Skill Over Background In Tech: Ex-Microsoft Employee Shares Insights

Garg’s reflections centre two main themes: the idea that success is determined by skill rather than background and the importance of carving out a niche in the expansive tech industry

Rajat Garg, a former Microsoft India employee who spent over three years with the global tech giant, recently shared insightful career reflections in a post on the professional networking site LinkedIn. Now an entrepreneur, Garg delved into the key lessons he learned during his tenure at Microsoft, which have profoundly influenced his professional perspective. 

Garg’s reflections centre two main themes: the idea that success is determined by skill rather than background and the importance of carving out a niche in the expansive tech industry.

One of Garg's significant insights from his time at Microsoft was the remarkable diversity within the workforce. He noted that his colleagues hailed from various educational backgrounds, ranging from prestigious institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) to less prominent private colleges. Garg realised that academic pedigree was not the primary determinant of success. Instead, he identified two crucial factors that truly mattered: technical expertise and a commitment to ongoing self-improvement.

He explained that the professionals who thrived at Microsoft were those who demonstrated exceptional proficiency in core skills, such as data structures, algorithms, and software development. Their educational backgrounds were secondary to their ability to showcase these competencies and their dedication to refining them. According to Garg, success in the competitive tech industry was ultimately determined by a passion for the craft and mastery of these critical skills.

The second major lesson Garg shared focused on the vast and constantly evolving nature of the tech industry. During his time at Microsoft, he was exposed to a broad spectrum of fields, from traditional web and app development to cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), blockchain, and robotics. 

Garg emphasised that while the tech industry offers limitless opportunities, it's neither feasible nor necessary to master every area. Instead, he recommended identifying a specific field of interest and concentrating deeply on it. “There’s space for everyone, but the trick is to find the area that excites you the most and double down on it,” Garg wrote. His post underscored that specialising in a particular niche and excelling within that domain is often more valuable than attempting to cover every aspect of the tech landscape.