Unable to rely solely on Google for solutions, Balasa Harsha developed robust problem-solving skills—a discipline that he considers fundamental to his current success
Visakhapatnam: Balasa Harsha from Visakhapatnam, at just 22 years, has secured a coveted position at Amazon with an annual salary of ₹50 lakh.
His journey from being a coding novice to a software development engineer (SDE) at one of the world's leading tech giants is an inspiration to young minds across the region and beyond.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Harsha said he had studied computer science at the Vignan Institute of Technology. Coming from a family of educators, both his parents are teachers. His father specialises in mathematics. Harsha has studied at institutions, where his father taught. He attributes much of his success to his head of department Dinesh Reddy, who provided crucial guidance.
"He told us that if we want to reach the top, we have to learn coding. He'd ask us questions from platforms like HackerEarth and push us to find the answers ourselves," Harsha explained.
Unable to rely solely on Google for solutions, he developed robust problem-solving skills—a discipline that he considers fundamental to his current success. Harsha said Covid-19 pandemic became a pivotal moment in his life. He utilised this period to deepen his coding expertise. By his second year of B. Tech., he had progressed to competitive programming through the CodeChef platform.
"I studied engineering for two hours daily using notes from friends. I spent the rest of my time on internship tasks, learning new aspects of coding," Harsha said.
Talking about job opportunities, he said he had initially been approached by a Chennai-based company with a ₹12 lakh package. In his final year, Bengaluru-based FI Money recruited him for ₹20 lakh salary.
“I worked there for approximately 10 months before Amazon gave me its offer,” Harsha added.
