Open Eyes by Closing Ears

Around 10 years back when I was in higher school, there was one question posed to me very frequently by my friends, relatives and teachers as well. “What do you want to become in the future?” Much before I utter anything they themselves answered, “What else! You are good at mathematics, so will become an engineer.” I felt very happy J as if I had already become an engineer and asked everyone I came across as to what would an engineer do. I received only one answer that an engineer builds buildings. Since then I promised everyone that I would build a house for them once I become an engineer. I had no second thought as my career option.

With the same spirit, I secured 100% in maths in 10^th and Intermediate. Only after getting a good rank in CET, I came to know that there were many engineering branches out of which civil engineering (that will make me deliver on my promise) is one. The same people who misled me 4 years back have got matured a bit (like I did) and urged me to take ECE as it had huge demand in the market. Thought with my immature mind, I decided to go for ECE and developed interest towards it. My 2^nd misconception about my career happened there when I thought that I would become a scientist and launch PSLVs sitting with Madhavan Nair (former ISRO chairman).

Moving towards that goal, I assumed that I would get required skills from knowledgeable professors of my alma mater. But that remained an assumption instead of turning into reality. The reason being the conviction of our professors that their students don’t expect anything from them but marks. The result is well-known to you that my dream vehicles had landed in the ocean without launching any satellites. L

Again, around 5 years back from now when I was in my 2^nd year B.Tech, there was one question posed to me very frequently by none other than my seniors. “What do you want to become in the future?” Much before I utter anything they themselves answered, “What else! You are doing B.Tech, so will write GATE.” Immediately I sensed that I was gonna become a fool again as I had already been a victim of societal misguidance. I didn’t want to fall prey to those mindless advices again. So I decided to take a completely different path which was of my real interest. Then surfaced this MBA ambition which needed exactly those skills (commonsense, logic, communication, ethics and social responsibility etc.) that, I believed, require lesser teacher’s interaction but more self-interaction. That is the time, during my CAT preparation, I found the value of interacting with oneself.

I don’t rule out the fact that I was/am still getting unsolicited advices regarding my career to try for a govt. job, write IAS, go for MS and even to get settled with s/w jobL. I really don’t want to make the mistake again by listening to people instead of listening to myself even after 24 years of my experience with the world. According to me, one knows what does one want. People deviate from their interests not just because they are clueless of their goals, but also because they lack courage to pursue their goals. Maybe, this worthy quote by an unpopular American writer ignites lot of our minds - “Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.”  

P.S: I deliberately avoided discussing my IT career as it deserves a separate post ;)