Jump Cuts: How Arushi is Transition Careers
Ask any Indian kid what they want to be when they grow up and you’re likely to hear one of two answers: an engineer or a doctor. So how do you break the rat race, explore different career paths and learn to navigate both personal and professional challenges? These were the questions on Arushi’s mind when she began exploring courses to upskill.
Trained as an IT engineer, Arushi worked with Urban Company for a couple of years. “I had such little awareness of the world. I barely knew anything and often found it difficult to work in teams. I came across a video of Vedica’s Dean, Anuradha Das Mathur, where she spoke about how women are often forced to leave their careers. Her mantra of ‘Don’t Quit’ really resonated with me.”
For Arushi, Vedica has been fraught with challenges. “I’d always lived at home. Sharing a room with someone else and learning to work with extremely diverse teams for different classes were huge challenges for me.”
Through courses that prioritise reflecting about oneself, Arushi began digging deeper into her own life. “I had to introspect a lot. How you react or how you’re likely to react to situations will determine your working style.”
Being an engineer, Arushi considers herself to be knee deep in logic. But courses on liberal arts forced her to listen and expand her meaning of logic itself. “I understand that there can be no binaries. There are as many perspectives as there are people and there is logic behind what they’re saying.”
Arushi had also perceived studying in an all women’s space to be a challenge. “I didn’t realise there could be so much comfort between women. We really cheer for each other.”
Now, Arushi prioritises 2 Ls - listening and learning. She takes challenges head on, figures out ways to adjust and approaches work with even more structure. “Most of all, I’ve been humbled and that’s the value I want to take forward on my leadership journey.”
From an IT Engineer at Urban Company to an HR Executive at MakeMyTrip, learning to be grounded will perhaps be one of Arushi’s most important skills.
