‘De-Coding’ My Career

“Your career is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy every step along the way” 

A Snapshot:

I am an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley and I currently head a Global Technology team. I have been with Morgan Stanley for 12+ years and this is the longest I have ever been with a Firm in my career journey. Before joining Morgan Stanley, I spent a few years with CommerzBank in London working as Technologist for the Equities Trading Desk.

I am from Tamil Nadu, India, studied B.Tech in Madras Institute of Technology. After graduation, I joined D.E Shaw India in Hyderabad as a graduate Technologist and moved to UK in 2005. So am a Tamil by birth, Kashmiri by marriage, British by Citizenship and a Technologist by choice.

My Core Skills are Design and Development of applications in Java, Architecture, Cloud and Container Technologies, DevOps and SRE.

Childhood Clues & Influence:

My dad was a Chemistry Professor and so I grew up visiting University campuses and being privy to laboratories – both science and computer. Though Chemistry was his subject he was always educating himself on Computer Hardware and Software and I inherited the passion from him.

I have always been studious, had great aptitude and problem-solving skills and was always up for a challenge. I always had a love for algorithms, and I continued to enjoy my maths and science subjects so much that I continued studying them till my 12th year. This opened up many opportunities for me.

My Career Map – A Perfect Plot

Unlike many others in the industry, I would like to acknowledge my early career path was perfectly planned.

Like many teenagers in India that time, I had an option of becoming an Engineer or a Doctor. I was sure I didn’t want to become a doctor, so I decided to explore Engineering.

My dad made sure I get into a University which had a great track record of graduate placements, so I have a smooth start to my career. In my first year I was confused as Engineering meant many different things. But Microprocessor and Artificial Intelligence came to my rescue in my second and third year. The summer holidays used  to be learning C and Java from my dad and by the end of Year 3 I was pretty sure I was meant to be Technologist.

The placements started in the final year, and I decided I was not going to go in any consultation firms and decided to attend the screening for one of the highest paying company in the entire placement exercise –
D. E. Shaw and I ended up getting their offer.

This was the beginning of my career !

The Journey

Like any other journey, my career had its own twists and turns, breaks and some meaningful lessons I learnt from them. As I moved to UK, I adjusted to the new work life in the new country, learnt to adjust my work and family, handle the challenges that came along with the expanding family.

Over time, I learnt many score skills like Time Management, Communication and Presentation skills, Prioritisation, Networking, Leadership etc and many of these played a significant role in my career progression.

The Output

Today I lead a Global Team and everyday is a learning for me. My focus is always to build resilient systems, build diverse talent and promote a culture of empathy in the team. 

I always look for an opportunity to pay it forward to the younger generation. Am a STEM ambassador, Mentor to University Students to coach and help them make career decisions, work with Internship and
Apprenticeship candidates. 

Today I could confidently say I have found a perfect career path, and this path has embarked me on a journey of self-discovery and growth. This job not only fills my bank account, but also my heart with happiness and contentment.

Long Term Outcome

As a hardcore engineer, my goal for now and for the next 10 years is ….