Lalitha’s internal hurdles didn’t stop her from becoming a top-notch coder

Lalitha Perumulla was born and raised in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. While she wasn’t a brilliant student when she was young, she was always persistent in her pursuit of becoming better than the average. Even as she was perplexed about what she wanted to do with her life after college, she never looked back once she understood her calling.

Despite the fact that her school was English-medium, she did not feel confident in her ability to communicate in English. With time, it became imperative to her that she needed to focus on her self-esteem and ability to maintain a conversation in order to get through job interviews later on. Let’s see how she overcame her inner hurdles by enrolling at Masai School.

Were you confident about the subjects you wanted to take after school? 

I chose non-medical as my major in class 11th and experimented with many creative fields after school such as fashion design, interior design, etc., but nothing really worked out. I was confused about what I really wanted to do with my life at that time. With the advice and help of my family, I finally ended up pursuing a B.Tech in IT.

How was your experience in college?

My college experience was simple but enjoyable. I became interested in coding and software development during my freshman year itself. I used to experiment with programming languages such as Java, designing Microsoft logos and so on. I also looked for opportunities outside college that would teach me coding on a professional level, but I gradually abandoned that notion as there was too much on my plate already as a student. 

Did your first job teach you the skills you were looking forward to?

During college placements, I was recruited by the first company that came in. Initially, I had an amazing experience at work during the first four months of my training period, after which I was allocated as a Database Administrator. However, I did not get to learn much about the domain in which I actually wanted to work in. My love for coding persisted but my job required me to execute the scripts and schedule jobs and not develop them. When interest failed to kick in, I realised that I must give my passion for coding one more chance. For this, I even tried to change my department, but it just didn’t work out.

So what did you eventually do?

After the epiphany, my path became even more opaque than before. I started asking myself where I should invest my time. There were so many languages that intrigued me like Java, Python, etc., and I felt like doing something about it. Following this, I finally decided to quit my job and look for full time opportunities to learn more about coding and development. In the beginning, I tried to learn professional-level coding by myself from websites and online lectures but these only gave me a lot of theoretical knowledge- there was no way I could implement it anywhere with full confidence. 

How did you discover Masai School?

I started looking for more options to learn coding and development. While scrolling through the internet one fine day, I came across Masai School which captured my attention instantly. The Pay After Placement seemed believable as it meant that I only had to pay the fees once I landed a job of more than Rs.5 LPA. With such assurance, I went ahead with the applications and tests and got in.  

Did you have any doubts while enrolling? If yes, what were they?

Since the concept of PAP is new to the country, I had some doubts in the beginning but after having a conversation with a few of the alumni and the faculty, I had better clarity about what Masai was really aiming at. All the alumni I talked to were very positive about their opinion which boosted my confidence to go ahead and enroll.

Were your expectations fulfilled once you joined Masai? 

I opted for a part-time course in Masai which I enjoyed and everyone was very amiable in attitude. All my earlier worries were relieved once I joined the classroom and I felt good to be a part of this family. The energy in teaching and learning was never extinguished. The confidence that my mentors showed in me was something that even I did not have in myself. It made me feel like this is where I begin my journey for excellence; Where I will learn new skills and place myself in a better situation.

What was your overall experience during the placements?

I was to attend an interview after a very long time due to the gap in my career- I was naturally very nervous. With my mentors’ support, I was able to work on my communication and soft skills which was my weakest pillar. After a lot of practice and hard labor, I became comfortable attending interviews and for this, I’d like to give a special shoutout to my mentors Ashish and Yogesh. Within 20 days of graduation, I finally got placed in a company that offered to pay 3 times more than my last drawn CTC. It was truly a moment of victory for me and to date, I continue to thrive with the skills Masai has endured me with- both in life and at work. 

Watch Lalitha talk about her journey and challenges in this video:

The Masai Experience

Dissatisfaction and confusion are what made Lalitha grow into her best version. She strongly believes if one is looking for a change in their life and wants to work on something that they love, then they should start working towards it at the earliest opportunity- as there will always be establishments like Masai School to support the passion and dreams of every such dreamer. 

Her story is relatable to most of the students and her victory is truly an inspiration for us. Masai School wishes her the very best for her upcoming endeavours as a professional coder.