A sudden transition from the mirthfulness of college life to the workplace often appears daunting and hard to acclimatise to. Time spent with friends, college festivities, overlooking the trials of life, and dreams of achieving big things abruptly transform into long office hours, stringent working conditions, and a monotonous life devoid of fun and frolic. Rajiv Aggarwal, in his book What I Did Not Learn At IIT, underscores the inevitability of this transition and explains how one should leverage one’s college education to choose the best career, giving oneself ample scope to learn and grow.
The author draws from his own experiences and describes what it takes to be successful. The book highlights the habits, behaviours, and thought processes that lead to success. It underlines the importance of setting long term goals and not settling for short term monetary lures. It encourages graduates to look at their career over a 40 year span and explains that successful people strike a common chord with each other in terms of being passionate about their jobs. It says that small amounts of learning here and there all add up , which is reflected in successful people showing up to work on time, getting proper rest and nutrition, and being willing to learn.
The book emphasises the fact that graduates need to control their own lives and make important decisions before the age of 30. What I Did Not Learn At IIT was published by Random House India in 2013 and is available in paperback.