About Me
JAMSHEDPUR, INDIA (1993 - 1997)
Let me share my journey of how I got into computing. It all started in 1993, just after I joined a three-year B.Sc. (Math Honours) degree course. During that first year, I realised that a degree alone wouldn't be enough to secure the job I desperately needed to support my family. A friend asked if I was interested in joining a computer training course. Without a second thought, I decided to join him and went to a local branch of APTECH, a well-known computer training institute in India. When we arrived and inquired about their offerings, we were told we had to pass an aptitude test before enrolling. I wasn't prepared, but I decided to give it a try anyway. We both secured over 90% on the test. My friend, who was fully prepared, began discussing the options and eventually chose a one-year "Diploma in Information and Systems Management" (DISM). At the time, the fee was INR 13,000. I didn't have the money to join, but when I told my mother, she did what any devoted mother would do: she sold her wedding jewelry to pay my fees. It was vital for me to start earning as soon as possible, and I hoped this course would lead to a decent job. I started the course six months later. On my very first day, I was surprised to find that the same friend was now my instructor! He was such a bright student that APTECH had offered him a job while he was still completing his own studies. We were taught FoxPro and COBOL as part of the curriculum. By the end of the course, I wasn't satisfied with the depth of my knowledge, so I decided to learn other programming languages. The trouble was that I didn't own a PC or laptop, nor did I have enough money for books. I joined a local library called the "Muslim Library" because it was free. It was far from where I lived, requiring two bus journeys, and sometimes I didn't even have enough money for the fare. My older sister, who earned money through home tutoring, always helped me out. I learned Pascal simply by reading. When I moved on to C, I discovered another friend was running a computer training institute. I asked if I could use his PCs whenever they were available; in return, I offered to teach his students. He kindly accepted. While exploring C, I saw an advertisement for a multinational training center called INFOTECH opening in Jamshedpur. I applied for a faculty position but was offered a role as a "Lab Assistant" for INR 2,000 per month. To me, that was a lot of money; it allowed me to support my family, especially my younger brother who was still in college. Being a Lab Assistant had an added advantage: I had unlimited access to the PCs. I learned Oracle during my time there and was promoted to the Faculty team a year later.
MUMBAI, INDIA (1997 - 2000)
In 1997, I decided to move to a larger city in search of better opportunities. One of my colleagues at INFOTECH was headed to Mumbai to try his luck, so I decided to join him, as I didn't know anyone else there. The first three months were incredibly tough. My colleague quickly received a great offer from a major technology firm, while I continued to struggle. Eventually, out of necessity, I joined APTECH as a faculty member. It was a matter of survival; I didn't particularly like the job because I was looking for a programming role, but I had no other choice. After a year or so, the branch manager at APTECH asked if I was interested in a small, part-time project using FoxPro. I accepted without hesitation. This became my first professional programming role, where we built a Windows desktop application for a local rubber factory. During this time, a friend of a friend from Jamshedpur asked if I was interested in a Perl programming role. It was at a startup called INFOFIN, and they were looking for someone keen to learn the language. I interviewed and got the job. It was both more satisfying and better paid—INR 7,000 per month compared to the INR 5,000 I earned at APTECH. For the first time, I learned web programming using the "good old" CGI.pm and DBI.pm. There were no templates back then; everything was handled directly within the CGI scripts. A year and a half later, I saw an advertisement from a multinational company, ORIENT, looking for Perl developers. By then, I knew enough Perl to feel confident, so I decided to give it a try. By the grace of Allah, I got the job. I could hardly believe it when they told me my salary would be INR 15,000 per month. I was a little worried, though, that such a high salary would come with equally high expectations. My first day at the office was very interesting. I saw over 20 programmers from various backgrounds sitting around and doing nothing all day. We even received free lunch. It didn't take me long to figure out the business model: it was a form of "body-shopping". They would hire programmers and then send them abroad for contracting, mainly to the UK and the USA. When I was asked for my choice of location, I randomly picked the UK.
LONDON, ENGLAND (2000 - till date)
I still remember arriving at Heathrow Airport on a Sunday evening, April 2nd, 2000. My manager from the London office picked me up and took me to a Gujarati family's home in Wembley, where ten other programmers were already staying. I had come to the UK on a two-year work permit with a take-home pay package of £1,600 after tax. My first few months were quite difficult. Communication, particularly in English, had never been my forte, and I faced numerous challenges wherever I went for contracting roles. Eventually, I secured a two-week contract in the City. On the very first day, I impressed my line manager by solving an issue that had baffled them for months. By the end of that day, she offered me a six-month extension; I was thrilled, especially as she was incredibly understanding. After that, I took another two-month contract in Dublin with Vodafone. It was a wonderful experience; the people there were very friendly. I returned to London in December 2000 and began a contract with a company called Torrington Interactive, based in the City. I worked on the "Tuskerdirect" project, but within a few months, the company went into liquidation. Fortunately, the IT manager of Tuskerdirect approached me and offered me a permanent position instead of a contract. Since I had never truly enjoyed the uncertainty of contracting, I accepted immediately. My pay package increased to £2,600 after tax. I stayed there for five years, the longest I had ever been at one company at that time. Following that, I joined Spinvox, where I had the pleasure of working with Neil Bowers on an SMS-sending module. Two years later, during a round of redundancies, I left that position and returned to the City. I have now been working at Oleeo for nearly five years.