PART THREE- SUMIT’S CAREER LIFE
In 2016, Jio was introduced to the market. Chennai was the city where Jio was first introduced. Jio was providing its users with 4 GB per day. By that time, papa also purchased a laptop for us using his fixed deposit. I made the best use of my resources during this period. From here I came across a company called AnalytixLab which was providing an online course. I then joined the AnalytixLab where I learned all about data science for three months after my seventh semester. If I can draw a parallel between what I learned by myself and what I learned through AnalytixLab, I would say that the former was quite unstructured while the latter was well-structured. In my eighth semester, I was nominated for the position of data analyst at Byju’s. This opportunity, too, slipped from my grip as I had to return home to attend to my ailing mother. I sat for an interview for Sports Mechanics. The person who took my interview seemed very impressed with my knowledge, and they said they would consider me for the job of an assistant to the lead performance analyst of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team. I was not handed any offer letter, but I was told that they will soon contact me. The eighth semester was over. My life as a college student was over, then I came back to Kanpur with the hope that I would get a placement. Bhaiya failed to clear the aptitude rounds (the basic criteria) of all the companies he was allowed to sit at. At Kanpur, I started learning hockey at a sports club from a former national hockey player Paul Devendra to impress them. However, they called me after a month and rejected me based on my lack of in-depth knowledge of data science.
After getting rejected by those companies. I started making profiles on various job-seeking platforms such as Naukari.com, and Linkedin. Again, I was either getting rejected, or failing to procure a proper opportunity. Data science was new in the market and there was less demand for individuals who wished to do work related to data science. Through Linkedin, I then came across upGrad’s need for a content strategist who was good at data and machine learning, so I readily forwarded my resume. Meanwhile, I was called for an interview in a Chennai-based company, Sports lens, I went to Chennai for the interview, and they wanted to board me instantly when I got selected. I, on the other hand, was waiting to proceed with upGrad. I was heading to Kanpur from Chennai, and during that train journey, I took a few interview calls. After a couple of interviews, for the job of machine learning content creator at upGrad. I received a call from HR who asked me about my salary expectation. I replied “not less than 4 lakhs” with a little hesitation. The only thing I wanted at that point was a job through which I could earn a decent income. That day, I saw my parents cry for the second time after I got an offer letter promising me seven lakhs. We breathed a sigh of relief because there was a lot of pressure on papa to pay the loans. We were just overwhelmed, and there were tears of happiness in everyone’s eye
Bhaiya and I left for Mumbai, and that is how my professional life began. Working with upGrad has been an exhilarating experience. I got the opportunity to meet and learn from professors from IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, and IIM Kozhikode to name a few. I worked as a content strategist and analyst for two years initially. At upGrad, I was not just delivering the knowledge but I was learning too. I learned all the aspects of machine learning and data science meticulously here. After working and learning at upGrad for 1 year and nine months, I joined Hopscotch.
My struggle came to a halt but Bhaiya was still toiling to find his calling. Bhaiya was crazy about RVCJ (a content page) and wanted to work with them. His fascination for creative content especially memes began during his college days. For him, RVCJ was a dream company, and he wanted to work with them since our college days. He started working as a paid intern at a News Agency for writing content in Hindi in Mumbai which was his 1st job. He faced a lot of difficulties throughout that period due to his weak communication skills. He was removed. He then started working as a digital marketing executive at a News channel in Lucknow and was paid 12000 per month. One day, Bhaiya called me and cried his heart out while informing us about the utter humiliation that he was constantly being subjected to by the manager for his weak communication skill. I asked him to quit. The core problem with him has always been his feebleness in comprehending things, and many failed to empathize with him. During those times he tried his best to contact and reach out to RVCJ. The company then asked him to come to Mumbai for an interview. In 2019, they interviewed him. Bhaiya was neither smart nor someone with good communication skills. So, based on the 1st impression, he was outrightly rejected. Even though he has been a diligent person he seemed to stand no chance to those who were interviewing him.
Harpreet Bajwa, the founder of RVCJ, then initiated a deal. He asked bhaiya to work for a month without any expectation of compensation and he would only be kept as an intern if he proved his worth. Bhaiya agreed to it. Within a month he created and posted so many memes, stories, and other humorous content that the reach of the Hindi content of the company soared. They were highly impressed by bhaiya’s talent and work. No sooner had he completed his internship than he was offered a post of Hindi content writer. He was paid a good salary that doubled within a year. He is now a senior director here. He is working with other brands too. Undoubtedly, his hard work and creativity finally paid off.
Hopscotch was the company that I opted for after working with upGrad. It was not more than a week that I had to leave the company to attend to my ill mother and other family issues. I was removed from it because of my outrageous reply when HR called me, I was heavily penalized for this misconduct. A month passed, I was jobless, and I was in a vulnerable position. Then one day, I received a call from upGrad, they urgently wanted a teacher to teach the contents and modules. This was for the 1st time that someone who was not ‘professionally’ an educator was taking up a class at upGrad. I had time on my hands and I needed money too, so I accepted what was being offered to me.
6th June 2019 was the day when I
took my first class with upGrad. My first class was a real success, the students were extremely happy with my classes. They wanted me as their teacher and upGrad offered me more classes. All I ever wanted was a good corporate job that would pay me enough to pay my bills. However, the teaching profession always found its way to me in some or the other way. It was all unplanned, three years passed and I had taken more than one thousand sessions so far for upGrad. I was in my flow state. Choosing upGrad was one of the best decisions I ever took in my professional life.
As far as the companies are concerned, I have worked with upGrad, SimpliLearn, Coding Invader, and Board Infinity. I also started teaching at colleges such as LPU, Chandigarh University, SRM University, NMIMS Mumbai, and Future Institute of Engineering and Technology. I started taking classes for corporate people(Ugam Analytics). There has been exponential growth in my income.
I also started making my content and opened my YouTube channel. When I started my job as a content creator, things were not in order, I did not know how to create content, what to edit, and even how to properly approach and address. I overcame all these shortcomings with time. I have been an enthusiast and learner, and I believe in moving and correcting myself at every stage of life.
Now, I am a full-time instructor.
I always wanted to do something for students who were economically weak but were brilliant and had the passion to prove their mettle. It is no wonder that owning a laptop transformed my life, so I knew how impactful it would be if I could distribute laptops to the ones less privileged. I never planned to become a philanthropist, it was perhaps in my destiny. It all started with one thing and that thing led to another. Papa had an auto that he rented to a person. The man who used to drive our auto once asked for a suggestion to buy a laptop for his son. I was intrigued and concerned, I told him that laptops are expensive. I decided to ask for a donation on Linkedin and we received a positive response. Since then, I started getting requests concerning such things. My friends from Chennai and I formed a small group and we started donating laptops. Further, we were getting requests regarding fees- for instance, someone on Linkedin posted about a Zomato boy who was granted the opportunity to study in Italy but he was unable to bear the expenses of buying tickets and paying the fees for the first semester. This was something that I was able to resonate with. I recalled the time when I was in my second semester, I got an offer from Imperial College London and I was being offered a full scholarship to pursue my Engineering. The total cost of my 1st semester and the ticket was around 2 lakhs. The fee was refundable but I could not manage the money for the flight ticket. I did not want the same thing to happen to him. Now, he is studying in Italy at his dream college.
Presently, I devote my time and income to aiding the less privileged. I take sessions on Saturdays and Sundays and run a small school composed of kids from the weaker section of society, travel, and interact with people. Tutoring young minds, and mentoring students have been such a rewarding experience for me, that I never hesitate to go the extra mile for the ones devoted to learning.
My story is more than a simple rags-to-riches story. It is about challenging all the obstacles and oddities, facing hunger and rejections with the hope that time will turn things in our favor. We had the guts to move forward without a pause because we had seen the plight of our parents, and the miseries caused by deprivation and even humiliation. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to meet benevolent and empathetic beings when we needed them most. Bhaiya and I were able to bear all the struggles not only to change our circumstances but also because we both knew our potential. Today, both of us are incredibly independent with the support of our parents. Our dream has manifested into a reality; we both own 2BHK flats 1 at Kanpur and the other at Lucknow. I know there is a long way to go, but this is an achievement, of which I am extremely proud.
This is Sumit Shukla’s real-life story shared in his own beautiful words with storyofsouls.com
Sumit’s story link to part one:
https://www.storyofsouls.com/a-story-thats-worth-sharing-sumit-shuklas-real-life-story/
Sumit’s story link to part two:
https://www.storyofsouls.com/a-story-thats-worth-sharing-sumit-shuklas-real-life-story-2/
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Sumit you are an inspiration for young minds and example of overcoming hardships by strong determination and self belief. I almost had tears reading your life ordeals and now I’m happy for all of your achievements. Thanks for inspiring us..