Career Growth Decoded From Engineering To Strategy, Consulting & Startups

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Career growth isn’t always a straight highway; sometimes it feels more like driving through Gurgaon traffic. Unpredictable, full of sudden turns, frustrating at times, but exciting if you know how to navigate it. I’ve lived that journey myself: from corporate boardrooms to startup chaos, from strategizing with banking giants to hustling as a founder. Along the way, I realized that career growth isn’t just about moving up the ladder; it’s about learning resilience, reinventing yourself, and staying curious.

In this blog, I’ll share my personal journey—what corporate roles taught me, how entrepreneurship tested me, and the leadership lessons that continue to guide me. Whether you’re aiming for your next promotion or dreaming of starting something of your own, I hope these experiences give you a roadmap to design your own career.

Resilience: The Foundation of Career Growth

After completing my B.Tech. in Computer Science, I stepped into the corporate world with excitement but also with a nagging curiosity: Is this all there is? Like many fresh graduates, I wanted to prove myself. But unlike many, I wasn’t satisfied with just “doing my job.”

I pushed myself to go beyond my role, to understand how businesses worked end-to-end—why certain strategies were made, how customers responded, how numbers translated into growth.

• That hunger eventually led me to pursue an MBA from MDI Gurgaon, followed by a leadership program at IIM Kozhikode.
• Balancing work, preparation, and life wasn’t easy.
• There were days when exhaustion felt overwhelming.
• But resilience and keeping the bigger picture in mind and showing up every single day kept me going.

Resilience isn’t just about cracking competitive exams or pulling all-nighters. It’s about developing the muscle to stand tall when the road gets bumpy. Every career path will test you—sometimes with failure, sometimes with uncertainty, sometimes with self-doubt.

If you’re serious about growth, resilience isn’t optional. It’s your best friend.

Corporate Hustle Meets Startup Grit

Over the years, I worked across business development, marketing strategies, alliances, and consulting in the BFSI industry. At Paytm and Kotak, I managed large accounts and led teams.

Corporate life polished my skills in strategy, client relations, and partnerships. I learned how to structure problems, drive performance, and close critical deals under pressure.

But the real test came when I decided to step out and build something of my own. Entrepreneurship is like being thrown into the deep end of the pool—you either learn to swim or you sink. My startup, which digitally transforms the laundry process and now operates across 10 cities in India, taught me lessons that no corporate boardroom ever could.

Unlike corporates, startups don’t give you the luxury of well-oiled systems or endless resources. You learn to improvise. You learn to wear multiple hats—salesperson in the morning, product manager in the afternoon, and HR by evening. The grit you develop in this journey complements the polish of corporate experience. Together, they create a powerful blend that sharpens not just your skills but also your mindset.

If corporates teach you to think strategically, startups teach you to act decisively. And in today’s fast-changing world, you need BOTH.

Leadership and Communication: More Than Just Buzzwords

Leadership is a word often thrown around, but lived experiences shape its true meaning.

I got my first taste of leadership as a Class Representative and Placement Committee member during my MBA. Back then, I learned that leadership wasn’t about authority; it was about empathy, listening, and ensuring others’ voices were heard.

• Later, while leading teams of 15 executives, that lesson only deepened.
• A leader’s job isn’t to be the loudest in the room; it’s to bring out the best in others.
• And I realized something else: leadership without communication is incomplete.
• I’ve always loved public speaking, and over time, people started calling me a good orator.
• That ability to articulate ideas clearly, to connect with an audience, or to rally a team became one of my strongest assets.
• Whether you’re pitching to clients, inspiring a team, or convincing investors, your words carry weight.

For anyone chasing career growth, here’s my advice: polish your ability to lead and your ability to explain. The two combined can open doors faster than any fancy degree can.

Why Sharing Wisdom Matters

When I unplug from work, I swim or pick up a book. But one thing I’ve always gravitated toward is mentoring. Over the years, I’ve had countless conversations with younger professionals, sometimes over coffee, sometimes on calls, helping them make sense of career decisions. And every time I do that, I see a bit of my younger self in them.

Career growth, I’ve realized, multiplies when you share it. Your wisdom becomes someone else’s stepping stone. That’s why platforms like Unstop excite me. They aren’t about fame or visibility; they’re about creating ripples of growth in others’ lives. Every story you share, every piece of advice you give, has the potential to inspire someone else to push harder, aim higher, and keep going.

Conclusion

Career growth isn’t about one big leap; it’s about many small, consistent steps. Resilience, adaptability, leadership, and the willingness to reinvent yourself - that’s the real formula.

My journey from corporate strategist to startup founder has been full of experiments, failures, and wins. Some days felt like victories, others like setbacks. But looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. Each phase taught me something that the next phase demanded.

If there’s one thing I’d leave you with, it’s this: keep hustling, but don’t forget to pause and share the lessons you pick up along the way. Because your story might just be the spark someone else needs to keep moving forward.

Want to learn directly from the mind behind this article? Connect with Ratikesh Sharma on Unstop for personalized 1:1 mentorship, expert guidance, and more!

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