Don’t Follow Herd Mentality, Says Topper Who Quit Engineering in IIT Bombay to Follow His Dream

It’s not often you hear about a student quitting mid-way through studying engineering at one of the Indian Institutes of Technology. And it’s even more unlikely to hear such news about the topper of All-India JEE (Advanced) to do so.

But Chitraang Murdia did just that when he dropped out of IIT Bombay where he was pursuing computer engineering to follow his one true passion.

In a new Humans of Bombay post, the young man has spoken about the kind of pressure he was in from the rest of the world, when he came to the realisation that he wanted to study Physics rather than pursue a popular engineering stream.

Of his decision to quit IIT, he says, “Everybody was shocked by this decision and that included even my friends. People used to say that you are a kid and don’t know how to take important decisions of your life and you will be earning in lakhs after receiving the Engineering degree from IIT.”

But he followed his heart and has never regretted it as he was able to secure admission into one of the most prestigious institutes in the world – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – and that too on scholarship.

And now Chitraang hopes his story will inspire students who feel the pressure to do engineering, noting, “I have seen the students who are good in physics and maths are following the herd to seek admission to courses such as computer science and electrical engineering. It will definitely boost up the moral of those students who wish to pursue their interest in pure science but couldn’t do that because of the family pressure or money.”

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And the advice couldn’t come at a more opportune time as millions of students start preparing for the arduous process of obtaining admissions in colleges across the country.

Read the full post below:
I have secured All India Rank -1 in IIT-JEE examination 2014. I took admission in IIT Bombay and was all set to become a Computer Engineer. But soon after getting the admission I realized that “Computer science is interesting to me, but my passion lies in physics. I wanted to do research, probably in quantum theory”. Don’t know how, but I developed my keen interest in Physics and decided to quit IIT. Everybody was shocked by this decision and that included even my friends. People used to say that you are a kid and don’t know how to take important decisions of your life and you will be earning in lakhs after receiving the Engineering degree from IIT. But as always, I followed my inner soul and not what others said. Finally, I got admission in one of the world most prestigious institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and that too with scholarship. I have seen the students who are good in physics and maths are following the herd to seek admission to courses such as computer science and electrical engineering. It will definitely boost up the moral of those students who wish to pursue their interest in pure science but couldn’t do that because of the family pressure or money.

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