Mystory@Aniket Patil: How my chosen course and college experience shaped my career path

Mystory@Aniket Patil

It was the end of induction and just like many of my innocent batch mates, I thought to myself, “Thank God it’s over! Now we can have a normal college life.” But little did we know that it was just the beginning. The semester started with the coveted and much talked about committee selections. Then began the lectures, and so did the grind.

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai is renowned for its distinguished professors. Each professor has his own teaching methodology, thus varying the extent of assignments given. For Marketing Management assignments, we visited the local markets as well as the upscale malls in the city and were literally forced to speak with strangers. In one such assignment, we were asked to conduct a market survey on ‘rat poison’! From gazillion case studies of operations management and organizational behaviour to the scaled-up statistics assignments, we had it all. Some say this can be done with proper time management and scheduling. But, there is no such thing as a ‘fixed schedule’ at Bajaj! The next day’s schedule is emailed at 10:30 pm every day and you can have classes anytime between 7 am to 7 pm! To add to it, you should have the guts of a gladiator to be late for certain sessions! In the case of a ‘merciful’ professor, you might be allowed to attend the lecture with a penalty of -2 marks.

Staying awake and making sense of the random sounds echoing in the class after surviving on an average 4 hours of sleep is indeed a herculean task. To spice things up a little, there are surprise tests (popularly called ‘Surgical Strikes’!) and quizzes. Here, you compete with the best of the best. People with work experience as bankers are trumped by the fresh engineering graduates in finance subject. No matter how good you are at studying, this place will make you struggle. If you define your self-esteem by your academic performance, chances are you will most likely undergo an identity crisis for the first two to three weeks.

If you are not already feeling overwhelmed, there are activities like resume building, corporate presentations and various guest lectures. At the same time, you have tasks like toggling between committee and club activities and interest group collaborations, and participating in case study competitions. Thinking of relaxing for a while? A backlog awaits you. “Welcome to hell!” one of the seniors greeted me when I joined the institute. Having ignored it at that time, I realised its meaning now! Indeed, the curriculum of 1^st semester has the potential to easily unsettle one of the coolest, calmest and composed students.

They say it is the journey and not the destination that matters. Similarly, this journey of self-transformation which moulds and shapes our lives into a better being is worth cherishing! With a platform to learn from subject experts, share a classroom with doctors, engineers as well as commerce and arts graduates, participate and ace the business competitions together while learning on the way, JBIMS has a plethora of opportunities to offer!

After working in this graveyard schedule, the obvious question arises, ‘Is it worth it?’ Ask the esteemed alumni of this CEO Factory who have been working in the industry for the better part of a quarter of a century and they would say in unison, “It is nothing compared to the 1^st semester at Bajaj!” Some call it hectic, some call it harsh but it is something more than that. It is real and more lifelike than one can imagine! Nobody will give you a manual for life and say, “This is how it is done.”

“Harry, kill Lord Voldemort!” they will say. No one will care to ask whether Harry knows how. And if Harry is from a reputed B-school like JBIMS, having gone through the rigors depicted above, Harry will figure it out – after all, Harry got through JBIMS with a CGPA of 7.0, amazing friends, job offers one dreams about, and enough CV points to feed the starving kids in Africa with some more to spare.

Harry Will Survive!

About the Author:

I am Aniket Patil. Before pursuing my MBA from JBIMS, I completed my bachelors in Electronic Engineering from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai. I also have a work experience of 12 months with Citius Tech. I am also into creative writing.