“It is important to understand that if you do fall, it’s important for you to get right back up again.”
Such is the motivation I derived from my favorite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar that I’ve always looked up to. Like many Indian boys, I also grew up wanting to be a cricketer. Perhaps all boys at some point in their childhood have dreamt this dream. You can say I grew out of the dream or that my extremely determined friend somehow convinced me to prepare to become an engineer just like him! Either way, I chose to become an engineer over a sportsman, but sports never left my body and mind.
Nonetheless, my friend wasn’t the only reason I studied hard and got into a decent college, NIT, Mizoram. Somewhere along my adolescent years, when phones and technology were gaining popularity in India, my family also bought a mobile phone. I realized that regardless of how basic its functions were at that point in time, this sort of technology is revolutionary and can bring significant impact. And I wanted to be the one creating that impact. What an attitude to have at such an early age right? But it quickly withered away with passing time
It was Scaler’s e-learning platform that pulled me back into that mindset again. It was an entrepreneurial mindset, and this time it wasn’t going to go away. Despite this resolve, the battle with my own mind has begun to become very unignorable. After college, I got placed at Infosys, but I didn’t receive a joining call in the company until a year after.
That one-year gap was really full of self-doubt and loathing for me. You watch your peers move forward in life while you are stuck in an endless loop. I wanted to move forward too, but time was moving for everyone else but me. In those tough times, sports really was the only thing I used to look forward to in my day. I might have chosen engineering, but the energy, optimism, and the relentless attitude were something that my indoor and outdoor games taught me.
I was working as a manual tester in Infosys, a job that no engineer dreams about, and I knew I had to upskill. When I came across Scaler, I saw an environment where people challenged themselves and did everything to achieve excellence. I imagined myself as a player in a high-competition game with players that would make me push my limits. So when I joined, I gave it my all. I would work my job from 9 am to 7 pm, attend Scaler’s online coding classes from 9-11, complete all homework and assignments by 2 am. It was tough, yes, but I had to give it my best when I could, or live with regret for the rest of my life!
Today I’m working at WhiteHat Jr as a Computer Engineer, trying to make the impact I always dreamt of making as a child. Five or six years down the line, I imagine myself creating an even bigger impact through my very own enterprise. I dream of creating something for working professionals that allows them to get the same support from athletics and sports that I received. I would never be able to dream this big had I been stuck at a job as a manual tester. I am grateful to Scaler for my current job placement, but I’m indebted to it for renewing my entrepreneurial mindset. And I’ll pay it off by doing something impeccable!