Rising Through The Ranks Podcast | E01
In recent years, tech startups and raising funds has been glorified and jobs have been vilified. Even when the fact of the matter is, 8 or 9 out of the 10 people around you are working at jobs. Moreover, most people may not even know about high-paying jobs that can be pursued which would pay more than many small businesses.
Also, there is generally very little attention on SMEs, while these companies, which are generally considered "boring businesses" like construction or furniture businesses, contribute to more than 1/4th of India's GDP.
So we're creating a podcast where we discuss with people at high rungs on the job ladder and owners of SMEs and MSMEs about their life and work.
We hope we can provide value to people who are interested in these fields: students who would be coming into the workforce, people who want to climb the ladder at their current or future jobs and people who might want to start their own business but don't really know much about tech.
To that end, we sat down with Mr ML Sharma for our first episode. He was born in a village called Surana near Jaipur, came to Jaipur for his graduation, and worked at a Telegraph Company. Later on, became an IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer, worked in Rajasthan throughout his tenure, retired in 2006, and is currently Vice Chancellor of JECRC (Engineering College) Jaipur.
We talked about an array of topics revolving around his life, work and the mental game of working and performing over a long period of time. The main points we talked about were:
Working relentlessly: Sincerity and work ethic were foundational for Mr Sharma. These came first. And were not second to loving one’s work. And that did not mean that he gave up family life. He worked diligently and then enjoyed life too.
The day-to-day of IRS officers: We talked about the work IRS officers need to perform, and how the career of a civil servant progresses in that line. Mr Sharma told us stories from his time in the department and how he feels satisfied after working directly to serve the public.
Health tips: Working for 40 or so years means you need to take care of yourself. All that money you earn will be of no use if you’re stressed and exhausted too much to take care of your body. Mr Sharma told us about a hack he has used for over 40 years, and which has helped him avoid sickness over that time.
You can check the complete interview out here:
We hope you enjoy and learn from it. And do let us know if you have any feedback or people you think would be a good fit for the premise of our podcast. Anyway, if you enjoyed this article, you can read more from me here. Subscribe for free to receive more posts like this every day!