Average. Average is the one word every Indian dreads. It is difficult growing up in a country like India. It’s always a case of The Average Situation. It really is. People from other countries always look at us and ask us the same godforsaken question over and over again –“You have a population of over a billion. Why aren’t you the best at anything?” And they get the same reply, a fake smile of embarrassment, or a cheap attempt at a clever deflection. It does bother me that despite all this outright criticism, we still continue to wade in a stagnant pool of the spoils of our own historical pompousness, failing to get a move on into the future. In a population of 1.252 billion, it’s hard to tell you how each individual grows. But to break it down for you in simple terms, it all boils down to this – Education. Education, among many other amenities, is a luxury in India. Not everyone has an equal shot at a good college education. What’s worse is that the people with no college education struggle to make ends meet. That’s the unanswered irony in my country, the struggle to find and hold on to a job, irrespective of qualification. Approximately 1.5 million engineers pass out of colleges across India, and 20-33% of these 1.5 million fresh minds remain unused with no hope of pursuing a career that demanded four years of hardship as a pre-requisite. The remaining 66% are lucky to have been employed, but what makes them that much more special than the rest?
Every Engineer aspires to embark upon a journey of technological advancement, structural enhancement, multi-faceted integrity and most of all service to mankind. Of course, there is the prospect of earning a decent wage as an Engineer, but the job specification comes along with all the aforementioned. But as has been indicated earlier, not all these dreams come true. So, what does one have to do to stand out in an ocean of kinsmen? What does one do to avert the Average Situation?
The answer is simple (or at least, it sounds easy). The key to being special is to be above average. Employers don’t want the Average Joe anymore. Employers cannot take the risk of employing a person simply based on his potential, because essentially, they’re looking for a Thor in a sea of mortals. You have to be above average, in fact, you have to be as far above the average line as you possibly can, to even stand a chance in this cut-throat world. So, how do you become Thor? It’s not like you carry around the Mjollnir that you can wave around to summon lighting storms to fetch you a job. It’s a little more fundamental. Employers look at you for your add-on value. Just like the ones you get on restaurant offers or television packages. What you know, one less than one and a half million others know, but what is it that you can offer, that the rest cannot?
Typically, the answer to that would be the knowledge of things that enhance your profile. For example, AutoCAD, CAE, PROWorks are some of the designing software that a mechanical engineer is expected to have a thorough knowledge of. But to stand out amongst a crowd, you would suggest that the same mechanical engineer learns a bunch of other computer designing programs that may assist him. True, but it isn’t always certainly going to guarantee you a job. The same applies to a computer science engineer trying to become a programmer, or a civil engineer looking to build something great, or a doctor looking to make it big and earn respect in a community.
I believe that there is one quality that will garner you some serious recognition, irrespective of the academic assets that add value to your portfolio and help you tackle The Average Situation- your Individuality. It might sound a little vague, but when you have the ability to announce yourself in a strong and telling manner, your chances of being considered skyrocket multiple times. Try to make your individual talents, a part of your dreams. Try to incorporate the silliest of ideals that make you who you are, into what you do for a living. Be a moron, but be a unique moron. Being one of a kind never fails to impress. It satisfies you, and it helps people realize that you aren’t simply sucking up to them for the sake of the job. Their judgment is irrelevant, because no matter how many times you ask yourself, you will be the best judge of your own character. The concept of individuality is the trigger to discovering yourself. The beauty of individuality is that it will exist, of your own being. It will be the product of years of evaluating yourself in a world of threats, equals, and peers.
Life isn’t a bed of roses. It’s scathing, relentless, demeaning and a lot of other things, but one thing it will always be, is as a beacon of endless opportunity. And your individuality lets you decide when, how and why you need to grab a particular opportunity. Embrace the individual in you. Put your mind and soul into nourishing that individual. When the opportunity comes, that individual will burst out of you like a butterfly from a cocoon and never cease to astonish you. When you’re able to astonish yourself, it is obvious that you are rising above the average. If you fail, always remember, life’s a beacon of endless opportunity. The Average Situation can be handled, after all.
