The title of this post might seem like anything and everything you might have heard of. Yes, it deals with why should one think of their career beforehand and work for it. Why should one be careful in choosing the higher education stream that will help them build their future and everything? Yes, this is a topic that our parents love to speak on and for the last time, YES, we are bored of this.
Then why is it that I am writing on this?
I was sitting with my friend one evening on the slope down from the hostel and our conversations usually are about anything under the sun. This particular afternoon, I was feeling a bit low as I just came to know how many subjects I had failed in during my second year of engineering. This inadvertently led to the topic of what I was planning to do with my life.
This is how she put forward the whole life scenario to me and let me put it the same way to you.
Imagine you getting married to the love of your life or in an arranged marriage (as it is in almost every case in our country). You, irrespective of being male or female, are educated to certain level and aren’t a possessor of good marks (let’s in this case say even average marks). You get placed in a company in a city away from your hometown and they are ready to pay you 50,000 a month. You must be thinking that is less or in some cases must be thinking that this is an amazing pay to start with. Whatever you think, as Eminem said, let’s get down to business.
You posses Rs.50, 000 at the beginning of every month. You are living in a city far from your hometown. In this economy, you renting an apartment will cost you minimum Rs.20, 000 per month. There goes 40% of your salary just as it came in. You are left with Rs.30, 000 to live with. That is still a lot. But now you have to pay for electricity, phone services, and internet connections. Yes, that comes down to another Rs. 7000 per month altogether. Remaining with you now is Rs.23, 000.
Let’s take a break here and analyse something. Shall we? Have you noticed how you lost Rs.27, 000 on the very same day as you received your monthly salary? This world is not made to let us keep what we earn, but to take it away and only those who have something more lead a better lifestyle.
Getting back, you have Rs.23, 000 left. Still a lot to survive a month. Now let’s breakdown into other expenses. You own a car which you use to travel back and forth from work and also to drop and pick up your wife. That adds to another Rs.5, 000 per month on fuel and if you think of it, the fuel prices aren’t going down anytime soon. So yes, that is it. You have another Rs.18, 000 left. But I haven’t yet touched the topic of you filling your family’s stomach. You and your family will consume another Rs.5, 000 worth of food. Yes, this includes your Oreo biscuits and coke which you will stock for late night snacking. You are now down to Rs.13, 000.
Another moment of reflection. You are down to Rs.13, 000. This reduction might be gradual but this will happen inevitably. With the expenditure of Rs.37, 000, you have managed to satisfy your family needs for the month.
We are metro sexual and this means we will eat out, buy clothes and spend a fair amount on products that make us smell nice. I don’t need to tell you the cost but with Rs.13, 000, do you think you will be able to manage all what I just listed down above? This is a harsh question but in most cases, answer would be a big NO. I also forgot to add that you also need to keep money aside for your rainy day (you fall ill, your spouse falls ill, you are in debt, your education loan and so on). Think if you can manage all this within your remaining amount.
This is what I wanted to communicate to you. This is what the world outside is like. It is true that marks and your GPA are not the only things that determine your future. Your social skills, analytic skills carry weightage too, if I am not wrong, much more than your marks. But think. Think what you could achieve with a decent GPA. Think how much better your lifestyle could be if you were paid much more than this. Let me tell you something, Rs.50, 000 per month is a very liberal amount that I have chosen. Many companies do not give you more than Rs.35, 000 per month when you are starting with your first job.
I have written all what I want to. This article is not to scare you. If it did scare you and you are committed to do better with your life, you are welcome. I am just thankful to my friend who sat down with me and talked about this. I have never seen anyone put life like this before. Now, you may continue browsing your social pages or stalking your crush, but keep these thoughts with you. This may be what you need to excel in life.
THIS IS A GUEST POST BY OUR INTERN – VASUDEVAN
MEET VASUDEVAN
A 19 year old, pursuing B.Tech in Mechanical Branch at Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune. Loves to read, perform magic, listen to music and of course write.
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