Aspirations

Professionally speaking, at different times in our lives, we have different aspirations. Initially, when you get into the groove, it is just about a job that pays. Over the years, you realise what you want to do and then look for better options. That is about the 'kind of work'. And later, you want to be in a position of choice, a position of responsibility, a place where people recognise you as leader. Money at that point is immaterial, though important, but still it is about being in a respectable position. So to sum it up, aspirations are a dynamic function of your experience.

On the contrary, there are some (people) whose aspirations are driven by the people around them. For eg: you see your parents are doctors, so you are coaxed/forced to become one. Same is one with people who own shops, run their businesses. Their aspirations are not that dynamic. Of course, their aspirations are also to earn big, but the initial triggering doesn't come from their inner self.

I belong to the first set of people. When I opted out of admits in DCE (Delhi CoE) and REC-K/REC-M, I knew I didn't want to pursue stuff I wouldn't develop an interest in. Even at that point, I hardly knew anything about computers. So that aspiration developed with complete influence from what was 'hot' at that time. People who were into ComSci were earning big bucks. During the final year, the aspiration was only to find a good, decent-paying job. With the first job, the aspirations changed to work for a bigger company that pays better. When I moved into one, I saw the mad rush of people hopping over to multiple jobs, the hara-kiri around better 'prospects'.

Finally after an initial stint, the aspirations tend to revolve more on education, future options, job-stability and leadership. At this stage, you are in a much better position to assimilate and evaluate what is or can be your right 'position of choice'. This is the most critical phase where aspirations shape up the long-term professional future. Another very important factor is the organization you work with. If given a choice, I would try to evaluate the work-culture of a company before moving on. I have learnt in my current job that I can't head-bang with the computer for 8 hours continuously. And I learnt from one of my friends that he does the same in his company. No time for gossip, focus on 'just' work.

In a nutshell, aspirations are a function of time also. They increase with time. Why not, everyone's expectations also increase. So is aspiration a direct function of expectation as well ?