What I do for a living?

Surprise, surprise... Blogger has finally become multiple device friendly and I am loving it!

Being in an industry where my job is to ensure that our end customers get hooked to what they see on screen and take away something useful and informative, this change seems to meet all the requirements! That was me trying not to reveal my job. 

Since the intention of this post is to talk about my job, I do want to reveal what I do for a living. I am an Instructional Designer (ID), working for one of the top MNCs in India. Sounds fancy huh!

It's been 10 long years since I started as an ID and it looks like I am going to continue in this field, at least till my retirement. So what do I do as an ID? I design eLearning courses in a manner that it can be easily consumed by the learners. Basically it is the stuff that you see in ads such a Byjus and Udemy, where we promise that we deliver courses which are so interesting that you can't stop with just one. 

How did I enter this industry? Its a one word answer - fate. When I was in my final year college, my father started to threaten me saying that if I don't get a job, I'll be considered a failure. Since high school, I wanted to be a journalist. It was a career aspiration which I am sure I picked up after seeing some random Hollywood movie. But the internship during college was a slap on my face and proved that I am no fit for a journalist. So with no goal in sight and with no other viable options, I decided to sit for all possible campus placements that came my way.

Thankfully I didn't have to sit through many. When the first company came, I got selected till the interview round. In that round, they asked me 'What is Instructional Design?', which was the position that I applied for. I stared at the HR's face for 10 mins, without saying a single word, post which they asked me to leave. However, for the second company I was super prepared and cleared the interview in flying colors. And that's how I became an ID! Yaye! 

As I got trained about what ID was and after I started working hands-on, I kind of liked the work. And since I had zero knowledge about anything else, I decided to stick to it. Now, as of today, I love my job. Not many get to say that line, so I am happy that my dad threatened me with the 'failure' card and I am thankful that I prepared at least for my second interview!

You know what the irony is?

A basic need for this job is to have good English language skills. Throughout my academic period, English was the one subject that I hated. I have never scored more than 50%. EVER! And now, here I am with a job that has language skills as the most important requirement.

And the second irony is, after moving four companies in five years, I got recruited by the first company that came to my college for campus placement. The HR round this time was over phone and it was by the same guy at whom I stared for 10 mins couple of years back. Of course he didn't remember me, but I clearly did. Its' been six years now and I am still here!

'O_o'