The Youngest Microsoft-Certified Specialist is a Nine Year Old Boy

At the age of nine, what was your biggest accomplishment? Most people would likely say something along the lines of organizing their trading cards in numerical order, or finally beating Super Mario Bros. 3. Pranav Kalyan, however, had much bigger (and more tech savvy) challenges in mind.

Pranav, who is a fourth grader at Willow Elementary School in Agoura Hills, CA just outside of Los Angeles, became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist. Back on January 12, 2013, the young whiz kid passed the MCTS test for ASP.NET 3.5, making him part of the Microsoft-certified family, and earning himself a certification that even some college graduates would be envious of. The record was previously held by a young man named Babar Iqbal of Dubai, India, who completed the credential at the age of 12.

The Times of India spoke to Pranav and his father about his achievement. “As a toddler, Pranav was more fascinated by computers than toys. He started writing small software programs at the age of six,” the boy’s proud father said. “He is capable of solving problems in differential calculus and integral calculus. His efficiency in mathematics helped him write programs.”

Pranav’s hard work and dedication to his craft, especially for someone so young, is nothing short of extraordinary. With aspirations of being a scientist when he grows up, the boy is already carving himself a clear path towards his goal. He began writing programs initially in HTML, and spent countless months leading up to his certification test to prepare himself for the challenges he’d face within ASP.NET 3.5. "I spend at least eight hours a day on computer programming during holidays," Pranav explained.

Coders, developers, and tech-savvy folks around the world, take note. This 9 year old is a true inspiration and even the most seasoned professionals could still learn a thing or two from this young man’s dedication.