Hey guys, this is Suraj Yadav.
I'm a 16-year-old self-taught software developer, and I've been writing code for the last 5-6 years now. I kicked off this whole journey when I was just 10 or 11—diving into all sorts of wild stuff.
At first, it was game dev: building 2D and 3D games, getting lost in Unity and Godot. Then I shifted to ethical hacking and cybersecurity—cracking puzzles, learning exploits, that thrill of breaking and fixing systems. After that, I spent a couple of years in web dev, even teaching it as an instructor at a local computer institute for two years straight. Loved sharing that fire with beginners.
But here's the thing—formal education started feeling... irrelevant. I already knew so much of what was coming up, and I didn't want to waste years grinding through stuff I'd mastered on my own. So, two years ago, I took a drop from school. No regrets.
My big aim? In the next three years, land a spot as a PL researcher—either at a top university, working with my favorite professor like Stephanie Weirich or Zhong Shao, or jumping into a solid job as a PL researcher or computer scientist at a place like Microsoft Research or Google DeepMind.
Fast-forward two years: It's been... mixed. I haven't seen the huge breakthroughs I dreamed of. A lot of time got eaten up by analysis paralysis—you know, endless planning, tweaking ideas, but not shipping enough. Frustrating as hell. But it's not all stall-out. I've poured hours into dissecting massive codebases, wrapping my head around open-source OS projects, picking up new tools left and right. Progress is there—it's just slower than I wanted, quieter than the hype in my head.
That frustration hit a peak recently. I even toyed with going back to formal school. But nah—that's not me. It's not an option. I've got about one year left on this drop timeline, and I'm done waiting. So, I'm flipping the script: Starting my own challenge. I call it the PL Researcher Challenge.
It's inspired by Scott Young's MIT Challenge—you know, that guy who self-studied a full MIT CS degree in a year. But I'm taking it two steps further. In this challenge, I'm chasing straight-up knowledge, consistency, and discipline to level up as a PL researcher.
- BS in Computer Science and Engineering (MIT Course 6-3)
- MS in Computational Science and Engineering
The Endgame? Use that mastery to dive into PL research. But let's be real: I could get there eventually without this challenge. It'd just take longer, with more paralysis dragging me down. So why bother? Because effort is what I control. The results—job, uni spot, whatever—that's out of my hands. This is about showing up daily, grinding the subjects, building projects, and owning the discipline. Knowledge as the prize, not the deadline.
I've already knocked out some undergrad and grad-level courses, so it's not total scratch-work. That makes the 12-month timeline feel doable—starting from where I am, pushing hard.
Start Date: December 5, 2025
I'll be sharing raw updates here—probably weekly. Wins, fails, code snippets, late-night breakthroughs. If you're self-taught, grinding CS, or just love a good underdog story, hit subscribe on YouTube, follow on X and LinkedIn. Let's build this together.
I'll be straight—no bullshit: I accomplished nothing this month. There was a mountain of goals stacked up for December (hello, MIT Course 6-3 deep dive), but here I am on Dec 31, 2025, staring at a blank slate. Zero completions. Not one algorithm conquered, not a single proof scribbled. I legit have no fucking clue what I did with those last 27 days—scrolling? Procrastinating? Existing in some analysis-paralysis limbo?
| Status | Subject (Number/Title) | Prerequisites | Resources | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⏳ | 6.1200[J]: Mathematics for Computer Science | Calculus I (18.01) | OCW (Spring 2024); YouTube | Discrete math, proofs. |
| ⏳ | 18.01SC: Single Variable Calculus | High School Algebra & Trig | OCW (Fall 2010) | Differentiation and integration of functions of one variable. |
| ⏳ | 18.014 Calculus with Theory | Single Variable Calculus | OCW and Book Tom M. Apostol CALCULUS VOL 1 |
| Status | Subject (Number/Title) | Prerequisites | Resources | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⏳ | 6.1210: Introduction to Algorithms | 6.100A and 6.1200[J] | OCW (Spring 2020) and Introduction to Algorithms book | |
| ⏳ | 6.1220[J]: Design and Analysis of Algorithms | 6.1210 and 6.1200[J] | OCW (Spring 2015) and Introduction to Algorithms book | |
| ⏳ | 6.1910: Computation Structures | Physics II (8.02) and C | OCW (Spring 2017); YouTube (Fall 2017); YouTube (Fall 2018); Official Site | |
| ⏳ | 6.1800: Computer Systems Engineering | 6.004 and 6.009 | OCW (Spring 2018); YouTube (Spring 2005) |