Gaurav left teaching and turned into a Software Engineer within months

Born and brought up in Varanasi, Gaurav currently works as a Software Engineer for Buyers Assist. His unwavering dedication to finding his domain of interest has led him to succeed in his life despite having numerous failures in discovering his zest.

Not particularly studious, he somehow did well in school. Besides his studies, he had a variety of hobbies including sports and even singing. Being a top-performing student, he chose Science in the 11th grade as his parents suggested but the road ahead wasn’t as easy as it was before.  

Even though he pursued his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, he soon realized that this was not the road he wanted to take for the rest of his life- and that is when he learned about PSU, which was the only thing that kept him engaged. Furthermore, after appearing for the GATE exam and obtaining a decent rank for himself, he still could not make up his mind to go for something that he did not find interesting. Read further to know how he got introduced to the world of coding after rejecting a seat at IIT Kanpur:

How did you find your passion for coding?

After GATE, I worked at an automobile firm for 20 days and then I quit. After that, I began teaching Mathematics to JEE aspirants at a coaching institute and it was fine for the first two years before it grew monotonous. I now wanted to acquire a new skill that would help me realize my untapped potential. I started asking my friends about various other subjects and that’s when one of my friends suggested that I learn more about HTML and other computer languages. I was immediately fascinated by the principles of coding and development because the outcome of what you create was instantaneous. 

After some thought and introspection, I chose to pursue a career in this field.

What led you to Masai School?

I initially tried to learn the basics online but it hardly helped. I soon realised that if I want to pursue this field professionally, I will have to take the help of professionals themselves. My peers even suggested that I should focus on algorithms because of my Mathematics background- which helped. 

While looking for the perfect institute that would take my background into consideration, I came across Masai School. To be sure, I contacted a few of the alumni and surprisingly, they were super adamant about their support. Moreover, my family and I couldn’t really believe that the Pay After Placement structure required the students to only pay the fee after landing a job of more than Rs.5,00,000 per annum.

What was the learning experience like in Masai School? Were you able to cope up considering you came from a Non- Computer Science background?

The first few days were stressful for me because I did not come from a CS background. Also, the 9 to 9 routine was difficult for me to follow because it was not something I was used to. However, as weeks went by, I gradually began to enjoy the course and the routine that we were made to follow. 

All the mentors at Masai were excellent, especially Albert, who made the Javascript lessons very interesting for me and I used to look forward to his class every day!

Even during the pandemic and the consequent lockdown, the online were managed systematically and the efficacy of teaching was not compromised at all. Never for once I felt like I was lagging behind because the mentors’ support was continuous and immense. I believe, if you are not enjoying what you are doing then you need to let it go and find your passion and interest in which you desire to work.

That’s wonderful to know. How did the placements go for you after the course?

I got placed on the first day itself, so I did not have to sit through many interviews. However, while the job I got seemed good, the profile I was supposed to work for didn’t appear like a good fit for me. I went back to Masai School because I knew they would always assist me, and I still believe that once you are a part of the Masai family, you will be a part even after you graduate. 

My mentors Ankur and Shweta constantly encouraged me to find a domain that I enjoyed, and they constantly assured me that even if I would come back to Masai after ten years, they will always be there for me- and this was enough to motivate me. I went for another interview for the position of a Software Engineer at Buyers Assist and soon got accepted. 

The Masai Experience

Gaurav’s journey teaches us that you don’t always have the direction to succeed, but you need to find it sometimes. He feels that organisations like Masai help students to grow without having to have the support of their parents’ finances and this is what our country really needs right now. “I believe that such institutions are the future of education in India. Apart from preparing us for a bright career, Masai also made sure to share its successes and failures with its students- and this is what distinguishes it from other such organisations,” he says.

Watch this video where Gaurav shares how Masai not only made him a better coder, but also helped him in finding his passion that was long-awaited.