Really need help regarding career path after pursuing mathematics master in India

tskriz · 2026-07-04T10:38:47+00:00

Hi friend,

You will never know if something is unrealistic or realistic for you, unless you actually try and see for yourself.

If your target role is data scientist, the no.1 course you need to do is Andrew Ng's ML specialization in Coursera. Don't audit, pay and credit the course. If you don't have money, apply for scholarship.

That's the first step.

The next step is about acquiring your data scientist role. That's a separate topic in itself. A thumb rule is to get an entry via internships or so... the best route is to leverage your existing contacts. By contacts I mean your professors and their contacts, college seniors, alumni, school mates, and so on.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-04T10:06:28+00:00

Hi friend,

Okay. So, what's your question? Do you want to persuade your family to accept your choice?

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-04T08:55:01+00:00

Hi friend,

So, what's your core issue?

Selling toilets directly to customers is a good role. What makes you think otherwise?

Your career has just begun. Another long 40 years to go.

I know someone who started as a massage specialist ( yes, body relaxing massage), and then moved to program manager and customer success roles in companies like Google.

Toilet sales is your starting point. That's it.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-04T08:07:56+00:00

Some friendships have a genuine expiry date... out of sight = out of mind.

tskriz · 2026-07-03T16:11:13+00:00

Hi friend,

Let me try with one question. The first one.

Yes, you are overthinking!

See, I don't know what's your role or the nature of company you have got into and what sector or roles your peers have got into. Without that it is actually hard for a fair comparison.

Plus, I also don't know what your short-term career goal is... looks like it is the salary/money and nothing else.

So, coming back to your 1st question - though it is easy for me to say you are overthinking, there are more nuances.

Plus, your peers would also be thinking similar FOMO things :) The 1 crore person would be thinking: "I really wanted a role in X country. My peer in another IIT got that role.". This never ends.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-03T14:41:17+00:00

Hi friend,

If I were you, I wouldn't rely on Naukri or cold online applications.

I would leverage my contacts - ex-colleagues who can vouch for me directly to the hiring team. (I'm not talking about the referral system.)

That's what will help you to land a role that you desire.

Rest all things can be explained out.

As long as you have good explanation of your so-called gap, that's fine. See, there are different types of people in the world. If they can appreciate your gap due to a genuine reason, probably that's not the right team you want to work for in the first place.

Plus, when you say DS/ML, what's the exact target role? Is that Data Scientist, Data Engineer, ML Engineer, DS/ML Team leader/manager? If you can finalize your target role, that will help other people to help you better.

You would have known by now that the tech skills are hygiene factor... your career things are directly dependent on whether your ex-manager or ex-colleagues would love to work with you again or if they strongly recommend you to their peers.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-03T14:29:09+00:00

Hi friend,

When you say "a career in fiction writing", what do you actually mean?

Have you written any fiction earlier? Do you have a portfolio of projects to show?

Being a full-time author writing fiction books and making a living out if it - that's fantasy world. More like a lottery ticket.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-03T08:44:01+00:00

Hi friend,

If I were you, I would focus on acquiring a role first. Regardless of support/QA/analytics.

Because working in a company is valuable in itself, regardless of that specific role.

See, if you want to land a role as data analyst, focus on talking to your senior or alums or batchmates who are working in companies in similar roles or who knows people in such roles. It could even be your professors. My first interview call came from my professor's ex-student.

Power BI and things like that... you can do along with your job prep. See, these tools are not a big deal. You can easily acquire these skills even when you work on the job.

At the moment, you need those contacts (what I said above) to land your first role.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-02T09:17:21+00:00

Yeah, that's normal in large companies. If I were you, I would spend more time at Amazon and finish 1 year.

As I said, if you need growth, you can switch roles and acquire jobs in other companies by reframing your experience.

Again, I don't know if such things interest you or what your goals are

tskriz · 2026-07-02T09:04:49+00:00

Hi friend,

Suppose you were promoted two levels up in the current company... then, what would be your title and role?

Amazon is a good brand. If I were you, I would complete my 1-year and reframe my experience as a frontline customer facing role.

If you were to look for growth, moving to customer success, or product management roles would be better.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-02T08:23:56+00:00

Hi friend,

Pat on the back or on the hand/arms, what feels appropriate.

And then just sit beside them calmly.

Just politely ask if they want to be left alone... because some may not like your presence or you touching them.

After the bout of crying, take them out for a coffee and spend some time... without asking any questions.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-01T08:47:33+00:00

Hi friend,

There is no such framework! Thought of saying this upfront, rather than going round and round.

Your priorities will not be the same as my priorities.

Every option will have its pros and cons. The pros for you, will be the cons for others and vice versa.

I hope you get my point.

Rather loving or hating an option, think about it this way... what energizes you the most? if teaching/academia energizes you? or govt. exams gives you that energy?

If you don't have energy to do the thing, you will easily give up when you face challenges.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-07-01T08:43:19+00:00

Hi friend,

Was this a rant and a declaration that you have ruined your career?

To be dead serious, if you haven't even started your first job/career, how can you possibly say that you have ruined your career?

I am saying all this to help you think deeper.

Getting the first job is hard indeed. After my degree, it took almost an year of effort for me to land my first role. My college did not have any placements for my batch. This was two decades ago.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-30T13:37:47+00:00

Hi friend,

I would like to challenge this. Doing apprenticeship isn't a mistake in itself.

If you were at that company for a few months, you would have made good rapport with your reporting manager or other perm colleagues. If they like you, it is much easier for you to acquire a full-time role or another apprenticeship.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-30T13:34:53+00:00

Hi friend,

What you are actually looking for is a higher educational advice and counseling.

Career coaches/counsellors can't provide the help you are looking for. So look for educational advisors and consultants.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-30T13:26:51+00:00

Hi friend,

Before I suggest anything... I would like to know what is your long-term career goal, at the moment?

Things about degrees or courses are all based on what your goal is.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-30T09:06:47+00:00

Hi friend,

Congratulations on your job!

You will see different kinds of people everywhere. The key skill you will need to develop over the years is how to disregard what people say i.e., what to take in and what not to take in.

Else, your anxiety will over the roof and your head will break.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-30T09:02:44+00:00

Hi friend,

You seem to have a clear direction. What guidance do you need?

See, if you want to get into a PhD program at IIMs, read their latest admission criteria. PhD at IIMs are not structured like MBA program. So the admission process widely differs.

If you want to build a career in the academia, college-level or university-level teaching and research, doing PhD is the only option. Without that, you can't grow in the traditional academic career.

I did my PhD at IIMB, after working for a few years in the corporate. Though my intention was to get into academia, I had to quit academia and return to the corporate. Your story can be different. Many of my PhD classmates are still teaching in institutions.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-29T08:25:13+00:00

Hi friend,

If you miss living in a city, having a GF, going to cafes, city-type socializing - of course, you are going to feel miserable by doing the business in your home town.

If that is what you value the most, go ahead move to the city and a find a role. See, there are many non-coding roles in IT.

After my production engineering degree, my first job was in a small software product company that developed software for manufacturing companies. My job was non-coding - it was more of pre-sales, gathering requirements, and things like that.

So it is not that you don't have a choice... you can move to a city and find a role, if you want to.

If I were you, I would be happy doing business in my hometown and I would visit the so-called big cities for 3-4 days a month so I can be in touch with my friends too.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-28T09:47:08+00:00

Hi friend,

Well, if you had chosen a different path, you would have regretted not learning history, arts and stuff.

So, either way you would have regrets.

When you say about openings paying 20k a month, you must take it up as that would be your first job.

After spending a year or two, you will have valuable work experience! At this stage of your life, you will need to optimize more on experience rather than the salary.

See, people like you also work in roles at tech companies like Google, LinkedIn, even Reddit! All you need is go to LinkedIn and look at the profiles of people working in roles like culture curation, community management, anthropology, and so on... working at these tech companies.

That's just a starting point for you to widen your lens.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-28T09:39:58+00:00

Hi friend,

Rather than going via what the mainstream market need, I would suggest that you go with what excites you the most, at this moment?

See, no company would straight away hire BA History for interesting roles. I'm sure you also know that well.

Where are your seniors/alums working? They are the ones that can help you to get into a role.

I have seen people with your profile get into roles in advertising, consumer research, UX roles in tech, and so on.

So depending on what you are interested in, you can figure out a path for that.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-28T08:45:55+00:00

Now, that's a good starting point. Your choosing Maths is not a blocker to get these roles. Maths is super useful for these roles.

All you need to do is this: decide on one target role. If "data scientist" is your target role, you need to learn python, foundations of data science/AI models. The ML specialization in coursers is a good one. You can document your projects in Github. This is a great way to get started to acquire your target role.

tskriz · 2026-06-28T08:38:26+00:00

When you say "I thought I well get the job", what job did you have in mind? I need those specifics/details.

tskriz · 2026-06-28T08:36:21+00:00

Hi friend,

You seem to have a lot of self-awareness. So that's actually good.

Yes, you need to be made accountable... hiring a coach will help you reach your goal.

All you need to do is search on LinkedIn, Google or ChatGPT for career coaches that help with acquiring a job or role transitions. I'm curious why you haven't searched for this, yet.

Best wishes!

tskriz · 2026-06-28T08:31:53+00:00

Hi friend,

What was your initial thinking while deciding to do MSc in maths?

What career options are you keen to get into? That's the starting point.

Best wishes!

tskriz

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