Halfway through graduation, I decided that this was not where I belonged. Microbial research, I realized, was nowhere my key areas of interest. I am a people-orientated person and wanted to work in a field that catered to people, involved interactions with people and had just lots of people. Also the journey to a well paying job after Microbiology involved 2 more stations-a 2 year MSc. and a 5 years PhD. And I neither had the patience nor passion to embark on that journey. MBA came to my rescue at that time. Not only is it people-centric, but will also provide me with financial stability in a much shorter span of time. In third year, I joined a coaching institute and began my CAT preparations. However managing CAT along with final year exams is no cake walk and hence I could not get a good enough percentile. With no other alternative than to wait for next November, I began her preparations again. Staying at home, the whole day surrounded with thick books and endless mocks was no doubt stressful. Coming from a biology background, quant was tricky to tackle, and data interpretation bored me to the core. However with self motivation, endless cups of coffee and bucket loads of chocolate ice cream, I endured on my path. Having full confidence in my abilities, I filled forms of several colleges in the higher rung. However as the exam approached, I went through moments of self realization, the pathetic mock results making me feel worthless, I filled lower rung colleges as well. At the end, the total number of forms I had filled were somewhere around 16.
The D day came and results were declared. A mere 89 percentile after a year of preparation deeply disappointed me. However to my surprise, I got calls from several good colleges because of the reason none other than hailing from the stream of Microbiology. I was glad at least somewhere, the decision to take an offbeat course proved its utility in my life.
The real challenge however came now, on deciding the specialization to go into. I was always driven by a passion to help people and wanted a job wherein I could bring a positive impact on peoples’ lives. It was then that I came to know of a newly started course in XUB-MBA in sustainability management, which involves the interaction of people, planet and profit. My joy knew no bounds, for the course seemed to be tailor made for me. I realized that everything worked out for the best for had I got a higher percentile, I wouldn’t have paid attention to this course. I am now enrolled in that course and though the work load is even more, than in my lab, and it’s nothing less than a rollercoaster ride, I am content in my heart for making the right choice.
So this is how I made my journey from a microbiology lab to a B school, from specimens to colleagues, and from a lab coat to a business suit.
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About the Author:
Nikita Verma, belongs to Lucknow, the city of Nawabs. With straight A's since class 1st, she has always been considered a geek. But in reality she is a fun loving party animal. By passion she is a writer, bibliophile and a tarot card reader.
She pursued her schooling from Delhi Public School, Lucknow and her graduation in Microbiology from Delhi University. After an year long preparation of CAT , she started MBA in sustainability management in XIMB.
She is driven by a strong desire to help the society and make a difference in this world and that is why she is pursuing this specialization.
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Comments
Saumya Srivastava
What a great post! I've been looking for this all my life! How can I connect with the author personally, could someone let me know please?
23 Jun 2018, 09.52 PM