BouncyPenguin
BouncyPenguin

Seeking career advice 🙏

Doston, I'm a 26 year old, run-of-the-mill MBA grad who has just been coasting through life until a very recent and intense encounter with the perils of modern life.

Background brief: Academics : 8/5/8; MBA from NMIMS Mumbai ~2yrs of work ex in sales; have worked in financial sales, currently working in non-alco bev sales

I have very few hard skills and am not sure where to start. Still, I'm seduced by other lucrative jobs/profiles such as finance, PM, consulting, which feel inaccessible at this point. I've accepted that there's nothing I can do to change the past, but I'm seeking guidance on how to shape my career from this point forward. Looking forward to any advice about jobs, career planning, and even life. Thank you!

9mo ago
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FluffyCupcake
FluffyCupcake

There are N ways to achieve the same end goal in life. I am just suggesting few basis my experiences!

Finance - Do you have any clarity which part of finance you want to explore and if you have relevant skillset? Finance can be hardcore, old skool financial strategy/cost management. As you mentioned you have some background in sales, I see a possibility of exploring RevOps (Revenue Ops ) kinda profile which sits on borders of both profiles.

Consulting/PM - These are somewat tangential roles basis your past, you can definitely explore these roles especially if you have understanding of a business area, for e.g. - Lending FinTechs. Your functional understanding of area will help for such roles.

Let me know if we need to explore more!

BouncyPenguin
BouncyPenguin

Thanks for the reply, this definitely brings clarity. I have two major concerns, the timeline & feasibility of making a tangential switch. I'm looking to take up some courses to strengthen my understanding of these functions but not sure if it'll be enough.

FluffyCupcake
FluffyCupcake

I am not sure which courses you are referring to, some of the PM courses (peddled by EdTechs) are crap and honestly any PM role is so much context driven that no-course can teach it.

My recommendation would be to keep trying for such roles within your current org or some startup. A startup leader with good risk appetite might give u a chance.

CosmicDumpling
CosmicDumpling

Where do you see yourself next? What keeps you motivated? Sometimes the best way to reach somewhere is simple but we often complicate it ourselves.

BouncyPenguin
BouncyPenguin

The stress of all this hasn't been allowing me to perform fully at my job so I thought of taking a career break to reorient, but realised it might not be the best way and could be perceived as taking a short cut, which doesn't really move my career the way I'd want it to. Plus I'm paying off an education loan. So I'm not sure what the next step looks like

My motivation is to be able to take care of my mother and brother in the long run, but for now it's just to find a high-octane career that involves a lot of growth+financial incentives, to be able to open a school in my village one day. I could be faffing as I haven't put myself in high-stress situations professionally, but I'm willing to go all in.

CosmicDumpling
CosmicDumpling

How about going step by step. Clear off the education loan and then take a plunge with respect to a break. Its always better having one less financial burden at a time. Will also give you ample of time to introspect what your actual calling is. A career is a long race, you will reach where you are supposed to eventually

SquishyBanana
SquishyBanana

What is your goal (s) here?

BouncyPenguin
BouncyPenguin

To be able to support my family+ earn enough to start a school in my village in the long run

SquishyBanana
SquishyBanana

That you can do in your current job as well or not?

CosmicLlama
CosmicLlama

Stick to sales of products. Do not jump to financial sales, or PM. Consulting is fine, but the likelyhood of that happening is just luck now.

Why sales of products? Down the line when you have 10-15 YOE, there will be a moment where you will find a opportunity for a dealership or wholesaler. This will help you at that time. The MBA degree is meaningless, so you need to jump into entrepreneurship for growth.

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