[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Took a while but as of next month I'm officially off the hierarchy matrix, or rather getting above it. No longer an employee, but a free soul. I wouldn't like to call it entrepreneurship (though its what I always sought after), nor would I like to call myself a "leader", I'm just going to do what's easier and what I feel in my heart, is right.

Congratulations on your new venture and all the best ! Keep us updated on how things are moving.

[petrolhead_neel]

Hi all,

So, this has been bothering me since quite a while now. I knew it was just a matter of time before I had to seek the team's help, so here it goes. Similar threads have been created in the past, but I think this topic does deserve a new thread now as it has been quite a while and a lot of young members are joining the forum now and I think they might be having the same queries now, or in the near future.

So, here's some background. I have LOVED cars since as long as I can remember. Something about them just fascinates me to no end. These days, it's also the technical aspects that have started interesting me very much. An engineer, that's what I want to be in the future, and I want to work with cars. Over time, I have also fallen in love with technology, And while cars remain my main field of interest, technology is a distant second. I am quite interested in coding, PC building or just modding my Android device for fun. Other than that, I absolutely love writing, playing guitar and thanks to my father, photography. That's quite the list of varied interests.

However, to cut to the main topic, I will be appearing for my class 10th board exams (ICSE) next year. I have a good academic record and I am quite sure of getting a very good result if I work hard this year. Now, most of my friends have decided to get into the JEE race and while I appreciate that, I don't really know if that's for me. I cannot even think of just forgetting about all of my extracurricular interests and focus on one exam to get into an IIT/NIT. That brings me to studying abroad. Now, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I definitely have to work my way up if I want to reach my dreams. My question to all of you is, how should I go about my future? What do I do about my further studies and schooling? Team-BHP, now feels like family so I am expecting BHPians here to help me out.

Thanks in advance.

Neel

[SmartCat]

"Take up a career of your dreams" sounds great on an article in ToI, but fact of the matter is that such a move has an unacceptably high failure rate. I don't mean a binary zero or one when it comes to failure and success. By failure, I mean lower than expected salary or not so great job profile, in the crucial first 10 years of your work life.

Moreover, you might like certain things now, but that not might not be the case 5 years later. That's why taking the mainstream engineering degree route is the safest option because it still gives you the flexibility of a career shift any time.

[IshaanIan]

I would say that what kind of degree you get, or which institute you studied at, is important only if you really need that kind of backing. For someone like you who has so many extracurricular interests and hobbies, you need to figure out a way in which to take those extracurricular interests, to the next level by choosing a future that gives you time to work on your interests. That way you can let your work speak for itself instead of having to tell someone you're from IIT or something like that. Another thing I'd recommend is having your family and friends help you to get internships with people that work in a field related to your interests. Ask any college graduate and they will tell you that what they learnt after 4 years of college is nothing compared to what they learnt in a 1-2 month internship. Seriously, college, degree, those are all crutches according to me and you need to figure out how much you want to lean on those crutches.

If you shift your focus from IIT or engineering and instead focus on nurturing your interests, you will be able to retain a certain drive and talent that others would have lost in the rat race. Drive, passion and talent are very hard things to recover when you're caught up in thinking about career options, jobs and the name of the institute where you've got your degree from. I am not saying don't go to IIT or don't do engineering. By all means do so, but don't let that be your primary focus. Just stick with your interests and let them drive you ahead of the rest. Anyway, with the future of the automobile being all electric (not just in terms of the drivetrain but also the fact that everything will be sensor based), your interests align very well with autonomous driving.

When it comes to education, people can have varied views so I hope I don't offend anyone with what I have said, these are purely just my opinions.

[ksameer1234]

I suddenly feel having gone back 10 years!! I am sure there are many learned BHPians here who would be able to give much better advice but please allow me to give a very rhetorical one: Do what motivates you and not something that has been pushed on you by your parents, neighbours, friends, relatives etc.

When I was at these crossroads, all of my friends dreamt of IITs. As for me, I just wanted to be an engineer, just like you. And the funny thing was that my parents weren't much interested in me becoming an engineer, they wanted me to explore other fields and not be part of herd. However, since I was motivated enough, I was able to focus and pursue my dream.

The reason why I have stressed so much on motivation is because while I was preparing for competitive exams, I would hear of my friends vacationing, going out in groups and having fun in general. In hindsight though, this was never a distraction since I really liked solving physics problems and reading science books. Not that I did not have my share of fun but I do feel that a bit more focus would have certainly helped then.

Hence, whatever you do, make sure the motivation comes from within. Most importantly, don't focus on the outcome (IIT/NIT etc) but enjoy the journey of learning science. There are some really wonderful books which are aimed at learning and not at solving problems, these are the ones which draw you in.

Also, while I won't say that IIT/NIT tag doesn't matter, over a longer period of time, it evens out. A fact for you: My classmate who scored best during UG was the one who got admitted last during spot-counseling. Also, my friend at PG who won gold medal got admission in the last rounds. Life is way too long and the exam results are nothing but tiny blips on radar!

Wish you all the luck for your wonderful journey to come!

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

I have LOVED cars since as long as I can remember. Something about them just fascinates me to no end. These days, it's also the technical aspects that have started interesting me very much.
However, to cut to the main topic, I will be appearing for my class 10th board exams (ICSE) next year. I have a good academic record and I am quite sure of getting a very good result if I work hard this year. Now, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I definitely have to work my way up if I want to reach my dreams.

Hi Neel,

Noticed this post of yours and it sounded like my story, couldn't stop myself from posting. Forget a silver spoon, I'm born in a family with no spoons



From a 2-year-old kid to a 27-year-old young man full of ambitions.

I realized my dreams partially when I worked as an Intern at the 4 Cylinder BMW Headquarters in Munich. I was pretty clear what I wanted to do, left a well paying and respectable job to pursue my dreams. Had full scholarships from many prestigious universities in UK and Europe, but I was sure if I study Automotive Engineering, that will be in Germany. Believe me, there is no other place where you get the exposure like you get here in the Automotive Industry- I've worked on the calibration of BMW i8 and Rolls Royce Ghost (to name a few) as a student, can it get better ?

Never let anyone tell you what you can achieve, go for what excites you and what makes you happy.

Good luck with your future, in case you have queries, feel free to contact me about studying in Germany.

Cheers
Pratheesh

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Hi Neel,

Noticed this post of yours and it sounded like my story, couldn't stop myself from posting. Forget a silver spoon, I'm born in a family with no spoons

Attachment 1657922

From a 2-year-old kid to a 27-year-old young man full of ambitions.

Very inspiring, Pratheesh.
All the best and may you continue to soar.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Never let anyone tell you what you can achieve, go for what excites you and what makes you happy.
..
Good luck with your future, in case you have queries, feel free to contact me about studying in Germany.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Very inspiring, Pratheesh.
All the best and may you continue to soar.

Totally true Benny! Very nice to hear Pratheesh. All the best. I do remember your early posts on this thread (or the Phd/Technical Education threads) when I think you shifted to Germany.

Neel, take note of what such stories (real ones at that!) have to say.

I still remember the last lines of the movie 3-idiots. So true and so invariant a statement with respect time and generations.

I do agree that there is a constructive and destructive interference between the career you choose and interest that you possess. But the idea is to work toward make it more constructive than destructive; such that in the end it becomes a symbiotic relationship.

[Chetan_Rao]

Some solid advice already, so I'll only add my tiny bit I got as advice years ago.

If you make a living doing what you love, that's the best. If not, never let what you do for a living get in the way of what you do for love.

It's hard work, but a balance can be struck and who knows, the two may converge down the line.

Do what you have to, until you're ready to do what you want to.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

Hi all,

I knew it was just a matter of time before I had to seek the team's help, so here it goes.
So, here's some background. I have LOVED cars since as long as I can remember. Something about them just fascinates me to no end.

If you had mentioned this elsewhere, you would have not seen much of enthusiasm or encouragement, but Hey, its Team BHP you are approaching. So you will be welcome here. We all love cars.

An engineer, that's what I want to be in the future, and I want to work with cars. Over time, I have also fallen in love with technology, And while cars remain my main field of interest, technology is a distant second. I am quite interested in coding, PC building or just modding my Android device for fun. Other than that, I absolutely love writing, playing guitar and thanks to my father, photography. That's quite the list of varied interests.

Engineering is definitely for you. I have seen quite a few examples of non technical people taking up engineering just for the sake of it. Unless you have a liking for such technical stuff like tinkering with devices, coding, keeping yourself updated with technical advancements etc, no matter where you do your engineering, that can only partially help once you start working. There is no point in mugging up books and getting admissions to top engineering/science colleges and then continuing the same and clearing semesters. No offense to people here who might have been toppers during their student times. I am not calling the entire crowd the same, but just giving an example.

An important thing to do now, which I had not done when I started working is to segregate your activities/interests into categories, say

• What gets you money
• What gets you peace, relaxation
• What gets you fame(if you want it)

And so on. To give you an example, once upon a time I wanted to become everything. A keyboardist, musician, automobile engineer, entrepreneur, traveller, aquarist and what not. Now, one cant do everything at the same time. Hence, it is important to channel the activities and give priorities. I backed out on music and stopped committing for performances and recordings and mellowed it down to an occasional activity. Now music is for my relaxation and peace.

Once you set your priorities, it will be easier to choose what you want to do in the next two years, where you have to decide the course and the branch.

Coming to your interest in automobiles, I have said earlier and will say it again - Your expectation of working in the automotive industry might be different than the reality. For me, I had a passion for automobiles, which led me straight inside the doors of a manufacturer and converted that into a profession. As luck had it in store for me, I now work on a few core functions for autonomous driving. Due to the nature of my job, it is pretty varied and with different activities and interactions day to day. Hence, it is not boring. However, a few of my batchmates who have got jobs in the auto industry elsewhere are totally bored of the job within 2-3 years since their area of focus is narrow, in India. Like Spike arrestor has beautifuly told, Germany is the place for automobiles and work related to that.

Something I would personally prefer is to separate passion and profession and pursue each separately. For me, it was incidental that it got together. Else, I would have done a separate day job and pursued my passion through some other means. In your case, you can take up a job related to coding, and then take some time off on weekends working inside the engine bay.

I have a good academic record and I am quite sure of getting a very good result if I work hard this year. Now, most of my friends have decided to get into the JEE race and while I appreciate that, I don't really know if that's for me.

This is definitely a good point and something you should maintain. As long as you are not pushing yourself too much or slogging, its definitely excellent. Regarding JEE, I am not aware of how the engineering colleges in your place are. For us in Karnataka, there are a lot of other colleges with good reputation and JEE is not a must. I think it is the same at your place too. However, dont close doors to opportunities and just give it a shot. Passing out of an institution like IIT or NIT has its own advantages. What I was saying earlier is dont push too much for it.

That brings me to studying abroad. Now, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I definitely have to work my way up if I want to reach my dreams.

Studying in Germany is not a big deal when it comes to money. The education costs there are pretty less compared to some other countries of the world. With a good academic profile, getting admission into a good university is also not difficult.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

From a 2-year-old kid to a 27-year-old young man full of ambitions.

I realized my dreams partially when I worked as an Intern at the 4 Cylinder BMW Headquarters in Munich. I was pretty clear what I wanted to do, left a well paying and respectable job to pursue my dreams. Had full scholarships from many prestigious universities in UK and Europe, but I was sure if I study Automotive Engineering, that will be in Germany. Believe me, there is no other place where you get the exposure like you get here in the Automotive Industry- I've worked on the calibration of BMW i8 and Rolls Royce Ghost (to name a few) as a student, can it get better ?

Superb story. Maybe one day even I want to publish a similar story like yours. One day, I will be claim that every unit of a certain car produced will have code which is partly authored by me

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

I cannot even think of just forgetting about all of my extracurricular interests and focus on one exam to get into an IIT/NIT. That brings me to studying abroad. Now, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I definitely have to work my way up if I want to reach my dreams.

The most important thing you need is not money or IIT/NIT pedigree. It is the hunger for achieving your goal. If you have that, you will eventually reach your goal. Money or pedigree makes it easier, but it could also dampens your hunger as a result. Those who have nothing to help them, fight lot harder and it becomes their basic trait.

My father never owned a car, he just rode the same Lambretta for 23 years. And I graduated 2nd class from the much maligned Bangalore university, just after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and Indian economy melted down. India had to start massive economic reforms to get out of that mess. So you can hopefully imagine the job situation then. Well, probably not. It has never been that bad after that.

Until this time I thought I would be an electronics engineer. But nobody wanted a 2nd class degree holder when even distinction graduates were struggling for jobs. But I had discovered my love for programming an year ago. Since I had no other prospects, I decided to switch career to programming even though it was a low paying job then. I decided to do what I love. If I had money or IIT pedigree, I might have done something else I think.... who knows.

So this is what I did. After graduating in 1990, I joined the same college as teaching assistant, joined NIIT (financed by my job) for a long term course, and studied Assembly language programming on my own at college computer. I breathed programming every minute from 6AM to 12AM, it was bloody penance. I had to request special permission to use the computer lab. BTW, that COBOL I learned in NIIT was never put to use. It was the C/ASM I learned mostly on my own formed the foundation of my career.

Seven months later when my job contract expired, I had already developed many interesting software on my own. So I refused to renew the teaching contract and started looking for software job. I got a job in 14 days based on the software I have developed, in fact that company absorbed my software (for free, since I knew nothing about IP) and used it for many years. In this job I was not paid for 10 months except my petrol money. Of course my parents provided food and shelter during this time, but no money. Yes, dad took a scooter loan for me since I had to take 2 buses and walk a KM to reach work. It was only in 1992 I found a well paying job with TCS, then bought my first stereo, first jeans, etc. And 6 years later, I joined a Software startup and eventually became a partner.

What you need is Hunger to succeed. You bring that to the table, rest will eventually happen.

[sreerknair]

Dear Friends, Anyone here working in Accenture Technology India on a position of Manager and above (L7 or above)? I have an offer from Accenture Bangalore and would like to know the real work done by employees in this role, especially the quality of the work. Appreciate if anyone can give some pointers.

[petrolhead_neel]

First of all, I am extremely sorry for a reply that's coming this late. School has kept me busy lately and I have been pretty inactive here. That said, I have been thinking about replying since a long time now. Thanks a lot to everyone for their advice and support. I am extremely thankful to the community.

Originally Posted by smartcat

"Take up a career of your dreams" sounds great on an article in ToI, but fact of the matter is that such a move has an unacceptably high failure rate. I don't mean a binary zero or one when it comes to failure and success. By failure, I mean lower than expected salary or not so great job profile, in the crucial first 10 years of your work life.

Moreover, you might like certain things now, but that not might not be the case 5 years later. That's why taking the mainstream engineering degree route is the safest option because it still gives you the flexibility of a career shift any time.

Thanks a lot. I do agree to your point. At the pace at which the world is progressing, keeping up with the latest and greatest is tough.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

............

If you shift your focus from IIT or engineering and instead focus on nurturing your interests, you will be able to retain a certain drive and talent that others would have lost in the rat race. Drive, passion and talent are very hard things to recover when you're caught up in thinking about career options, jobs and the name of the institute where you've got your degree from. I am not saying don't go to IIT or don't do engineering. By all means do so, but don't let that be your primary focus. Just stick with your interests and let them drive you ahead of the rest. Anyway, with the future of the automobile being all electric (not just in terms of the drivetrain but also the fact that everything will be sensor based), your interests align very well with autonomous driving.

When it comes to education, people can have varied views so I hope I don't offend anyone with what I have said, these are purely just my opinions.

Thanks a ton. That's exactly what I want too. I too believe that sticking with my interests and pursuing them properly will lead me to a better place. About internships, I will definitely try to get some over the next few years. Nothing beats hands on, and even I have experienced that to an extent.

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

......

When I was at these crossroads, all of my friends dreamt of IITs. As for me, I just wanted to be an engineer, just like you. And the funny thing was that my parents weren't much interested in me becoming an engineer, they wanted me to explore other fields and not be part of herd. However, since I was motivated enough, I was able to focus and pursue my dream.

The reason why I have stressed so much on motivation is because while I was preparing for competitive exams, I would hear of my friends vacationing, going out in groups and having fun in general. In hindsight though, this was never a distraction since I really liked solving physics problems and reading science books. Not that I did not have my share of fun but I do feel that a bit more focus would have certainly helped then.

................
Wish you all the luck for your wonderful journey to come!

Thank you so much. You did make me realize how necessary it is to stay motivated. I agree, there are some very good books available and my father (engineer turned businessman) stresses a lot on the same.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Hi Neel,

Noticed this post of yours and it sounded like my story, couldn't stop myself from posting. Forget a silver spoon, I'm born in a family with no spoons

Attachment 1657922

From a 2-year-old kid to a 27-year-old young man full of ambitions.
.................................................. .



Never let anyone tell you what you can achieve, go for what excites you and what makes you happy.

Good luck with your future, in case you have queries, feel free to contact me about studying in Germany.

Cheers
Pratheesh

Thanks a lot, Sir. Your story is at the peak of inspiration for me. I did read about studying in Germany after reading your story and I will definitely shoot a PM to ask you about my doubts.

Do you recommend pursuing a bachelor's from Germany as well? Doing a master's degree seems to be the more common option. What steps do I need to start taking if I want to secure a position there?

Originally Posted by ampere

Totally true Benny! Very nice to hear Pratheesh. All the best. I do remember your early posts on this thread (or the Phd/Technical Education threads) when I think you shifted to Germany.

Neel, take note of what such stories (real ones at that!) have to say.

I still remember the last lines of the movie 3-idiots. So true and so invariant a statement with respect time and generations.

I do agree that there is a constructive and destructive interference between the career you choose and interest that you possess. But the idea is to work toward make it more constructive than destructive; such that in the end it becomes a symbiotic relationship.

Thanks a lot. The last part of what you said did get me thinking. I do not want to get into a situation where something that initially started as hobby but turned into a career made me start hating it.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Some solid advice already, so I'll only add my tiny bit I got as advice years ago.

If you make a living doing what you love, that's the best. If not, never let what you do for a living get in the way of what you do for love.

It's hard work, but a balance can be struck and who knows, the two may converge down the line.

Do what you have to, until you're ready to do what you want to.

Thanks a lot. The last line of your reply sums up what you have to say very beautifully, and I will always keep that in mind.

Originally Posted by audioholic

If you had mentioned this elsewhere, you would have not seen much of enthusiasm or encouragement, but Hey, its Team BHP you are approaching. So you will be welcome here. We all love cars.

Engineering is definitely for you. I have seen quite a few examples of non technical people taking up engineering just for the sake of it. Unless you have a liking for such technical stuff like tinkering with devices, coding, keeping yourself updated with technical advancements etc, no matter where you do your engineering, that can only partially help once you start working. There is no point in mugging up books and getting admissions to top engineering/science colleges and then continuing the same and clearing semesters. No offense to people here who might have been toppers during their student times. I am not calling the entire crowd the same, but just giving an example.

An important thing to do now, which I had not done when I started working is to segregate your activities/interests into categories, say
.................................................. ..................

Thanks a lot for such a detailed reply. I did list down my interests as per your advice and it did clear out things a lot. I realized that my passion for photography and music would be purely kept for leisure in the future.

You have an amazing job and you are the kind of person that I look up to! Completely agree to the part where you say that mugging up gets you nowhere.

Originally Posted by Samurai

The most important thing you need is not money or IIT/NIT pedigree. It is the hunger for achieving your goal. If you have that, you will eventually reach your goal. Money or pedigree makes it easier, but it could also dampens your hunger as a result. Those who have nothing to help them, fight lot harder and it becomes their basic trait.

.................................................. .........
What you need is Hunger to succeed. You bring that to the table, rest will eventually happen.

Sir, that is a very inspiring story!

I am looking forward to being part of a journey like this too, and I hope to stay hungry!

A TEDx talk I watched recently sparked something else inside me. You see, I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My grandfather was one when the term wasn't even popular. Unfortunately, he passed away when my father was just 13. However, he continued the legacy. He pursued mechanical engineering, started interning at some companies and settled for a very respectful and interesting position, only to quit sometime later and learn the civil side of engineering all by himself and then set up his own company. He also got into interior designing after that. Last year, he set up a restaurant with my mother and next week, it's going to turn a year old. I digress, but the point is that I have always looked up to him and I always will. And to be honest, the challenges of running a business have always intrigued me.

As of now, I am devoting most of my time to ICSE, and the rest for learning Python and guitar!

Neel

[sindabad.sailor]

Hello All,

Though not exactly career advice needed, couldn't find better thread than this.

I am a Marine Engineer sailing on most complex LNG ships today that have MEGI ( Electronic Camless Gas Injection aka using LNG vapour as Marin Fuel)

Maintenance has been my bread and butter for nearly 2 decades.

The scope includes everything from maintaining Distributed COntrol Systems, Electronis, Electricals and now days netwroks etc.

Where I am career wise, I can perhaps continue to do what I am for years to come and still be employed. However I have developed some liking for the concepts of RCM and wish to learn it in details in coming 4 months leave in India,

Are there any institutes that conduct some courses on this. I do not wish to do 3 days crash course. I did few in UK where i was working as ship manager and found them useful only for awareness.

Or if any consultant in RCM on TBHP, I would be willing to be an intern at 40 for few months, just to understand the concept better.

Looking for some valuable inputs.

[centaur]

Seeking some advice from Gurus here.

I have been in the IT/ITES industry for around 11 years (yes, at the most vulnerable stage of my career since I aint cheap as the freshers and neither do I carry the experience of the seniors). While initial 3.8 years, I was into a technical role (ERP & DB Administration), the remaining part I have been into a Business Analyst role with job duties spanning from a Pre-Sales & Business Development Analyst, to Marketing Analyst to a core Business Analyst and a Agile Product Owner. I am not a techie guy at heart in the sense that I really am not good at coding using programming languages. Also I did not enjoy the presales stuff and that career path led to a sales role in future which I something I was not very keen on.

What I love is, being the core business analyst where I am given a problem and asked to find a solution and I am really good at this (I am not saying it but my clients and managers have always told me this and I have been awarded multiples times for the same). Now here is the problem - I have been with same organization for around 8 years now and am looking for a switch but the market seems very dry for BA's (at least I think so). Even my colleagues who are BA's aren't really getting much calls and interviews. The most recent guy who switched was searching for a job for almost 2 years before he got one and he got only 1. Also am a part of few social media groups where many folks are asking for BA jobs but are not getting a single reply, and this got me thinking -

1. Is the role of a BA slowly getting extinct with the Technical counter parts having to take BA roles and responsibilities?

2. If so, how can I re-skill/cross-skill myself to be more relevant and get competent job offer?

3. Any particular career track I can look at to be one of the sought after candidates?

Any inputs highly appreciated!