The Accidental Coder: Story of Ashu Anand

It is the story of a boy who was certainly not asked what he wanted to do. He had very limited choices and thus just had to pursue whatever he was told to do. From being the boy who didn’t even know how to turn on the computer in college to someone who is now coding for a US-based enterprise. His journey from Bareilly to the USA will inspire you to believe in hard work and perseverance.

The Accidental Coder

Every students’ life changes 360 degrees after class 12th. That is what was going to happen with Ashu. Well according to him he never really enjoyed studies but was always up for some extra knowledge. Moreover, being a cricket player, he knew how to handle stressful situations and win over. His family was going through financial crisis and at that point in time, he knew that he needs to study well and get a job to make things better.

So, he wanted to join the Army but that was not happening at that time. Thus, he decided to go for BSc as then he can do NCC. But, the person who was going to sponsor his studies asked or rather told him to get enrolled in BCA (Bachelor of Computer Application). Thus, there he was in college, studying something he had no idea about. In those days, the computer was something which wasn’t known to all. On his first encounter with a computer, he was unable to switch it on.

What would you have done in such a scenario? Will you have the courage to go back to that class?

Well, let us admit that a lot of us will give it a thought. But what Ashu was thinking all about was how he is supposed to do it. Then after a few weeks, he not only knew how to handle a computer but also how he is supposed to code. While sharing his story, he mentions that as he didn’t have a computer at home, thus he uses to write codes on paper at home. Then on the next day, he uses to sit for hours at the computer lab to execute all the codes. Further, when one of the teachers was unavailable, then he even helped almost every student with their doubts. His problem-solving attitude is what always helped him, in ending up in a better place. All of his hard work paid off finally when he got a job offer from Infosys, which is one of India’s top-notch IT companies. He has traveled for work to even foreign lands. And, after Infosys is now working for Munchkin, a US-based Baby Products and Accessories brand.

What was his JEE score?

The fact is that he didn’t appear for JEE Exam and still got a good job may bug a lot of you. But the fact is that in the IT world you just need to have the required skills. If you have the skills then you will definitely be able to get your dream job. I am sure that you still have a lot of questions, as to how he was able to do something with so much passion, which was forced upon him. But, who else can answer those questions better than Ashu himself? Thus, the following are some of the questions which we had in mind. And are sure that even you must be curious to know about it.

A short Interview with Ashu Anand:

Q1: Did you ever thought that you will be Coding?

Ans: I never thought that I will be coding. Even I never knew what I wanted to do. I just followed the path whatever I got. I wanted to join the Army but got Job in a call center and accidentally got into the IT sector. But once there I did my best.

Q2: Do you think that being from a renowned college makes it easier to get a job in some of the best enterprises out there?

Ans: For the IT sector being from a renowned college does make it easier to get a job as you get campus placement. But the benefit of being in IT is that you do not need to be completing your course before getting an offer. Now there are lots of online challenges that you can complete to get offers from big companies. Some of them are Hackerrank, Leedcode, etc. They hold competitions for companies and hire them.

Q3: What would you advise all the students, who want to work in the IT sector?

Ans: Go for Practical knowledge. Improve your analytical skills, brush up algorithms and learn at least 2 programming languages.

Q4: How did you mentally prepare yourself to take studies seriously?

Ans: Before starting my studies I will make myself get bored by doing time pass like reading books, or looking around or sleeping. No TV or games as they don’t make you bore. Once I get bored then study is the best time pass as I won’t feel sleepy.

Q5: Where do you see yourself after 5 years? What are your future plans?

Ans: Currently I am learning Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. I have a few plans in my mind. Might be something good will come out of that.

We always talk about our problems and think about them. But there are only a few who look for answers. They are the ones who teach us to just do what is required. Sometimes, we choose something for ourselves, but sometimes life has different plans. But in the end, all that matters is where you end. How you handled the challenges life has thrown upon you. So just do everything with passion and you will definitely be able to succeed in everything do.