Insights from Tanay Pratap on Career, Skills, and EdTech

In the recent episode of "Frontside Podcast", we had a chance to host Tanay Pratap.

Tanay Pratap is the CEO of Invact and previously worked at Microsoft. Having started his journey as an educator with NeoG camp to help students and working professionals advance their careers in frontend development, he has now dedicated his life to building Invact - a platform that helps non-tech students kickstart their careers with advanced skill sets. 

In this episode, he shares profound insights into a range of topics, from career opportunities in India to the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence. We discussed:

• Tanay's college life, his quest to be the mentor he never had, and building Invact.
• Advice to our Devs for staying updated with the latest frontend trends
• A Day in Tanay's Life: Productivity and Planning
• Productivity hack: Operational term to general Well-being. 
• AI Trends: Leveraging AI in your work. 
• Life experiences and past. 
• QnA by team 

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Tanay's journey through college, his ambition to become the mentor he lacked and building Invact. 

Tanay discusses the pain points of students. His discussions ranged from the Engineering Students from Tier II and Tier III colleges to the impact of government exams in India, providing fair career opportunities to the efforts of Invact in addressing these concerns.

Tanay shares his passion for student mentorship and providing industry insights to young students. From conducting college workshops to establishing a significant online presence with the help of a junior, Tanay discusses the evolution and success of his YouTube channel and the creation of NeoG Camp. 

Tanay emphasized the necessity for genuine skill assessments in private jobs, remarking on how skills often outvalue degrees or even English proficiency in the tech world. This belief motivated his transition from Microsoft to embark on an entrepreneurial journey with Government Exam 2.0.

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Keeping Up with the Latest Frontend Innovations

Stressing the importance of sharing knowledge, Tanay encouraged staying updated with the latest technology. The constant emphasis is on continuous learning and understanding the user's viewpoint as a developer. He stressed that developers should be obsessed with users' needs, prioritizing the problems their tools or platforms solve rather than focusing on the technologies utilized.

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A Day in the Life of Tanay: Redefining Productivity

True productivity is an amalgamation of mindfulness, time management, energy, fitness, and nutrition. Tanay emphasized the pivotal role of self-care in amplifying productivity.

Consistency and the AI Debate

Tanay believes the power of consistency is unmatched. Although convenient, AI is very limited. He views tools like chat GPT as assistants rather than replacements.

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Past Experiences: You are who you are because of the past. 

Tanay believes he is exactly where he wants to be and is a product of his past experiences. Changing his past would change his present, and he is truly grateful for his present and, thus, wouldn't change a thing. Every experience has contributed to his present. 

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QnA with the Team

Our Requestly team also took part in the conversation and raised a series of good questions ranging from his life experiences to the impact of AI on an individual's career. A few excerpts are below:

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‍Should you learn the basics of your field or rely on AI to build your base?

The speaker believes in pushing the boundaries in one's field rather than over-relying on AI models, emphasizing the future need for "boundary pushers" rather than just prompt engineers.

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How do you communicate with the audience and start with Content Creation?

Tanay advocates for starting small in communication. His approach is akin to weightlifting: start light and build steadily. Encouraging beginners to communicate fearlessly, he believes in the power of practice and persistence.

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‍Do you miss your life at Microsoft?

Sometimes, Tanay misses being in the zone and coding, but he is working towards a bigger, equally challenging goal now.

We wrapped up the podcast with gratitude from our team, who found immense value in the episode. 

Thank you, Tanay!