Ashutosh’s journey from a village to a leading technological firm !

“I live in a small village, Salem Sarai, near Dhampur. My father is a farmer. My grandfather was a government teacher and had always been my mentor. He used to teach me. He always wanted to see me as an Engineer. I completed my schooling from Dhampur. I was the only one from my age group in my village, who went to school. I went to school alone and came back alone. And so, I had no friends and no social life. My school life was all about studying. I did not even make my own decisions. I had to follow whatever my parents told me. 

When I finally had to join the college, I was afraid and nervous. I didn’t know how I would survive alone. My family never had any engineers. I had to face many challenges in the first year of my graduation. I had no idea what kind of people I would meet. My hostel life was also muddling. My grandfather always taught me how to lead a life with principles and morals. But being too moral in an engineering college and especially in boys hostel is a little problematic. I never knew that. So I made my studies, my focal point. 

In the second year, I realized there are chances that I might not get a satisfactory placement. So I started preparing for GATE from the second year itself. I didn’t neglect my college studies though. I gave time to both of them. For the first two years, I stayed in an out-campus hostel. But when I switched to the in-campus hostel in the third year, my challenges increased. I felt a lot of disturbance. I couldn’t focus properly. But I continued with my preparations. 

I was in the first three toppers of my batch once. The Chairman of our college invites the toppers’ families to his house on his birthday. So he invited me with my parents. I felt very congenial and proud of myself. 

When the time for placements finally arrived in August, I got typhoid. I got so tensed that I was not able to recover easily. I went through seven rejections in the very beginning. I was frustrated and furious because I truly wanted my placement to be a success. But the best part was, we appeared for HackWithInfy exam in July. This exam helped me to directly qualify for the interview round. I got placed on a package of 5 lacs in Infosys, after seven rejections. I regained some confidence. My stress was released to a certain level so I recovered from typhoid soon. But I still knew I deserved better. I was not satisfied. I knew I had to do more or crack the GATE exam. 

I was determined to clear the exam. I got to know that a good company requires skills in algorithms, data structures, and coding. I had a backup plan so I kept preparing. Then one day, I got a mail from the Training and Placement Officer (TPO) that Informatica is arriving for in-campus placement. I was motivated that I had to clear all the rounds no matter what. I researched the company. I tightened the belt and started with the preparations. I cleared the first two rounds. There were five interview rounds and every round lasted for about 1½ hours. I cleared all of them. But soon, I got to know that I was put on the waiting list. Now the chances of me getting hired became less. I was frustrated because I had put my sweat and blood to get this placement. But, I calmed myself. 

I came back home for the Diwali holidays. I continued my preparations for GATE. On 31st October, TPO called me and said that I’ve been selected in Informatica. I was so overwhelmed that I started shouting. Soon I realized, I had filled Dehradun as my location for appearing in GATE and the exam was in February. But I had to leave for Bangalore in January to join Informatica. But I was still very happy.

I’m enjoying the professional world now. People are very supportive here. We’re free to give our opinions because everyone is treated equally in the company. I’ve recently received my offer letter for a full-time job. I don’t want to stick to the same technology. I want to learn about different technologies. I want to produce the best results for the company on my end. My parents are very proud of me and this has given the greatest satisfaction of my life.

I want to tell people that don’t stress much. Stressing will lead to failures. You won’t be able to give your best when finally the time arrives. Believe in yourself and you can reach heights. Don’t stick to your principles always. You have to compromise sometimes to reach out to people and make friends. Because being happy from inside is what matters the most at last.”

Instagram – @aashutosh8732

LinkedIn – Aashutosh Chauhan