The moment their child gets selected to a good engineering college, many parents believe that the child’s career is settled. But, it often turns out that the career choice made by a child during his adolescence  no longer appeals to him once he gets to understand all that it encompasses/involves. The huge syllabus and pressures of competitive exams can take a toll on a student’s mind and affects their performance in exams. Students often commit the mistake of making wrong career choices and change their career path later in life to pursue some other goal. We spoke to some engineering graduates who are pursuing different career paths after their graduation.  

The fields chosen by students range from acting to practising law (by becoming a lawyer or judge, etc.). Thus, it must be recognized that no dream is bigger than a person’s willpower to achieve it.  

Rahul John Mooken, a biotech engineering graduate from Bangalore, is currently working as a financial consultant in Cognizant.  He was terrible with Maths but went on to study for and crack one of the toughest accountancy exams in the UK.

Another Engineering grad knew that he was passionate about teaching. Justin Davis, a computer science graduate from Bangalore, decided not to pursue the ‘MNC job’ route which disinterested him. Today, he is a teacher to aspirants who wish to crack one of the most difficult exams conducted by Cisco, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE).  

Gaurav Talreja, a biotech graduate from Bangalore, used his college days to build his confidence and personality. “I am very passionate about singing. But since the industry is tough to enter, I used my college days as a stage to showcase my talent. The opportunities I got enabled me to hone my skills and today, I am sure that the music industry is where my career will be”, Gaurav explains.   

These graduates had a passion which was not discovered until they realized their individual personalities. Their engineering courses helped these individuals grow in stature and learn to deal with life’s setbacks along their way.   

“I got over my weakness for maths and today I have cleared 2 levels of the 3 level exam. Being bad at maths was not the end of the road for me as an engineer. I went on to make a career out of the very subject I was not proficient in”, Rahul says.  

“I wanted to attempt the CCIE exam to improve my chances at work. A few of my friends tried and failed. It took a lot of effort for me to focus on and crack these exams. Today, I teach aspirants and 4 of my students have already cleared the exam,” Justin explains. 

Mohammad Jashim, a graduate from Bangalore was forced to join engineering only because his parents wanted him to be an engineer. He says he would definitely be a Chartered Accountant if given a chance to go back and make a different choice. 

Most students at the class Xth or XIIth level are confused about their career path. This points to an urgent need for awareness classes in school. In such classes, students should be educated about the various career options so that they are able to make a more informed career choice.