India dream

I decided not to go abroad after my graduation. Getting a job outside India in 1997 was clearly very difficult and pursuing an MS, after getting bored B Tech was too much to ask for. I slept most of time in my engineering days and did not even studied a single course . When I say this to people, people think I am making fool of them. They dont expect an IIT graduate to say this.

Many of my peers did the same. Instead of going abroad, they joined Indian companies. Many went to Indian software companies but a few managed going to consulting companies. But lure of working abroad and higher salaries was too much to resist for many of them. So, most of them eventually, after spending sometime in India, went to USA, worked there for a few years and then MBA at Ivy League.

I had decided not to go. I still dont know why i did that but probably staying in a foreign country scared me. I continued to struggle. I got bored at KPMG after 3 years and then made an attempt to start a technology business. Business did not even start and I lost everything I had. I thought it was an incredible experience but probably too much to ask for. I had lost hair and aged a few years. Like others, I thought it is time to quit and start again.

I applied for MBA at Ivy League schools assuming that my enterpreneurial experience would get me anywhere despite low GMAT score, but I did not even get shortlisted for interview. Later on, I came to know that my essays were disaster. Further, for the sake of diversity, all these schools have unpublished quota on how much they would take from a developing country like India.

IIM did not fit my way as I thought I was too old for the class, may not get admission or even if i get, I may be last in the class after 2 years. I could not compete with a fresh IIT graduate with high IQ. I was an average Indian. So, I decided to go to ISB.

It was not easy there either. I scored in 3rd qurtile in most of the courses and some I just managed passing. In the placement season, I applied to almost every company but no body took me. Mckinsey thought I was too arogant while Novartis thought I was not a woman with CA. Some i rejected as I did not know what I was looking for. But I had to get a paying job as I had a loan to pay and no savings. After much struggle, got a few jobs from campus in 2003. Here again, I decided to join a company which would be primarily a local business. I still think that was probably the biggest mistake of my life. But any way, the saving grace was that I was young and could flip job later as opportunity cost of changing a job was not high.

However, the pressure of peers from IIT days continued. As compared to some of them who graduated from Wharton / Chicago / Columbia, had fat salaries and reasonable savings. I was at $15,000 annual salary with $2000 annual bonus. But India dream was high. I thought if India does well, I would catch up.

2003 - 07 was dream run for India. I also grew with it. India shinning story was getting attention and some of my peers, working in the USA, started thinking of coming back. However, they were looking for a $ equivalent salary. I thought an Indian business may not pay that salary for a 7-8 year experience individual, but I was wrong. An Indian businessman / CEO was willing to pay 3 -4 times to a foreign returned professional when compared to an Indian equivalent experience. I thought if I had done the same, i would have also got the same.

However, many of them initally found very difficult to adjust. Indian working style is very different. Long working hours, peers are thankless, weekend working, getting a call at 11pm in the night.... Many of them wondered, like me, is it worth it??

But India shinning continued... and is still on... Sensex is up almost 100% from the bottom..

Often I get a mail asking - Should I come back?