Introduction
My name is Sandeep Sinha Mahapatra and before I tell you my final verdict, here’s a little background about me.
Early Years and Passion for Computers:
I was brought up in Bhagalpur, Bihar, and had a very comfortable life growing up. My father had an electronics store, so I was introduced to computers at a very young age. What started as a mere curiosity, soon became a passion when I discovered video games. Games were my life, so much so that I decided to become a game developer after I graduated!
Academic Success and a Shift in Priorities:
I was always in the top 3 rankers of my class, so achieving my goal didn’t seem difficult. In fact, the coaching institute for JEE was so impressed with my performance that they approached my parents for my admission.
But my life changed completely when my grandfather was diagnosed with a heart condition. Watching my grandfather suffer was difficult for our family, especially for me. I was very close to my grandfather and his death a couple of months later devastated me. To add to our grief, we also suffered heavy financial losses.
Academic Struggles:
The next year was just a blur for me — I underperformed both in my 12th grade and the JEE entrance exams. So I decided to take a year gap and prepare better. Hoping that some distance would help, I moved to Patna to study at a coaching center. But it didn’t help, and I ended up wasting five months. Studying had always been easy for me, but after Grandpa’s death, it felt like a chore.
So I decided to come back home and study hard for the next 5 months. I still didn’t score well. Looking at my dejection, my father approached me and said, “I know you didn’t get into IIT, but it’s okay, don’t lose heart. Go to any college that you get; we’ll do everything we can to help you. Become a great engineer. And you can grow from there to get your dream job.”
Challenges in College:
I took his advice and took admission in a college in Kolkata. But I was disappointed with the college, the faculty, the curriculum, the culture, and the people around me. Our first-semester curriculum had the same syllabus as my 11th grade, and my classmates still found it difficult. It hit me hard — I had imagined myself to be at the best institute, and here I was surrounded by average students. I was so depressed, that I went to college, returned home, and did nothing all day.
Soon after, I realised that I couldn’t continue like this. So I decided to take tuition to fund my expenses. Managing my college and the tuition was hard, but I was happy because I was earning well. I even started my own food delivery startup with the money I’d earned in my third year, but it tanked due to multiple reasons, and I was back to square one.
But what was worse was that I hadn’t learned anything in the 3 years. With placement season looming before me, I put my all in learning everything I had missed. I solved over 1000 aptitude questions to fare well in the interviews. My hard work finally paid off, and I cracked my interview with Capgemini. In the same year, I got another offer from the company I was interning with a slightly higher pay.
When I discussed this with my parents, they suggested that I choose a well-established brand over a startup, as financial stability was an important factor for me. So I moved to Pune to work with Capgemini after my graduation.
Learning and Growth at Scaler Academy:
Around the same time, one of my friends recommended Scaler Academy to me. He spoke highly of it, so I decided to give the entrance and I got through.
Finally, I was in a place where I could truly learn. There was no match for the content that Scaler Academy provided — the structure, the topics, the questions — it was exhaustive! Another thing that really impressed me was the support and the guidance every person at Scaler gave to us. I could reach out to anyone at any point in time, and they would always help me with my queries.
There was a point when I couldn’t attend classes due to the distance between my home, office, and the Academy, so I approached Saurabh Sir, and he asked me to enroll in the next batch. He could have chosen to say that it wasn’t his problem to handle, but he didn’t — that’s how they treat the students; they look out for us and treat us like one of their own.
I am also incredibly grateful to my mentor, Anirudh Mukherjee (ex-Microsoft) from ServiceNow, for being everything that I wanted in my mentor. He helped me grow not just academically and professionally, but personally as well.
Professional Success and Confidence Boost:
In my 3 months at Scaler, I learned more than I could have imagined. I cracked the first interview itself, and I landed a job with Ajio. Until I came to Scaler, getting to a product-based company seemed unachievable. But now, I feel I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it — that is the level of confidence Scaler has given me. I still have a long way to go, and a lot of things to achieve, but I know that any and every downfall will only bring me closer to my dream.
Gratitude and Inspiration:
And the testament to that is two people who are my biggest inspirations — Abhimanyu Sir and Anshuman Sir. It’s not easy leaving high-paying jobs to start a company with no guarantees about its future. But, they worked day in and day out to get where they are — only because they wanted to create this space and opportunities for other students!
They motivated me to create a group where I mentor around 20 students who reach out to me for advice. Before Scaler, I was at a stage where I couldn’t help myself, and today I am able to help others. Thank you, Abhimanyu Sir, Anshuman Sir, Saurabh Sir, and everyone else at Scaler for doing the stellar work that you do!
Scaler Works.
Learn how Pankaj Kumar became a software developer with Scaler Academy. Read his story and see how you can do it too.
Learn about how Scaler helped Manideep Siva in his journey.
Read more Scaler Success Review, Find and Connect with Scaler Alumni.
