I wrote this piece for my U21 admission few years ago. Read on.. This is right from my heart.
"I want to become one of them". This one sentence has triggered lots of positive changes in me. I have kept repeating this to myself innumerous times and I have no intentions to stop it.
I grew up in a small town where the dream of every student at that time was to become a doctor. But I chose a different path to pursue science and ultimately landed in computer science. Globalization and infamous Year 2000 bug presented me the opportunity to work overseas .This introduced me the whole concept of global organizations for the first time.
On returning, I joined one of India’s top IT Company, Wipro. Over the years, I have worked with or watched many leaders of different background and nationality both from Wipro and its client companies. They are all both inspirational and admirable. I watched them in awe all the time and it did not take long time before I realized that deep inside I wanted to become one of them.
On a parallel track, India’s recent growth story has brought many entrepreneurs and business leaders to the limelight. I don’t miss any of their interviews and their columns in magazines. Their wisdom and clarity of thinking amaze me every time. Every time after reading or listening to their experience, immediately I will tell myself ‘I want to become one of them’.
I have grown in Wipro from a developer to a project manager and I have realized that my growth is only limited to my capabilities. My professional success in my field is through my formal technical education (Master of Computer applications). I have involved in quite a few crucial IT projects and contributed significantly to their success either as an individual contributor or a project lead. I got some very positive feedbacks for those also learnt some important lessons along the way.
In my nine years of IT industry experience, I learnt the importance of constant learning because it is the nature of our industry. I believe that my eagerness to learn and willingness to go extra mile will help me to reach my very important goal of expanding my capabilities and skills which will result in a positive impact in my life.
But When I look at my superiors I can see that the parameters for their success are very different from mine. It occurs me that if I want to reach to their level or go beyond, then I should prepare myself very differently.
A business degree from a reputed school is definitely a major step in the right direction .It is one of my long term goals to achieve my dream of pursuing the management career in an international setting. I have also set a short term goal to find a mentor within my organization. With my current position, I will continue to gain the important international exposure which is also very rewarding experience.
One of my inspirations said once,’ never miss a chance to learn’. In this case, I think I am following his words.