How I went from being a techie to an MBA, to a banker, and back to a techie

Photo credit: Margot Pandone

Ever since I quit my fixed income trading job at Barclays London and joined a leading tech startup in India, I’ve had a lot of my friends asking me the same question,

“Why did you give up a high-paying and glamorous job and decide to become a techie again?”

I’ve answered this question every time, sharing my personal experience through this transition, and my reasons for such a decision. From what I’m told, my answer has been helpful, and in many cases, has helped people make their career decisions. I believe that there could be many others sitting on the fence, hesitant to take the leap, and who may not be my friends nor  able to reach out to me directly. Hence this article.

The answer to such a question can not be purely logical and impersonal.

Hence, I will first introduce myself briefly, so that you can imagine the life I’ve had so far.

My background

Undergraduate and MBA

I studied Computer Science at IIT Delhi (IITs, or Indian Institutes of Technology, which are considered to be the toughest engineering institutes to get into in India, and Computer Science is considered to be the most sought-after discipline at IITs).

During my undergrad years, I loved mathematics and theoretical computer science. However, I did not particularly enjoy programming. I landed a well-paying hedge fund job on campus, but on finding out that I would be joining a back-office, I wasn’t too interested. I had written CAT (entrance exam for top Business schools in India) and scored well, and got admitted to IIM Ahmedabad (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad — considered to be the top Business school in India and the hardest to get into globally). So by elimination, I chose to spend the next two years doing an MBA at IIM Ahmedabad.

These two years passed really quickly. I learned a lot, met a lot of interesting people, and also became more ambitious and career-conscious than before. Because of my interest in Math, I felt that Finance would be a great career option for me. On hindsight, the money and glamour that comes with this option was also a highly compelling reason that might have swayed the tide in its favor. I joined Barclays Investment Bank in London, Barclays Capital at that time, after a couple of short stints with them in Singapore and New York.

Upon graduation

I started the gig at Barclays with a lot of positivity.

In 6 months, people were impressed with me and I could now do big trades, deal with the biggest clients, etc. However, I did not feel proud of what I had achieved.

Taking the leap

Going back to tech

The next leap – starting up

Conclusion