On Life After An MBA And Changing Careers - Journey From Being Average To Achieving Success

In short, this article is for all those who feel that they lack a sense of direction regarding what can be done next and how. I personally know people who have been in the industry for a few years but aren’t entirely satisfied with either their job profiles or pay packages and are looking for a change in career opportunities. This article is dedicated to all of them.

But before you continue reading any further, you should probably go back and read two of my previously written articles, since this is a continuation of the “Being Average” series of write-ups. It is only then that you’ll be able to completely relate your own experiences with mine. The links to the articles are:

• Being Average - Part 1, and
• Being Average - Part 2

Now that you’ve read my journey till the completion of MBA, let’s continue from there.

Life After Graduating From SJMSoM, IIT Bombay

Exactly three years ago, when I wrote the second part of Being Average, I had graduated from college with a degree in management, got a great job, and all I could think about was the journey ahead. Just the thought that I would not have to work in the shop floor of a manufacturing plant, like I did after engineering, made me happy. I had an office job in Bangalore, with weekends off, stable work hours, and quite a few friends, both in office and outside; everything one could ask for.

The first 6 months were breezy. The organization that I worked for, PRTM Management Consulting, which later became a part of PwC US Advisory, was a consulting firm where I worked in the Operations & Supply Chain Service Delivery Center (SDC) based out of Bangalore. However, the projects that I worked on initially were from different domains - some from Supply Chain, others from Pharma or FinTech or Deals (M&As, Separation Planning etc.).

Having joined as an experienced Associate, I mostly worked in teams of three to six. The project durations were mostly in between 4 to 6 weeks, and due to the even distribution of workload among the US and India teams, flexible work hours and the option of working from home, there was ample time for recreational activities even on weekdays post the work hours.

Often in between two projects, there used to be a layoff time, when an individual wasn’t working on a project. In those days, which extended to a couple of weeks during my first year, I used to find ample time to network with other colleagues, work on short one or two-day assignments, and even find time to eat out during lunch or catch an early movie in the evening post work. Life was good. Given the career path, most individuals would be promoted to Senior Associates in two years time, and to Managers in another two years. This seemed like a place where I felt I could easily spend the next five years, before starting to search for better opportunities.

The Basic Truth of Life

In my daydreams, I could see myself owning an apartment and a vehicle in the coming five years, something that’s quintessential to the dreams of most middle-class people in our society. My thoughts about my career revolved around this need of permanence in my life, or as I used to tell my friends – I want a well-settled life in a metropolitan city, where I can find both the necessities and the luxuries. I’ll switch to another job only if it offers a similar work-life balance and even higher pay package. And by thinking so, I forgot the basic truth about life that the things that seem so relevant and so promising today might seem like a hangman’s noose a few years later. I didn’t have a Plan B because I felt that I didn’t need one. That’s what I had seen all the people around me do - get a degree from a good college, keep switching companies till you find “the right one”, and then relax, settle and form a family.

A year went by, followed by the first appraisal. While no promotions were offered to any of the joinees of my batch, most of us were satisfied, knowing that next year would be crucial. By then, I had worked in some long term projects, some of which extended to three to four months. I had received my first recognition award from the firm and was appreciated by the US engagement team Partner for my work on one of the projects.

The second year started as a busy year. The gaps in between projects had considerably shortened, our team had started getting more projects from Canada, South Africa and Europe in addition to projects from the US. With the advent of the second year, I also started taking some firm initiatives in addition to regular project work, some of which were related to new practice development within the SDC India team while others were related to developing decks for the operations team, and working on new project proposals with US engagement team directors.

In addition to that, I started mentoring some new joinees, familiarized them with activities within the firm and included them in shadowing projects. I wouldn’t say things were as ‘breezy’ as in the first year at work, but I was enjoying the work that I did. Moreover, the fact that I didn’t have to report to a manager at the end of the day’s work made me own my work, and I also made sure to avoided inconsistencies.

The Phase of Disenchantment 

It was around the month of October-November ’17 when I first started having a feeling that too many changes had suddenly cropped up within the organizational structure and the way the firm operated. It was as though all of a sudden, the work that one did in projects didn’t matter anymore. Rather, the time spent in ‘networking’ with managers, both during and after work hours, and the amount of time spent in ‘firm reinvestment’ activities had started garnering the attention of managers.

Around November’17, I also started having the feeling that quite of few of the projects that I was working on, including the one that I was working on back then, was remotely related to the field of operations. Sure, they were from some really good clients and kept me ‘utilized’ in terms of monthly target work hours, but I had started getting the feeling that it was only adding to my Excel and PowerPoint skills, and not to my skills as a Supply Chain Consultant. Moreover, I still had limited experience in terms of managing projects of my own, or handling end-to-end projects from conceptualization to execution. But the thought of trying for new jobs didn’t occur to me since I was still caught in the maze of promotions and well-settled life.

I took the time to express my concerns to the Director of my team, but that hardly helped. I then decided to speak to the Director of another team within SDC and asked for a switch in team and work profile. However, I soon realized that switching to a new team at that point in time could jeopardize my chances of getting promoted in the next year. Being caught up in 12-14 hours of work in the project, I could spend lesser time in other firm activities, and soon it was time for the year-end break in December.

January was no different, as I was still working in short-burst engagements that barely added value to my overall experience. One fine morning, in the month of February, I received an urgent call from one of my colleagues summoning me to the office immediately. Not understanding the urgency, I nevertheless rushed to office. As it turned out, I had been staffed in a project on strategic sourcing. I was taken aback with this decision from the management since I had been in constant talks with my manager and director to staff me on a full-time supply chain engagement.

Knowing that little could be done, I started working on the engagement, which by the way had already been continuing for more than a month. With half-cooked knowledge about the project and zero experience in sourcing, I was expected to gather all relevant information and start working with immediate effect. And so it started. The very things that I had been proud of my firm started fading before my own eyes. The project required me and the other team members to report back to the project manager(s) not just daily, but on an hourly basis, and often enough due to no mistake of our own, we were made to work extremely long hours, which completely messed up with whatever ‘work-life balance’ that I had before. There were days when we went home the next day as late as 9 AM, only to come back again at 1 PM in the afternoon. The work hours were nothing short of 16-18 hours. Furthermore, there was no scope of individual thought and creativity.

To top it all was the lack of clarity in directions, and ever-changing input data, which essentially made us rework the same thing numerous times. While it seemed to be a problem that existed only in my firm, the more I started talking to people outside of my firm, I eventually realized that this was atypical of any management consulting firm, especially the firms with the “global service delivery model”.

Most analysts or associates such as ourselves were either performing data analysis or preparing fancy decks for the off-shore teams. And while there were some exceptions to this, but mostly the planning and formulation of projects was done by the off-shore teams, and the tedious task of data cleansing and analysis, and preparing the decks was done by the delivery centres. The final execution of the project and presentation to the client was something which teams based in India hardly ever got to be a part of.

The Hunt For New Opportunities

As this understanding of the industry and how it worked dawned upon me, I gradually started looking for opportunities in other industries. Having prior experience in the FMCG was a plus point (or so I felt back then), and therefore, I started looking for opportunities in the supply chain division of FMCG, and other industries such as manufacturing, automobiles, food ordering and delivery companies etc. The next few months at the office started getting more hectic with projects coming in as soon as one got over, sometimes even overlapping with the other.

Meanwhile, the search for other companies had barely produced any results. Premium accounts in Naukri, IIM jobs, LinkedIn had failed to produce any results whatsoever. Thus, I started reaching out to my LinkedIn connections individually, starting with senior alumni. I prepared a fresh CV updated with latest project experiences and thought that it looked damn good. However, I realized quite late that the kind of experience that I had was mostly suitable for management consulting firms operating in the global services or the service delivery model. Neither was my CV considered suitable for India-based front-end consulting firms, nor was it deemed fit for FMCG or Manufacturing or other industries, which required focused, specific work experience in one particular field in the supply chain, be it demand or supply planning, strategic sourcing, manufacturing, or logistics. I, on the other hand, had a CV that made me seem like a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’.

As a result, after an initial CV shortlist and the first interview round, I never got a call back from the companies; only an email stating that while my experience was diverse, I lacked specific experience in the area which they required. As desperation started building up with more rejections and mounting office pressure, I finally accepted an offer from a firm where I was supposed to start as a fresher (since they deemed my previous experience in supply chain consulting as ‘no experience at all’).

The CTC offered by this firm was the same as what I had been offered 2 years back when I had just graduated. And while my job profile was of a Deputy Manager in demand planning, I had to work extensively with the sales team and gather experience in field sales, since I had limited experience in sales, which was a must for any demand planning role. I made some efforts to switch to the supply planning role, but all in vain. So I had to make peace with the fact that at least I had managed to make a switch in the industry and the fact that I was getting to learn something new.

Stepping Out of The Vicious Cycle

A few months passed from then, and I could feel that this wasn’t something I really wanted to do. It was around that time when I realized that instead of being stuck up in the vicious cycle of switching from one job to another, I could also look at entirely different opportunities. I’d seen quite a few people take up preparation for civil services examinations (such as UPSC) post MBA. However, I myself had never considered that as a career option.

Academics was something that I never was really good at, but from my past experience of working in projects (both in college and at work), I knew that I was good at data collection and analysis, and presenting my ideas in the form of articles, papers and case studies. I took advice from my father, who’s a professor, and has extensive knowledge and experience of being in the field of academics. He advised me to contact professors from my college and get an idea from them as well. I initially set up some time with one of my professors to discuss over call the possibility of building a career in academics. I discussed at length regarding the scope of research activities and higher studies (doctoral degree) in India and abroad and got some valuable inputs regarding the same. Thus began my quest for research topics in the field of operations and supply chain management.

PhD From The IITs

I initially came across a topic which I found to be interesting, but upon discussion with some of the professors at college, I realized that the topic I would have to choose for PhD should be something that is of interest to the faculty members. They advised me to look up faculty profiles in the college websites and read some journal papers that were related to their research interests. I heeded their advice and started reading topics related to the research interests of faculty, and was finally able to find a topic that was of interest to one of our faculty, and to me as well.

Most IITs admit students to their PhD programme twice a year - once in December and once in May, unlike the IIMs which admit students only once a year. The process is competitive due to the limited number of seats, and the fact that unlike a regular MBA programme, the professors aren’t obliged to fill in the seats unless they find candidates with excellent academic background and research potential. I decided to try for the December ’18 admissions in IIT Bombay, Delhi, Kharagpur and Madras.

Most IITs require PhD applicants to prepare a research proposal consisting of summary, introduction, literature review, research objective and methodology, followed by conclusion and references. With the deadline approaching soon, I managed to complete a single research proposal which I sent across to all four IITs. I was fortunate enough to get an interview call from IIT Bombay and Kharagpur. It was around that time when I decided to quit my job and focus wholeheartedly towards academic preparations.

Taking The GMAT 

It was almost the end of the second week of October by then, and the interviews were scheduled in December. In five weeks’ time, I had scheduled my GMAT exam, which was a must for admission into any B School’s PhD program abroad. I spent the next five weeks the way I prepared for CAT back in 2013. The format for GMAT was different from that of CAT, and I personally found the Verbal Ability section (critical reasoning, sentence correction and reading comprehension) a lot more difficult.

In the initial few practice tests, I couldn’t manage to score above 32 out of a possible 51. I found the Quantitative Ability section to be much easier. However, since most people fared well in Quants, it was essential to score in the range of 50-51 out of a possible 51 to get a good overall score. The overall score in GMAT is awarded out of 800 and is a combination of the scores obtained in both the sections.

There are two separate sections on ‘Reasoning’, which has a maximum score of 8 and ‘Essay Writing’, which has a maximum score of 6, and while these scores aren’t added to the total, it is essential to score 6 or above in reasoning and 5 or above in essay, since most B-schools would use the scores as a shortlisting criteria. While the MBA admissions process in the top business schools of US, Europe and Asia require much higher scores (730 and above out of a possible 800), the PhD admissions in top schools require 700+ scores.

Although there is no hard and fast rule regarding the scores mentioned, and there have been selections in top B schools even at 650+ scores, the instances are rare, and in most cases the candidate would have an excellent academic/research profile, complemented with co-curricular activities, and of course, a well-written SOP (Statement of Purpose).

I knew that selection into PhD requires one to have prior papers published, and an excellent academic background demonstrated by a well-crafted academic CV. While I did have one prior publication while pursuing my MBA and another while pursuing B.Tech., I knew that it wouldn’t be enough to match the profiles and SOPs of students applying across the globe. Therefore, getting an above par GMAT score was absolutely essential for me.

After 5 weeks of dedicated preparation, I appeared for the exam. The scores of the exam are revealed as soon as the exam is over. I had an abysmal 670, having flunked the Verbal Ability section. I scored a 49 in quants and 32 in verbal, 5 in reasoning, and 4.5 in essay writing. Not only had I missed the 700 mark, but I had also messed up the other two sections as well, which weren’t added to the total. The good thing about GMAT is one can choose to not accept the score. However, it would mean forfeiting the 250$ exam fee. To put it to perspective, that is around 17500 INR.

So, I half-heartedly accepted the score. But I knew that I had to reschedule an exam again and try to get a better score this time. I decided to schedule a slot exactly a month later since I had my interviews of both the IITs before that. I decided that if I manage to convert the interview of either one of the IITs in December, I would take admission into one of them and then decide whether or not to apply in foreign universities, since that would involve a lot of time in preparing SOPs/Research proposals and a considerable amount of money that I would need to invest for the same.

Also read - Trapped In Mediocrity - A Peek Into Life At IIM Calcutta

The Rejection - A Learning Experience

December arrived sooner than expected, and I had to skip the IIT Kharagpur interview due to unavoidable family commitments. On the day of IIT Bombay’s interview process, we had an aptitude test at first. Out of 300+ applicants, 150 had been shortlisted for the aptitude test based on the research proposals. There were four sections in the test, each having an individual cutoff. Having prepared for GMAT, I was well-versed with the question types and managed to convert the aptitude round. 20 students, including myself, converted the interview round. I was the last to face the interview in my panel, which consisted of almost all operations and supply chain faculty members of our college.

Since I was previously a student at SJMSoM IIT Bombay, the faculty asked for my mark sheets, and it’s safe to say that they weren’t impressed. I had a degree grade point average (DGPA) of 7.5 out of a possible 10, which made me stand among the top 40-50% of the class, which wasn’t impressive. My grades were indicative that I was an average student, with little promise of being capable of performing higher research. The interview was over in 15 minutes, and I knew then and there that I would not convert it since I wasn’t asked even a single question regarding my research proposal. Let down by the interview, I went back home to plan a future course of action. Half of me wanted to go back into the regular job life, and the other half was still convinced that I could achieve something better.

PhD Abroad - The Application Process

I needed a plan, and it was simple. First, appear for TOEFL (since quite a few colleges required students to take up the proficiency in English language test), then attempt to get a 700+ score in GMAT, and if I manage to screw up again, then attempt to get a decent score in GRE. So, after preparing for 3 weeks, I took the GMAT exam again in mid-December. I focused on specific areas which needed improvement especially the verbal ability section. Fortunately, I managed to get a 700 score this time, with a 5.5 in essay writing and 7 in reasoning and felt that I was good to go.

I had also managed to score 116 out of a maximum 120 in the TOEFL test. I then started shortlisting colleges in which I wanted to send out applications. The method I followed was suggested to me by one of the professors at Scheller College of Business, Georgia Tech, US. I came to know that he was an alumnus of SJMSoM, IIT Bombay, and decided to connect with him to discuss research topics, shortlisting of colleges, and the approach followed by colleges while shortlisting suitable candidates.

So, the steps I followed while shortlisting colleges are:

1. First, I visited the UTD Top 100 Business School Research Rankings website. On the website, the University of Texas Dallas' Naveen Jindal School of Management has a database to track publications in 24 leading business journals. The database contains titles and author affiliations of papers published in these journals since 1990. Since the rankings are entirely based on the number of journal publications in top-rated journals, it is more relevant than the usual B-School rankings which are relevant for students seeking admission in the MBA program. The overall research ranking isn’t all that mattered. In order to select the top B-schools for operations research, I performed quick research of the top operations management and supply chain journals and then filtered the search results based on relevant operations and supply chain journals. I selected only those B-schools that appeared both in the overall list of top 100 and in the list of top operations and supply chain management schools.
2. Next, I filtered out all the B-Schools for which the deadline was already over. Since it was already mid-December, the application deadline for most of the top B-Schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and likewise was over. Moreover, with the kind of grades that I had, a limited number of papers published, half-cooked SOP, and just par GMAT score, it didn’t make much sense to apply to colleges such as Harvard. For the remainder of my shortlisted colleges, I visited the faculty profiles of all operations management faculty in each of these colleges. I had prepared SOPs/Research Statements on three different topics and wanted to pursue research in colleges that had at least some faculty members whose research interests were similar. In doing so, I was able to further shorten my list.
3. Lastly, I looked at the location of those colleges and applied in only those colleges which were situated in a fast developing or developed economy, since it would be easier to collect data for research purpose in such countries. I shortlisted colleges in the US, Europe (France, The Netherlands, Spain), and Asia (Singapore, China), and applied to 13 colleges. In addition to this, I also applied to IIMs A, C, L, I and ISB, which made a total of 18 colleges.

Also read - Applying For MBA Abroad - Exams To Take, Admissions Process, And More

Around this time, I also decided to appear for GRE just to make sure that I left no stone unturned. While most B-schools prefer GMAT, GRE is widely accepted in both MBA and MS and is considered to be an easier test as compared to GMAT. The GRE is scored out of 340 - 170 each for Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability, and an essay writing section scored out of 6, which isn’t added to the total score. A 160+ score in each section, i.e. a 320+ score overall is considered decent enough for PhD admissions. Here is how you can score 320+ in GRE in just two months!

I managed to score a 165 in quants, and 160 in verbal, with a total score of 325. Post this, I spent a considerable amount of time researching on the three topics I had chosen. I read journal papers and determined the scope of future research in those areas. With that done, I spent time researching what B-schools demand of their statement of purpose or statement of research and how should the answer differ from a regular MBA admission SOP. Since each college required their SOP to focus on some specific areas, the one-size-fits-all approach never works while preparing an SOP. I prepared individual SOPs for all the colleges in which I applied.

In addition to this, most colleges required either two or three letters of recommendation (preferably from faculty members of previously attended institutes). I got in touch with three of my professors at IIT Bombay and requested them to fill the online recommendations, which they were kind enough to fill in before the deadline. This process went on until the first week of February. By then, I had prepared a fresh academic CV and made sure that I had put in enough detail regarding my previous research work, projects, articles, papers and case studies.

I spent the entire month of February revising operations and supply chain courses that I had taken up while pursuing an MBA, and also spent a considerable amount of time reading the research proposals prepared by me. I was shortlisted by all Indian B-schools, but only 4 out of the 13 foreign B-schools shortlisted me for the interview round - two from the US, and two from Europe. All these interviews were scheduled in March, with the first one being from IE Business School, Spain.

The First Interview - A Nerve-Wracking Experience

IE had been one of my sought-after institutes not only because I had been able to find faculty members with a research interest similar to mine, but also because they were placed high in both the operations research rankings and the B-School (MBA) rankings. Being the first interview I faced this year, I was nervous, but as soon as the interview started on Skype, I could feel that both the faculty members were genuinely interested in what I had done before, and what I wanted to pursue next. They asked questions related to my interest in research and prior experience, and not related to my past grades, which made it easier to explain it to them. The interview went on for close to 40 minutes, and only when the faculty were satisfied with my answers and had also answered some of my queries, did the interview get over.

In the next couple of weeks, I faced more online interviews, and finally, it was time for me to leave for Kolkata to attend the IIM Calcutta interview. On the day of my travel, I received news on my mail that I had converted IE’s PhD program in Business Management, specializing in Operations Management. I had been offered a full tuition fee waiver along with a decent yearly stipend. To say that my happiness knew no bounds would be an understatement. I was at a loss of words because this time it was different. This entire experience, which had started almost 7-8 months back, was entirely different from what I had faced while appearing for CAT and B-school interviews.

The entire process was exhausting, to say the least, and I must say that I was relieved since this time I didn’t expect to have the same results as I did back in 2014 when I was appearing for MBA interviews. Being rejected by my own college a few months back, I was in self-doubt regarding my ability to crack even the Indian B-School PhD interviews, let alone converting top foreign universities.

Later that month I got one more final convert from a US-based B-school, but I decided to stick with IE since I found the research interests of faculty at IE to be more relevant to my own. It has been three months since then, and I’ve got all the documents for the Spanish student visa ready to go. Since then, I’ve been concentrating on brushing up my concepts of statistics, probability, econometrics, supply chain courses, and research methodology in the meanwhile, and I’m sure I’ll be ready before the classes begin in the month of September this year.

Well, folks, that’s it! To those that have had the patience to read this tediously long article, I salute you. But, it also means that you came here looking for a good story that answers some of the doubts you yourself might be facing. My story might seem more relevant for those willing to make a shift into a career of academics but think about it this way - just a year ago, when I first started looking for a switch, I didn’t know that this was what I would end up with. All I knew back then was I wanted to switch to another job, and it was only when I managed to do so, that I realized what I truly wanted to pursue in the long run. I gave way to my dreams and desires of permanence and stability in life in order to pursue something challenging and then made sure that I am prepared enough to face any adversities that might come my way.

To those of you willing to pursue a career in academics by doing a doctoral degree either in India or abroad, I hope I’ve answered the doubts you might have had. On the other hand, to those of you who know that a career in academics isn’t what you want, you could still grasp the essence of this blog, and that is ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’.

The reason why I decided to write the third instalment of the Being Average series of write-ups is because I’ve often seen people switching from one job to another completely different job without proper direction in their life, just because they believe that switching jobs would increase their pay package, which in turn would lead to a better lifestyle. However, in most cases, it doesn’t work out as planned.

It makes much more sense to determine what you truly want to pursue and then aim towards achieving that goal. Job stability, pay packages and everything else would follow once you’ve decided upon the career path. I was on similar crossroads a year ago, where I didn’t know what is it that I wanted to do. But with time, I gradually realized that the career I wanted to pursue was something that allowed me to utilize my knowledge of operations/ supply chain management, and not something that only required me to perform data analysis or field sales.

Once I was clear with that, I had two options, either look for a job that specifically utilizes the skill of a supply chain specialist, or perform higher research in academics. The same logic can even be applied while switching jobs. You can ask yourself the question, “Is the new job that I’m going to take up something which I would want to pursue as a career or does it look like something which I might change in the next two years or so?" You can definitely change a job after two years, provided it doesn’t change your career path. But, if you switch from IT to Finance to Marketing just for the sake of higher packages, then you’re on the wrong path my friend, and you need to stop, look back and reevaluate your career choices. True, it is difficult to know at once whether the career you’ve chosen is right or not, but once you realize your mistake in choosing a career, you must rectify the same before it’s too late, instead of treading along the same path.

And like I always say, stop questioning your abilities and limiting yourself due to some self-proclaimed fear in your mind. You would never know what you’re capable of unless you give yourself that chance.

We don’t know what life has planned for us, so instead of having a rigid mentality, learn to be flexible so that you can grab the opportunities that come your way. The world isn’t just made of the best and the worst, and thus naturally there will be people who will be labelled as ‘Average’. But it’s up to you to prove that ‘Averages’ can make just as much impact as the best in the lot.

So shrug off your insecurities and rise, because ‘Average’ is just another word!