Cut Throat Competition

I remember my Dad telling about his childhood and how he started his career. He started working with the Government services after finishing his B.A with a second class. He is still in the job, continues his successful career and enjoys a respectful position in the society. Anyway this discussion is not about my father. This is just my perspective on the changing times, the reality.

Today can we ever dream of a successful career (yeah, success is very subjective but you know what I mean) with a second class under graduate degree in hand? (I know you start frowning if I tell any degree apart from a professional one). From the moment a child starts walking, he is put to all kind of pressures. Even a nursery kid needs to clear aptitude test and interviews (At least I didn’t have to sit through all this).

Once my senior told when I was in 7th Std. “If you are able to score well in 10th Std. then you are through.” Hearing that you try hard and ‘hard’ means really hard, you score 90% in CBSE, and there you see more like you and many more in front of you. At that moment you realise, this is just a beginning. If you aim for higher studies, again it turns out to be a disaster. You feel the whole world competing with you wherever you go. Let it be CAT, GRE, GMAT you see and feel yourself in a deep shithole. Lots of people pointing fingers at you, that mystifying looks, that half-hearted console during your failure (With less than 1% chance to get through the CAT, you are bound to fail many times). These times I feel this nation is too crowded, over populated (I know, my marketing friends don’t agree to this. For them this country is the biggest possible market and everyone is a prospective customer).

After moving to a job, you begin to work hard (‘hard’ has attained a new meaning by now), work day and night, work from home and from office, and work on weekdays and weekends trying to get into the most coveted slot of top 5% among your colleagues in the rating scale. If you fail, you are looked upon as an ordinary and believe me; each and every one of us doesn’t want to be like that. Everyone wants to prove they are extra ordinary. The truth is if all earns for it, the bar is raised higher. You feel tired, you feel like giving up, and you slowly start losing. No one needs you. You are ousted and thrown out. Is this all we can get? Can we have little more space to breath? Can we get little more consideration and respect? (C’mon guys, we are humans at least!!).

If we are like this, how about the next generation? God help them all.