The road not taken ...........

A couple of instances during the last week made me think of the key decisions in my life (which i never knew when i took them) and what could have happened if i had chosen the other road. Last weekend caught up with my friend's cousin and his room mates who are currently pursuing their post graduate in Melbourne University. They had stayed at my home when they landed in Melbourne so they invited me for breakfast and catch up as i could not meet them after that. They were awesome hosts and served me several types of dosa with sambhar and chutney. I felt jealous of them enjoying their college life and at the same time feel a bit sad analysing the hardships they undergo. They have to get part-time jobs, work late nights and then study and these are kids who have not moved a spoon back home.

On their careers, they have to study one more PG course to be eligible for permanent residency and then apply for permanent residency and then start looking for a job. It is a tough life and gets tougher when you have to start your career with a huge debt to clear. However, i also have a lot of my batch mates, friends, colleagues and juniors who have gone through these hardships and who came out stronger and have well established careers. My junior last week posted in Facebook about her interview as "Women achievers in NASA". Since i have not travelled this path i will not comment on what is right or wrong. I will talk about the path i travelled and the roads i chose. 

Speaking of road, cant stop thinking about Great Ocean Road, Victoria.

After School: I was an above average kid at school who use to be in the top 5 percentile in the class. I never had any specific goals in terms of career path/colleges. My dad knows me and my psychology very well and so he used to say i would never even step inside the gates of CEG, Anna University (the top ranking college in my state and within the top 10 in the country). That kind of drove me crazy, my year 12 and entrance exams results were out. I was in the top 4 percentile in my state, still that was not sufficient to get me a good course in CEG as we had reservations/quotas. So had two choices, either pick up a course in PSG which is another reputed college or compromise on the course and pick any course in CEG. My dad, family and friends suggested that i should go for PSG as courses are of higher importance. For me there were two key drivers, firstly what my dad said about me that i will not even step in CEG and secondly the college fees of PSG was 5 times more than CEG. I told my parents and everyone i will choose PSG and finally when i was asked the option, i choose CEG and a course that changed my life.

                                 I took the one less traveled by,

                                And that has made all the difference.

After College: College life was fun and especially my course and never regretted the decision at any moment. I could write pages about my life in college but that will have to wait for some other day. In my third year of engineering we had to start thinking about our career seriously. My course was an emerging field in India and hence had very little career options. So it was either MS in the US or get into software. So i had registered my self for GRE classes and booked a date for GRE. Meanwhile during the end of third year our placement seasons started, the first company i attended was a leading software company. Started with a written test on puzzles, which i was confident of making through thanks to Shakuntala devi's puzzles. I got shortlisted for the interview and was offered the job, felt very proud that day. I know had to choose between a career in software and higher studies in US. For me there was only one driver this time, i didn't want to start my career with a huge debt so the decision was easy. Cancelled my GRE booking got the refund and partied for getting a job which transformed me from a student to a professional.

Easter Road trip towards Sydney 2011 - 4 days, 3 states and 2k kms

MBA: My professional life started well, could not have asked for better start than the training in the company's mysore campus. In my first project interview, i was asked how would i feel to go to the Australian beaches and work for an Australian project. I thought they were kidding, however after 5 months at Bangalore i boarded my first international flight to Melbourne. I was working for a leading banking project and then after  6 months move into a leading Telecommunications project. After a couple of years in Melbourne, it had to choose between pursing my higher education or continuing with my career. I enrolled for GMAT and planned my vacation around CAT. Before my GMAT exam there was a long weekend which is when i planned to prepare myself. However, my friends planned a trip to Cairns which i could not say no. Had an amazing trip scuba diving and snorkeling in the great barrier reef, skydiving on the reef and landing in the beach and relaxing in a beach cottage. Got average scores in GMAT and CAT and i never took a decision here, just moved on with my life. My friend who shared the same dream, gave up the job and prepared well for CAT and has now graduated from IIM Calcutta. From her perspective she took the right decision, from my perspective i don't have any regrets of not taking a decision here.

Career: After 5 years with the software company, i started to feel very comfortable and badly wanted a change. I knew if i  was not able to come out of my comfort zone now, i will never. Started looking out and got an offer as a contract position. Contract position meant good money and no job security and since i was on a work permit if i loose my job i have 28 days to leave the country. It wasn't a tough decision for me but my family and friends were worried as this could break my career. I took the plunge and i knew i had to work smart and prove myself to survive.Two years down the lane, this is one of the best decisions in my life and has taken my career to a different league, gave me permanent residency and a lot of confidence in my career.

Based on my experiences, when you choose a road the whole world around you provides their opinion whether it is right or wrong. My only advice is to ignore them all, they don't see what you see ahead. Deciding on what you want to do is the easy part, the tough part is to never regret it, confidently move on and work hard. Then you will prove it to the world you took the right road. It is all in your hands, never ever give up.