The wait is finally over!!! Or is it??!!

Not one child in this world knows exactly what it will be after it grows up. Or atleast the children that I have known. And my childhood was no different. I have had ambitions to pursue a number of different careers in my life so far, with only a couple of them achieved/achievable.

When my IV standard class teacher asked what I wanted to become when I grow up, I was aware of only one carefree career. My father's. The reasons that allured me to taking up a bank job were:
1. No uniforms to office
2. He travels by bus daily, unlike the cramped rickshaw drive I take
3. No homeworks from office (or atleast I thought so!!)
4. He earned money!! ;-)

And the fact that most of my relatives and family friends also constituted of bankers made my decision easier. Then I came to know the 'Doctor'. But since I was as interested in biology as Bill Clinton is in Chennai's water problem, I did not even think of becoming a doctor. And I also fancied myself of becoming an actor someday. They were handsomely paid, danced with beautiful damsels, drove big cars and were famous!! But it died away very soon.

Once I started playing cricket for my district, I was hellbent on becoming a professional. One of my family-friends insisted that I stay in Chennai to pursue my cricketing career. But my Dad turned him down. I still continued to play cricket, though. And once my 10th results were out, I was seriously considering joining the commerce stream and becoming a CA. But due to a remarkable last-minute change, I ended up studying Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Comp Sc. My love for F1 increased exponentially around that time and I was considering racing as a career. Little did I know that one had to shell out lakhs and lakhs of rupees just for being trained in a racing school, located in some obscure part of France.

With my 12th exams looming large, the only option I had was to become an engineer, as my brother did. But I was subject to the younger-sibling syndrome. My brother was born with the Midas touch (No, not literally. I meant figuratively). He excelled in whatever he did. And poor little me was trying hard to emulate his achievements, only to fall way short of the mark. (Well, I dint fare too bad I guess!!) And during my Engg course, I was engrossed with Microprocessors and ICs that I wanted to work on VLSIs. Though I was part of the creamy layer recruited by Wipro from my college, as you would have guessed, I did nothing more than adding one more to the count of IT professionals in India.

And 8 months into joining Wipro, I was reminded by her about my plans to do a MBA after gaining a couple of years of experience. I had taken to work very well and was enjoying it. So this MBA plan looked like stretching myself. After a couple of days of deliberation over this with her, I decided to join classes to have a go at CAT 2006. The career ahead of me will next be in Management. The coaching institute made me fill my shelves with books, and my attendance was as intermittent as India's victories in cricket. The mock CATs were miserable. I fared very badly in all of them, never breaking into the top 1000 ranks. The Management career seemed bleak.

But on D-Day, when it mattered most, my wits helped me do much better than ever and the score of 99.64 percentile seemed pride-worthy. (The secret behind the transition from the forgettable-mock-CATs to dream-CAT will be disclosed in another post!!). The 5 IIM calls (except IIM-B) made me soar high in the sky!! And for the first time in my life, I was successful in a competitive exam, pitting myself against more than 2,00,000 other aspirants. The Group Discussions and Interviews went so very well, making me quite confident of getting into either IIM-A or IIM-C.

The results were supposed to have been announced on Apr 12th, but have been postponed till Apr 21st. So one more week to go. And I see that I am on the verge of achieving something that I have been craving for. My career in Management is just a step away and I am happy that I dont have to face the what-will-I-become question hereafter. But did I just say that??!! I still have to choose my specialisation stream, my elective papers which will shape my career, my line of work, my dream company, my job profile etc etc.

Well, I guess the lot-of-options-choose-one scenario will keep haunting me. Let me put aside the decision-making for now and cross the bridge when it comes!! (This is one if the easiest ways to avoid any such dilemma!!). The IIMs results might be out before I post once more, so keep praying for me!! I do not promise you all an all-expense-paid-trip to Mauritius if I get admission to the IIMs, but I do promise you my sincere 'Thanks'!!