Mystory@Priyanka Mukherjee:How I chose my college and career path

While taking decisions, I have always given preference to my heart over mind. The same was what I followed, when it was time to make a choice of course and career. Throughout my PUC and then in college, I have been fond of reading. I used to love reading novels or short stories, regardless of their genre. This natural affinity towards reading and a developed sense of language, made me score exceptional grades in both school and college. But mathematics was a setback for me that was always a reason for dragged down overall percentage.

How I chose my college and course

When my classmates were looking at the host lucrative of career options like whether to directly go for an MBA after completing graduation or to gain some work experience first before pursuing with an MBA programme, I chose to apply for BA English Honors from Calcutta University. Thereafter, I pursued with my Masters in English literature from Delhi University. After my post-graduation, I then applied for MPhil. in English Literature from DU itself.

What I gained from my college years

The journey has been fraught with a constant vacillation between the desires to do something more lucrative as I was forced to support myself during my education. This was due to the paucity of funds in our family. However, studying English literature has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The manner in which we delved into the intricacies of the human heart and studied the complexities of human existence. No other discipline would have ever taught me with such a brilliant perspective.

As mentioned earlier, I had to financially support myself during my two years of Masters and a subsequent two years for my doctoral programme. I was constantly landing into odd jobs like teaching spoken English, providing English and Social Science tuitions to school and college students. After completing my Masters, I had a period of two months where I joined my first full-fledged work-place. I served as a copywriter for a company that made greeting cards and I was also developing content for them.

After a few months, I qualified the exam to pursue MPhil from DU and that sums up my life for the next two years. After that, I managed to clear my National Eligibility Test (NET) for Lectureship, whilst working as a teacher. I always dreamt of being a part of a publishing house, while I was still serving the education sector as a teacher and that is when your luck actually works. While pursuing MPhil, I received a call from a big publishing house and got the job of an editor. I was directly involved in the process of creating books for children and that thought itself gave me immense joy. I gradually began to grow in this role and soon became a Team Leader. After devoting a long period of six years in this role, my work level was upgraded to a product manager where I was responsible for the entire process of creating a product for children.

About the Author:

An oxymoronic phrase that describes me most is that of a 'practical dreamer'. I completed my Masters and MPhil in English but managed to think beyond the obvious choice of a teaching career. I love reading, I love meeting new people and always curious to discover new things. I also love travelling to new places and my present designation as a Product Manager helps me do all of that and more.

Mystory is a new Shiksha initiative to provide students a unique platform to share their experiences right from college admission to career selection. Here’s your chance to get published on India’s leading education portal. We’ll be happy to publish your story.   Write in to us at: mystory@shiksha.com