Some years back you would ask a fresh engineering graduate what he would do next in his/her career, the answers would be something like a masters degree, a government job, civil services, management etc. After that came the time when students added private sector jobs to their list. And now there is a new trend that you would have seen around you.

Ask a student what he will do after engineering, the response will be GATE, CAT or I’ll go Bangalore! GATE and CAT though don’t explain what career they want to make, still, they give you a rough idea but what kind of a profession is “I’ll go Bangalore.”

Either I am missing out on something or students these days are not seeing the bigger picture. When did a location started deciding your career? Wasn’t it much more than that? People 10-15 years back dreamt of working in the USA, they then never restricted themselves by saying “I’ll go USA” when asked about what they’ll do next. Then why students these days confine themselves to a box.

Just because hordes of people around us are mindlessly following a trend, it does not mean that everyone has to do that. “I’ll go Bangalore” might sound cool but going anywhere in the world without a purpose will not end up being cool. Why not first target, “What you want to do” before “Where you want to do”.

As an engineer just out of college, you are starting your career, so the decisions you’ll make now will pave way for your entire career ahead. Before landing in a metropolitan city that the brewing with people and varied distracting opportunities, figure out your calling and what you want to pursue. Target companies where you can learn and work on things you find your interest in and when all that is checked on the list, now go and look for where you will find those opportunities.

It’s time the slogan is changed from “ Let’s go Bangalore.” to “Let’s find good opportunities.”