Decoding the Naukri Varna

Ok. Let us admit it. If we were in the Varna system, Engineers and Doctors would be the Brahmins, the CA,CS and UPSC would be the Kshatriyas, the Commerce and other science graduates, the Vaishyas and the unfortunate Arts/Humanities/Social Science students would be the Shudras. It’s the unfortunate reality that was true in our society for a long time. It is not necessarily related to how much they earn or how much respect they get anymore, but it’s just a social outlook carrying on for a long time.

It is only now that we are beginning to see change. It isn’t exactly surprising. The Naukri Varna is determined by the flow of money. Once, engineers were the most highly paid professional, especially as the IT boom took place in India. So, everyone rushed into it. Doctors too, began to earn and the nobility of the career too, continued to pull people into it. But now, the engineer population’s supply is higher than demand. As any basic economics student will now tell u, this Demand-Supply relation has reduced the cost of this skill, meaning the salaries they are paid. The New Golden Goose is Finance and banking, basically tertiary sector.

It is not particularly uncommon now, to find IIT and other engineering graduates doing an MBA in Finance and joining a financial corporate. It’s true. All trends in the world are often a story of the flow of money. Not just economics. The whole social dynamics too, are determined by money. How much ever we claim otherwise, it is rational, nay, practical to look at the money these days. It’s all romantic to say that money doesn’t matter, but do tell me sir, how you would live without money, when it is what puts food, clothes, shelter, education, entertainment, in front of you?

I think what our ancestors meant by not paying attention to money was, to not base decisions solely on that. But money is the vehicle or the route to finding happiness and comfort in life. It is one of the major ingredients, but definitely, not the only one.

Having made a case in the favour of money I think it becomes imprudent to talk about the way one earns money. When you read this- you may wonder what I mean because it seems fairly obvious that a job or some work earns it. But that is hardly what I talk about. Since we have established that money is essential, it becomes obvious that we will spend a fair bit of our life earning it. So it is best to pick a job which appeals to the soul and the mind.

We have short lives- a blip in terms of the Earth’s age. If we spend more than half our life working somewhere we find no pleasure at, then life becomes depressing and monotonous. Your work needs to be something that excites you that keeps you happy, challenges your mind and interests your soul. A fulfilling job in general, brings a fulfilling life too. Life is a journey after all and our work a large part. So, it only make sense to pick something you life. Only then will you enjoy work, which will lead to enjoying life and being happy too.

I see a lot of people not liking their work and also see a lot of my Friends choose streams that do not make them happy. This is not a good idea. If your work is not one that makes you feel excited, then it seems like a boring way to spend 50 years in it. This is where the problem starts for those who love jobs that do not pay well. They are aware they would be unhappy unless both money and professional excitement don’t go hand-in-hand.

But do consider this- If you take up a job you don’t like, but pays well and vice versa, would you be truly happy in life? Would you feel truly energetic, enthusiastic and satisfied in life?


Written by Shreya Srinivasan
A person of varied interests, with a possible ADHD that went unnoticed as a child. A gypsy philosopher looking for her place and space in the world. Admittedly a little odd at first, but then, you have to be odd to be number one.