After a long time, thanks to my
cousin and a taxi driver that I finally found something interesting to post
about. And as the topic of the post goes….yes, its about the dilemma, that from
ages to come, all graduating engineers have faced and are facing and will face
in future too….that is what to choose for post-graduation M.S./Phd. or MBA……
My cousin had posed me the
question of which field to choose for Post Graduation last weekend. He had
asked me why you are happy in i-banking inspite of spending four years of your
efforts in doing core technical engg. projects. I didn’t know how to convince
him. But today my taxi driver happened to have the answer for me
surprisingly….As usual I was late in the morn and he was standing at the gates
of my building waiting for me….prompt….just like every day…..when I got into
the taxi he asked me :
Taxi Diver : Madam aaj jyada late
ho gaye ho
Me: Haan bhaiyya, mera bhai aaya
hua hai….chutti leni thi…par mili nahi
Taxi Driver: Hahhaaaa toh madam
aaj aapka mann nahi lagega kaam mein office pe
Me: Haan bhaiyya….pakk gayi hoon
Taxi Driver: Kyun madam….chutti
nahi mili toh kya hua…kal chutti hai na
Me: Bhaiyya aap roz roz kaam
karke pakk nahi jaatey kabhie
Taxi Driver: Nahi madam, humko
toh bahut acha lagta hai….roz naye naye logon ko unki manzil tak pahunchatey
hain….unse do batein kartey hain….unke zindagi ke bare mein thoda pata chalta
hai hamara unko pata chalta hai….aur kya madam….har din naye logon se batein
hoti hai…humein unse thoda seekhne ko milta hai unke anubhav se… ……Aur Bhagwan
ke daya se khane ko toh hai…Aur kya chahiye….Humko toh bahut anand milta hai
taxi chalane se….Aur madam kaam acha lagna ya bura lagna khud pe hota hai…kaam
pe nahi
And I got the words for my
answer. Now coming back to the topic of Post graduation…….While one school of
thought talks like the Amir Khan of Three Idiots Movie as to “Agar bank mein hi
jana tha toh Engg kyun kiya tha…gadha”….Another school of thought reasons out
saying that “Knowledge is vast…and diverse in nature….four years of Engineering
taught me the basics of B.Tech…now my mind wants to explore a different field
and test my abilities there…by acquiring new skills”……
While both the reasons sound very
logical what’s interesting is to see the debate…when one tries to prove that
his chosen field is better than the other. It is amusing to see the way both
have convinced themselves….”One calling other gadha and bhikari…helping fraud
companies” and the other calling “Pot bellied , lazy, directionless,
inferiority complex wale masterjis ….Undecipherable shitty objects (thts what
we used to refer the strict/khadoos profs as :P!)” . Now if we sit to draw
parallels then there is no end to it….An engineer’s parallel being a mechanic,
chemist or electrician …just as the commercial people would name them and the
commercial people being named as dalals, paan seller etc. The names proving
nothing but immaturity and the inferiority complex within a novice who is just
trying to console and give solace to his ego, self-respect and inhibitions….and nothing
else…
Now what’s amusing to me is
that….is it necessary….and is this the only way to convince oneself about the
field you choose…..I understand that it is a difficult decision and at that age
its difficult to gauge what is your field of interest……But then why such mental
blockages…..
Any career you choose has its own
challenges, pit falls and advantages….and if you are hardworking and can
develop interest in the learning you will definitely succeed and enjoy doing
whatever you have chosen. I have seen examples of frens going for Phd in
technical field and then go for MBA and frens going for MBA first and then
pursue Phd. …..also, simple engineers who have done better than any post
graduate….and others who have no conventional degree and are yet more
successful than the passouts of branded colleges.
Why only Phd or MBA…I have seen
few of my friends choose to do something as diverse as fashion designing or
civil services and are doing really good there. And for an economy to run…we
need all kinds of people…MBAs, Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, Professors,
Artists, workers , politicians and the list is endless………Most of them had
started with the initial dilemma of which field to pursue and have then
discovered interest in the fields they chose and are happy…..
All that is needed is the ability
and the maturity to find interest in what you are doing…and the ability to
enjoy by being open-minded enough to appreciate and realize true potential of every field!
