Continuous Up skilling The Road from LLM to CS

Continuous Up skilling The Road from LLM to CS

It is never too late to add to your knowledge or skills or learn something totally new… Read on to know…

A SECOND INNING, NO MATTER WHAT THE FIELD IS, ALWAYS THROWS DIFFERENT CHALLENGES. SOME EASY AND SOME DIFFICULT FROM THE FIRST INNING. IT TEACHES YOU PATIENCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING IT COUNT THIS TIME.

After two years of work experience, as a law graduate from the DU 2004 batch, I realized that the LLB course was getting popular rapidly. Lawyers' spouses, clerks, unsuccessful students of CA & CS were all pursuing it. The regular post-graduation 3-year course, suddenly sounded easy to pursue and complete as there was an abundance of colleges affiliated to various universities offering LLB.

Soon I realized that one needed a relevant professional degree to differentiate oneself from the crowd.

Once an unsuccessful aspirant of CA and CS, I always found these courses challenging. Since I couldn't clear these, the CA and CS professionals fascinated me all this while. I continued to believe that they really achieved a big feat by qualifying for CA or CS and deep within I wanted to have that feeling.

I believe my fondness for the professional courses once again nudged me to start a second inning in academics. I registered myself for CS in 2013 when everything I needed to clear the course was available with me and nothing could be blamed on scarcity of resources like in college days when spending on tuitions was a luxury.

But the feelings were temporary as two attempts after registration went waste as I could not spare time or should I say I still didn't know whether I was capable enough to clear it. Studying just before the exams didn't yield expected results and once again I was going to get over this temporary feeling to possess a good professional degree but before I could again lose track, one of my friends told me that clearly CS would require some hard work and if I was thinking to clear it the way I was studying, I had better drop the idea.I believe it made me think seriously about clearing CS.

Without this piece of advice, the story that follows might never have happened.

I identified the subjects where I needed help and started going for classes. After some serious efforts for four months, came my first success.

I cleared the first group of the executive course consisting 3 papers, in total where there were 16 papers in the CS course. The journey was long but I had started the same with some bit of success which gave me an idea as to what it took to clear the CS exam.

If I reflect back, I believe the journey could have been a bit easier if I hadn't told the world that I was pursuing CS. I wouldn't be faced with aurbatayaar, CS kaisachalrahahai while having lunch with colleagues. They also made it a point to remember my results day which was pretty embarrassing but all part and parcel of the journey…

Summer vacations and long weekends were another big distraction, when your colleagues make holiday plans and you are sorting out your timetable to cover-up some syllabus. I was then torn between an urge to enjoy these family holidays and the realization that I could do so only by deserting my studies.

The CS, simply because it runs from 3-5 years, needs to co-exist with your other priorities. You just can't shut out other things for it whereas it could be advisable if the course was shorter that you gave it your all putting all other things on the backburner at least for a while.

I realized that especially for working professionals, the two foremost things any CS aspirant needed was to be part of a student group that was full-time pursuing CS; and have a well-structured routine which fit comfortably with one's other responsibilities.

A well-planned study routine was KEY. At the same time, the student group would help you with necessary updates with respect to course, institute, classes and books etc. You had to just join it, no matter if the kiddos were half your age…

I cannot forget to mention the role of IT advancement in facilitating good online content which is a must for understanding the subjects involving numerical problems. Trust me, CS also changes the way you approach different things in life; it might sound clichéd but it is true. The syllabus of the CS is so huge that students have to understand all the things in detail and one can't afford to rush through anything. All my life, I think I had been in a rush or race to complete the course as soon as possible but the important thing was not completion but understanding the subject which one could grasp only by spending more time learning the finer details.

During this journey, I come across some fabulous teachers and picked up some traits on the way. These were like nuggets of wisdom which they had acquired over years of experience and were disseminating for the betterment of students. A qualified teacher said that the syllabus of the subjects was literally endless so one could not imagine to learn it. So what was one to do? Just read it at least three times. The human brain is designed in such a way that one will remember and can reproduce after a minimum of three readings.

This helped me to clear all the theory subjects. The key was peaceful and attentive reading. Just to give you a feeler, a LLB student studies 30 subjects over a period of 3 years and here, one has to master 15 laws (all put together) in one subject and imagine you have 16 of these to finally clear CS.

There were times when all the traits I learned also failed but believe me, only then you explore new traits that are earlier unknown. Let me share an example to relate better to the last phrase - When I was attempting to clear the CS Finals, there was a subject - Financial Management, Derivative and Forex. In this subject, there were three sub-topics with varying weightages 70%+20%+10%. So, I went with the weightage and covered two topics with almost 90% course coverage. This didn't help. The learning - 100% course coverage was a must in the professional examination as you never knew when they clubbed two topics to ask you something you did not know.

Finally, studying longer, harder and smarter paved the way for acquiring my coveted professional degree. I believe more than the qualifications, the learnings on the way helped me to broaden my perspective and become a better professional. A quote from Winston S. Churchill always inspired me which I would like to share with you; "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."

In my service career, I observed some brilliant minds working in niche fields like finance, legal, compliance or actuarial but couldn't break the glass ceiling for the want of professional degrees. I am sure, like me, all working people would have noticed that a non-CA, no matter how good he may be, in the finance department wouldn't grow beyond a point. I want these fellows to seriously think beyond their capabilities and break the glass ceiling.

It is not sufficient to be at the right place at the right time but you also need to have it in you; the right skillset, to graduate to the next level.

One must carefully choose the courses which can help them excel in their respective roles/profiles. Remember the right time, right place and right YOU can fetch you unimaginable success.

I think my journey may inspire people for continuous upskilling no matter the industry they work in; their location or level.