The only driving force to a successful career is your passion for your goals, says Veenu Chhabra

I was very passionate about Physics and Mathematics in class XI. At that time I made up my mind to become an engineer. A profession like this needs meticulous planning and a lot of dedication. I gave several competitive exams like JEE Main, JEE Advanced, and WEBJEE. Before attempting any of these exams I had no clue about the difficulty level, question pattern, marks distribution of these exams. I wasn't much prepared for my competitive exams as the sample papers gave me a very unclear idea about the diversity and toughness level of the questions. Even the NCERT questions are very unpredictable at times. I have attempted the JEE Main exam twice (2019 and 2020), JEE Advanced once (2020), and WEBJEE twice (2019 and 2020).

After excelling in my ISC exams, I took the decision of taking a year drop. It was the most crucial time for me as I couldn't afford to waste my time during this period. I wanted to utilize as much time as I can. However, I used to go for walks and play cricket to refresh my mind as sitting all the time at the same place could be very irritating at times. I won't say that I totally utilized my drop year but I definitely made good use of it. Government College Of Engineering And Textile Technology, Serampore and Information Technology course had always been there on my list. So getting admission to the Government College Of Engineering And Textile Technology, Serampore is an achievement for me.

I researched several engineering colleges and courses in India. But I had no idea of how to get admission to a good government college to fulfill my dreams. Various websites like Shiksha helped me in comparing various colleges and the courses offered by them. It played a significant role in choosing the best college. I casually went to give JEE Main in January without much preparation just because all my friends were appearing for it. I got 83.33 percentile in the JEE Main exam and this boosted my confidence. It gave me hope that I might be able to secure a good percentile if I drop a year and prepare for it wholeheartedly.

It took me a lot of effort to convince my family about my decision of dropping a year. I worked hard for 4 months and finally cracked JEE with 96.418 percentile. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, everything went for a toss. The admission process got delayed and various changes were introduced. All this affected me also. I was not able to secure CSE, IT, or ECE branches at any NIT or IIIT as I was from a general category. I got mechanical engineering in IIEST Shibpur but my parents did not want me to opt for it. Finally, I took the IT branch at the Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology, Serampore due to my parents' pressure. 

I took e-coaching classes on an online platform during my drop year. I also tried to get admission into IIT Kharagpur, NIT Durgapur, IIST Trivandrum, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, and IIEST Shibpur but could not make it to any of these. However, I do not regret it as the Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology, Serampore is one of the top engineering colleges in West Bengal.

The best part is that now I know what exactly I want to do. I only have to plan my path smartly to excel in my career and build a better future for myself. My experience has taught me that it is very important to love the profession you want to pursue. Nothing else matters more than your passion for your profession.

Veenu Chhabra is a pass out of St.Patrick's Higher Secondary School, Asansol. He has played basketball and cricket at the school level and aspires to play at national and international levels. He loves to do coding. His ambition is to become a Data Scientist.