[Important] Career Grade: F!

iPwnz

iPwnz

Brutally Honest
Skilled
Please no hate. T_T

I'm doing my Bachelors finals in DU. I should've finished it 2-3 years ago but messed it up. Admittedly intentionally as well as unavoidable circumstances. My results was out/should be out soon but I don't even want to look at it as I know that I'm gonna do horribly.

Summary: I'm doing my BA History Hons in DU. I took Science with CSc till my 12th. but had to change to Arts stream for god-knows-why. All i can say is I had a really poor career advice/zero counselling besides other reasons. I'm 23 now so my age is also catching up.

Now what i want to do is quit studies. I have another year to be able to finish my graduation but whats the point if I'm going to get a poor result anyway. My internal marks are really bad, single digits. And the thing about my exam/university is too much depends on internals. 25% may not seem a lot but when you can barely get 40/75 in internals externals it really hurts. And not to forget the difficulty level of scoring high marks in Arts stream (I still remember once when the highest marks for my course was 72% when compared to Sc/Com of over 90%) and even if I continue I'll barely be able to scrape through. Now I can do a fresh UG course in a different university but that would be another 3 years to my student life ie.23+3=graduate when I'm 26! I find that to be too late to get a good job because of my age.
So I'm thinking of doing it in an open uni somewhere and meanwhile try to find a job somehow. But again my edu qualification of 10+2 (+2) is too low for even a decent job.
This is where I'm confused.
What kind of job will I be able to find with this low edu qualification?
I can take a training but it should GENUINELY be able to guarantee a job. Not simply because the course/ads say "100% job guarantee." And please don't suggest BPO-like work.

My main interests are related to tech/PC/hardware/gaming in general. But I wonder if they will really be able to give a stable/reliable career. At one point of time I wanted to try Esports because I'm a Dota 2 maniac and quick learner at the game. In fact I would say that if I was given a good stable net and some months, not bragging, I will be somewhere in the Dota 2 Leaderboards (Top 200) by now. I play in 800ms ping in 30% of my match, 350ms+ in 60% and 5% in 200ms+ and less than 5% in <150ms. Or in short, a Tryhard Dota 2 player. I had to quit Dota 2 because of my net problems and crappy laptop. Another problem with Esports is even if I'm willing to give it a shot my family will exile me! So its kind of out of the question.

But for now I'm thinking of graphics designer/web/site developer but I have zero experience in this. Can one make a career out of these? If yes around how long (average) do you think that it would take me to become decent/have good experience?
I can also try other private sector (i doubt that there is any good govt. job for 10+2 and it might also take a long time) jobs as long as they give 1. good work condition. 2. stability. 3. justified pay.

I also wanted to get into PC business or start my own but dad said we cannot fund the capital for it. Basically I want to open my own PC store/design my own products or join PR section as I value good service and esp..consumer feedback a lot! Also I've been dreaming of my setting up my own gaming cafe since my 12th. I also want to help promote gaming as a good career choice since I don't think that I myself will get to see the day in my time.

My reason for wanting to look for a job is because I want to start saving money for the future. And family financial issue. I feel pressured for being the eldest child.

Please help. In need of desperate help.

Thank you very much!
 
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Now I can do a fresh UG course in a different university but that would be another 3 years to my student life ie.23+3=graduate when I'm 26! I find that to be too late to get a good job because of my age.
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This is not correct. If you now chose what you really want to do and excel in it, then you will get plenty of career opportunities. Your employer shouldn't care about age.

(age only matters of you are getting married :p)
 
From what I can infer from your post, your priority seems money, for now and for future. Since you have had setbacks and now are a couple of years behind, I would suggest you to first complete the course that you are doing and get into the best possible job that you can find even if its BPO. It will be boring, it will be hard, but you will have to suck it up and do it. You should accept that you are not doing well in your current academic course, you don't have any other degree and business is not an option. So just do it. Doing that job you should probably do a course which is part time and at the same time is recognized and gets you into a job which you like. You will have to work hard for a 5 years in order to get to the point of career which you have imagined your self. Think of it as making up for the time lost. If you dont do it now, it will probably be very late in the future, because you are going to keep getting older. There are no short cuts to success!!

Best of luck!!

P.S: About your gaming carrier. I had seen a documentary about carrier in gaming where a kid from very humble beginnings in China won the world of warcarft tournaments or some other game. He was practising a good 14 hours every day!! It might seem easy and interesting to you at the moment, but that too will require intense determination, hard work and perseverance. You will have to probably work even harder since gaming as a carrier in india is not developed like in other countries. Adding to it that your family wont accept it as a carrier, I advice against it.
 
avi said:
This is not correct. If you now chose what you really want to do and excel in it, then you will get plenty of career opportunities. Your employer shouldn't care about age.

(age only matters of you are getting married :p)
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Actually age also matters a lot in govt. jobs and that's what my parents think is the best. I've pretty much disobeyed them in my studies life and getting owned for it so at least for now I want to listen to them. I don't want them to think like I'm really bad.
True about the marriage thing. Though I don't give a rat's ass about getting married. :p[DOUBLEPOST=1420006500][/DOUBLEPOST]@vaibhavyagnik it will be hard. that's for sure. and I'm ready to work hard for it.
 
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Let senior members who are already working in the fields you have interest in guide you more about part time courses which have value and can land you a good job. I believe @booo is in software industry. Dont even think of quiting your existing course since you have invested 2-3 years in it. If you leave now, you wont even have that degree in hand. Better to finish what you started.
 
first things first, take a paper and write down what you want to be in 5 years. get into specifics. not like I want to be an astronaut. but be very specific. we can then start thinking about what to do. again not what your parents want you to be, but what you want to be.

if you cant come up with a specific answer, then start writing down what you like and dislike.
 
Irrespective of whatever you take up, remember that you cannot be successful without hard work.

It is not too late for sure, yet. Whether you go into a creative stream like design (where your marks should not matter much), or start a business or even become a freelance designer/developer/writer, you will have to work hard. Your only saving grace from that hard work will be that you love that stream so much that it does not seem like hard work.

You can become a good designer and/or developer in less than 6 months as well, at least enough to take up freelance jobs, if you put your life into it. However your topmost priority should be to get a graduation degree. So put everything else aside and focus on that. It will at least let you check the basic education checkbox on important application forms like loan etc.

Once you are sure what you want to do in life, take up a PG course in that domain later.
 
Common 23 is simply nothing unless you have one of those dominating families where you have to settles by 24-25, marry at 26 have kids by 28. :banghead:
Simply chill. But first make sure you complete your graduation which is the min. criteria today for any job in the world. After that choose your type of filed and excel in it. Hard work counts and not your age.

I have seen people changing careers after 40.
Just be clear what you exactly wanna do and dont ever get caught in any confusion once you decide else you'll crumble down the path further....
Also avoid those confusing friends.

Avoid gaming at any cost. Its a catchy and attractive but as a career option it isnt that viable as in India. Imagine after 10-15yrs down where you stand?? Sr. gamer or some gaming manager? I doubt there are any such senior level positions in gaming.

Bumping into IT there are hell lot of choices but again you have to decide what are you good at.
If you are good at logic and maths then get into Software. If not then start from Hardware and Networks. If networking is getting into your head then shift to systems and servers.
See none of these is as easy but I have stated them in descending order of the difficulty level IMO.
For others they may have their opnion as per their pref. and thoughts.

If needed visit a career counselor. It may or may not help but the consultation will surely refresh your mind and any queries you might have. :)
 
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From what i understand, your ultimate goal is to have a stable source of income so you can support yourself right?

If you do need immediate work then try looking for jobs in content editing/marketing since they only require decent english skills which you seem to have.

Unfortunately your earning potential (your income over the span of your lifetime) might be limited if you don't have at least one degree. (a study in the US showed that the avg. pay a bachelors degree holder gets exceeds that of a non-degree holder by $1 million over the course of his/her lifetime)

Basically, ideal situation would be that you finish your studies in a field of your interest, however, if you do take up a job first then by all means go for it but don't forget to eventually get a degree or it will hold you back later on in life. (i have a relative who's an avp at a big bank and trust me, educational qualifications are taken into account when choosing sr. mgmt roles)

all jobs at the entry level suck. you'll start feeling like you cant take it anymore within 6-12 months especially if you work in a big mnc. so bpo or non-bpo wouldn't matter, it's gonna be a boring job either way :(

I'm not saying you cant make it without a degree, just that having a degree means fewer road-bumps to deal with later on.

P.S. I too dropped out of my degree program and switched colleges and courses. it was best decision i ever made so don't feel bad about where you are in life - i lost years too but its all good :)
 
Here are my two cents on this and please take with a grain of salt.

You started with no hate thing but then I have to comment on one thing wrong about your post. "No BPO like job", see the thing is, a job is a job. It pays a person and keeps roof over his head. If it is a means to an end, why not? I am sorry but without a graduate degree it will be difficult to get a decent job until unless you really have exceptional skills in something. It is possible to grow without a degree but not without skill.

If you want to re-do your course, you might not find a decent or rather non-BPO type job without a degree. So buckle up for the hard work. You might not like a bpo type job (hell even some entry core IT jobs are like that) but currently it might help you earn 15k and continue your studies. It will be a pain but then it will pay off.

Secondly, there are no absolutes when it comes to experience. We are not talking government jobs here, do a 2-3yr stint and voila you are senior promoted member. There are chances with a good portfolio, for say an upcoming site, might propel you; while doing for sites copying wordpress themes will not change anything. So find a niche and work on it. You will know when you are ready and can tackle most projects out there. It might be 6 mths or 2yrs, difficult to gauge it is entirely up to you. One of my juniors started out in UX designing, has done over 600 portfolios in 2 yrs as a freelancer and now he works as a product manager in a named product company. So sky is the limit.

Now coming to esports, pc shop and pr. Here's a simple explanation - I am foodie and love good food, is it enough for me to think about being a chef or a restaurateur? Most probably not. Because it not only requires good service (which I value a lot) but then it also require having acumen to run a business, manage a kitchen. So do you think you will like it when a customer calls and shouts when you are not in the wrong (in spite of the best service)? If no, then re-think about pr. Do you understand breakeven, pricing of products? If no, why a shop? So when listing out your "likes", make sure you read and learn about the difficulties in there. If you think you have it in you to surpass them, then only go ahead having them in the list.

Lastly I know you are young and very idealistic (that thing about 1. justified pay 2. good work condition and 3. stability ) but unfortunately life is not so rosy. Even the best of us go through hard times, work on a lowly pay, deal with abusive manager who can fire us any time but have to stick with it. In the end a job is a job, doing it gives us money and help us gain experience.

In the spirit of our ex-Indian Test captain, he started out working as a TC. The reason was Railways required a wicketkeeper batsman. Ask yourself, if he though "no a TC's job is below me, would he have ever get a chance to play?".

So my suggestion is start somewhere, doesn't matter where - bpo, low paying job, content manager anything you can think off. Get a feel and then you might be able to narrow down.
 
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you seem to be able to think logically and appear to posess some degree of intelligence :p

Without a bachelors, you are shut out of any job that you might want. Get a Bachelors certificate by hook or by crook.

Then start worrying about getting a job, because your long term options right now are neglibible
 
greenhorn said:
Without a bachelors, you are shut out of any job that you might want. Get a Bachelors certificate by hook or by crook.
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no saar, you still can get few jobs and make decent amount of money without degree.

My friend is an arts degree (BA? I think) drop out. His marks were shit. He learnt some coding and got into freelancing. He used to make $15/hour. And he worked 40hours/week. He did that for 1.5 years. Now he is about to complete his BCA.
 
greenhorn said:
you seem to be able to think logically and appear to posess some degree of intelligence :p

Without a bachelors, you are shut out of any job that you might want. Get a Bachelors certificate by hook or by crook.

Then start worrying about getting a job, because your long term options right now are neglibible
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No you don't. Fact remains most jobs require practical experience and bachelor's degree is not required. The only issue is the outlet you require to utilise the practical experience. In a connected world, freelancing sites give lots of UX, support and coding jobs without degree. If things go well and you get recognised, you might even end up with a full time desk job. Though that only happens with people who are extremely skilled. So not an easy choice but not a complete shut door either.
 
^agreed. if you are skilled, degrees does not matter at all. Atleast when it comes to coding. Have an attractive GitHub profile, you will be hired in no time.
 
If I were OP, i would make few assumptions before doing anything.
1. parents wont pay for the education from now on.
2. parents wont help for starting any business etc...

With the above assuptions, things will become very difficult if you dont get "any job". So, first get a job to support yourself and then start thinking about creating a career path which you love to do.

I can tell about programming... it wont come over night. takes a lot of toll and hard work. something like playing dota for 16 hours a day. making a github profile means you have to code projects or contribute to other's projects. that a lot of work for free. not like creating a facebook profile. employers evaluate your worth by looking at your contributions. the amount of code you write.

And as renegade said, you cannot be successful at life without hard work.
 
Thank you all for the overwhelming response. I wasnt able to reply to threads :banghead::mad:
Im still reading the replies. will take me a few more days to understand each and every post. thanks again.
 
Sad news. One job which I applied for got rejected. It went like this. I contacted one organization and was initially told that they were looking for local guys and that I fit their requirements. This made me really happy. Then they asked for the CV and more details. After some weeks I was told about the work procedure and I accepted it. Then they said that they would interview me. By this time and from all the response so far I was sure that i had a very high chance of making it through. I was also ready for anything. Never have I felt so happy in a long time. I would finally be earning money from doing something which I love. I even told of this to my family who were really happy. Just how many of you get paid for doing something which you really love? Not many I think. So with high hopes i waited and waited but no word. I sent a few messages but didnt get a positive reply. After about a month or so they finally replied saying their HQ didnt accept the program. Why did they make me wait for such a long time or why did they even bother telling me about everything in the first place if their HQ didnt even authorize it?
I wont give names but they are a globally reputed brand and you all know of this organization. Their unprofessional behavior was appalling. The hope and happiness which i build over time all crashed down on me in an instant. Im not going to lie. It was really depressing.
 
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Companies usually will only tell you whether you've been accepted (especially big ones) as they receive far too many job applications.
Most people generally wait a week or two to follow up on an interview or application.
Don't stop applying or going to interviews just because you get a good response from one company.
Don't get dejected; i went for 11 interviews before i got my first job.
 
Crapmypants said:
Companies usually will only tell you whether you've been accepted (especially big ones) as they receive far too many job applications.
Most people generally wait a week or two to follow up on an interview or application.
Don't stop applying or going to interviews just because you get a good response from one company.
Don't get dejected; i went for 11 interviews before i got my first job.
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I don't mind getting rejected. But this here is what saddened me. Anyone would feel bad. You've to be incredibly *you-know-what* to do something like this when you don't even have your HQ authorization.
"Why did they make me wait for such a long
time or why did they even bother telling me about
everything in the first place if their HQ didn't even
authorize it?"
 
rather than applying and attending interviews serially, apply and attend them parallel. The one which offers the best pay and is first to offer should be chosen. HQ authorization or not, it may be one of their excuses to not selecting you. Any way they are not obliged to you nor you to them. So move on. The faster you move on, the better for you
 
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