Didigam Nithin is a graduating Y18 student from the Department of Material Science and Engineering. In this edition of As We Leave 2022, he talks about his transition and lessons learnt through the four years.
Disclaimer:- The views presented below are the author’s own and are not in any manner representative of the views of Vox Populi as a body or IIT Kanpur in general. This is an informal account of the author’s experiences at IIT-K.
I was one of the guys who thought I would never write “As we leave”. Now, as a cat for its food, I was excited to write this and share my story and a few insights I have learned through my journey.
By the way, I am Didigam Nithin, Material Science “engineer” for the namesake graduating in 2022, and I’m here to give some gyaan and do some self-marketing 😛
The day when the JEE results were out, the only reason we were happy is I got ranked less than 10k, and there are 10k+ seats in all IITs combined 😛
When I first entered Kanpur, I was terrified as everyone spoke Hindi, and every board/hoarding was written in Hindi. We used to have Hindi in school, but I was not familiar and was not fluent enough to make conversations. Thanks to the support (and the movies I saw) with my wingies, I can now talk, discuss and even write crazy lines on Twitter in Hindi. The bond grew from wingmates to mates who support me through every difficulty and those who gear up for massive treats. We all have grown up sharing each other’s journeys and suggesting how to approach any problem with a chill mindset.
The "Soul"
As a result, I wanted my work to reflect this concept of “soul”. I started a youtube channel sharing thoughts about how technology helps humankind. I started this project during the lockdown. My friends and I would daily work on designs, video editing, and ideas for new videos. This was a different experience as everything was over zoom and phone calls. The main motive of the channel is to give the next generation some hope and optimism about the future. It tries to explain how great products are helping humanity solve their inefficiencies. The channel is currently on a break, but I will soon relaunch it with more dynamic content.
I tried to get a job in product management. Still, fortunately or unfortunately, I got placed in Myntra as a Data Analyst. But as Myntra is a product-based company, the interview was more inclined toward product management. This was a new beginning, and friends at IITK taught me that everything is figure-out-able.
Placements
I was placed in Myntra as a Data Analyst in the 2021 placement season. The interviews were straightforward, random, and done in haste. I would suggest you ask seniors or fellow batchmates to understand the work profiles and what preparation is needed for them. With this information, you can design a working strategy to help clear the assessment. Asking others is very efficient as they have already walked through the path that you want to take.
Moreover, you can also read the placement postulates released by the AnC council & SoCE, IITK. These blog posts cleared a lot of doubts I used to have. Do approach any of us (Y18) to get more personalized guidance on placement preparation and strategies.
Unnadhi Okate Zindagi
This phrase is from my mother tongue( Telugu ). It roughly translates to “You only live once.” I realized that the world we live in was built with the rules and processes laid out by the people that best served the purpose then. But as an individual, you can choose to do anything that you would love to do since you don’t know what’s going to happen after you leave this world (okay, this might be debatable, but the disclaimer says it all).
The "Sell"
I believe that everyone is selling, whether it is a job interview, a presentation, or a business pitch. You are maximizing the chances of you getting the reward. So, learn how to sell what you have built or what you think will impact people’s lives positively.
The fundamental misconception about selling is that people force something they like upon others. But it is more about spreading information on which interested people will witness the power of that information and feel happy about knowing that information.
Some of you might have seen me going to every one of my friends and pitching the slice card :p, watching the movie “JOBS” or shark tank (Do give these a try if you haven’t yet). These are the things I feel that the world should know. I realized this fact when someone said, “I wish I knew this.”
The line from the movie Jobs reflects why pitching is essential:
“How does somebody know what they want if they haven’t even seen it?”
My last four months’ journey after the placement contrasts with the 3.5 years I have stayed in IITK(well, remove the lockdown phase). I could think clearly and was willing to choose things of my own accord. I have met many people, explored many things, and tried to capture so many of them on my phone. Since we were going to leave the campus soon, we roamed and explored the unexplored parts of campus every day. I felt nostalgic thinking about the first encounters with these friends we made for life.
It’s a 20-year dream come true for any middle-class boy to establish financial security for the family. Now I can do anything without worrying about how this will affect my placement.
Overall, it was a great learning experience and an emotional ride preparing me for the upcoming phases of life. The journey home from another home that has fostered me for four years to enter a world full of opportunities to make people’s lives better ended with this amazing photo with these amazing people.
Written by: Didigam Nithin
Edited by: Aniruddh Pramod, Bhavya Sikarwar
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