My journey to becoming a software engineer was not easy. No one in my family had any background in technology. They were all farmers. I had no guidance or support from someone in tech. I learned everything by myself using YouTube. I didn’t even have a computer. I used to code on my mobile phone. My first interview test was on a desktop computer, which I had never used for programming before. Still, I managed to complete the test and got my dream job. That moment felt like magic!
My Background
My story began back in 2014 when I was in college. My full name is Gurinderpal Singh, and I’m from a small village named Mohammadpur Risaldar Channa in Sangrur, Punjab, India. My father is a hardworking farmer, and my mother takes care of our home. No one around me had any idea about computers or technology. I was an average student in school. I liked technical subjects, but I didn’t score great marks. Even so, I was curious about how technology worked. After finishing 12th grade, I joined a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) program at Ranbir College, Sangrur.
Falling in Love with Coding
During college, I attended a class on the C programming language. That’s where everything changed. I got fascinated by how programs work. But there was a problem — I didn’t have a computer or laptop. Our college had a computer lab, but it was only open for 40 minutes every few days. I had a Micromax A1 (Android One) phone, so I searched the Play Store and found an app called C4Droid. I started writing C programs on it. At first, the programs didn’t run properly because the app didn’t support everything from the textbooks. But after a few days of trying again and again, I finally got it working. I practiced writing programs like factorials, multiplication tables, and Fibonacci series. I had so much fun doing that! I even made a small calculator in my local language, which my friends liked. While most of them were busy on social media, I was busy solving programming problems. I didn’t even realize how quickly I was falling in love with coding.
Learning Web Development
In my second semester, I started wondering how websites are made, especially the ones with cool designs. Our syllabus didn’t include HTML until later, and I didn’t even know that HTML was used to design web pages — sounds funny now, right? I found a website called TutorialsPoint and started learning HTML on my own. It was easy to run HTML code on my phone, which was running Android KitKat or Lollipop at the time. I created a dummy website for my college and even hosted it using a free domain: https://ranbircollege.eu5.org/. I added previous years’ question papers from seniors, thinking maybe I could earn money from downloads. Later, I found out that money actually comes from ads, not downloads — haha! It took me 2 to 3 months to build that website completely on my phone. The site is still live, but some images are broken now. Then I became curious about how forms work on websites and where the data goes. I soon realized HTML couldn’t handle that part. So I started learning PHP from TutorialsPoint. But I couldn’t run PHP code on my phone because it needed a server and database setup, and I didn’t know how to do that back then.
Money Troubles
You might wonder — why didn’t I just buy a laptop? The truth is, my college fees were around 30,000 INR per year, which totaled 90,000 INR for three years, not including other expenses. It was a big financial burden for my family. My dad worked hard to pay the fees, and I didn’t want to trouble him for a laptop too. I’m still very thankful for all his efforts. Since I couldn’t run PHP locally, I searched for free web hosting services and found https://www.freewebhostingarea.com/. I wrote a simple “Hello World” PHP file in an online editor and ran it using a free domain — and it worked! I felt so happy. That same day, my mom’s sister came to visit us, but I was so excited about my code running online that I didn’t even notice the guests! Soon, I learned how to connect PHP with a database. I created a basic chat system, and along the way, I learned how to add, update, and delete data. I even explored how hackers break into systems — by breaking my own code! That helped me learn more about security.
Growing My Skills
By the time I reached my fourth semester, I had a strong grip on HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL. I discovered W3Schools, which made learning even easier, and I started learning JavaScript too. In my fifth semester, our syllabus included Java. I found a Java compiler app for my phone and started practicing. One day, our teacher gave us a task to write a Java program. I was the only one who completed it. That felt awesome, even though I was not usually the “topper” type. Even though I wasn’t great at writing long answers in exams, I understood programming concepts really well. I even found an app that helped me make basic Android apps using Java on my phone. By the end of my degree in July 2017, I had learned C, C++, PHP, HTML, CSS, and the basics of Java.
Looking for a Job
The town I lived in had no IT companies, so I went to Zirakpur, near Chandigarh, for interviews. It was about 120 km away. In my first interview, the test was to create a program that included data and file upload features. It may sound simple now, but back then, it felt difficult — especially without tools like VS Code. The biggest challenge? I had never run PHP on a computer before! I only used free hosting sites. The interviewer opened XAMPP and Notepad, and I didn’t know how to start. I nervously asked the team lead for help. He told me to run the file using localhost/filename.php. It worked! I wasn't dumb—I just never used a local server before. That day, I truly became Gurinderpal the Super Fresher! I got selected, but the salary was just 5,000 INR per month with a 1.5-year bond. Rent in Zirakpur was around 5,500 INR, so I couldn’t afford to move there. A month later, I got another offer — but they wanted me to pay 15,000 INR for PHP framework training, and I needed a laptop too. With rent and expenses, the total cost was 50,000–60,000 INR. My family was already paying a home loan, so it wasn’t possible.
Almost Giving Up
I started feeling like maybe I wasn’t meant to be a programmer. What if I wasted my dad’s money and still failed? It was very hard to code with just a phone, and I was almost ready to give up. Thinking about that time still brings tears to my eyes. But I decided to try one last time. I asked my dad if he could get me a second-hand laptop. We found a Dell i3 with 4GB RAM for around 15,000–16,000 INR. Seeing him pay for it with his old, broken phone — held together with rubber bands — broke my heart. Parents really sacrifice so much for us.
A Fresh Start
I installed XAMPP, Sublime Text 3, and a browser on the laptop. Finally, I could code on a real machine! But within a few days, the laptop suddenly stopped turning on. I was terrified. Luckily, it was just a charger issue, and the shop gave me a replacement. With a 98 INR 2G data plan that gave me 10GB, I downloaded Laravel tutorials from YouTube. I studied Laravel for four months. Two YouTube channels helped me a lot: DevMarketer by Jacurtis and PHP in Hindi by Rahul. I’m still thankful to them! I built small projects like a blog, an online store, and a notes app using Laravel, Vue.js, and Bulma CSS. I hosted them on free servers and added them to my resume. Those projects helped me pass 4–5 interviews, and recruiters were impressed.
My First Job and Growth
Finally, on December 11, 2017, I joined BrillikoMy starting salary was low, so my family helped me for the first three months. But then, the company doubled my salary because I performed well. I learned so much there, taught students, and made great friends like William. My boss, Sunil Nanda, supported me during tough times like COVID. I worked at Brilliko for almost four years. On December 1, 2021, I joined Ln Web Works. I became a Team Lead, mentored juniors, and received a good salary raise. The company even sent me to DrupalCon in Singapore with my amazing bosses Pankaj Kumar and Shikha Kumar. I stayed at Ln Web Works for 3 years and 4 months. Now, I work at Upler, a product-based company, as a Senior Software Engineer (Remote). It’s a different experience than my past office jobs, and I love it! You can check out my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurinderpal-batth/. I’m a Full Stack Developer skilled in Laravel, Node, Python, React, Vue, WordPress, Drupal, AWS, and GCS. And yes — I still love coding!
Thankful for Everything
In just seven years, I went from coding on a phone in a village to becoming financially stable. A few years ago, when I bought a house and a new car for my family, it was an incredible feeling. I’m so thankful for both my parents — Balwant Singh and Amarjeet Kaur. They’ve done everything for me, and I want to make them proud every single day. Whatever I am today, it’s because of my parents’ endless love, support, and sacrifices. Their belief in me gave me the strength to move forward, even when things were tough. I will always respect them with all my heart and work hard to give them the happiness and comfort they truly deserve. They are not just my parents — they are my inspiration, my pride, and my forever blessings. Keep watching me. I’m Gurinderpal Singh https://gurinder.mondaygeek.live
