His achievement
|
Yes, the achievements, yessir, in plural, actually make that
multi-plural (sic). A look at his portfolio reflects the young man’s passion
for IT and the hard work that he has already put in so far–he’s a
Cisco-Certified Design Associate (CCDA), a Cisco-Certified Network Associate (CCNA),
a Microsoft-Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft-Certified Solution
Developer (MCSD).
The stepping stone
Computers touched his life while he was still a tiny tot in
class 3. At that tender age, he took a course in DOS from a private institute.
And this was the beginning of a dream. To achieve it, he prepared for, and
attempted various on-line exams during October 2000-April 2001. This was apart
from his school curriculum.
The lap
He cleared the first hurdle by scoring well in the CCNA exam,
and finally, he began preparing for his CCDA in May 2001. Once again persistence
paid off, and he is now the proud owner of a CCDA certificate.
He’s self-made
What is even more astonishing is that Harsh did not take any
course for these exams. He read from study books available in the market. Yes,
his joint family, he says, encouraged him to pursue IT.
His analysis
Harsh finds the programming field saturated and this prompted
him to turn to networking for a career option. However, to this inference, he’s
quick to add, "Networking’s a more interesting field." The slowdown
he says does not scare him.
"Java, VB and ASP have been hurt because their main
application has been in Web designing, whereas C++, Cisco and Oracle are strong
and time-tested. So programming and networking technologies have always been and
will be in demand," he says. Well, c’est la vie, for this teeny lad.
What he feels
A whiz kid he may be, but Harsh does not feel special in any
way. He insists that he is not an "isolated geek" or a
"bookworm". He is happy that his teachers are proud of him and he is
ready to share his hard-won knowledge with them. "Things are as easy or as
difficult as you make them," he says.
The future
His future plans include getting certification for Cisco
Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP)
and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). And someday, this ambitious
young man hopes to start his own networking and research and development firm.
All the best, Harsh!
Shilpa Srivastava in New
Delhi