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Hi,

I wanted to ask a query for my sister. She has recently completed her B.Pharm (Bachelors in Pharmacy) and wants to go for Masters in Pharmacy. We explored the option of doing MS from foreign universities but the cost structure is preventing us from seriously considering it. Hence we are exploring options for doing Masters from India only. She has got a provisional admission in Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and they have asked us to pay the fees for the first year in the next few days.

I wanted to check with experts here if they have any view on pursuing Masters in Pharmacy from Manipal. My sister also highlighted the possibility of doing Masters from BITS Pilani but the institute has not confirmed the dates for their examination. How does Manipal compare to BITS in terms of placements and facilities?

+1

There are two answers :

1. As Jaguar mentioned, core Data Structures + Algo + Maths + Any programming language are the most important skills.
2. Given that he is in 3rd year he should prepare for backup if he does not have a job already (At the end of 2nd Year, students do summer internships and are given PPOs if they do well). These can be contingency plans :

Lean UI + DB + Servicec : He would have learnt DB already. He can start working part time (WFH) for some start-up / small company. He can offer to work free-of-cost. This would also add real project to his resume. This translates to learning : Python + React / Angular / Vue. Key is to get a part time job in some small company and be prepared to slog. Python skills will be transferable to Java/ JavaScript etc as any job requires.

Prepare for Campus : This depends on the collage and kind of jobs that are realistically available.

Im not a recruitment or HR professional. And I recognize your query is from July 2020 - so perhaps you've already decided one way or the other.

Im in a similar career situation like yours: In search of a career path that motivates me and provides financial security Vs carrying on with a cushy job that has become rather insipid over time. Here are some insights that I can share.

If you are looking to switch to a new domain, especially one that promises a better long term (8-15 years) than your current industry, it absolutely makes sense to endure the short term pain of a paycut or reduced perks. Manufacturing is a fundamentally sound domain. I've been part of automotive manufcaturing for 19 years :)

Moving to a new location by itself is a learning experience. So count that as a bonus, especially if living costs and taxes are lower.

Taking a side-step or step down, in terms of responsibilities or renumeration, while shifting domains isn't necessarily seen in a negative light. On the contrary you can sell it as a positive by position yourself as a continuous learner, foussed on long-term career over short term renumaration.

I've had the opportunity to hire a sales manager that took a similar challenge (to start something on his own) but decided to get back to a corporate job after realizing business wasn't his thing. I did not hesitate to hire him and he's currently an invaluable member of my team. The point I'm trying to make is that our career paths often have to meander a bit before we find our true calling. Well, at least some of us :)

But remember, if you do take the plunge you have to keep a learning mindset, be open and positive to change especially in situations where you may not be able to control consequential events. Stating the obvious : if your personality type does not feel comfortable with change or not being in control - think twice!

Good luck.

I think I can use some perspectives, especially from HR and hiring-managers here - or anyone else who might have perspective on this.

I'm a middle-aged software engineer in an IC role. I make a good salary, that affords me a decent lifestyle.

I've been into programming since I was 14 years old, before I thought of it as a profession. I used to sneak away to the browsing center to write some code (VBscript and early JavaScript back then!), and long story short did one thing after another and naturally came to writing code for a living.

20-something years after all that, I am emotionally ready to try other things - for various reasons. First, I have the entrepreneurial itch. I want to do this at least once in my lifetime, to satisfy myself that I can produce a value and sell it, not just work for an employer. It will be sort of making a point to myself. I don't particularly want to become "rich", would be happy to make enough to sustain my family, and hopefully in a space that has a positive impact on the community. I have a somewhat well-formed idea of what I can do and how to go about it, leveraging my tech experience.

Negative motivators are a factor too. Corporate life is pretty terrible, and programming in a large setup is hardly the artsy process I fell in love with. Practically it involves more arguing with introverts than actual programming. Besides, I don't really vibe with a new tech-fad every couple of years, that is just a form of politics (replace the tech stack to get somebody promoted - that's really all it is). I am more passionate about building the product itself, which seems to be less and less relevant. Employers want you to constantly work overtime and try to climb the ladder, which really is not my thing. I look at higher-ups and find myself saying "gosh, I hope I never become this". On top of that, ageism is a big thing too, mostly because younger people can be exploited more easily to work overtime for half the money. I think some people-managers get uncomfortable with employees who aren't trying to climb a ladder, since they don't understand such motivations.

So anyway, I am thinking about taking a jump into entrepreneurship to try and build my thing. Nothing big and fancy, something that involves more of my personal effort and I plan to keep it a one-man effort if I can help it. Not a genius-new-idea thing either, just a simple service that I will vet with my own market research and validation.

But all that aside, this is what I struggle with: If I fail after say a year, what options are there next? Here's what my head says, really opposite signals:

1. Failing and getting back in the workforce is difficult, as hiring managers & HR would see this as a career break (which it totally isn't).
2. Failing and getting back in the workforce could actually be better than staying in it, because it would mean I can explore fresh areas with fresh skillsets and exposure: like product management, design, advertising etc which I would employ in my own efforts. At the very least, it will make me a more well-rounded engineer who has first-hand cross-vertical exposure.

.. which of these is closer to reality? I am having a hard time understanding how potential hiring managers and HRs see such a candidate. Would I fall more in the "Well-rounded employee with broad exposure and solid deep-skills" category, or more something like "Jack of all arts who is likely to quit and go chasing something else again"?

Note, I am not asking which one describes me better. I am asking more about perceptions and mis-perceptions, general mindset. For some reason I don't have a high expectation from middle-managers. May be just my experience, from what I have seen generally they tend to stay comfortable thinking inside a box or following a script. From what I can tell, their hiring decisions don't seem to be their own decisions either, since they need to convince a whole stack of heavily opinionated (read: indoctrinated, lacking originality) higher-ups who tend to shy away from risks or wear their personal biases like badges. So... trying to be mindful of this perception aspect, this will be a key point for me gauging the risk of leaving a "working" career and diving into the unknown.

So... When a candidate profile comes up like this, with the last one year as "Founder" or their own venture and trying to get back into the workforce, how it it generally perceived? Do these guys generally get interviews, or more likely a hard pass?

I guess its not my place to comment. But was just thinking, programming is a skill. Its something which will allow you to do your work. It cannot be a something which when sharpened consistently one will make a career. I think most folks think that way. (I come across cases which mention I have X-years of experience and Y-Coding Skills)

I think what needs to prosper is one's ability to build things (products, organization, business etc.). Coding (or any other skill) is just as aspect which would enable one to go that route. People mostly mistake that aspect to be their USP. To me it has to be much deeper than that.

Now if you think with this paradigm, my take is you can will find potential to learn & grow anywhere; corporate or otherwise.

Phew! I don't have any useful advice to offer, but I thought I was reading about my career here! :)

Am not a programmer, but am in a technical/product function with the IT industry. Just entered middle age with nearly 20 years of experience in this field. Like you I have no interest in 'growing vertically' and spending my days attending meetings and working with Excel. You are correct that most managers don't understand what to do with people like this (what they really should do is leave us alone to do what we do best! :)) A couple of them think you are a threat to their job...in fact, a couple of years ago I actually interviewed and hired the person who will probably become my next manager! (And I'm absolutely fine with that.)

But I seem to have found a company that does have a few such people in such positions and I'm pretty happy here. Of course I'm always alive to the threat that I can be replaced by someone younger and less expensive. But so far so good, am able to use my experience to show a real difference in work quality. Fortunately, there are also a lot of freelance opportunities in my line of work, so if things don't work out, can always look there.

Don't show yourself as a "Founder".

You have joined a startup as a Senior Developer or at whatever designation you have now or slightly higher.

You need to start a small company - can be done easily through a Chartered Accountant. The start up will be a company with your wife and close relative / Mother / Father as promoters / Directors.

If it does well, good. If it doesn't, the start up failed. You can get a letter signed by your close relative about your capabilities. You are just an employee who was promised substantial sweat equity and you wanted to check out what it would be like to work in a start up and now would like to get back with large corporates.

I don't understand arguing with the introverts part. Are you implying that good programmers need to be extroverts? It is almost always the other way round in my experience.

Hey Guys
I am an SDE, 2.5 years of experience and earning a good income. I have what can be called a pretty easygoing life.

The problem is that for a very long time, I wanted to do UPSC, and now that I'm going to turn 25 soon, I feel that the clock's ticking faster and more imminently.

I am scared of going through with the exam, either because I have turned complacent or I feel that I don't have enough drive. UPSC is a huge commitment and will actually require 2-3 years from me, if and it's a huge if I clear it. Otherwise, I have missed what could have been a easygoing SDE career.

Some doubts that I have are
1. Is it fine to feel what I'm feeling, like is this what quarter life crisis is?
2. What are the long terms aspects in SDE?

Mods - Please delete this thread if it's not up to Team-BHP standards.

Thanks in advance.

A funded - Series A - or beyond startup will snap you up in a jiffy. If you have shown entrepreneurial zeal, it means you can handle the pressure of a startup, and understand product ownership and deliverables. Good tech talent - you talk of coding as love and art - is incredibly hard to come by.

Well, I have been programming non-stop since 1989, so I understand your mindset towards that work. However, that alone doesn't prepare you for entrepreneurship in your 40s. How much exposure do you have towards business side of IT industry? Have you been responsible for P&L or negotiating deals with vendors and customers? Have you managed the budget and financing? Since you said you were an IC in a large company, you probably haven't dealt with any of this.

If you want to start a company, you need to find partners who complement you in skills that you lack. You definitely need a partner who can handle sales, who can tell you whether your ideas have any traction in the market. If you can only bring technology knowledge to the table, you need a partner who can handle administration side, to handle legal compliance, accounts, HR, etc. Even if you outsource the individual functions, you still need knowledgeable decision maker to interface with all of them. They can drive you crazy if you don't know enough. Until you can find these like minded partners with complementary skills, you shouldn't even take the first step towards entrepreneurship. Next comes finance, who is funding this venture until the company starts generating revenue. Whether to go for loan, boot-strap or VC option can all be discussed once you have a founder team with the right skill.

One man company is a very hard thing to achieve in tech industry, unless you are in sales and distribution. If you are into product development, you need multiple layers of people.

That happens because lots of people put "independent consultant" to fill gaps when they were between jobs. If you really started a company and failed, there will be enough tell tale signs to prove that the company existed.
There are many companies where they do look for adventurers and leaders for certain roles. So I wouldn't worry too much about this.

Great post @rajushank84. I couldn't agree more with you on the corporate life.
As for entrepreneurship, I suggest do some homework before taking the plunge. I dont know if you are looking at B2B or B2B. B2C, although very interesting, needs a niche idea. Also, difficult to scale (users/traffic) without funding. B2B can be a boring thing. Usually the typical SaaS kind of appellations. Today with cloud , it may be very easy to build/integrate SaaS apps. But very hard to get/retain paying clients.

Why dont you consider joining a funded startup or young established company?. As for I know, there is no politics here and they do value good work.
Regardless, if you are leaving, always leave on a good note.

Reaching out to all the IT seniors in the forum.

Currently, I'm working as a Customer Success Manager for a Logistics-Tech startup, having a total work experience of about 7 years, all of it being in the tech-functional profile, handling a set of clients/geography and ensuring no churn.

I'm planning to switch, as I'm stagnant since the lockdown kicked in, and no foreseeable complex clients/projects to be on-boarded plus saturation kicking in, as I work from a satellite location, away from the organisation headquarters.

I have an offer in hand to head/lead the Solution Sales/Concept Sales team of a real-estate SaaS company, Mumbai based. Their current set of Software Suites/Products look interesting, and my research says it'll be a success, as there's need for the product in the industry (based on my discussion with SMEs).
Primary KPI will be to establish relationships within the real estate owners' community and ensure successful module sales/implementation, and end-to-end relationship management with CXO/VP level designates.

Question is - Will my CV be impacted, if I transition form post-sales to the pre-sales function, from the Logistics Tech to Real Estate Tech piece? I understand, sales/relationship management is more of a skill-set driven function than knowledge driven one. Also, will the larger IT MNCs consider me (as a Sales/Account Management Professional) for mid-management roles, in case if I decide to put my papers down in the company I'm about to join (talking of 3 years from now - in 2023)?

Do let me know your thoughts, and your experiences, if any, if you've been in a similar situation as I currently am into!

Regards,
Jigar Shah

You should give it a shot. Atleast that way you won't have any regret later in life, you're barely 25 and have that whole corporate career life ahead of you as backup.

Hello all,

After spending last 3 years worrying where my professional life is headed to, Posting here for some advice.

My educational background:
10+2 in PCM, BBA (correspondence), MBA (finance and marketing) full time from a tier 2 college. I got placed into a manufacturing firm where i've been working since last 3.5 years as a sales accountant in its regional office.

Personal details:
almost 28 Years old, married, parents retired. So cannot leave my job for further studies (unless have to go abroad for studies). No liabilities like home/car loan.

Problem:
1. Doing work that even a B.com Graduate will easily do. ie: Sales accounting. Everytime i wish to switch, i have to complete against B.com graduates holding 12-15 years of work experience, who are willing to work for a lot less compensation.

2. All my bosses are CAs and only CAs are getting growth opportunities in my current organisation.

Advice needed
I'd like to switch my domain to something where my education will be more appropriately utilized. Any course/qualification that i can do while working full time? Thinking about ACCA/US CPA/CFA, while some people are suggesting that data analytics is the future.

Please suggest