Keep trying there will come a Monday
This post is from an aspiring professional revealed during user interviews. The name and images have been changed due to privacy issues.
After finishing school, many of my school batchmates were struggling to select a field for their further studies. On the contrary, I was lucky enough to already know my field of choice. I went with Engineering in electronics. I also had a profound interest in aeronautics but feared my future as job market being very niche.
I started my education in my home country, India, from a decent University, which promised me a blooming career ahead. Years passed by, and I kept washing my exams. Engineering in India is a 4-year course which consists of 8 semesters, 2 in each year and by the end of the course, in-campus placements happen where many organisations come in to recruit students. In these years of study, I had made many close friends whom I admired dearly, some from a stream as mine and others different. Most of us sat in interviews with various organisations, mostly the Information Technology sector. It was a trend those days to get a job in IT irrespective of your field of study, and also the job market was promising. Though I was sceptical, had my insecurities. Still, because almost everyone around me was taking a job in the IT sector, I also decided to go for it. However, I tried to look for information online but couldn’t find much so went in trust of my friends.
My First Step into IT
After 4 years of study, my professional career as a software developer started, and I was thrilled being around known people in a professional world. In the beginning, there wasn’t much work or dependence on me, so things were running smooth. Let me also tell you, I am not a very tech-savvy person and had no deep interest with computers, but things just happened. The more time I spent in this profession, the more I realised I had made a wrong step. Professionally and emotionally, I wasn’t doing good with it. All those lines of code were not my cup of tea. I had worked with Team leaders who had over 8 years of experience, and they used to be extremely annoyed at work. They used to curse their career choices and wished they had not chosen this particular field. However, felt helpless been stayed in a field for so long and couldn’t imagine any escape routes. Seeing them the way they were, I was firmly convinced not to see myself in their shoes down the lane.
The U-Turn
After clearing my thoughts of moving out of IT, I had steady plans to pursue a job within the Government sector. The government sector brings job security and respect in India. For your information, in India, to get a job within the Government is a very competitive world. Due to a vast population, you have to compete with millions of candidates for a few thousand positions. For this purpose, competitive exams are held as a first level to eliminate most of the candidates. These exams consist of different sections, including aptitude and grammar. I was very decent in mathematics, GK, English segments which were part of the competitive examinations, that acted as a self booster for myself.
The tough journey
2 years went by with all these thoughts going on but continued due to insecurities of being jobless. To support my expenses, I decided to do my studies for competitive exams besides working full-time as a professional. Usually, exams keep on happening throughout the year for different departments. I used to study after working hours, weekends and even at times during the day if I got a chance in between work. My first attempt to appear in the examination came within the first year of my preparation which I failed. However, it helped me analyse my shortcomings and efforts required to stand a better chance. I started to put more hours of studies, more concentration towards competitive exams than my current job. In between, I got a chance to appear again for the entrance exams, but I didn’t make it through. I considered it as a learning opportunity as I had a better scorecard this time compared to previous one.
My greater involvement in the preparation of entrance exams affected my professional journey. My managers had started to see carelessness, distraction, dis-interest from my work and eventually, I was sacked off from the current project. Sacking off from current project means I was no longer considered a valuable asset within the project rather an additional resource that will be used when and if required. I felt bad but took it as a chance to dedicate more hours to study, clear my examinations and move out of this mess. In the mean-time another set of examinations came I appeared for and unfortunately missed by just a few marks. I was broken, shattered but still left with hope to crack the examination in the next attempt.
Next attempt came, and the same story continued. With each rejection, I suffered. Suffered emotionally, drained, exhausted, demotivated in life. I cursed myself of my career decisions and wished I had chosen wisely. It’s been 4 years trying to move out of IT to a career of interest but no success yet. I haven’t given up entirely, instead still giving my best shot each time. I hope to get over it soon, and that would definitely be the happiest day of my life. Support from family and friends has always been there, which is very much required in such situations.
What will I do differently?
If I am taken 5 years back from now, I will strip off the career to its deepest block and get to know it entirely before jumping into it. Struggling with a career is one of the most stressful things to occur to you. So if I am given a second chance, I would make the most of it. I will say research to the fullest, understand what you are stepping into before going for it.