From Ranchi to Sydney, My journey so far

Recently, I came across an article by Aishwarya Ravindran that beautifully captures the interconnection of hard-work and luck to achieve positive results. As a final semester MBA student, I could relate to the intricacies highlighted in the article, and it got me thinking about my journey so far from India to Australia. Here’s an account of my self-reflection. Although only a part of my writing relates directly to her article, it has been an inspiration. Hope you find it interesting.

I grew up in Ranchi, a small town in the eastern part of India (I can sense some of you going -”Ah! That’s where Dhoni is from”). Like in any small-town setting, the environment growing up was a close-knit one where we had frequent visits from neighbours and relatives, and there wasn’t even a single consideration of anyone’s social/economic background when making friends. My childhood in a joint family, with invariably at least 10 people in the house was a soap opera in itself; filled with fun, emotions and drama. Any outdoor activity, be it grocery shopping or dining out, would never be a single person affair. It still fascinates me!

Today we live in a fancy world of shopping malls and supermarkets. Back then, we had vegetable and fruit vendors, street food vendors and laundrymen appearing each day at our doorsteps, making sales while discussing their family and kids. Talking about street food, am already salivating at the thought of pakodas and samosas!!

Commonly all these people were called “Bhaiyaaji” (a common way to address other men in India), although we uniquely identified with each one of them. We can have doorstep delivery of nearly everything now, but does that have the same personal touch? I doubt!

So that’s for a bit of background. Let’s fast forward a bit. In an extremely competitive environment, like in India, having good-quality education and being a high scorer and achiever is a no-brainer. My parents worked hard to ensure a good education for me, and although I wasn’t a top student, I did pretty okay for myself. I completed my high school and started writing these innumerable entrance exams to get into an engineering college. Why? Because most students do it and it’s one of the safest options in terms of landing a job (general trend). Honestly, I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do in future. I thought to myself — “I like numbers, machines and technology, so this is a logical step”. Also, engineering schools are known for a hell lot of fun, which did turn out to be true! During this time, I also got an opportunity to explore one of my passions - Event Management. I ended up venturing into a small start-up with few friends and running it for two years. I must say it was an exceptional learning experience.

We probably would have continued pursuing it, but as a fresh college graduate in India, the natural thinking and people’s perception goes like- “Get a Job”, “What about the student loan?”, “Start saving for a house”, etc. In the end, we mutually decided to give the venture a break and go down the conventional path. I ended up getting a job as a Web Developer in IT Consultancy; the industry that employs most of the grads in India. An Electrical and Electronics graduate working as a Software Engineer, Sweet!! This was year 2012.

Was it the correct decision? It’s difficult to say. There are always two ways to look at things. Working for a few MNCs, I learnt a lot about the corporate world and was exposed to challenging times, which helped me with my overall personality growth. On the other hand, after four years of service, I figured my interests were a bit different from my role and work, and that I wanted to study and learn more about developing businesses. So, tactfully I would say it wasn’t a bad decision.

Fast forward again. The year 2017, I decided to pursue an MBA and move to Sydney. Not an easy choice! It’s a costly affair, or should I say an extremely costly affair. You leave your country, forego salary for 16 months, and lay on additional debt and expenses. But hey! no risks, no returns, right. Interestingly, I didn’t realise that later in my MBA, I would model this simple risk-return concept on a thousand-line spreadsheet!

Many people asked me -“Why leave a decent paying job to do an MBA” and “Why move outside India”. I’ll start with the latter. Firstly, I have always enjoyed exploring different places and cultures, and meeting new people. India itself is quite diverse and after spending more than 25 years in different regions there, I wanted to take this exploration globally. Sounds like an interview answer, doesn’t it? I know, but this was truly one of the primary reasons. Secondly, and this is just to highlight the competitiveness, not one of my personal reasons, the acceptance rate in top B- Schools in India is mind boggling. To give you some stats, while close to 0.25 million people try for these schools every year, only around 3700 are successful. That gives an acceptance rate of just above one percent.

Now, to answer the first question — “Why MBA?”. Well, yes, I was earning a decent salary. Yes, I was good at what I did. But, with my business and entrepreneurial instincts, I knew I had more learning to do; not just in the field I was working, but across industries. So, with an anxious heart, I landed in Australia. The first in two generations of my family to move outside the country; pretty cool ey!!

But, before I proceed, I should mention that are some key considerations for anyone from India planning to pursue an education abroad. Without doubt, it is a valuable step but it requires ample thinking and research. In my experience, I would say be clear on what exactly you wish to gain out of it, and trust me, just earning a salary in dollars isn’t a good enough reason. Remember that you’ll be moving out of a big comfort zone when you leave the country. Also, don’t just do it because your friends or relatives or most of the graduates are doing it. I am sort of donning my black hat here, but I just want to portray a realistic picture. People have different aspirations, so be certain of what’s yours, and that you are not just following the crowd. I have had reality checks during the course that I never envisioned, but I have also realized that having a definite purpose in mind helps you deal with all the challenges that you might face.

I have been here for a year now and I love it. Have met some wonderful people from over 20 countries, made good friends, partied like crazy, went through various emotions, and discovered new aspects of my personality. From premiering GOT in lecture theatres and exploring vineyards in the Hunter Valley to spending long hours doing coursework, the experience so far has been thoroughly enjoyable. What next then? Well, now with the final session in progress comes the most challenging part, and that’s finding a job. But hang on, I said I came to MBA to gain cross-domain learning and figure what else I enjoy working with. Did I figure it? The answer is “Yes”.

Going through the course I realised that I really enjoy the topics around financial services. It’s something I was always interested in, and now, having acquired relevant course knowledge, I figured it’s time to take it professionally. Is it easy? Of course not. As with any job hunting, especially in a foreign land with no local work experience, it’s seriously nerve wrecking. 100s of applications with most going unnoticed, and few responses, majority of which say -“You don’t have relevant work experience”. Well, it’s not supposed to be a walk in the park, but we are humans and rejections hurt. The coming months won’t be easy, but again, life never is. I trust my abilities and encourage my batch mates and all those people out there searching for their next break to do the same. It’s all about that right moment when everything just comes together; at times in the most unexpected situations. It does sound a bit impractical but am sure we all have seen or experienced it at some point in our lives. The Aussies have this saying and I feel it ideally goes here.

“She’ll be right Mate!!!”

My journey so far encompasses different lifestyle experiences, ranging from near rural to urban. This has allowed me to bond with people from all walks of life and I consider this a gift. It has made me value true and honest relationships; the ones based not just on material benefits. I believe this is one thing that can get you through tough times as well as let you enjoy exuberant times to the fullest.

With this, I would like to conclude my first article. Hope you found it worth the time. Any feedbacks, feel free to comment. I would much appreciate it.