Saif Ali Shaik

October 10, 2021

I only knew direction, not destination

By default, people often as us - What do you want to become when you grow up?

Maybe that moment when we were a kid. The teacher comes in and asks us this question. I quickly said something I don't even clearly remember - an electrician? An engineer? The same question is in different ways as we grow.

More general question one should ask - What professions do you know, and what parts of it are you curious about them?

I would have told the electrician to work with wires, motherboard, chips, and current flow. An Engineer because I could work with assembling PCs, creating games of my imagination. The elements that contribute to my curiosity should have been my focus. Luckily, I unconsciously took these elements as a source to make my decisions.


In school, I was fond of computers. I believe (that time) computer science engineering requires me to take up Maths, Physics & Chemistry in +1 and +2. So I took them up.

Among the 12 entrance exams, I wrote for a seat in computer science degree in 12 engineering colleges and universities. It turned out only Sathyabama University gave promised me computer science engineering.

I figured alongside understanding computers, and I also did little better in thinking strategically, organizing things, and being driven by sharing knowledge. I pursued it.

Like anyone else, I go on to face the turmoil of placement season for job opportunities. While some took what they got, and others took what they thought was best amongst the rest. I did not take any because none of them gave me an image of what I would be doing daily. It was always just a CTC that showed up on the job adverts within the campus. I did not take up any.

From what I know and the skills I am strong at, I intern at Udacity. Eventually, I list a couple of things I CAN do and a couple of things I WANT to do. I found a mix of these items in my current role, which I started as an intern at Freshworks.

It's the Mentee-Mentor relationship that kept me going. I lost focus along the way. I rebounded.

There are no good or bad decisions.

There are only well-informed and ill-informed decisions.

It's OK to not to know the destination. 

About Saif Ali Shaik

Hey, I'm Saif. Writing is one of my favorite habits. I journal about my learnings for the world to read. Some appreciate it if that adds value. This page you are seeing is my only social media. Welcome to my World of shower thoughts!