The reality of starting out as an engineer

When I began my engineering journey, I had big dreams. Even before college, I started learning programming — thanks to my sister who introduced me to it. I began with C++, and in my first year itself, I picked up a lot.

But by second year, I realized college shouldn't be just about classes and exams. I joined the Robotics Club and got hands-on experience building autonomous robots. I also had the incredible opportunity to organize Odisha’s largest tech fest for three consecutive years, learning about team management, leadership, and event planning.

In parallel, I started freelancing. I took on real-world projects, and that’s where I dived deep into the MERN stack — ReactJS, Redux, MongoDB, Firebase, and more. Every challenge taught me something new.

But when the placement season arrived, none of that seemed to matter.

I faced rejection because I didn't use the "preferred" programming language in one interview. In some cases, random shortlisting took over skills. In others, I cleared all test cases and still didn’t move forward. One company, hiring for a software developer role, didn’t even conduct a technical round — just a PPT presentation.

Today, after 4 years of hard work and continuous learning, I find myself doing a job that doesn't reflect the value I bring or the potential I have. I wouldn’t say I’m “unemployed,” but I do feel undervalued.

It’s not just the market — breaking in as a fresher is genuinely the hardest part. I’m sharing this not to complain, but to reflect and to connect with others who might be in the same boat.

To every fresher out there facing rejections despite giving your best — you're not alone. Your worth is not defined by one company's decision.

Let’s keep building, learning, and moving forward. 🚀

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