INDIAN culture has always placed great emphasis on educational qualifications. The more the better.

As our country comes into its own economically, this trend only seems to be intensifying. An increasing number of white collar workers are taking career breaks to head back to school. For the most part, this educational push comes from the need to differentiate oneself from competition.

Consequently, a chunk of the graduate degree seekers are engineers or technical degree holders queueing up to add a management degree to their resumes.

As with everything else, there are variations in this narrative.

Take Ritvik*. He recently shifted to the United States of America. An HR partner with a leading business solutions provider, he sought an overseas assignment. He wanted to utilise this time to get a PhD from a US university.

What is noteworthy is, not only does Ritvik already have an MBA degree, he also has over nine years of work experience with good companies under his belt. He is seeking the doctorate as a platform to build his expertise and make the leap from the ranks of the 'implementers' to the 'knowledge creators'.

Photographs: Vipurva Parikh

*Names withheld on request

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e-mail: Astha Parmar

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