How would you have shaped your career differently?

Renegade

Renegade

Staff member
Luminary
Several of us have some regret or many when it comes to our careers. Even if we are doing well in our lives there is always this one pinch that we should not have done this or rather have done that.

So now that we are wiser in retrospect how would you have shaped your career differently?

I always have this regret I should not have wasted two years of my life before and after engg and that I should have probably gone in for a different stream. I followed the herd and landed up in EC when I should have taken up something to do with computers, web, designing or programming. Something that interests me. I am doing fairly decent professionally but I always feel drawn to what could have been and what if I could go back in time.
 
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If asked to me, I would have done one thing differently for sure.

After doing engineering and working for 2 years in IT MNC , I should have done MS in MIS - 1 year course in Sunny Buffalo. It enables me to have profiles which I intended to go for like Business Analyst, Functional/Solution Architect. Though at present after doing MBA from one of very good institute, I m in same profile in Mumbai but I would have been in US, if I was aware about the this option. :(
 
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1. Never got good career advice - Career counselling is very poor in India. At the time when you are going out of school / college, there are rarely good people to talk to and usually we follow the herd mentality or what our parents told us. Also there was a lack of options in the 90's apart from mainstream careers. Nowadays people have so many options, they have a good choice.

2. Didn't travel enough - Believe it or not - extensive travelling globally, meeting people from all over the world is what helped me shape my career. Though I did it 25 onwards ( regret not doing when younger ), 3 to 5 years of travelling made me understood where I should be and what I should be doing. So I made some changes and moved to what I love doing and am happy. But is this what I will be doing another 2 - 3 decades , don't think so.

3. Money - Financial planning was poor. Spent most of my money earned in my career on travelling. Should have saved better.

Did MS in Biochemistry, then did some corporate jobs, then became an entrepreneur for a few years.
Quit that and now am a business consultant helping companies grow.
Will start PhD in Marketing in the next few years and move to academia full time or do consulting full time after PhD.
 
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I did MSc in Maths from IIT-G.
Post MSc came to the IT since I found computers more interesting than maths (Maths becomes really boring at higher levels :D).
But, I suppose I should have tried for PhD and get settled in some college/university.
I might have earned little less money there, but would have inner-peace and less hectic life. :D
 
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mathrisk said:
I did MSc in Maths from IIT-G.
Post MSc came to the IT since I found computers more interesting than maths (Maths becomes really boring at higher levels :D).
But, I suppose I should have tried for PhD and get settled in some college/university.
I might have earned little less money there, but would have inner-peace and less hectic life. :D
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Off topic..

I always wondered what your profile name meant.. Matrix maybe...

Now I get it math risk ;-)
 
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asingh said:
Not really sure. Hardly happy with my career. I am tired of Corporate India and the fallacious lifestyle we all live. We all have become so fake.
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^^ That.. I also am tired of. I would not do anything different. I am, was and always be a System Admin. Just that I am tired of ppl taking credit of my work and the favoritism.
 
I regret not dropping a year for IIT JEE preparations. I was swindled by a lot of home tutors back then in 2005-2006. I was an introvert and seldom spoke to people. Hence got no guidance and was cheated by a couple of tutors. More than the money, it spoilt my 12th as well as btech dream. It was then after 2 months at home i got myself back up and really had a plan to take on the IITJEE with a couple of friends who i got in touch with in these two months. But fate had it couldnt drop a year and had to join a very standard engineering college. But after Btech my i really pushed my limits and now i feel am doing pretty good... joined another startup after leaving the previous one where i was the youngest to be promoted to SSE in 2 years experience.(My manager also offered my Module Lead position for the next incoming project :)). And now got an admit for CMU for data analytics for this fall :)
 
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I have no regrets thanks to many wise people who helped in the formation years and luck/fate:). In my experience and seeing others around it helps a lot to follow your passion,think of yourself a.k.a don't follow herd,request help/Advice of others who are where you want to be, be fully aware of what makes you different from others,experience other countries/ cultures/fields(WORLD IS QUITE BIG). As I know today most important things in life are health and mental peace in that order.
 
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The real problem for us, everyone is we cannot shape our career from the very beginning. because of lot of intrusion in our life which changes the direction, but for me its like mixture of all
I did my Commerce in UG and PG I jumped in to MCA for playing computer games. Started my career as trainer so that I can play peacefully & have lot of time. After that I found life serious so jump in to Info Security ISO27001 job contiuining that , but after learning from this getting experience from this, I will be moving on to business
 
All I can say that I'm cursing myself by jumping into IT support field. :banghead: :mad:

I have regretted much of my life and many times I feel why m I in this world?:depressed:

I was never supported by my parents in any of my decisions and that's the biggest regret ever who can have.
No career guidance by anyone whatsoever...except just do this do that but nobody explained me its scope in the long run.. n now I'm suffering!!! :(

I wasnt good into academics esp. always sucked @ maths after 8th std. Got into commerce though wanted to go the science way...thanks to low percents in ssc. Completed my B'com and till date cant yet believe that I'm a graduate...seriously.. Gave couple of govt and bank exams but no +ve result. Never thought of doing mba and had no guts to study again and crack any cet etc. Was feeling hopeless. :( :eek: :arghh:

I was always available for everybody on earth but people esp so called friends always used me and when I needed somebody's time, they just turned their backs on me...
I use to think what they did was right and spent my parents money with them but output was zero. They did it just for timepass. Friends just used my valuable advice and then when it came at me, no one was ever available.

Dad bought a PC at home, it was a kind of turnaround in my life and career. :joyful:
Learned everything my selves, did some courses, launched a website. Played nfs to its extent. Created stuff for nfs like tracks, cars etc, Wanted to become graphic designer and so on and wanted to work in EA. But at that time animation wasnt blooming in India. Then by this time i got completely indulged into IT hardware stuff.
Did some courses n got to know whats servers are etc. and got facsinated by it and decided to become a system admin one day. :angelic:

Got my first job then 2nd 3rd and now these days IT support works 85% only @ night wtf?? Did distance mba but hell no company values it..so again a waste! :wtf:

After medically ill for a long time doctors advices not to work in night shifts. Now I'm jobless for past a year.
Every company asks for so n so role etc. and if no exposure on it, I get disqualified. WTF? In this way nobody 'll get a chance to work on any technologist unless trained and exposed. :mad: :banghead: :wtf:

Now I regret why m I into IT? Only software people are blooming and rest are suffering like me who are into support..For them there's just money but no life balance... :sour:

Life seems very screwed up now...

Now I always feel i would have done better if would have taken some pain earlier...but again got no advice in time..:oops:

Sorry for this long story but this is the first place on earth I have expressed my selves up to a certain extent.

Life was, is and never has been easy for me....:disappointed:

Thanks for reading......:sweat:
 
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nRiTeCh said:
All I can say that I'm cursing myself by jumping into IT support field. :banghead: :mad:

I have regretted much of my life and many times I feel why m I in this world?:depressed:

I was never supported by my parents in any of my decisions and that's the biggest regret ever who can have.
No career guidance by anyone whatsoever...except just do this do that but nobody explained me its scope in the long run.. n now I'm suffering!!! :(

I wasnt good into academics esp. always sucked @ maths after 8th std. Got into commerce though wanted to go the science way...thanks to low percents in ssc. Completed my B'com and till date cant yet believe that I'm a graduate...seriously.. Gave couple of govt and bank exams but no +ve result. Never thought of doing mba and had no guts to study again and crack any cet etc. Was feeling hopeless. :( :eek: :arghh:

I was always available for everybody on earth but people esp so called friends always used me and when I needed somebody's time, they just turned their backs on me...
I use to think what they did was right and spent my parents money with them but output was zero. They did it just for timepass. Friends just used my valuable advice and then when it came at me, no one was ever available.

Dad bought a PC at home, it was a kind of turnaround in my life and career. :joyful:
Learned everything my selves, did some courses, launched a website. Played nfs to its extent. Created stuff for nfs like tracks, cars etc, Wanted to become graphic designer and so on and wanted to work in EA. But at that time animation wasnt blooming in India. Then by this time i got completely indulged into IT hardware stuff.
Did some courses n got to know whats servers are etc. and got facsinated by it and decided to become a system admin one day. :angelic:

Got my first job then 2nd 3rd and now these days IT support works 85% only @ night wtf?? Did distance mba but hell no company values it..so again a waste! :wtf:

After medically ill for a long time doctors advices not to work in night shifts. Now I'm jobless for past a year.
Every company asks for so n so role etc. and if no exposure on it, I get disqualified. WTF? In this way nobody 'll get a chance to work on any technologist unless trained and exposed. :mad: :banghead: :wtf:

Now I regret why m I into IT? Only software people are blooming and rest are suffering like me who are into support..For them there's just money but no life balance... :sour:

Life seems very screwed up now...

Now I always feel i would have done better if would have taken some pain earlier...but again got no advice in time..:oops:

Sorry for this long story but this is the first place on earth I have expressed my selves up to a certain extent.
Life was, is and never has easy for me....:|

Thanks for reading......
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You have made the first step of realizing something needs to change.Now work on it. Life gives many chances, use the next ones instead of regrets. Friendship is defined only bu how much of use one can be to other. Focus on self and improvement and all will turn out to be right. Every difficulty so far in life helps to learn something to make life better for the future.So see it in this spirit and forge your future.
 
There is always a way to turn things around. Sometimes you have to choose between a bucket load of money and peace of mind. That is where I feel that most people stutter. Nobody wants to go back to living miserly once they have tasted a stable large pay packet. Its even harder once you have dependents.

I sometimes think that if I ever have to get rid of my job and live alone happily, I would hone my skills further and get into small freelancer work like graphic designing or content writing.
 
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Renegade said:
There is always a way to turn things around. Sometimes you have to choose between a bucket load of money and peace of mind. That is where I feel that most people stutter. Nobody wants to go back to living miserly once they have tasted a stable large pay packet. Its even harder once you have dependents.

I sometimes think that if I ever have to get rid of my job and live alone happily, I would hone my skills further and get into small freelancer work like graphic designing or content writing.
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Yes you are right. But I wasn't after money at all. I just wanted to pursue my passion that's it. I got no good heavy pockets as of yet...unfortunately still not lucky enough to get such $$number$$ churning jobs.

I did thought about doing business but again inflow of capital is something where I'm restricted to. Freelancing is good option if you got some good contacts and have already earned some money. As in todays world money does matter a lot.
Sometimes I think of taking another career options but I its too late now to again start from Zero.

I feel TE should also have a Jobs section & IT career sections where people can get guidance and they can focus better where they actually want to go.
 
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I could have paid more attention to my studies during my educational days, but then again the end result could have been same. In general, not really too thrilled with the fake lives that we currently live. Sometimes I think the Matrix story is indeed the reality.
 
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nRiTeCh said:
Yes you are right. But I wasn't after money at all. I just wanted to pursue my passion that's it. I got no good heavy pockets as of yet...unfortunately still not lucky enough to get such $$number$$ churning jobs.

I did thought about doing business but again inflow of capital is something where I'm restricted to. Freelancing is good option if you got some good contacts and have already earned some money. As in todays world money does matter a lot.
Sometimes I think of taking another career options but I its too late now to again start from Zero.

I feel TE should also have a Jobs section & IT career sections where people can get guidance and they can focus better where they actually want to go.
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Freelancing is one of those things were you establish your own reputation through lots of hours of unrelenting hard work. I honestly don't think anyone intending to do freelancing work needs contacts anymore these days. Yes, money will be short and hard to come by initially but that's only till your work gets recognized. Once you have a decent portfolio or feedback count (as one can see in freelancing websites), there is no dearth of projects and continual work. Take it from someone who started writing online without any contacts or references. The number of people I've written for can be counted on your hands but a majority of them were/are long term buyers as they kept coming back owing to quality work.

I realize this is out of context with the thread topic but if the bolded part is one of the reasons you are staying away from going freelance, I want you to dump those inhibitions. If you got the time and the inclination, freelancing is definitely for you!
 
eternoMind said:
Freelancing is one of those things were you establish your own reputation through lots of hours of unrelenting hard work. I honestly don't think anyone intending to do freelancing work needs contacts anymore these days. Yes, money will be short and hard to come by initially but that's only till your work gets recognized. Once you have a decent portfolio or feedback count (as one can see in freelancing websites), there is no dearth of projects and continual work. Take it from someone who started writing online without any contacts or references. The number of people I've written for can be counted on your hands but a majority of them were/are long term buyers as they kept coming back owing to quality work.

I realize this is out of context with the thread topic but if the bolded part is one of the reasons you are staying away from going freelance, I want you to dump those inhibitions. If you got the time and the inclination, freelancing is definitely for you!
Click to expand...

I dont know what freelancing can I do. In fact I have always been doing jobs so dont have much knowledge on freelancing except that people work as a freelance writers, web designers, graphics artists but nothing more I know further than this. I can do some technical writing though.

So if you are willing to shed some light on this, I can really think further but do need some guidance initially from freelancers like you as it'll be a new world for me. As everybody just needs a proper start rather than messing in initial stages.
 
nRiTeCh said:
I dont know what freelancing can I do. In fact I have always been doing jobs so dont have much knowledge on freelancing except that people work as a freelance writers, web designers, graphics artists but nothing more I know further than this. I can do some technical writing though.

So if you are willing to shed some light on this, I can really think further but do need some guidance initially from freelancers like you as it'll be a new world for me. As everybody just needs a proper start rather than messing in initial stages.
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Technical writing?Try Odesk as a start.
 
nRiTeCh said:
I dont know what freelancing can I do. In fact I have always been doing jobs so dont have much knowledge on freelancing except that people work as a freelance writers, web designers, graphics artists but nothing more I know further than this. I can do some technical writing though.

So if you are willing to shed some light on this, I can really think further but do need some guidance initially from freelancers like you as it'll be a new world for me. As everybody just needs a proper start rather than messing in initial stages.
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There is no better way to start than to see in which sectors/domains you can make a sales pitch of your skills. Messing and making mistakes help in the learning process.

Go through these links (Elance, Freelancer, Odesk) and decide upon the sections where you think you can do a good enough job. Sign-up and we can talk more!
 
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