No more 9 to 5

Students today no longer seem to be defined by the usual medical and engineering career options. They believe in trying their luck and pursuing their passion as their career. Because in the end, it is job satisfaction that takes priority over monetary returns. Some prefer going for the offbeat courses, while others believe in following their heart and creativity, which can be refined on their own. Whichever way may be the case, youngsters in the city believe in walking the road less taken.Aditi Agarwal, a recent graduate in the city shares her story, “I was never interested in science since my school days, so it was an obvious choice for me to opt for arts and commerce. Later, I pursued a diploma in Fashion Design because that has always been my passion. I knew that I wasn’t cut out for a desk job and monotonous work. Now that I am working as a fashion designer, everyday at work is fun and different. I get my creative and work satisfaction.”Aditi, who is currently working for a fashion designer in the city, adds, “My younger sister who wanted to pursue engineering, changed her mind last minute and decided to explore other options like arts, commerce or even hotel management, because she did not want a monotonous desk job for herself.”As for the new batch of students transitioning from school to college, some are still exploring the wide options available today, others have already decided what they want to study.“My parents encouraged me to pursue architecture and now I want to thank them for the guidance. They never forced me to take up the conventional courses like medicine and engineering. Once I started studying the aspects of design and architecture, I realised how interesting the subjects are. Meanwhile, I got a few offers for ramp modelling and decided to give that a shot as well. Juggling between the two has not been difficult because I know my priorities,” says Natasha Prasad, an architecture student and part-time model.Students today don’t want to stick with 9-5 jobs. They want to make the best use of their creativity and make work a lot more interesting. Opines Priyanka Sood, a fine arts student, “As a student of visual arts, I can’t imagine myself doing anything but creating fascinating images. It’s wonderful that today a lot more people — parents and students are accepting that there is a world beyond the conventional medicine and engineering! Who says work can’t be fun?”While Priyanka knew her calling was in Fine Arts, and pursued a four year art course at a university in the city, Nikhil Acharya, a filmmaker at heart decided to study management because he believes that creativity can be self-refined.Says Nikhil, “I realised my passion for writing and story-telling at the age of 15. After making a few short films, I knew it that this would be my profession for sure. But, I never found the need to study in a film school because the art of making a film is all about creativity. This is why I chose a management school over a film school because I was keen on learning the management aspects and I am quite content with my course.”There are certain people who know what they want from the very beginning. Some others have a late start. But as the cliché goes — better late than never. Babli Yadav falls under this category. “As a child, like all other parents, my father, too, wanted me to get into the medical stream and choose to be a science student. For the rebel I always was, I opted to do my own thing. I chose to study commerce as it seemed more interesting and easier to me. I knew I was not cut for the geeky stuff. After fifteen years of education and three years of working, I came a little close to what I wanted to do or liked to do. But I finally realised I wanted to write. I had been writing for years but had never thought of doing it as a career option. Today, I am a journalist by academic qualification and an explorer by choice,” says Babli.