By Bhavya Sukheja
Publication Date: 2025-12-29 16:31:00
An Indian-origin tech leader’s career journey, from failing the IIT entrance exam twice to working for some of the world’s biggest technology companies, is going viral online for its inspirational message. Taking to X, Priyanka Vergadia, who according to her LinkedIn bio works at Microsoft as Senior Director, Forward Deployed Engineering & Advising, detailed how early setbacks did not prevent her from building a global career in technology.
Vergadia, who is based in California, began her post with a candid admission, saying that she failed the IIT entrance exam twice, took loans she “couldn’t afford and started her career as a quality engineer while friends progressed faster. She then shared a year-by-year timeline of the last 25 years.
From failing IIT twice to working for big techs
In her post, Vergadia wrote that she set her sights on IIT in…