Rocky Road Ahead

It’s a well-known saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But, like all the things which matter, it is way easier said than done! Read on, as I elaborate what I mean, and yeah, a rewarding photo awaits too! 🙂

For the ones, who are not very frequent over here, a little intro to me. I am a mechanical engineer, who served a 13 months stint in a famous multinational company and then quit the job. Am scheduled to join a management course soon in July, which will hopefully bring me closer to my original stream. Well, how is this relevant to my opening lines? It is, as this is where I say why and how I got enough motivation to put down the papers.

I ll begin by stating, my team, my manager, my company, as I ll always continue to refer to them until replaced, they were awesome people, no complaints at all. Yet, I quit. Some might say its peer pressure. Not the usual friends group peer, but the more intimate one. Let me elaborate, my father is Ph.D and HOD of a leading branch of one of the oldest engineering institutions in India, and is pretty well-known in the academic world by reputation. My mother, completed her Ph.D from the same university as my father, in a topic which has wide applications and use. And…then…I am a B.Tech, in an IT company. It may sound ridiculous, true, but it does add too.

Anyway, I was still swaying on my decisions, and then I met up with a couple of old school friends at Bangalore. It was more than just a catch up meet, as we were meeting after an interval of about 6 years. After the usual pleasantries, our conversation shifted towards career. We were all into IT sectors at that time, and surprisingly, we were already sure that by the time we turn 40-ish, we would not be able to continue in the sector. High hopes, eh!!
Alternate ideas came up, viable ones like business in photography and other startups, and off course a few fantastic ones like, save from now and go on world tours and all. It was all fun, but I did feel that deep down, we were actually right, that to survive here, we would need more tools, better degrees. I realized, where I was, and with the growth prospects, including potential shifts, I would fall short off my goal, and I wasnt ready to do that. So, off I went in favour of a better degree.

A light-hearted side also exists to this. A few days later we met up again, at the Phoenix Mall, and were browsing through Hamleys! Why, not sure, maybe reliving memories. We walked past the soft toys section. I picked up a teddy, it was pricey. We moved on to the LEGO sets, a bit more pricey. Then, we approached a toy remote operated helicopter, something I would like to get my kid on a birthday. We took a look at the price tag, and almost together we remarked, we need a better job.

When I look back, I feel, these small incidents actually led me to quit and become a student again. And, its my family and friends who stand by me, together, and give me the support to carry on.  It is going to be a rocky road, and I know for sure, thanks to them,  I am now tough enough to tough it out.

Here is a shot from the upcoming post of my trip to Darjeeling.

For a little more nudge, head over here