From Bihar to IIM Calcutta - Former Indian Navy Officer puts Amazon job offer on hold to pursue MBA

Dhananjay Prasad, former Indian Navy officer, becomes a true icon who encourages the never settle for less feeling! Coming from a small town of Jabalpur, Dhananjay served in the Indian Navy for 12 years as a technical officer. However, he always dreamt of studying MBA at a prestigious B-school. Not only did he burn the midnight oil, the ex-officer at the Indian Navy took help of the online videos and social media groups of MBA aspirants to prepare for his dream study. He is now a student at the reputed IIM Calcutta and is pursuing an MBAEx program there.

Dhananjay recently got a job offer from Amazon, the e-commerce tech giant. An ideal, perfect, and a dream job for many, but the 34-year-old former Indian Navy officer put the job on hold to pursue his MBA dream. He is of the view that even though he finds himself suitable for roles in IT and operations and received an offer from Amazon, he wants to take it up only when he completes his MBA.

Flight to his dreams

Prasad was born at Military Hospital Jabalpur, and was brought up in a traditional farming family of Bihar. Dhananjay’s father also served in the Indian Army as a soldier. Therefore, the family moved to various places because of the transfers, and this inspired young Dhananjay to work for the country. He had his schooling from Kendra Vidyalaya and his entire family is now settled at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Gearing up for MBA

Dhananjay started his MBA preparation back in 2019 while he was still on duty. At that time, in December 2019, he was posted at the Defence Satellite Control Centre, Bhopal when he made up his mind to get admitted into one of the prestigious B-schools.

He started his MBA groundwork by speaking to his friends and colleagues who already had pursued an MBA from different colleges and one of his course mates who was already a student at IIM Calcutta, Class of 2021.

Since there are no institutes for GMAT preparation in Bhopal, and the MBA entrance exam requires a solid foundation, Dhananjay decided to self-study. He remembers that most of his studies took place online and through social media groups. The former Indian Navy officer remarked that he had ordered the study materials online, joined the GMAT Club, and watched YouTube videos which played an instrumental part in his interview preparation.

He studied regularly for 4-5 hours after his office hours. For him, the hard nut to crack was time management - he was not so consistent because, besides his office hours, he also helped his wife in her business which was at its nascent stage in 2019. Apart from all these, Prasad also went to the market, was relocated several times to various places in India to put in place the supply chain for the business.

COVID-19 Lockdown- A boon?

In March 2020, when India announced its nationwide lockdown, all the markets closed. Covid-19 lockdown proved beneficial for him, because many things stood still and he could solely focus on his exam. This gave Dhananjay the time to prepare for his MBA entrance. He devoted all his time to studies, even though his workload at the office increased due to issues at Doklam. The former Indian Navy officer said that when he scored decent scores in his mock tests in November 2020, he booked his exam and applied at a host of B-schools with the score. Later, he converted two IIMs and finally chose IIM Calcutta to join the MBAEx course.

He was asked a plethora of questions during his MBA interview which ranged from future aspects of Indian Economy, BRICS, mathematical equations on lines and graphs, and many more.

Results of the cherished MBA

As he pursues his dream MBA from IIM Calcutta, Prasad is not only enthusiastic about learning new skills but also unlearning. He says that the entire course is designed in a way that completes the cycle of both learning and unlearning. As an MBA student, he unlearnt various management techniques that were taught in the Indian Navy and learned new ways of doing the same.

Only a few months into his online education, Dhananjay claims that he has gained a little experience. He feels more learned than the other day. The subjects which he frowned upon because of their complexity interest him today. Finance and Economics no longer seem off-limit to him.

He feels that MBA makes even the toughest part of the subject appear easy and anyone can learn it. Regardless of the teaching platform, the faculty members are ever-ready to guide students at every step.

Dhananjay Prasad has shown that with the right blend of self-confidence, perseverance, and determination, one can do wonders. Coming from a small town, Prasad had bigger dreams- and he knew he would take all the difficulties in his stride. After having served for twelve years in the Indian Navy, he successfully entered his dream MBA school and put the job offer by Amazon on hold. Rightly said, Sky's the Limit!

For more such interesting articles, read: