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The Economic Times
The Economic Times
Trending Desk

'You don't need a degree': He got into IIT Delhi, then walked away from it for Microsoft. This 19-year-old's career move is going viral

IIT Delhi IIT Microsoft Google India

A 19-year-old has walked away from one of India's most fiercely guarded academic prizes, and landed a software engineering job at Microsoft instead. Ashish Kumar Verma dropped out of IIT Delhi to join the tech giant, doing so before he was even old enough to legally drink in most Indian states. He announced the move on social media, and it is now forcing many young Indians to rethink what actually opens doors in tech.

A Resume That Outgrew The Classroom

Verma isn't a random dropout chasing a gamble. Before leaving IIT Delhi, he had already become the world's youngest Google Developer Expert (GDE) at 18. He had worked on research projects in Japan through the Sakura Science program and had personally demonstrated a mobile app he built to the Prime Minister of India. For Verma, the structured, exam-driven pace of an IIT classroom couldn't keep up with how fast he wanted to build and ship.

"Just Build," Says Verma

Verma didn't hold back while explaining his decision. He believes the idea that unconventional paths don't work in India is nothing but noise.

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