Choose a course which is new but promising: Rizwan

I was on the verge of completing my 10th grade when I started to think, for the first time, about my career or what I could do and from where. I am from Andhra Pradesh and come from a lower middle class family. Fortunately or unfortunately, after class 10, you are provided with the choice of 2 courses for your Intermediate/12^th grade. I had interest in bio-science but everyone knows that it comes for a cost, so I had to choose MPC. In Andhra, these private institutions lure you with fee deductions based on your class 10 performance. This is the first step in your race against marks, which most of us regret later.s.

They classify students based on their previous performances. They start showing you dreams of joining IITs, bagging more than 2 lakh/month packages as a child who has got a pocket money of only 200/month. It’s like chasing your childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. So, I started studying seriously, acing my weekly tests.

Then, months passed by, and soon a year gets over butonlyhalf of the syllabus is complete. Then, when you look back, you see there are thousands of students crushing you and moving forward. You later realise the toughness of the entrance exams. But still, you strive for it and half of the 2^nd year passes by. If you are above average, you choose JEE Main over JEE Advanced. Mediocre students choose local state entrance exams (AP-EAMCET in my case).

Then, after some more months of distress, hard-work, sleepless nights and brainstorming, you try to give your best in each entrance test and your 12^th grade exam. At last, you cross the miserable education part in an Indian education system. I was a student of Narayana Jr. College (Intermediate).

I scored well in my 12^th grade (98%). I am not proud of it; the reason I’m mentioning it here is - well, you will get to know that later. My first entrance test was JEE Mains, in which I secured an AIR of 11k (open). I am a Reserved category student based on minority (religion). Sorry, General category people! And I really mean it because my rank escalated to 2k because of reservation. Then, a month later, I appeared for JEE Advanced. It was tough and the effort I put in wasn’t a match for it. A few days later, I attended AP-EAMCET, which I wasn’t concentrating on much. I secured 4K rank, which definitely provided me with the best college in my region. In addition to these, I attempted the entrance tests of a few private institutions not knowing the fee structure, but I did well in all tests.

I applied for various NIITs though online counselling. I secured a seat at NIIT, Nagpur. But I could not join it because we estimated that the 4 years would cost about Rs 8-9 lakhs. My family was going through the effects of recession. The education loan was an option but for that, we needed to pay 1^st semester’s tuition fee and hostel fee, which I could not afford. The next option was a regional college which would cost around 90k yearly. So, I skipped it. I was in a dilemma what to do. Luckily, based on 12^th grade scores, Vignan’s University offered a full fee waiver and, at last, I decided to take admission into Vignan University because it assured me scholarship if I could maintain good grades without any backlog. And I think it worked out pretty well. Presently, I am in my final year and there’s only one semester to go.

If you are persistent about joining the IITs, 2 years isn’t sufficient time for everyone. Taking a gap of one year is the best for you. The basic things you need to have are-

a) Determination

b) Hard work

c) A good institution

d) Perfect notes (study material contributes 40% to your success)

e) Self-motivation and good mental health

It is one of the toughest entrance exams in the entire world. It is not a reason for demotivation. If you cannot succeed, it will always be a lesson and if you are still interested in joining IIT, you can make your dream true by applying for masters. By that time, you would have gained  maturity and plenty of time for preparation.

What I learned in college

After joining college, one is relatively free in comparison to 12^th grade. I cannot talk much about IITs but we all can watch the lifestyle of people who are already present there on YouTube. The thing in IITs is it will bring out the inside you and will give you a second chance to develop your interests other than science, but only if you are on the right path without any alcohol or tobacco influence.

The life in local colleges is a bit different. The people around you are mostly of the same background. So, you are not exposed to different lifestyles. There’s not much competition, also cultural activities aren’t prioritized. The faculty is not creative enough. It does not try to explore new teaching styles and sticks to old projects. The negatives are many and many, but if you are an active participant in extra-curricular activities like student councils, sports, dance, co-ordination, etc. you will have a satisfactory college life. As you have less competition, you can succeed and reach new heights with an ease.

The irony is in the final (3^rd and 4^th) years of your college life, you realize that the profession you chose might not be the best decision you made. It happens with 80% of BTech graduates in India. As a matter of fact, let me tell you, there are plenty of other courses out there other than Engineering, and Engineering itself has 99 courses to offer in India. So, if you want to stand out, choose a course which is new and which is less pursued but much career-promising, like chemical, petroleum, etc.

I decided to study at Vignan’s University and attended the counselling. There, I was given a course list in which there were 17 courses. There were a few courses I didn’t know existed, like mechatronics and bio-med. But it is better not to choose them when you opt for a local college as they cannot teach the course to the full extent. I was sure that I wouldn’t be going into the IT sector. Naturally, my first 3 options were mechanical, civil, and electrical. I later got influenced by a lecturer and chose electrical as my stream. The only reason was that it assured more government jobs relative to other courses. The classes started. It was a bit freer than 12^th. I figured routes through the college and spent my 1^st semester studying pretty decently. I did not join any clubs though, and that’s my biggest regret. In the 2^nd semester, I understood that the college was to open up and have a little bit of fun. The best thing I did was to learn to play table tennis from scratch. It is a good sport. I developed good relations with friends. According to me, the first thing I recommend to anyone is to join a sport and continue it till the end of your college life- you will thank me for that later- unlike me who jumped from one sport to other. I played basketball and still do, and volleyball and cricket. But I never played for the university team.

The 2^nd year and 3^rd year passed in pretty much the same manner. People asked each other if they were going to start with the preparation for GATE. Naturally, we procrastinated till the 4^th year. There were some days when we literally felt like crying over why we chose BTech. We wondered why we were suffering if it was our choice. Many thoughts kept making us restless.

In the end, you realise there’s nothing to be done and just try your luck with your placements. If you fail, make sure you turn your heart into stone because you would hear a lot of painful words and so. But stay motivated because 4^th year is not the end of the life; there’s much more to see and much more to come. Be patient.

My only suggestion is be an active participant in extra-curricular activities and decide your goal for sure. Do no change it later. Race for it. Attempt all the defence and aptitude exams other than your course. Apply for online courses on Swayam and NPTEL. Try to participate in presentations and conferences at IITs and NIITs. Take guidance from people you trust before choosing your course. The real foundation is after 10^th, so make your choice clear. Be careful and choose what you believe you can do. The matter of fact is your education has got little to do with your career and in an industry or company, everything is different. So, never stress about your percentage. I believe you need to taste failure (backlog) before you reach your placements or completion of BTech. I couldn’t afford that because of scholarship restriction but I believe it makes you tough and motivated.

About the Author:

My name is Rizwan and I am pursuing Bachelor of Technology in Electrical stream from Vignan’s University. My hobbies include Playing basketball and watching Anime. I like to read mystery books and books about cosmos (space), etc.