In a nation that’s jam packed with people, in a population of 120 crores, you see an engineer passing out in every nook and corner nowadays. Approximately 1.5 million engineers pass out every year in India. Then how can one expect each of them to turn out to be the next rising star of the country? The jobs that average engineers get are making data entries, taking printouts, etc. Most of the jobs available for engineers are the same that any under qualified person can easily get. Engineering is a rose from the exterior but once you go to touch it, it turns out to be full of thorns.

I’ve myself seen an example where an IT
engineer from one of the esteemed colleges of Mumbai is now handling a Xerox
shop, taking photocopies and printouts. Anyone gets weary of this mundane life
after a time. Today’s Engineering student, when he gets bored of his daily 9-5
lectures, has just 3 options left in front of him: pursue GRE, pursue MBA
abroad, or set up his own startup. What most engineers follow nowadays is the 3rd
option.

Everyone wants to be the next Steve Jobs or
Bill Gates or Larry Page. Rather, be the first yourself. If you have your own
idea and along with it responsibility, persistence, dedication, and motivation,
then who can ever dare to stop you from hitting bullseye. My heart bursts with
joy when I come across any such news that a startup got successful in India.

Everyone wants to open his own startup. Startups
nowadays have become like a guitar for a young teenager: everybody wants it. Startups
at present have become a passion for every teenager and not a form of profession.
So whenever any student comes with any such idea for a startup, clubs like startup
club and E-Cell come ahead to support you so that each individual gets a chance
to put his best foot forward. Still there need to be a lot of changes that have
to be brought about to help and guide such individuals and assure that they reach
their destination without any obstacle.

The first difficulty that an entrepreneur
faces is family support. Every family member feels that if you wanted to start
your own startup, then why did you waste a big amount of money on your
graduation? But what Engineering teaches us is fighting against all such odds
and hardships and rising again and again even after falling down infinite
times. What you should keep in mind is to NEVER QUIT. You should keep on
exploring uncharted territories, keep fighting against the odds and never
refuse because the difficulties that you face in the start are just helping you
to build the base of your own Eiffel Tower.

The next big obstacle in our path is that
of funding and finding investors, regarding this you should always remember, if
you try at 10 places, at least 1 place you will succeed. Nobody discovered an
island in their first journey, but what they did was kept trying, you will also
touch the feet of success one day.

Any startup cannot be started by a single
being alone, you need a team. A team who is ready to face any number of
challenges, make sacrifices, work out changes, and be perseverant always. You
don’t get everything, some things are not in your hand, but how you develop and
work out with the available resources and still turn out to be the jack of all
trades is what brings glory to your life. There’s nothing like fate or luck, any
unsuccessful man always keeps harping about his luck, but that never helps you
to win.

The biggest risk in life is not taking any
risk… In a world that is changing so quickly, the only strategy that is
guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks. It’s not an innovation until it
gets built. The soul of an entrepreneur is restless. It keeps roaming until it
comes up with a masterpiece. In this country which is filled with ruthless
competition, where there is an engineer graduating in every corner, never give
up. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already
know what you want to become. Life gives us two choices. Both sides look good, but
listen to your heart and go forward with your idea. Mark my words, the force of
this nation is going to be changed by such entrepreneurs and not politicians.

Success is 99% perspiration. And 1%
inspiration. This is my dream of the future India as quoted by Rabindranath Tagore;

“Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let
my country awake. “

As engineers are facing such a tough
situation now, startups are a great resort for rising up and becoming that
diamond in the coal!

This article is part of PaGaLGuY’s innovative Internship programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on – one on Creative Writing, the other is a Certification on Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and  bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, mail us at [email protected].