A Story of Tenacity: An IT Dream of a Photocopier Operator

March 17, 2023

A Story of Muhammad Randy Pratama, Bangkit 2022 Graduate from Informatics Engineering, Universitas Indraprasta PGRI

“Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.”
(Louis D. Brandeis, American Lawyer)

After high school graduation, most students are preoccupied with college admissions processes. Unfortunately, Muhammad Randy Pratama (25) was one of the few high school graduates who didn't have an opportunity to take higher education. Living in a modest family with only his aunt has forced him to extinguish his dream of attending university.

However, Randy has something that few people have―tenacity―an indispensable part of his nature. Instead of questioning how unfair the world was to him, he declared that he would never give up on his future. He believed he would someday be someone he had always dreamed of, although not today.

"Patience" Has Been Randy's Best Friend Since Childhood

Born in 1997, Randy was the oldest of five children. Unfortunately, the complicated situation of Randy's family made him move into his aunt's house in Jakarta. Raised by his aunt since he was a child, Randy considered his aunt as his mother. Living separated from his biological parents has taught him much about patience and resilience since he was young.

As Randy grew up, he became more endured in dealing with various difficulties in life. When most of his friends planned on attending college after high school, Randy had to be patient that the opportunity to take higher education wasn't coming anytime soon. He needed to earn money first, save it, then find the fittest university because he didn't want to add to his aunt's financial burden.

So, while Randy's friends were busy doing their tasks as a freshman in college, he entered a new chapter of his life by becoming a photocopier and internet cafe operator. From morning to evening, Randy served customers by copying documents, providing stationery, and sometimes standing as an internet cafe operator. His job earnings helped him survive daily and save money for his future.

While doing these two jobs, Randy looked for a college that suited him as a part-time worker. Finally, after two years of searching, Randy decided to pursue his dream at Universitas Indraprasta PGRI and choose an Informatics Engineering major.

As One Door is Close, More Doors are Open

Starting his life as an Informatics Engineering, Randy had to balance his schedule between working and studying. He was responsible as a photocopier and internet cafe operator, from morning to afternoon. Then, in the evening, he attended lectures on his campus in East Jakarta.

Unfortunately, Randy lost his job when the pandemic hit because the photocopier and internet cafe owner shut down his business. However, by the time Randy lost his career, the Kampus Merdeka program opened the opportunity for internships. "As one door is closed, more doors are open" best describes Randy's situation back then.

Randy was very grateful because this event gave him a better career opportunity. In the Kampus Merdeka program, Randy applied for a Back-End Engineer Intern position at Kalbe Farma. His tenacity in balancing studying and working yielded promising results in acceptance into the company. As the intern, Randy was responsible for preparing and doing API testing.

Surprisingly, being an intern at Kalbe Farma opened more doors for Randy. It became the bridge that connected Randy to Bangkit 2022.

Joining Bangkit and Getting Into the Top 50 Capstone Project

While working at Kalbe Farma, Randy earned many from the internship program. First, he got an allowance to help him survive for six months. Then, Randy met a colleague who was a Bangkit 2021 Graduate. This colleague encouraged Randy to join Bangkit after finishing the internship because he saw Randy could thrive in this program.

Intrigued by his friend's recommendation, Randy learned more about Bangkit. Knowing he would be led to many promising opportunities if he joined Bangkit, he didn't think twice about signing up. Finally, Randy managed to get accepted as Bangkit 2022 Cohort in the Cloud Computing path.

Managing time between attending lectures and studying 20 hours a week in Bangkit was quite challenging for Randy. However, getting used to being patient and resilient has shaped Randy to tackle any obstacles he faced in Bangkit. It didn't stop there. He also gave his best in the Product-Based Capstone Project in helping his teammates create Akrab, an app for users to learn sign language. Then, Akrab got into the Top 50 Product-Based Capstone Project.

After Randy acquired great insights into tech, soft skills, English, and experience doing a project in Bangkit, he tried his luck to participate in the Grow with Google Career Fair. He had never thought about being hired as a full-time employee. However, the universe wanted to give Randy joy after enduring such difficulties.

“I didn’t believe that my experience building Akrab in Bangkit helped me to be hired by Anabatic Solusi Digital as a Product Support Engineer while I still hadn’t graduated from campus yet. Thanks to Bangkit Career Fair”

Now, Randy handles clients' production issues as a Product Support Engineer, including finding the cause, analyzing, fixing, and testing. He is very grateful for getting an opportunity to be part of this company. It has a supportive working environment, and his superior encourages him to finish his education.

“Always believe that your patience pays off,” Randy wanted to convey to the Bangkit 2023 Cohort, which is working on their dreams.

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