One way of keeping ourselves busy in these COVID-19 pandemic times is to write something on our professional journey so far. This year marks the 25th year of my professional career in ever fascinating ‘Railway Signal Engineering’ domain. Let me share about my initial experiences in this first part.
I applied for a job in Railway Signalling with South Central Railway, Indian Railways in 1994 and opted nearby town as centre of examination. After completing my graduation in 1995, I went to Hyderabad in search of my future (thanks to my uncle and family who supported me a lot) and to pursue higher studies. This was against my father’s advice who asked me to try for jobs with public sector banks. Interestingly examination for the job I applied with South Central Railway was conducted in Hyderabad instead of the centre that I opted (which is 500 km from Hyderabad) and luckily I was preparing for my Post Graduation entrance examinations of various universities based in Hyderabad at that time (during May, 1995). I got admission in the Osmania University, Hyderabad and also the job to work on Railway Signalling. I preferred job and discontinued my education based on my life priorities at that time. I started my career in Railway Signalling in December, 1995. Many of my relatives, friends and those already working in Railways suggested me not to join the job as it deals directly with Railway Safety. But I did not have any choice but to accept the job offer owing to my own personal life constraints.
Let me summarise some takeaways based on the above events which may be useful to present generation:
- Follow your intuition at critical junctures of life and dare to say ‘NO’.
- Give your best in all aspects of life within your own constraints.
- Destiny will take you where you are actually destined in future.
- Expect the unexpected in life.
- Listen to people and make a judicious decision based on your constraints.
- Always be grateful to the society, parents, family and people who supported you in your journey.
- Accept the challenges in life and face them boldly.
- Never give up.
Thank you for reading. Stay safe.