give your brain ample amounts of practice! At Scaler, Kshitij Mishra was my favourite instructor from the lot because of his interconnected approach to learning. The questions he solved were related to the topics we were taught, which allowed us to follow through with our revisions along with learning those concepts, which is always a plus.
The most significant transformation that I’ve noticed in myself after I strictly started investing in my betterment is my discipline. With this newfound superpower (trust me, it is one!), I am able to efficiently manage my time and energy. I am now a professional trader, an senior software engineer at AIT Global Inc. and an entrepreneur - all in one, and I finally find myself capable of managing all three roles perfectly.
Eventually, I would like to see myself working for a company like Microsoft - a company recommended time and again to me due to its impeccable work-life balance and great working culture.
I would just like to conclude by saying Scaler has made me believe in my capabilities to the extent that the sky has become the limit. I have become a much more optimistic and ambitious person than ever before, which is the cherry on top. My word of advice for everyone studying at Scaler is to be dedicated to it.
Good things will happen in your life - if you’re willing to take the first step!
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