What did you miss out on learning in real life because you were too busy studying?

Nothing major.

However, I do have missed out all the following

• Hanging out with friends everyday.
• Amassing tons of likes, followers on Instagram, et cetera( “But what if they earn through their influencing gigs”, said Ankit with 55 followers and no real content to provide)
• Following dumb-ass trends that could get you literally killed and flaunting your near death experience.

And it’s not like I did not have any friends whom I hung out with or enjoyed myself while studying parallelly for my Chartered Accountancy exams. Every weekend was either bowling, movies or just your casual hanging out. None of us had time other than the weekends and we were all 19 and none other than me were pursuing CA. All of us had different commitments which we were focused towards. And that just multiplies the experiences by a million times.

The point people is PRIORITIZATION (no, I couldn’t highlight it more, I would have if there was any way to do it).

You have to set your priorities right and give up enough of your time to them and not the other way around ,and yes it could be becoming a youtuber or an influencer, but try and be the best at what you aim, you cannot have fun all the time while doing what you want to do, but you have to push through and emerge your best self.

And another thing is when having cruising through life, never give a second thought to your studies because you have done enough and deserve the little breaks.

-Akshay Jain, CA Intermediate AIR 1

I will like to start my answer with a quote - A hungry stomach and an empty pocket can teach you the best lessons of life. Because the answer I'm going to write is quite relatable to this quote.

What made me upset today - As everyone knows, there is lockdown all over the country. Just llike everyone, I'm also at my home. Just like everyday, I was sitting in my balcony (Around 11 am) immediately my attention went to the street which is infront of our house, 3 children carrying some vegetables and fruits on a cart and selling it. But no one was buying from them, immediately me and my mother went and bought some tomatoes from them.

In between I had a small conversation with those children. ( Tejas who is 13 , Nikhil is 10 and Rahul who is youngest one is 9 year old.)

I - you know, we have lockdown, but still you are selling vegetables.

I - aren't you afraid of corona?

Tejas - yes bhaiyya , it's very scary but what to do, we have nothing to eat, No job - No earning. That's why we are selling this ( just to support our parents)

I took this photo from my balcony.

It was very sad to hear such a big story from such small children. Then they went ahead to sell.

We are so lucky ( we are safe at our home.)

What about these people?

-Anay Chaudhari

Working 80-90 Hours per week?

I have been working that amount of time since teenage - let me tell you how.
 

Ages 13–18 was 80–90 (sometimes 100+) hours a week, and ages 18–20 is Probably 70-80 hours (thanks to the inefficiencies of college).

I currently have 46 credits at IIT Bombay this semester (equivalent to 8 courses) which theoretically take 46 hours. Now these are CSE courses so make it roughly 60. But then I'm not that studious when it comes to courses, because of other commitments I find more fruitful, so make it 50.

50 hours a week into coursework - classes, assignments, tutorials etc.

Then I have this social identity (blogging, YouTubing and other side hustles) which is another job I have - ~ 5-10 hours a week. Involves making 2 videos, editing and uploading them, a bit of work on my blog AcadBoost and of course Quora (I count these as work for multiple reasons mentioned elsewhere).

I am also involved in a few more tech projects which make up roughly ~20 hours a week, the total amounting to 70-80 hours. Some of this 70–80 hours is not very productive because some of the classes could be more productive, and there is a lot of inefficiency inherent to college (formalities, hostel stuff etc).

IITBCSE itself is very tough, and when you indulge in more things, you don't have a social life - I don't go to trips, parties or other social gatherings. Even my meetings with friends are usually full of useful discussion. Jogging involve a podcast in parallel.

Back in 13–18 phase, when I was in school, I used to EASILY pull 80–90 hours as studying was the only thing I did. I used to study even in my school bus. Take only breaks for food and playing cricket for 30 mins - basically work a lot except basic stuff like eating, grooming and exercise. No time for friends at this range.

And this is ACTIVE hours. Please don't say you attend school and coaching for 6+4 hours a day and so you work 70 hours a week. It doesn't work like that. It has to be REAL, 80%+ efficient work. I used to backbench and solve University/High School Senior level Physics and Math back in 9th grade.

100+ hours is a whole new ballgame. It's not possible to travel or give too much time to ANYTHING apart from work (including eating - I used to eat while studying). It means 14–15 hours work everyday. I have worked this much only in January 2014 - when I was fighting against death for an exam called IJSO.

100+ hours will grow you like you're on steroids - but they take a huge toll on your personal life and health. You cannot move, nut (DON'T, IT'S NOVEMBER) , or laugh. Any movement compounded over 7 days make that 100 a 98. You sit and work like a donkey. The growth is immense though. I don't think I have ever experienced as much growth as I did during Jan '14.

The ingredients to pull this off are discipline, a mission strong enough to make distractions seem trivial, and good time management.

I have been struggling a bit with sleep recently though - I never compromised on sleep in teenage (100+ hours work with 7 hours sleep everyday, bitches ;).

-Kalpit Veerwal

If one student from IGNOU can make to an IIM, it is enough to prove that studying from IGNOU doesn’t put a full stop to your chances. It may or may not affect your chances, that information is only available with the interviewers and is largely dependent on your overall profile.

In the PGP batch of 2018–2020 at IIM Ahmedabad, there was one student from IGNOU, who had pursued BCAF (Bachelors of Commerce in Accounts and Finance) and was a CA with 17 months of work experience.

That’s the most I know but I hope it should be enough to make you feel confident to take the exam without any prejudices.

-Shweta Arora, studied at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (2020)

Hi!

Hi,

Lot of pictures ahead,

Am a banker, my salary in hand will be a minimum of Rs. 62,000. Now why i have mentioned the word minimum here is because, I will get a lot of allowances which are occasional and so cannot be included in monthly salary.

Now apart from salary, I do get a residential flat for my accommodation which is borne by organization and the furniture allowance to maintain the required furniture at residence.

Now I got a double bed room flat, king size double cot bed , a fridge and an AC , all at organization’s cost.

So, coming to my expenses, I spend on a lot of things which I want and most of my earnings will go to fun and food.

I do have a bike, Royal Enfield. My flat is very near to my bank so i don't generally use my bike at work place. But, I ride on it to go home for weekends. As my home is just 35 Kms away from my place of posting. So it will cost me 2 litres per weekend. so all in all some Rs.1000 - Rs. 1500 per month for petrol.

Am a foodie, so I eat whatever I want to on that particular day. And i do love taking pics of the food well arranged.

If at home, swiggy and zomato will take care of my cravings ,but if at workplace i have to adjust with local made snacks. And also i don’t cook for myself, so during week days I have to eat outside food/hotel food only. Hence at an average of Rs.300 to Rs.400 per day ( Cause I eat biryani for atleast 2 out of 5 working days ). 22 to 24 working days per month. So upon calculating , Rs. 8000 - 9000 approximately. And on weekends, Domino’s , KFC, Ibbaco etc., will take a hit , So atleast Rs. 2000 - Rs.3000 for adding extra cholesterol to body.

Only monthly bill which i need to pay from my pocket is my electricity bill, it will never cross Rs.160/-. My mobile bill will be paid by our organization.

I give Rs.5000/- to my mother every month for her expenses and invest Rs.12000/- into mutual funds every month. ( Annual savings are done at a time all together )

Now, coming to the second part of the question, am happy and satisfied, considering my salary, as i am getting enough , i can say more than enough to spend, to give away, to save for future. May be its because i am not married, hence less expenses and more savings, also other reason may be am posted in a semi urban place near to my home town. So nothing much to explore, nothing much to spend on useless stuff. I don't drink, i don't smoke.

Am happy because I got my own DSLR

One of my favorite purchase , Ray-Ban diamond hard shades

I got all the gadgets which i need, I don’t spend unnecessarily on gadgets, I still use my Honor 9i which i had bought back in 2017. But i do buy the essential gadgets for my fun.

I got to visit so many places, I do travel a lot just for taking pics.

So, let it be any profession, whatever the salary might be, if you can find peace and find yourself in your life, anyone can be happy.

Thanks for A2A, also for scrolling.


-Vishnu Vishal, Deputy Manager at State Bank of India (2019-present)

FIRST ATTEMPT

During the lockdown, I decided to explore the unexplored side of me. COOKING. So after a few successful items, next came the custard. It was the first time custard was being prepared at my home as ‘kheer’ is the staple sweet dish in my family.

I followed the exact steps that were mentioned in the recipe on a website. But the result was disastrous. This is how it turned out.

FIRST ATTEMPT:

It became extremely thick. I did not take care of the lumps and viscosity while preparing it.

I felt bad. But there was nothing that I could do then. I decided to give it a second try!

This time, the outcome was amazing!

SECOND ATTEMPT:

This is just a small example of my success story of cooking custard.

---

WHAT IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS THAT CAN CHANGE LIFE?

Being persistent and dedicated towards your goal is the only secret of success.

Sometimes you will get to taste the success in the first attempt, sometimes in the second, sometimes in the third and sometimes it takes uncountable times! What makes you finally achieve it is your consistent efforts.

The secret of success lies in learning from past mistakes and not repeating them. A fool is not the one who makes mistakes, it’s the one who makes the same mistake twice. Just keep analyzing your shortcomings and you will eventually reach the top. You just need to learn from your failures and do not lose hope and faith.

And if you still have doubts, just observe an ant when she is carrying a grain of size two times more than her own size. She will fall and stop many times but won’t give up and will finally reach her destination. That’s the spirit. If you have this spirit then no one can stop you from getting successful. :-)

If you want to change your life, just keep trying and do not give up! :-)

-Nishu Jain, IIT Kanpur (2018-20) | Hansraj College, DU (Batch of 2015)

Why do bright students of 10th fail in IIT?

So let me tell you my experience…

Till class 10 th i was an average student (8.6 CGPA in 10th board) never too dedicated for jee, but my 2 colleagues , who were all the time toppers of my school went to kota for their jee preparation . Everyone in school thought that they are going to do well in jee as in school. But after span of 2 years what happened with them , nothing. They were even unable to clear jee mains, and I got selected in IIT Bombay with general category.

So what I learned at that time was that bieng a school topper doesn't mean that you're gonna top in jee also.

Not all the bright student but many of them are unable to clear jee and it's quite logical, there are lakhs of students scoring 10 CGPA in class 10th but there are only few thousands seats in IIT.

And not only this I have seen many 10 pointers scoring students failing in jee and an average students clearing jee. I am one of them. I was an average student during class 10 with 8.6CGPA in boards. But I cleared jee and pursuing B. Tech from IIT Bombay.

So where the problem arises. Transformation in topics from class 10 to 11 is quite difficult and it requires good level of thinking skills and the questions in jee require the hell good level of thinking skills.

So some students are good at it and some are not, and it is totally independent of score of class 10 th.

And one more thing , there is also the 2 years of hardwork which students do which let them to the way to IIT. We can't only judge by the score of class 10. There are many who do well in both, class 10 and even in jee.

Thanks

-Balbhadra Daxini, B. Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2023)

I am 24 years old. I am working as a software developer in an MNC company. Currently, my inhand salary is around 65k. I am living a decent life in high tech city of India - Hyderabad.

I don't feel shy in saying I am a small town girl born in a middle class family. My parents only motive was to provide their children best education possible .This made me ambitious and studious since childhood. I still remember the days I used to study with candles at my table when there was a power cut.

I got 1st rank in my Ist class and this was statistically unchanged over the years. After my 10th standard, I chose Science and wanted to prepare for IIT JEE. But at that time, there was no coaching in my town. I decided to prepare for my boards exam so that I can get admission in Delhi University. I did my best and got 96.2%. I was the topper of that year in my town. 

I gave IIT JEE mains exam and got qualified for Advance. But I could not clear the exam. My teachers advised me to drop one year and prepare for IIT-JEE in kota.

I had two options - To pack my bags for kota. Or to get admission in DU. But family was struggling financially. My father had already taken loan for my elder sister education and he couldn't afford more loan. I didn't want to be a burden for him. I had to drop the idea of studying in top colleges. 

I was dispirited by the circumstances. I felt like all my hard work over the years went in vain. After the 12th boards, where my friends were getting presents for getting passed or a good performance, I did not get education of my choice. 

But, I didn't give up. I started trying for local colleges for B.Tech. I also got good rank in U.P. S. E. E which made me get 100% scholarship through a fee waiver seat in a college near to my hometown. 

I took admission there and started giving tuition classes to avoid asking for any pocket money to my parents.

Being in a Tier 3 college, I knew only few companies are going to visit for campus placement. I have to work hard to get a job. At that time, we didn't have any desktop or laptop at our home. I used to learn coding at college. I learnt all the required skills that a company looks for.

   And then comes the time for campus placement. I got job offer. Not one but from two MNCs - Capgemini and Tech M. I joined capgemini. I used to get 15k inhand salary in my initial days. I worked there for two years. After that, I applied for job in other companies. I got job offer from companies like TCS, Accenture, Virtusa, Cognizant etc. This way, I came to the place where I am today.

Am I happy? Yes I am. I am proud of all the struggles I have faced. And the person it made me today. I am stronger than I thought I am.

I know life could have been different and I might be earning more if I got better opportunities in life. But I believe I have a long way to go and its just a beginning.

Believe in yourself. And just keep going, keep going.

-Yamini Gupta, Software Engineer 


{ Blogger's Note: If you wana do B.tech and you have financial problem then look for Fee Waiver seat in college. In every state , engineering colleges whether govt or private 5% seats are fee waiver seats. To get it you have to give state entrance exam and fill the counselling form carefully and have income certificate below certain amount  and select fee waiver seats while filling forms (read the exam brochure you will get all information there). 
                      You have Jadavpur University where the whole 4 year engineering fee is 10k for all students who are admitted and its not limited to domicile students and placements are decent also.

  If you wana do MBBS then govt college have low fee like VMMC and AIIMS. Just Lookup the fees and cut off.

If you wana do MBA and you cant pay the high fee of IIMs then you have place like FMS,Delhi where fee is comparatively low and ROI is quite high and packages  comparable to old IIMs  

If you wana teach  then get Master's degree and clear NET JRF and pursue Phd You will do research and teach and get paid for that.

Dont say I cant do this because of all these problems rather search how to do it and how to overvcome the challeneges .

    Look for problems, You will find it
       Look for solutions ,You will find it 



Watch these two videos :

}

I am 26, a central government employee and my monthly in-hand salary is 52k. Let’s do a quick scan of my expenses.

10k -EMI (till October, 2020)

3k - Younger brother’s pocket money.

₹649 - Netflix monthly membership

5–7k - Misc. expenses. (Includes commute, recharges etc.)

That’s me in my office. We have to adhere to a color code. (Black and white)

I manage to save around 25k per month.

Coming back to the question, if I am happy with my salary? Yes. It helps me maintain a dignified life. Allows me with the means to help my family and friends whenever they need.

Am i satisfied with it? Honestly, no. And it’s not because the money is less. I’m earning more than enough to manage my expenses and one can anyway never have enough money.

My dissatisfaction is with my potential not being fully explored. And that dissatisfaction is what will make me grow, personally and professionally. Money should never be a parameter of happiness. It’s always about how satisfied one is with one’s growth. If money becomes a deterrent to your growth, no matter how much you earn, you will always be unhappy, and that is something I don’t wish to see myself dealing with.

Wisdom and Smiles.

-Komal Sahay

How did you get a government job?

Okay. So, I got this question request. And I will try to cover answers to other questions as well through this answer only.

It was in the year 2017, if I’m able to recall correctly. I was pursuing NIELIT ‘O’ level Course (formerly DOEACC). I had enrolled myself in a 6 month crash course because I wanted to get a formal computer qualification in my name. Won’t recommend anybody to get into the crash course. The diploma is of 1 year duration and it took me real efforts to complete the entire syllabus within 6 months.

I got to know about the vacancy of JUNIOR COURT ASSISTANT in The Supreme Court of India through one of my batchmates in the Institute. The notification wasn’t advertised on many platforms. The important details were as follows:

No. Of Vacancies- 56 (tentative)

Fee- 300/-

Qualification- Graduate in any field with 35 wpm typing speed.

I was reluctant to apply. You ask why? Because I had appeared for IBPS Bank PO and SBI PO exam in 2016 while I was doing M.A in English. Could clear IBPS preliminary exam with flying colours but didn’t clear the overall cutoff in Mains. I wasn’t disappointed at all because I hadn’t prepared much. But had to pay 600 each, which equals 1200, for those two examinations and there were sufficient no. of vacancies as well.

But with SCI, the vacancies were so less and my typing speed wasn’t good at all. That is why the reluctance. When you’re unemployed, you obviously hesitate to frequently take money from your parents. At least, I used to think again and again before applying for any such vacancy. So, I discussed it with my father and he promptly agreed to finance the exam fees. He has always been supportive.

1. STAGE I : PRELIMINARY MCQ EXAM. It had TWO PARTS.

Part I - The usual division into 4 sections. English, Quant., Reasoning and General Knowledge.

Part II - Computer knowledge

Had to clear cutoffs of both the part separately to qualify for the next stage.

2. STAGE II : TYPING TEST

3% mistakes were allowed with 35 wpm speed. More than 80% of the candidates were screened out at this stage.

3. STAGE III : DESCRIPTIVE TEST

Essay, precis, letter writing.

4. STAGE IV : INTERVIEW

It was my LIFE’S FIRST JOB INTERVIEW. The feeling is inexplicable. I came out a confident person, regardless the knowledge of the final result.

Me, after I came out of the interview room (badly taken pictures make for the best of memories)

So, this was the entire screening process which took around 2 years to complete. I completed a masters degree, ‘O’ level and PGDT, meanwhile. The final result came out on 17th January, 2019. I am a General candidate. Don’t take pride in working a little harder than others. Everyone does their share of hardwork. I don’t wish to undermine anybody’s efforts based on their category. I secured rank 12 out of 143 final selected candidates.

The regular process followed. Document verification, medical check up. After all the formalities, the first batch of around 15–17 of us finally joined on 25th January, 2019. A panel valid for a year was made. Others were called later on.

About the ones asking how am I in a Court if I am not a lawyer, well every court has its own staff other than lawyers and judges. Supreme Court has its Registry which I am a part of. Will have to get an LLB for better promotion scope.

Hope I managed to clear as many doubts as possible. Would be glad to address any other questions.

BEST WISHES.

-Komal Sahay

What kind of people will not succeed in life?

1. The ones who DON’T even TRY.
2. The ones who GIVE UP on their dreams and goals.

Yes, the answer to this question can really be summed up in the above two points. Anybody and everybody has the calibre and capability to achieve what they want. Yes, the meaning of success may be different for different people. Likewise, the time to achieve those goals, the perseverance and hardwork required to become your definition of success may differ but the only ones who do not succeed are the ones who give it all up.

क्यूँकि कोशिश करने वालों की, सच में, कभी हार नहीं होती।

BEST WISHES AND HEALTH.

-Komal Sahay 

{Blogger's Note : Watch this movie 

  

}

Well the best way to motivate jee aspirants is showing the pics of the college they want to be a part of…

So here are some of them from my gallery..

1. The views of our hosltel…

2. Views from our hostel

3. At the top of the hill inside our campus .

At night.

At day time

4. Powai lake at night

5. Main building

6 .Gymkhana ground

7. Convocation hall

8. Table Tennis Court

9.Badminton court ( where the last basketball game was played in chhichhore movie)

10.Swimming pool.

And finally …

Main gate…

This college is not just college it is emotion ..

So if you too wanna be a part of this place just do whatsoever requires to be in.

Thanks for scrolling till here.

 
 
-Balbhadra Daxini, B. Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2023)

IIT is a place which you.........

After getting into IIT, I was happy as I was in a place that was full of opportunities. It was also the first time I was staying away from home and was excited about hostel life. I just focused on studies and friends in my first year. I used to go back home every weekend so was not able to take part in a lot of activities.

Starting the second year I started to explore all the opportunities that the college had to provide. I took part in the following:

1. Training and placement cell: Part of the cell at various levels for 3 years. Met with countless company officials, handled tests/interviews.
2. Rendezvous: Part of IITD’s annual cultural fest organization team for 3 years. I met with embassy officials, foreign artists (who are still my friends), and handled thousands of audience.
3. PRATHAM, NGO: In the summer I took time to work for Pratham, where I wrote a course on C++. For that, I wrote a book explaining coding in very simple language, and then also designed a course
4. Merry-Go-Learn, Startup: I took up this as a side activity, where I used to make interactive sessions for middle school kids in Maths or Science, essentially making them understand concepts using very practical applications
5. Minor degree, CS: I developed some love for coding in 11th, 12th and pursued it by doing a Minor degree in CS, it was extremely difficult as the people you’re competing with are the computer science major students and they know a lot more than you do.
6. Cambridge internship: In my 4th year summer I applied to a lot of foreign universities and was accepted in many including MIT and Cambridge. It was a pleasure to go and learn during this internship. It was also my first foreign travel.

IIT is a place which you can use as a stepping stone to go in various directions. If one joins and becomes complacent here, they lose the edge they have. This is also true in general. So it is never a good idea to just stop working hard or relaxing a lot. Hard work would never let you down.

Good luck :)

-Chhavi Gupta,IIM,IITD