self indictment

1st Feb is over. I am still drinking coffee (Thank God for that). In fact I had some delicious chocolate covered espresso beans today…heavenly!

I was tired of waiting and watching. I had thought of a risky exit strategy but God took pity and gave me a clean chit. The professional options were severely limited by visa laws, monetary feasibility and time consideration. But I figured out they are going to grow only worse as I burn more candles on my birthday cake. Gladly now the future looks more aligned with what I would like it to be.

Talking of profession, I would suggest a little experiment – try explaining your job to a person who has no idea of your field. Can you get her excited about it? Can you at least convey your enthusiasm about it? I don’t think its about whether a particular field or company is exciting or not, its about whether you enjoy it thoroughly or not. I have met few colleagues who are so perfectly made for their roles and are doing extraordinarily well. Anyways, I don’t like stagnation and felt that there were many interesting things I wanted to try. And, if I cant be exuberant about what I am doing then there is something amiss somewhere. In fact, my reason to go back school and many other things that I will be doing over the course of next 30 months is the most logical choice I have made till now. In more dramatic words, I feel liberated and peaceful.

3-4 years back, MBA for me was a pompous degree meant for pompous people. Most ludicrous was people going for MBA right after college in India spending years on CAT preparation as opposed to understanding what MBA is for. Heck, I didn’t know what corporate finance or strategy roles entailed within a company till 12-15 months ago. To a certain extent I still raise an eyebrow when someone is pursuing MBA for mere career advancement in same field or especially when someone already has business administration undergraduate degree from Wharton and is now going to Harvard.

I went for MS from UIUC which was ranked 5th best in the world at that time. Such a great opportunity and I missed it. I would have rather failed a subject while building my own startup than not do that and come with a > 3.8 GPA. Bottomline regret: Its not the rank of school that matters, its what you do and what you DON’T. Bottomline upside: I know what not to do now.

But to be fair, UIUC did lack that entrepreneurial vibe that schools close to Silicon Valley, Boulder, Boston or New York enjoy – and its a fact most of my classmates will agree with. However, the point I want to make is school is a fantastic place to make or break. Use it fully.

1. You will probably not meet such a diverse group of interesting people under one roof again.
2. You will never again have time to experiment.
3. You will never make such close and strong relationships in professional life. Meet people and discover yourself.
4. You will never have a chance to recruit from so many employers in a single recruitment fair (If you are confused about ‘recruiting your employer, refer to this post.) And howsoever may I emphasize it, it will remain understated.

So anyways, feed your passion and intellect. Liberate yourself. I believe that one should choose 2 things very very carefully and wisely – spouse and job. One can’t choose blood relations, other relationships can have their own toll and you end up spending nearly 65% of your life either with your spouse or at work. Make it as pleasant and less stressful as you can.