Tech, Teaching, and Triumph | Mohammad Fraz | TEDxBITD

Summary

The speaker shares a personal journey from childhood dreams of joining the army to becoming a software engineer. Inspired by a story about Silicon Valley, he pursued engineering, faced challenges, and eventually started a YouTube channel teaching coding. The speaker emphasizes the importance of consistency, motivation, and teamwork. He details his internships, placements, and the pivotal role his channel played in helping others while growing his own skills. Ultimately, he landed a job offer and celebrates both his and his sister's success, encouraging others to never stop striving for their goals.

Takeaways

• 💼 The speaker, Faraz, shares his journey of becoming a software engineer and his passion for teaching.
• 🧑‍🎓 Faraz developed an interest in Silicon Valley tech companies while in school, which motivated him to pursue engineering.
• 📚 He studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya, where he discovered that to pursue engineering, he needed to clear exams like JEE Advanced to get into IIT.
• 👩‍🏫 Faraz loves teaching, and during his college years, he often helped his sister and friends with their studies.
• 👨‍💻 In his second year, he started practicing coding with his group of friends and faced challenges but learned the value of teamwork and consistency.
• 📺 He launched a YouTube channel to share what he learned, initially starting with simple videos and slowly gaining an audience.
• 💸 The channel grew, and Faraz even began earning money through YouTube monetization, which helped him financially during his studies.
• 🏆 Faraz's journey was full of ups and downs, but with determination and support, he secured an internship and later a full-time job at CureFit, a Bangalore-based startup.
• 🎓 His sister also succeeded, securing offers from top companies like Microsoft, showing the importance of persistence in their family.
• 🚀 Faraz's story emphasizes the value of never giving up, staying consistent, and the satisfaction of helping others through teaching.

Q & A

What motivated the speaker to pursue a career in software engineering?

The speaker was inspired after learning about Silicon Valley and companies offering high salaries, free food, and a creative work environment. This piqued their interest in the tech world, leading them to explore software engineering.

How did the speaker start their journey in learning competitive programming?

The speaker started learning competitive programming after realizing its importance for cracking Microsoft interviews. They encountered challenges, including getting stuck on problems and feeling demotivated, but found support from a group of friends.

What role did the speaker’s family play in their academic and professional journey?

The speaker’s family, especially their younger sister, played a significant role. The speaker had to balance their own studies while also teaching and guiding their sister, who eventually got into the same college.

How did the speaker overcome the challenges of learning new concepts like recursion?

The speaker spent significant time learning challenging topics like recursion, which took them an entire month. They later simplified and taught the same concept to their sister in just a week, reinforcing their understanding.

What led the speaker to start their YouTube channel, and how did it evolve?

The speaker started their YouTube channel to help their sister prepare for interviews. Initially, they created private videos to improve their confidence. Over time, they made the videos public, received positive feedback, and the channel gradually grew.

What was the significance of the speaker's first income from their YouTube channel?

The speaker’s first income from YouTube was Rs. 80, which they compared to the cost of a shuttlecock for badminton, highlighting how even small earnings brought them joy and motivation to continue.

How did the speaker manage the internship placement season during college?

The speaker found internship placement season challenging, particularly when some companies rejected them due to GPA criteria. Despite the setbacks, they kept applying and eventually secured an internship with CureFit.

What strategy did the speaker use during their preparation for a job offer from Google?

The speaker followed a disciplined strategy, revising key topics and practicing around 1000 coding questions within 21 days. This preparation helped them successfully clear all interview rounds and receive an offer from Google.

What was the speaker’s experience when they finally received the job offer?

The speaker was anxiously waiting for the result, even dreaming about it. When they received the message on a Saturday that they had been selected, it was a moment of immense happiness and relief.

How does the speaker reflect on their achievements and their sister’s success?

The speaker feels proud of both their own and their sister’s accomplishments. While they secured a position at CureFit, their sister got offers from both Nvidia and Microsoft, ultimately joining Microsoft. This makes the speaker proud of their shared journey.