Ask not what you want, ask what you don't...

Over a decade ago, I faced a critical decision which turned out to be a major inflection point for the rest of my career. Fresh off the factory that pushed out thousands of newly minted physicians in India each year, I needed to find the answer to the question, "What next?". For most of my graduating class, it was a relatively straightforward equation: take the medical post-graduate entrance exams, obtain a score high enough to secure your place in a highly coveted residency program (level of covetousness decided by the score needed to enter it), if unsuccessful repeat the process the following year and the next until you get into the desired program or lower your bar and settle for something less. It seemed like few of my fellow graduates even considered that there could be opportunities with far better prospects beyond the beaten path.

While this way of charting one's career may have worked for several fresh graduates, I for one, did not share the single-minded near-term focus of my peers. I decided to take the leap, and forgoing my young but non-casual interest in becoming a general surgeon, decided to leave the world of clinical medicine behind to embrace clinical research and potentially a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Truth be told, at the time, I had hardly any clue as to what this career might look like. It was almost as if I was driven more by what I did not wish to do than what I would like to do. My career journey since then has been one of most amazing depth as well as diversity. From providing basic medical care to low-income families in a mid-size town in India to playing a critical role in helping a NASDAQ-listed biotech company grow its market cap by 75% in 6 months, my journey has helped me develop a unique and holistic perspective on early career charting.

Long story short, it is perfectly OK to base your career decisions on things you know for sure than on things that you hope will transpire. This will invariably mean honestly and objectively establishing what one does not want to do and looking for alternatives that one might wish to pursue. Alas, this is easier said that done. It needs one to overcome one of the most basic of human fears, the fear of the unknown. It was this fear that plagued several of my fellow medical graduates and forced them to stick to the marked path, causing some to develop a sense of professional dissatisfaction in later life. Fortunately, fear of the unknown is the one of the easiest fears to overcome by illuminating the unknown by seeking out those who can help you fill some of the blanks in your career blueprint.