Greetings!
This is Sunish Bansal, the founder, director, and author of Zalphius. I would like to share with you my academic and professional journey and the reasons why I have made 3 career shifts in the past 5 years.
To quickly summarize the journey: back in school, I pursued science (PCM) with Computer Science (no economics) and scored the 9th highest in the country with a 490/500 (98%). Thereafter, I took up B.A. (Hons.) Economics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. Now, I am pursuing a career in management consulting with McKinsey and Company. You can view my complete profile here.
You may be wondering why and how a science student, who had never studied economics, took up a degree in economics. And then why would he move from economics to consulting? In this article, I will discuss exactly that.
Why pick science in the first place?
There were three reasons behind this.
(a) Ability/aptitude: I was more skilled at handling mathematical subjects than descriptive subjects.
(b) No single interest area: I was certainly not interested in humanities subjects but was indifferent between science and commerce
(c) Keeping my options open: Without a clear sense of what I wanted to do after my class 12, science became the obvious choice to keep my options open, considering (a) and (b) above.
Why shift from Science to Economics?
I will break this down into two parts, (a) Why leave science and (b) Why pick economics
(A) Why leave science?
Despite having performed well as a science student, I realized in the course of my 11th and 12th grades that this field did not fall in line with my interest areas and strengths. I got a confirmation on this realization after spending my summer between 11th and 12th grade at IIT Madras to complete a 6-week funded research project under the mechanic's department.
(B) Why economics?
During my 11th and 12th grades, I developed a strong inclination towards management. In line with pursuing an MBA later on, I narrowed down my possibility set to the following 3 courses: BBA, B.Com, and Economics. These three courses provided the right base to enter into management after my under-graduation. The final choice amongst these three subjects was based on two key factors amongst many others, (i) the colleges providing these courses (ii) the level of mathematical and quantitative rigor vs descriptive nature of the subjects. Economics at St. Stephen’s College was the clear winner, given my inclination for more analytical subjects.
Why shift from Economics to Management Consulting?
A shift to management consulting is actually a very common choice for students interested in business and management. Through my college life, my interest in the fields of business, management, and finance developed further. This was not through my coursework, but rather through extra-curricular activities and internships that I picked up. If a student is looking at gaining broad-based experience in the industry, instead of specializing in a niche industry or job role, then consulting is one of the best career options, and that is what I picked.
What were the general principles behind these shifts?
It is very common to see students in India change their field after pursuing Engineering for 4 years. In my opinion, if you have already realized that your interest lies elsewhere, why wait for 4 years? For me, the shifts were based primarily on my interests, aptitude, opportunities to learn, and the exposure provided. I also took into consideration the point of ‘keeping my options open’. I would like to highlight here that at no point did I consider factors like ‘scope of a field’ or ‘job market condition’ or ‘my salary’ etc. I believe that in the final years of your education and the initial years of your career, you need to focus more on building your skillset and capabilities rather than worrying about the salary or stipend.
If I could go back, would I change anything?
Definitely not. I am very happy to have my experiences draw from different educational backgrounds and different fields. At the end of it, I am happy with my choices.
What role did societal norms play in all this?
Societal norms are always a deterrent to change. None of my teachers, classmates, or relatives could understand why I was making such radical choices. They always tried to push me in the cliched direction of engineering post class 12 for a science student and towards UPSC post-college. I, however, never cared much for such societal norms and pressures. For me, one major support system was my family, who supported me in each of these decisions.
Any comments on my journey ahead?
All I can say for now is that I don’t think I’ll be settling down anytime soon. I have a raw thirst to learn and grow, and I will let that guide my choices moving ahead. Let’s see what the future holds.
My key takeaway for you as a reader is that, don’t let conventional stereotypical societal norms guide the pathway you’re taking. Make well-informed decisions based on your interests and skillsets. You need to actively decide and craft your own career path! The only limitations are those that you set for yourself!
My initiative Zalphius is intended to assist the youth across the country to enhance their performance and build themselves as capable individuals. Here we provide free resources and connect with students, schools, and colleges for sessions on topics ranging from cracking interviews, CV writing, and profile development to tackling examinations and academics. Check out our platform www.zalphius.com to access these resources.
Thank you for reading.
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