"But,aren't you interested in MBA,like most of the crowd ?"
"Not really,Il attempt CAT,but not as seriously as GATE and the like ones."
"But having an MBA after B.tech is the ongoing trend,it simply adds a couple of zeroes in your pay package,quite unlike the M.tech degree ! "
"Call me 'Adamant',if you like,but my ambition lies in core fields and not the one MBA usually offers,the zeroes in my salary wont bother me much if I'm happy with my Career"
"Well,good luck then !" he said.
"Thanx" i replied.
After a while,I was back in my room,it was approaching mid-night,silence was creeping in (not that my roomies, or rather people in the hostel had ceased making noises,by silence i meant,there was peace in my mind,setting the stage for better thoughts like how I'd like shape my career).Donning my (hypothetical) thinking topi , plethora of thoughts raced at the back of my brain.The mammoth war of conflicting ideas commenced,it was BRAIN Vs. MIND (read 'heart' ,but I always prefer 'mind' because I find it stupid thinking with my heart, it has always landed me in trouble). To conciliate both, I slid into flashback.....
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| Total mind-freaking confusion ! |
Back to teens (no more that innocent guiltless kid),I realised it was time for me to live my dream.Though I had the goal in my mind,the question was HOW ??? After taking opinion from a couple of people who had just completed their BE(engineering), I decided to follow their footsteps,i.e. appear for state entrance test for engineering(CET),enroll myself in a good reputed engineering institute and pursue BE in computer science,relying upon campus placements I'd elude with a fair paying job and that was my destination "LIFE TOH SET HAI BOSS..!" I thought to myself.
With this notion in mind,I accomplished my 10th grade exams and it was time to step in bigger shoes,12th grade and simultaneous preparations for CET. In vacations I made it a point a few career guidance seminars and discovered the hierarchy of entrance tests,it gave a complex, CET was given least importance,with IIT-JEE and AIEEE at the peak.After few discussions with parents I decided to prepare for IIT-JEE and rest exams(notice how CET merged into rest exams).Was time for a gigantic plunge.
As for my modified approach to my old goal,I set forth on the journey,but I was not alone in this.I met enormously new people with fresh and dissimilar outlooks,I interpreted that just acquiring a job was not the end of the world,the pay package mattered big time !!! So now my aim wasn't just pulling off a job,I wanted a high paying job with good perks and vacations in exotic locations(of course the last one was like cherry on the cake and only one person gets the cherry).The tested formula for this was pursuing MBA from high profile management institutes like IIM,and hence my goal was engineering followed by MBA,acquiring the super-dream job and my life is SET...!
Two years passed,I attempted IIT-JEE,AIEEE and BIT-SAT.......ahem ahem....that's it....! If u still dint notice,I did not attempt CET,something that was foundation of my goal had become so insignificant that it got neglected for the biggies. In a couple of months results were out,I successfully pulled off IIT-JEE on the edge(with a worse rank)and AIEEE wasn't good enough either and BIT-SAT had limited number of seats. Now came the life-changing-decision, 'what would I compromise; my passion in computer science or the big tag offered by premier institutes(IITs) ' .With bit of guidance from experienced teachers I decided to compromise CS only if I get into to IIT,but not for NITs(the institutes under AIEEE).Counseling commenced and continued for more than a month and almost everyone were done with their admissions , I was allotted NIT-Rourkela for Computer Science.I had mixed emotions,I was happy to get computer science,but sad had to be so far from home.
A week had passed and I was adapting to the new environment of the institute,gradually I realised few bitter truths.Our institute wasn't a good choice for someone like me who had hardcore passion in CS.Our institute was more keen on teaching us computer hardware rather than software(which was my keen interest) and the placements too were quite disappointing,compared to other NITs.After being to exposed to harsh realities of fate of computer science students, i realised it was meaningless just completing B.tech and taking up a job(for MBA,CAT isn't everyone's cuppa tea).Very gradually my priorities migrated from getting a job to pursuing M.tech,which was the only possible way i could fulfill my passion and have a successful career in the same.
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| Have you raised the bar ? |
