I Wasn't Sure I'd Make It, Then Striver Said I Would

Hi, I'm Naman Goyal, currently working as an SDE II at Amazon.

I come from a Tier 3 college, where campus offers rarely crossed 7 LPA. I started my career at TCS, working on routine development tasks, but I knew I wanted to push myself further.

I Knew Where I Was Falling Short

I started following takeUforward consistently, using Striver's content to build my DSA fundamentals from the ground up.

My preparation focused on:

• Building strong DSA fundamentals.

• Progressing from basic to advanced concepts.

• Practising problems consistently.

• Understanding optimal approaches.

• Preparing with the goal of targeting top tech opportunities.

The journey wasn't always easy. I had plenty of doubts about whether I was actually ready.

I Needed That One Person to Believe in Me

During a live stream, Striver reviewed my profile and told me:

"Naman, you will make it." That simple statement gave me a huge confidence boost.

For someone who was already questioning whether he could make it to a top tech company, hearing that from someone I trusted made a real difference.

Then Came Amazon

Fast forward to the interview, and I found myself interviewing for Amazon.

Even during the Bar Raiser round, I felt confident in my preparation. At one point, the interviewer asked a question I had already solved before. I was honest and disclosed it. Instead of stopping there, the interviewer switched to a challenging DP + Trees problem. And that's where the preparation mattered.

I was able to solve it using the optimal approach.

The Confidence Came From Preparation

Looking back, the biggest change wasn't just learning more problems.

It was knowing that I had prepared enough to handle something unfamiliar.

• Strong fundamentals gave me confidence.

• Consistent practice improved my problem solving.

• Understanding approaches helped me tackle new problems.

• The right guidance kept me moving forward.

From Tier 3 College to Amazon

Tier 3 College → TCS → Consistent DSA Preparation → Amazon → SDE II

A huge thank you to Raj Bhaiya(Striver) for being such an incredible mentor and for believing in me when I wasn't completely sure of myself.

Sometimes, one person's belief can give you the confidence to keep going.