Changing careers : a different perspective

I MAY never go back to doing what I did for 7 years until a year back; if circumstances are favorable. But, as they say, never say never, so you never know what future has in store. There were times I enjoyed the ride and times when I waited to get out of the rut; the rat race was getting to me. But, let's face it - one needs a paycheck at the end of the month to keep the family wheels running. In total honesty, the paycheck was good and was the only motivator to keep going. That job of 7 years was my career - I still love programming a lot but from the confinement of my home; that I thought would last a lifetime. Nothing wrong with it. How many of us change our careers mid-way? It was a reliable source of income and I never cared so much at the end of the month when money got deposited into my bank account. Sometimes, I would never check until it was the 4th or 5th day of the month. It was taken for granted.

And then, all this changed dramatically once I quit. It was my choice. Had little to do with Lil General's arrival. Whether or not LG came, my quitting had been in the scheme of things. Let's just say my mid-life crisis arrived early; I did not go through a quarter-life crisis. Being a cyber coolie was making our lives miserable, slowly killing the lively spirit we had within us. And, my job at Pune with Cognizant was one of the major contributing factors for this. LG's impending arrival provided the right reasons to take the plunge. I made the decision, quit my job and in the last couple of months at work put together a plan as to what I wanted to do.

The plan worked to a great deal in the beginning. With LG's arrival, it all came to a screeching halt. The transition from being an IT professional to a stock trader /freelance writer was hard. Any switch in career is going to be hard. You have worked all these years with a fixed mindset. To leave all that, and start from scratch with no experience was tough. To be your own brand ambassador, hunting for work and making sure you get paid for what you do was and is difficult. But let me tell you one thing - the thrill I got from my first $50 check was something that even my hefty last paycheck did not give. Every penny I earn today is hard earned. I keep track of every dollar that comes in. I never had a goal while I worked before. Now, I have quarterly targets and I work towards earning that which makes it all the more challenging and makes life interesting. Trips to Bahrain to watch Formula One can no longer be taken for granted. They have to be earned the HARD way.

It's been a year now since I quit the corporate world. There was one question that always bothered me which was a trigger point to this mid-life crisis. When many Americans lost their jobs to outsourcing, they could still make a living. An average Westerner is versatile as compared to an average Indian. Any American you find would be passionate about one thing like making motorcycles in their garages, writing, painting, carpentry etc other than what they do as a day job. So, someday even if they lose their day jobs they can go back to doing what they are passionate about and still make a living. If India is faced with the same situation as America was and we lose our jobs, do you have a plan as to what you would do? Blame it on our society, on our educational system, on whatever you wish but the fact remains most of us don't pursue anything apart from what we do for a living. I know I know you are dismissing this whole chain of thought of mine as someone from a psychic. But, do you have an answer? What makes you so sure that we'll continue to be the cheap(sorry, cost-effective) labor ten years down the line?

V says, "Do what you like with all your heart and money will follow." I don't know how far it is true. I have no idea if I will ever make what I made in a month any sooner but it has definitely been worth the try.