Choose your course carefully: Shadab Ashraf Banday

MIET, Jammu

When I passed class 10^th, I got 18^th position in the valley and all of my relatives and seniors advised me to opt for the Medical stream, but I was not to keen on that. I was a little worried about Medical stream because I had heard that this stream was very complicated. I was more inclined towards Engineering and at last, I opted for the Non-Medical stream from a private school namely Green Valley Educational Institute in Kashmir. After completing class 11^th and 12^th from the state board, I decided to opt for Engineering from a private college in Delhi because I did not get enough marks to qualify JEE Mains. I thought of joining Sharda University in Delhi and also paid  a part of the total fees. I thought of opting Civil Engineering from Sharda University because I wanted to go for the same stream as my friend. I know that it was a stupid decision and I laughed a lot later on. Luckily, I got selected in JKCET which is a Common Entrance Test. I chose IT Engineering from MIET, Jammu. The reason I chose MIET over Sharda was that MIET was affiliated to Jammu University and it was better than Sharda University which is a self-deemed university.

Exam tips and my admission journey

JKCET is not that tough to crack but it still needs good effort because there are lot of applications for limited seats. I had done my coaching from an institute in Delhi. It was a very good coaching institute where we were taught various ways to crack competitive exams. I had joined a crash course and it was for 3 months. The coaching and some basic concepts that I had learnt from my school helped me to crack the JKCET entrance exam easily. I had given a lot of entrance exams namely:

1. JKCET

2. JEE Mains

3. AMU

4. JMIET

All these exams are at the All-India level except JKCET and are  difficult to crack because of the level of difficulty and the limited seats. The selection in the entrance depends on your hard work and a little bit of luck. You need to prepare for the entrance exams as soon as you pass the 10^th class and have your basics clear in class 11th and 12th. You need to plan from the beginning as to which exams are you going to attempt and which stream are you going to opt for in the future. As soon as you pass the 10^th class, you need to decide what you are going to do after this. You need to decide your aim and work on it. People will tell you various suggestions but it all depends on you. 100 people will tell you 100 ways to do a thing, but you need to decide a way which suits you. Getting admission in private colleges is easy rather than the government colleges.

My Learnings and Insights

My college life was like a dream and I will remember my college days until my last breath. I remember my first day at the college when I was sad and wanted to return to my home because I was feeling lonely in Jammu. It sounds funny but it has happened to every fresher in the world. It did not take me long to make friends because I had an instinct of being an entertainer and I made friends very quickly. The first month in college was very disturbing because it was difficult to cope up with the environment, plus the summer heat in Jammu was unbearable. I made a lot of friends in my college and within no time, I was quite popular in my class because I was funny. I used to irritate teachers and crack jokes,  I was loved by all. It was good for me because now, I was not feeling alone and it was fun too. In the first year, I was not that much inclined towards studies and that led to my backlogs and I was a little upset with the result. But seeing the results of other people, mainly the toppers of my class, I was satisfied with my performance.

To be honest, I always thought that I would complete my degree in time. I still think that I am a very intelligent guy and everyone of us should think the same because if you are not confident enough to support yourself, you can never expect others to support you. I enjoyed a lot during my Engineering and I still got my degree in time. I was very proud of it. I have had some best moments of my life during my college days. The faculty team in my college was very much supportive apart from some black sheep which are everywhere. I got a job offer through plaement in Bangalore.My placement had around 4 rounds and I passed all of them. It was a shock to many of my classmates because I was always expected to be a guy weak in studies who had no chance in Engineering, but as I already said, I had confidence in myself and I cracked that placement. Even though that company is not that big enough but still it made me feel proud to at least crack a job interview.

Engineering was always my choice and to pursue Engineering in IT was my decision solely. I regret some things that happened during my college days. I should have worked a little more on my skills and worked hard. I did not take my studies seriously and was that guy who passed exams by studying at the last moment. I learned that it all depends on you and if you have a belief in you, you can achieve anything in your life. The college is there to guide you but eventually, it all depends on you. College life teaches you a lot of things and it is a path way to a new life. College life taught me a lot things which would eventually help me a lot in my future life. I was very nervous talking to strangers before my college life and after completing the college education, I was full of confidence. Now when I look back, I am very satisfied with my decision to opt for Engineering because it made me a very mature person and plus, the job opportunities in Engineering are sufficient. I just need a job so that I start earning and start managing my expenses on my own.

Career selection is a very hectic process and we need to understand the basic things before opting for something. You need to find your subject of interests, work on them and find a suitable course according to them. If you are interested in MBBS but are going to pursue Engineering or vice versa just because your parents want it, you should stop because at the age of 40, you are going to regret your decision and at that time, there will be no coming back. So, set your goals right and choose a career which you will enjoy because the career you chose is going to be the most of the part of your life. Stay blessed and keep smiling.

About the Author:

My name is Shadab Ashraf Banday and I have just completed my BE in IT from MIET, Jammu. Apart from pursuing Engineering, I was also making Vine videos and have earned a good number of followers on social media. I also love to play outdoor games such as soccer and cricket. My hobby is making funny videos and I have made 100+ funny videos and uploaded them on my social media accounts. I also have a YouTube channel with around 2000 subscribers. I have an inclination towards stand-up comedy and would love to do it once in my life before a live audience.