Concept of Career
My concept of career was “being an engineer”. My influencer circle had my cousins and brother. Most of them had either started studying engineering or were preparing to get into IIT. My idea of career was derived from there. For me when and if I become an engineer, life will be “set”. Hardly I knew that life never gets set. More on this later. I did not know what an engineer does and if I will like doing what an engineer does. I had this assurance that this will be a career that will give me name, money, and a comfortable life. After all my brothers are intelligent and they will make a wise choice! That was my visualization of career as a child.
When I cleared the Joint Entrance Examination and got into IIT BHU (then IT BHU) in 1996 in the Department of Ceramic Engineering, I thought I have achieved it all. But soon that dream was to be shattered. I was complacent and that showed on my grade card! This is when I did not take motivation from one of my cousins who had got admission in Mining Engineering in 1st year but did a branch change to Electrical engineering after 1st year. Since I considered myself to have arrived, I did not study well and could not get that much, that is required to change branch. Hardly I knew why I should change branch and hardly I knew why I should not! I continued my complacency and grades were average. I was challenging my luck and relying heavily on the Campus interviews. This sense of entitlement – I am sure I will get a job, made things worse.
Come 3rd year and the CGPA was below 7.5, I got some realization that I might not even get to appear in the campus for software companies. And I did not want to get into core engineering where I must be in front of furnaces. Its altogether a different matter that I now feel that Industrial Operations is such a cool domain. But back then it was not how I thought. I worked hard, studied harder and cracked 10/10 in 5th and 6th Semesters. And when the campus process begun, I had respectable CGPA. Luck was good and I got selected in Infosys. I think I was lucky to be in that era (1999-2000) when Software industry was booming, and I could become something. Things are not the same now (in 2021). And it is important for young students to take full charge of their career and future. Job/career is not an entitlement. Just because I am an engineer by degree I do not deserve to be working. But is getting a job at Infosys all?
Lessons learnt:
1. At times inspiration is just a convenience
2. Do not be Complacent!
3. Job is not an entitlement.
Do you think a job is your entitlement? What is your visualization of career?
Does it bring stress, or does it make you excited?
Do you feel suffocated, or do you feel freedom?
Do you think to make career you have to make sacrifices, or do you think that you are investing time and energy to become something better?
Do you think you will achieve status/power/money, or do you think you will achieve respect/love?
Your answers to these questions define your personality and how you see a career. If you feel excited, free, and that you invest time and that you will achieve respect/love then your concept of career is on the positive side. But if it is the other way then it needs to change.
Historically, career is related with education, position, power, and status. These are important. But one very important thing that gets missed is happiness.
It is very important for you to be happy in your career.
My Definition of Career- A career is sum-total of your education, skills, job profession, value you deliver, money you make and the happiness you derive.
Your Career
Should excite you.
Should bring freedom to you.
Should enable and empower you to add happiness in others’ lives.
Should make you think that you are investing time and energy to become something better.
Should help you achieve respect and love.
Is not an entitlement.