11 Graduates Who Quit Lucrative Jobs To Pursue Their Dreams

The biggest perk of graduating from India’s top engineering and management schools is that it guarantees a corner office. IIT or IIM graduates always grab the most lucrative offers, making the rest of us mortals look like duds in comparison.

But not every graduate sticks to the original job offer he was awarded with. They often choose to go off track and opt for careers that are unconventional, but close to their hearts. Their faith in themselves drives them to follow their dreams by bidding goodbye to their cushy corporate jobs forever.

Here are 11 inspiring stories of graduates who didn’t think twice before making the switch.

1.  Nihar Ranjan

TOI

An IIT-Kharagpur alumnus, with a track record of working with multinationals across India and the US, Nihar Ranjan quit his job to work for the betterment of Odisha’s villagers. Earlier this year, he filed his nomination for Member of Panchayat Samiti in his native Dumuka gram panchayat. He wants to set up a dairy farm in his village to enable people to buy pure milk at cheaper rates.

2. Swati Kaushal

IndiaToday

The IIM-Kolkata graduate quit her high-paying corporate job to write books. Her passion for writing was so strong that she chose her first book over a lucrative job offer. Kaushal has authored three books since then – A Piece of Cake, A Girl Like Me, and Drop Dead.

3. Shuvajit Payne

Rediff

Armed with a Finance and Marketing degree from IIM-Lucknow, Payne dedicated four years to IBM in London. However, his inner calling brought him back to India to empower people living in remote villages. With the support of State Bank of India’s Youth for India programme, Payne received basic training and was posted in Wardha district of Maharashtra. He worked extensively with NGOs to set up vocational training centres for villagers.

4. Munaf Kapadia

Munaf

An MBA from Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee, Munaf Kapadia landed a job at Google. During his time there, he felt quite annoyed with his mother watching boring television sitcoms. A brainwave led Kapadia to get her busy. He then started Bohri Kitchen, a startup to make people taste the delicious meals his mother pampered his family with on the dinner table. The venture, that’s two years old now, treats foodies to a seven-course meal and is often frequented by the likes of Rani Mukerji, Ashutosh Gowariker, Farah Khan, and Huma Qureshi.

5. Divakar Sankhla

TOI

An IIM-Lucknow alumnus, Sankhla co-founded Alohomora with Parinita , to empower young minds and make them the owners of their own learning. A Teach for India fellowship led to the setting up of Alohomora that creates project-based programmes to be implemented in government- and NGO-run schools.

6. Abhishek Singhania

Rediff

Singhania graduated from IIT-Madras in 2012 and went on to join PricewaterhouseCoopers in Mumbai. Soon after, he went to Saudi Arabia on a project for six months. But a couple of years later, he quit his job to pursue farming. He travelled across India to visit and work with farmers. He learnt about natural farming and now lives and works in a village near Kolkata.

7. Ankita Kumawat

Express

An IIM-Kolkata post graduate, Kumawat quit her job to become a dairy farmer in Ajmer. She gave up her corporate job to help her father, who took voluntary retirement to open a dairy business. Ankita now looks after Maatratav Dairy and Organic Food Company that provides people with pure and unadulterated food items.

8. Garima Vishal

Rediff

Vishal, an IIM-Lucknow graduate, was working with Infosys when she realised her true calling. Disturbed by the lack of educational opportunities for children around her, she opened Dejawoo School of Innovation in Bihar, with a goal to educate children and give them the freedom of thought. The school employs women who quit working after marriage along with professional teachers.

9. Alok Sagar

Aajtak

After getting an  M.Tech in Electrical Engineering, IIT-Delhi alumnus Sagar earned his PhD from Houston University, Texas. He returned to India to work at IIT-Delhi, and even mentored Raghuram Rajan. However, he soon quit his job to work for the people. He settled in Madhya Pradesh and aligned himself with Shramik Adiwasi Sangathan – an organisation that fights for tribal rights. 

10. Prasoon Gupta

VCC

Gupta, an IIT-Roorkee graduate quite his five-year-old venture, Tech Buddy Consulting, and set up Sattviko in Delhi – an eatery that catered to the sattvik lifestyles of people. His new venture serves cuisines from India and across the world including Mexican, American, and Italian. All the food is prepared without onion or garlic.

11. Nitin Saluja

Chaayos

Saluja is the brain behind popular chai brand, Chaayos. Saluja, who graduated from IIT-Bombay, quit his job after discovering a passion for tea. The NCR-based café was subsequently opened, serving over 25 varieties of tea. Today, Chaayos competes with the most established café brands in the region.

Passion is a very strong emotion that can drive people to achieve great purposes in life. If you have a burning desire to do something different, go for it. The world is your oyster!