Mystory@Prashant Pareek: How I selected my course and made my career

I managed to score distinction marks in 10th Standard. It was really a huge dilemma when it came to selection of a course/ stream for 11th Standard. My most of the classmates decided to opt Science stream and even my parents suggested me to make my career in Science. I still don’t know why I was so afraid of Science, probably because of my low score in Mathematics. I decided to go for Commerce and from here my journey started towards higher education.

How I chose my course

In Class 12th (Commerce stream) I again managed to score distinction marks and topped the school. So I and my parents were quite satisfied with my decision of selecting Commerce as my career stream. But after clearing Class 12th other options were many in Commerce itself. My classmates and other friends suggested me to pursue CA with BCom. Some relatives suggested me to opt for an integrated MBA which was in a nascent stage at that time in India. My parents were neither suggesting me nor forcing me for any course this time. They left this decision on me and since I was interested in MBA since my school days without even knowing its full form, I decided to go for a BBA course from Gujarat University heeding the suggestions given to me by my favorite school teacher of Accountancy.

So BBA and after that MBA is what I completed. Generally students feel perplexity when it comes to selection of specialisation in MBA. But since I was very poor in finance and HR never appealed to me, my fate of being an MBA guy with Marketing specialisation was pre-decided.

Teaching as a profession always appealed me. My faculties in graduation as well as post-graduation were amazing and somewhere their influence has driven me to take academics as my career choice.

How I made my career

After completion of MBA my first job was with a media brand, Dainik Bhaskar group. My tenure with this company was for one year only. During this one year I learned a lot in my core sales job of selling advertisements for newspaper. This job really helped me gain maturity but the attraction towards an academic job was as it is. With God's grace and some efforts in the right direction I could get a job in academics.

Some times when I compare my current status of being a faculty with those who were my peers in corporate I see a gap in terms of average monthly income. But I have no regrets because being into academics was my passion and this makes me really happy. Management of work life is also smooth now.

I have been into academics for seven years and I must say that as a faculty you must learn every day with every source you come across in order to stay relevant with the changing times and changing minds of this generation.

I would suggest to young aspirants that listen to your heart and make short term goals to achieve your vision in career.

About the Author:

I am associated with Amity Global Business School, Ahmedabad, Gujarat as Assistant
Professor in Marketing and Communication. I am a UGC NET qualified faculty and pursuing my doctorate in the domain of Cluster Development from CU Shah University.

I have published more than ten research papers/ case studies related to my area in national and international journals. I have also authored two books titled - Cluster Development: A Research Journey of Taking Foundry to Dairy and Positive India's Positive Stories.