When Indian students are at crossroads of choosing their careers, they are often carried away by the success of their seniors, parents, and cousins etc. Larger publicity given to certain ‘safe choices’ also affect their career decisions. While it is no longer taboo for a girl or a boy to become a DJ or a model; disciplines such as engineering, medicine, and IT remain as popular as ever. Still, it is not uncommon to see scholars of one field taking up professions completely different from their education. Five such famous individuals who broke the mould of conventional careers are listed below.
Harsha Bhogle
Before rising to fame as a cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle was an engineer during his undergraduate programme. He completed his education as a chemical engineer from Osmania University followed by a PGDM degree from IIM-Ahmedabad. After brief stints at an advertising agency and a sports management company, he became a full time sports commentator and a TV presenter.
Rowan Atkinson
No one can make out that television’s favourite funny man ‘Mr. Bean’ was not so funny in his education. At the undergraduate level, he studied at Newcastle University where he received a degree in Electrical Engineering. Afterwards, he pursued the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen’s College, Oxford where developed interest towards acting and then made his way to television to take up acting as a profession.
Alfred Hitchcock
The renowned suspense-thriller filmmaker recognized for movies like Vertigo and Psycho, Sir Alfred Hitchcock pursued his studies to become an engineer. He studied engineering at the London County Council School of Marine Engineering and Navigation. After working as a draftsman briefly, he launched his full-time career at Hollywood in 1920.
Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat might not have been able to impress the literary elites in our country, but no one can deny the fact that he is one of the best-selling authors of India. Like a conventional middle-class guy, he pursued mechanical engineering from the IIT Delhi and MBA from the IIM Ahmedabad. Before he wrote his first novel, he worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong for nearly a decade. After that, he moved to Mumbai to focus on his writing career completely.
Nagarjuna
The Telugu movie star has not only won two national awards but also have an academically brilliant background. He has studied his Bachelor of Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy and then completed M.S. in Automobile Engineering from Eastern Michigan University. After completion of his studies, he decided to join the film industry to follow his father’s footsteps.