One of the important quotients of checking out success in a professional’s life is how he/she feels as he rises up in the organization. Most people would feel “satisfied”, if their career growth through the management rungs has been in line with their expectations. In the present write-up, I am primarily referring to those, who decided to stay with an organization, and not take to the idea of starting on their own for various reasons. In my opinion, if a professional gauges his professional success by the wealth he has accumulated – I mean if he/she chooses to measure his/her professional success by checking the bank balance and/or net-worth creation- then such a person’s career graph will be full of hopped jobs and if the returns aren’t to their expectations, they will be starting on their own.

Thus in my opinion, those starting on their own in a field that is well-established do so for the wealth creating potential of such a decision/action than for giving fillip to their inner-drives. It is truly very rare that someone was driven by the technical richness of their idea and wanted to branch off to seeing it in reality. At best the way out could be to have it as a hobby and try out the projects. This means that the funding for the same will have to be from one’s savings. If only the idea was too complex or needs high investment, it is certain to meet its death.

I would recount my own experience, picking up the thread from the previous post.

I had joined my job as a Control Engineer after my college. Though that was not my natural choice for a field, I had reconciled to it and wished to perfect the learning of it. For one thing the teaching of Control Systems way back in 1974-79 was by using hand calculations and graphs, whereas this a subject that is better visualized by quickly generated full-fledged graphics. This is a reality today due to the availability of the desktop computer and software packages like P-Spice, Matlab etc; or similar available affordable mathematical tools . Alas! this is also a time when, advancing through the management rungs I am at such a level where I oversee or am expected to get things moving by making others work! My getting involved with technicalities will be frowned upon.Thus, I miss the excitement and exhilaration that comes from seeing a technical idea/concept working. This is why I have several times exclaimed whenever I see younger generation (those born in late seventies or better still the eighties) are born into an India, where things work. We are beginning to see governments somewhat working. Today, it is possible to see some of those ideas, working thanks to the ubiquitous desktop, and affordable and/or designable software.

The curse part of it as for me is that, I have to create time outside of my office routine to try and test some of the ideas that have been flooding my mind and frustrating me no end in the process. Today I want to rush towards my retirement so that I can devote all the time to “perfecting” my ideas and see them in action!