Buddy Talks

गाडी भारी आहे... पण ती जातेय कुठे? समजा तुम्हाला पुण्याहून गोव्याला जायचं आहे.  बस स्टँडवर पोहोचलात. समोर दोन बसेस आहेत. एक साधीशी बस आहे. फार काही भारी नाही. पण ती गोव्याला जातेय. आणि शेजारी एक चकचकीत  Luxury Volvo उभी आहे. मस्त आरामदायी सीट्स... AC... भारी interiors... नावाजलेली Travel कंपनी... फक्त एकच Problem आहे. ती जातेय नागपूरला! तुम्ही कोणती बस निवडाल? काय मूर्खासारखा प्रश्न आहे असं वाटलं ना? कारण आपल्याला कुठे जायचं आहे हे ठरल्यावरच आपण तिथे नेणारी शक्य तितकी चांगली गाडी शोधतो. गाडी कितीही भारी असली तरी ती आपल्याला हव्या असलेल्या दिशेने जात नसेल तर तिचा उपयोग काय? पण गंमत अशी आहे की Engineering Admission च्या वेळी अनेक हुशार विद्यार्थी आणि त्यांचे सुशिक्षित पालक नेमकं याच्या उलट वागताना दिसतात. सुरुवातीला मुलगा म्हणतो, "मला Computer Science करायचंय." मग Admission Process सुरू होते. CET/JEE Rank... Cut-offs... College Rankings... कॉलेज Brand... आणि लक्षात येतं की CSE आपल्या पसंतीच्या कॉलेजमध्ये मिळत नाहीये. पण त्याच्यापेक्षा जास्त नावाजलेल्या कॉलेजमध्ये सिविल इलेक्ट्र...

  I magine you want to travel from Pune to Goa.  You reach the bus terminal and find two options.  One is a rather ordinary-looking bus going to Goa. And parked next to it is a luxurious Volvo—comfortable seats, great interiors, excellent reputation... But it is going to Nagpur. Which one would you choose? Sounds like a ridiculous question, doesn't it? Obviously, the vehicle matters only after we know where we want to go. Strangely, when it comes to engineering admissions, many intelligent students and parents seem to forget this simple logic. A student begins with: " I want Computer Science." Then counselling starts. Ranks. Cut-offs. College reputation. Placements. Campus. Brand. Suddenly he discovers that he can't get CSE in  a CAT A college ... he can get the same in a CAT B college  ( Lets say College B) .. but he is getting  Civil or Mechanical in the much more prestigious CAT A  College .. ( Lets say College A) And slowly the conversat...

  As I reflect on this awesome profession today On this Doctors’ Day, my heartfelt respect and gratitude to all doctors who dedicate their lives to healing others. And as a Career Coach, Doctors’ Day also compels me to ask a difficult question. How many students truly aspire to become doctors because they deeply understand the profession… and how many are simply driven by prestige, social validation, parental expectations, or fear of missing out? This is not an easy question. But it is an important one. Let us begin with a reality check. Every year, over 2 million students compete for barely 1.3 lakh MBBS seats in India. In simple terms, more than 94 out of 100 aspirants do not get an MBBS seat . Even if you   Add another equal number of seats that are available in BDS and AYUSH put together   ( Total approx. 2.5 Lakh seats ) Pause for a moment. This means nearly 90% of aspirants will not secure a seat . Think about what this means psychologically. Mi...

  When Institutions Change Slowly and Individuals Rise Quietly What Saee Jadhav’s IMA Milestone Teaches Us About Careers, Courage, and Character. As a career coach, I am sometimes asked a deceptively simple question by young people and their parents: “If talent exists, why does opportunity take so long?” The story of Lieutenant Saee Jadhav from Kolhapur , who became the first woman  officer to pass out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in its 93-year   history , offers a rare, living answer to that question. This is not merely a story about gender. It is a story about institutions, identity, timing,   resilience, and the real anatomy of career breakthroughs . IMA: Not Just an Academy, but a Cultural Stronghold The Indian Military Academy, founded in 1932, is not simply a training centre. It is the symbolic nucleus of the Indian Army’s combat leadership tradition . For generations, IMA has represented: Permanent Commission Command res...