SUCCESS STORY No. 13
Bilal Muhammad Siddiqui
Batch:1996-2000
Program: BSCS
Designation: Sr. Manager Technical Programs Facebook
I am working at Facebook as a Sr. Technical Program Manager. I manage software engineering teams/programs for privacy and compliance.
My universe started with a single choice when I paid Rs. 95 and purchased the Bahria college admission form in late 1995. A Universe that still goes on to this day after 26 years Alhumdulillah.
After completing a bachelor in CS, it was a tough but good decision to do Masters while working full time. Thanks to Bahria, my first job was at a software house in Karachi. Our teacher Late Muhammad Hanif offered me a software engineer position in 1998. (May his soul Rest In Peace). After 6 months on that job, I got engaged to my best friend at that time Mehwish Masood also from the BBA batch of 1996. Again Bahria had a huge part to play (the part that started in the corridors of Bahria). We got married in 2000. Mehwish and I had a baby boy in 2001. He is now a 2nd-year student at Penn State University.
In 2002, we moved to the United States after getting a job offer from a US Company. We started in New York and later moved to Arizona, North Carolina and now back to New York. During that journey, I grew from a programmer to an Analyst and later in technical management. I worked with companies like Motorola (when Motorola Razr was the greatest thing on the planet). I was later offered a technical program manager position at Amazon and spend few years with them. In 2010 I also decided to do my MBA in organizational leadership from a university in Arizona. Also, when I applied for MBA, US university accepted all my credits from Bahria.
After Amazon, I moved to a couple of companies to find the place I could call home. Finally, during a pandemic, I got an offer to join Facebook as a manager of technical programs. I would say Facebook is my home for a considerable amount of time Inshallah.
Alhumdulillah, Mehwish and I now live in New Jersey. Mehwish who is also a graduate from Bahria has her own success story. She is working for a school as a Director of academics and working on completing her MS in Education Tech.
I must also mention our famous college group known as FIBR. That is Faisal Nisar, Irfan Haider, Bilal Siddiqui and Rizwan Qadri. Faisal Runs a network of huge pharmaceutical companies in New York. Irfan runs Security Architecture for Australian Bank in Melbourne. Rizwan manages the integration space of the worlds largest city -New York City.
Alhumdulillah, Bahria gave me education, profession, family and lifelong friends.
If there is one piece of advice I have for my fellow Bahrians is to focus on one problem at a time and then move to another. Once you solve enough problems you will be very well settled Inshallah. Have faith and get as many prayers as you can from your parents. Once you become something, pay it forward.
