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“Believe in yourself,” says engineer who went from IIT rejections to Big Tech
Vergadia shared her journey from failing IIT twice to landing jobs in big tech like Google and Microsoft, writing books, and taking the TED stage.
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Anushka Pathak - Mon, 29, Dec 2025
- 13:38 EST
- 23
Priyanka Vergadia / Courtesy: X/@pvergadia
Indian-origin technology executive Priyanka Vergadia shared a career timeline shaped by early academic setbacks and long-term professional growth, saying how self-belief sustained her through those times.
Reflecting on a career shaped by repeated IIT rejections and prolonged professional uncertainty in its early years, Vergadia wrote, "I had to believe in myself before anyone else would."
Vergadia said failing the Indian Institutes of Technology entrance examination twice felt “like the end of the world,” but added, “It wasn't my destination—it was just the beginning.”
She said her progress was not driven by elite credentials but by consistency, learning, and refusing to let fear dictate decisions.
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I failed IIT twice. Took loans I couldn't afford. Started as a Quality Engineer while my friends climbed faster. 25 years later, here's the timeline:
— Priyanka Vergadia (@pvergadia) December 29, 2025
2000: Decided to become an Engineer from IIT
2004: Failed to get into IIT
2005: Failed to get into IIT a second… pic.twitter.com/HIr7US3rjx
After graduating from another engineering college, Vergadia moved to the United States for graduate studies. She described early financial pressure, difficulty securing internships, and starting her career as a QA engineer while peers advanced faster.
Over time, she moved into customer-facing engineering and developer-focused roles, later joining Google and then Microsoft. She said her career included authoring books, leading developer advocacy and strategy teams, and speaking on the TED stage in 2025.
Her post drew strong reactions from users. One commented, “More kids need to hear your story to avoid falling into iit mirage trap.”
More kids need to hear your story to avoid falling into iit mirage trap
— seeker of wisdom (@lokanadam) December 29, 2025
Another wrote, “Stories like yours always inspire me… Never give up.”
I'm also struggling right now. Let's see what lies ahead in my life.
— Sanchit Sharma (@hsanchit240) December 29, 2025
Stories like yours always inspire me in for one thing:
Never give up ️
Thankyou sister for this beautiful message.
A third commented, “What a great story of resilience, persistence and character. Failing IIT is really not the end of the world - as you have proved it. Salute your willingness not to be defeated and being open to new challenges and paths.”
What a great story of resilience, persistence and character. Failing IIT is really not the end of the world - as you have proved it. Salute your willingness not to be defeated and being open to new challenges and paths.
— V K Baxi (@vkbaxi) December 29, 2025
Vergadia said her progress was not about credentials but about “showing up consistently, learning relentlessly, and never letting failure or fear make my decisions.”
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