FIFTEEN years ago, I found myself in the right place at the right time.

After three years of a teaching stint at Gulbarga University, while pursing a postgraduate research degree, I walked into my first corporate job.

To my good fortune, L&T (Larsen & Tubro), a reputed engineering firm specialising in manufacturing, engineering projects and IT, was in the midst of a hiring push. They were strengthening their employee welfare initiatives.

And I was lapped up like many other IT graduates. With a sense of euphoria and confusion, I confided in my PhD guide. Lucky for me, he was an objective person with a lot of foresight.

It was hard for many of my classmates to find jobs straight out of university. My guide, also a great mentor, literally pushed me to take up this opportunity. He also assured me of his support till I earned my research degree.

Working for an engineering company, a progressive organisation, proved exciting me at 27. But, soon, I discovered that, to stay competitive in such a cutting edge environment, I would have to update and expand my skill set continuously.

Only a year out of university, I decided it was necessary to return to the classroom, this time through distance education. I enrolled with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, to pursue a Master's degree in business administration with a focus on HR and Marketing.

With India Inc on the growth path after the economic reforms of the 1990s and an IT boom, I wanted to take classes that would help me develop my knowledge in IT-related areas.

A degree in electronics helped me gain a wealth of knowledge in Computers, Electronics, Physics and Mathematics. I also wanted to understand the subject of management better. I thought a well-rounded background in electronics and management would best aid me in growing faster in the corporate world.

Photograph: AP/Moshe Milner

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e-mail: Deepak Deshpande

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