Ta-ta CodeChef
I have quit CodeChef and along with it, its new home, Unacademy. 30th April 2021 was my last day at work. A day that I will remember for a little longer than other days, due to the extremely warm farewell given to me by my team.
I disliked farewells. I have believed that farewells should be given in a personal capacity than made an organizational ritual. More on that in another blog that I intend to start soon, documenting my learnings at CodeChef. But then, my farewell was probably the warmest that any group of people has ever made me feel. Almost 50 members of my team ran a total of 968 km in 3 weeks while working from their home in this pandemic; since I have always pushed them to run. Running is probably one of the hardest activities to do and many of them were doing it for the first time in their lives. For those who do not know, it was an undocumented policy for all the new team members to train and run a marathon(minimum of 10 km) as a part of their induction, but the pandemic had forced us to pause it.
The farewell organized over a zoom call also included some of the former team members who came in to share their experiences and wish me goodbye once more. It brought back many beautiful memories and also a realization that a large part of what I am today is due to my being at CodeChef. Having spent my last 12 years here has defined me in more ways than anything else. I got to work with some of the most passionate and motivated people who want to make a positive difference to the world more than to their professional careers. And at the same time, they are among the smartest folks in the country. I am sure it will be very hard for me to find a team as wonderful as this. We grew together.
Leaving CodeChef wasn’t the easiest decision to take. But, it did not turn out to be as hard as I thought it could be. CodeChef has grown to be a large part of me. So much so that it superseded all my ties. And hence, leaving it came with a feeling of relief. I can now give a lot more time to myself. And to people and things that I ignored for so long. I can also invest some time to figure out what I want to do next.
I want to thank every single person who has been a part of this journey. I am not listing them out of the fear of missing someone out.
I must admit that I have had the pleasure of being in a role that so many people are envious of. Working for a non-profit (for a large part of my tenure), making a social impact while having a lot of fun, and yet getting paid a handsome corporate salary is not something that many can get to do at the same time. I will forever be grateful for this. However, there are innumerable things that made my stay at CodeChef so enriching. I do intend to start a blog sometime soon and probably also start an AMA, if someone is interested, where we can discuss the stories and my learnings at CodeChef of the last 12 years. In case you are, then please drop your details here, I will send you a personal invite.
I hope and wish that CodeChef continues to grow towards its vision of making Indian programmers better problem solvers.
Ta-ta CodeChef.
