In the final year of my degree, I got pregnant with my first son, Tej. He was born just before my final exams, but I still managed to score a distinction! All those late nights of studying paid off indeed. After completing my degree, I moved to Singapore where we had our second son, Anuj a couple of years later. Having two toddlers kept me on my toes all day long and while my classmates were busy pursuing their Masters or handling new jobs, I was busy changing diapers. Of course, I consciously chose to be a stay-at-home mom so that I could be there for both my sons in the first few years of their lives. Needless to say, my career needed to wait a little longer.
After a few years in Singapore and USA subsequently, we decided it was time to move back to India so that I could pursue my career back in my home country. My boys were now at school and I realised this was my time. I applied for a junior role as a technical writer at the Innovation Lab in Scope International, Chennai. It was intimidating indeed because I hadn’t done anything for myself since my studies, so I felt I had a lot to prove.
Fast forward eleven years, and I’ve enjoyed so many different opportunities to make up for the lost time. I’ve found there are always open doors available to you and I’ve raised my profile with senior management several times, which is a great reflection on the culture within the organisation. Spurred on by my time blogging in California, I now specialise in communications, employee engagement and business planning within the T&I world, and more specifically within the Core Infrastructure Services (CIS) team.
