Jack of all trades and Master of none — Can this be debunked?
Many of us can relate to this. I myself can, I have a work experience of over 30 years and have had the opportunity to work in different sectors. Academics was not the platform for my career, Life was!
It has been a colourful 30 plus years of work, different organisations, different roles, different people, and different train of thought.
My first job was a nurse’s aide. I was just 16, pursuing my graduation. Believe me it was tough, as I had no clue what the job involved, how I was to manage work and studies? Quite honestly, I just jumped in without even thinking. Immature one may say, may be; I just didn’t think. Pure excitement of being in a foreign land, college, my first job that is all I could think of.
The very idea of having a few dollar bills in my hand was a pure thrill. I never understood the concept of pocket money as I was provided with more than what I needed. My parents did a good job, they understood my needs and provided enough. I was even sent to US to pursue my degree in Nursing. I was keen on a career in medical sciences and always wanted to be in a profession which served humanity. Unfortunately, circumstances pulled me back to my native land. I had to start afresh.
From the field of medical sciences to service industry. Yes, that is where I landed. I worked in a private airline at Bengaluru airport. The job was exciting. From the very first day, we were pushed into different areas that covered flight arrivals and departures. Announcements, ticketing, passenger check in, baggage, delays, VIP travel, customer service, the list just goes on. Customer service was drilled into us. The passion that my seniors demonstrated, was a driving force. I would look up to them and wonder wow! When will I get there? Ten years in this industry transformed me completely into a whole new ME.
Corporate culture is a whole new ball game, but the basics remained. Passion, dedication and hard work — [PDH] — as I would like to call it the key to success. There will be changes in the line of business, the kind of people you meet and work with. Delivery could be services or products, engagement models etc. all could be different but do the basics change? They don’t. First, mould yourself to the environment, then utilise your knowledge and under this umbrella, align with your roles, responsibilities and expectations of the organisation before execution.
The hard realisation was that an academic qualification was needed at every job interview I attended. Circumstances were such. I was good at every job and learnt much more as i went deeper in executing my roles and responsibilities. However, that was just not enough. Something that wondered was that my colleagues some of them at-least, had a graduation tag but their field of expertise was nowhere close to what they were doing. They were in jobs that had no connection to their major in the academic field. So is it that the piece of paper that says “Graduate of XXX” is a mere entry ticket?OR does it mean that even though one has his/her graduation they are not finding jobs in the relevant fields? Maybe both are wrong and both are right. My graduation came in way longer after my son was born. Was i a little too late? Well, I would not say so. May be I lost a few good job opportunities because I was not a Master degree holder. None the less, my passion, dedication, hard work and the urge to be amongst the top was the key to my success.
All these years in various organisations and in various fields, my roles have taught me a lot and I am still learning. Crucial as they are to what I am today, I can never say I have learnt it all. This is where I understood the know-how of a job, how I need to execute my responsibilities, how I need to strive to reach to the top. It wasn’t just about the dollars anymore…it was much more. Much more that I realised. I have survived the corporate world for about 20 plus years now. The corporate world and my experience in the service industry has moulded me into a passionate, strong and enthusiastic sales professional — an entrepreneur in the making.
PDH! As simple as that. These attributes will take you a long way. Education is the key definitely but for a few of us who do not There are millions out there who would share similar experiences or may be even better and have climbed high in their career. I am quite confident that if you ask any one of them, “have you learnt enough?” — the answer is “work in progress”.
Have I stopped? No, I have undertaken something new, i.e., writing. This is my first post for an online media. I am very confident that with my flair for writing with a unique mix of customer empathy will help me good amount of work/projects from customers worldwide. Just something to keep me going and probably a new line of business for my company. Wish me luck!
