What Next??
I’ve faced this question too many times and almost every
time, I had only two words to say ‘No idea’. I chose to join IIT coaching
classes ages back just because one of my good friends did. To be frank, I did
not have the faintest of idea what IITans did. I had no clue where I was
heading. I have no clue why I chose ‘Electronics and Telecom’ either. Back
then, I could have selected any branch and it would’ve really made no
difference.
The ‘Go with the flow’ mentality makes you feel
comfortable sometimes. You feel safe when you know that you are heading in the
direction which thousands of students follow every year. You know you are
assured of a job which will ensure safety. It may not necessarily be the thing
you like, but like swimming, you learn to float on the water first and then
when you are safe, you start swimming.
A couple of years
back when I was sitting in my college canteen and chatting with a senior of
mine, he made a really interesting comment. He said ‘Some people climb the
mountain too early and when they reach the top, they have no idea what to do’. Isn’t
it true? Haven’t you come across people who choose the path of MS or MBA after
engineering just for the sake of reaching heights? If you ask these people,’ why
MBA?’ they will fumble.
It is not wrong to be free-flowing, the flexibility is
amazing and you eventually start liking what you do. But it is terrible if you
end up not liking what you do. That dream job of yours which has caught your
attention because of the fat paycheck may give you more headache than money.
The MBA in finance which you chose purely on the basis that this particular college
is famous for Finance will lead to you doing things that you have no interest
in.
After coming to US, I’ve learned to be brave and pursue
what I really want. There is one course in my department which is ‘one-of-a-kind’
in all of US and there is stiff competition to get that one. I had the
opportunity to choose that course but I chose against it. I will not end up
learning something that does not interest me. Companies are not classified as ‘Dream’
and ‘Normal’ for the amount of money they pay.
I know this took a lot of time, but now I know exactly
what I want to do ahead in life. Luckily for me, that’s going to be my next
step, however, it wouldn’t have made a difference if there was a transition
step in between. The destination is what makes the journey worthwhile.
After all this ‘hoopla’ a couple of years down the line I
may figure out this is not the thing I really like. That will be the time to
write another fresh blog.
