Wind of Change - Part One

On MBA
Things have taken a turn for the better for our family. I am proud to have contributed to this 'Jain Shining' (reference to India Shining, not Jack Nicholson's The Shining you creeps).
I first became a Mamaji(15th December 2007, our little crying bundle of joy), then a Devar (can't wait for the title to be bestowed on me officially, July 11th is d-day), now I'm all set to become an MBA. This last bit of news is what we would be focusing on today, so if you have had a good dose of jainzy's gloating in the past few days, I suggest you turn to your facebooking and orkutting right about...now.

Can an exam change your life? Does an educational institute have the power of changing you?
I would answer "yes". Well my preps for an MBA had started about 3 years ago, when I wanted an MBA degree to earn more money. To go for it because I knew I had to, without rhyme or reason. 2 failures it took. And then there was light. There was a reason. I understood my place in the industry. I was warming up to the idea that I am a part of a workforce which is putting India on the map. In my own insignificant way, I am a part of the Indian industry. That my 2 years in the IT field have not been futile. I could sense logic. I didn't want to go in for Marketing any more. I used to think it would be a really cool thing to do. That probably would have been my most coherent reply to the question 'Why MBA' a year ago. As lame as they come. And then, introspection led me to my career path. Everything made sense. Everything showed logic. IT Systems as a specialization dawned clear as an area where I would love to dedicate my work life to. It appealed to me. Simple.

Its easy to be deaf-mute, to continue with one's job in a humdrum fashion, continue cribbing about not enough pay, too much work. But as my team's coffee time conversations shifted from Mohun-Bagan East-Bengal and Sourav Da blah blah and Singur-Nandigram to Cognizant's USP and its profit margin and its attrition rate and its core competencies, my project's revenue, its profit margin, Cognizant's most favoured clientèle etc, I noticed that in these conversations, it was the managers who spoke, while I asked, and my colleagues yawned. I would get back to my cubicle with a sense of purpose, aware of my role, aware of how I was in the right industry, but a role which I had outgrown. All the while I pitied myself for not knowing the company I worked for all these years. So did an MBA offer change me? Pursuing it certainly did.

Apart from that, I am quite frank when I say that a call from NITIE was like a third-party certification. You won't believe how incredibly down I was after the interview; it had lasted a paltry 5 minutes. After all the preparation, when I had truly felt that I am ready, it seemed I just wasn't given a chance. But the powers that be, decided in my favour, and I felt redeemed. So here I am, a step closer to my dream. Yes, the convert did instill in me a faith in myself, which I admit had visibly faded. All in all, right now, I don't feel happy, relieved, content, satisfied. I just feel incredibly excited. Turbo-charged. Can't wait for student life to begin again.