I often joke that the only reason I became an engineer is because I didn’t want to be a doctor. But really, I love what I studied: it led me to so many opportunities I hadn’t foreseen. You think that when you go into engineering, you’ll be stuck with maths – but really, you end up with people. For me, that’s a great source of joy.
Thanks to my studies, I’ve been able to work across roles. I started out in logistics at Volkswagen, and since then, I’ve done so much: another degree in tech management – from undergrad up to a masters level – as well as stints at AIDC, UTi, and then DB Schenker, where I am now Cluster Head of Intercontinental Supply Chain Solutions. I just celebrated 12 years of working here, actually!
During COVID, I thought: When I look back at this time, what will I be able to say I achieved? I realised it was the perfect opportunity to do an MBA. I suddenly had so much time. At orientation, I remember being told that I needed about 10 hours a week in the first year for my studies. To be honest, I needed double that. In the second year, I needed triple that. And, in the third year, I needed 40 hours a week if I wanted to succeed.
The question facing me was: can I find the time to succeed? And I did. It starts with you deciding what’s important and what’s not. For me – don’t laugh – that was removing myself from multiple WhatsApp groups. It also meant saying no to social functions or waking up at 4:30am on Saturdays so I could work for four hours before continuing research and reading. It meant cutting down on family time.
It wouldn’t have been possible to do it without my wife. At the same time that I was doing my MBA, she was changing course in her own career, studying cloud computing through a US institution at all hours of the night. Even so, she never said no when I needed help or time to study. Having somebody who is game to support you in that way is something to be so grateful for, and I am. It paid off for both of us – she’s now got a job at Google; I completed my MBA and was promoted at work!
Now, I try to be there for other students going through the programme. After submitting my thesis, I volunteered to mentor three students during the writing of their dissertations. They were on the verge of saying: ‘I’m not going to graduate, I’m dropping out.’ But two of them graduated last year. Another is finishing their dissertation now. I tell them: You just need to write five pages a week. Just five! If you can do that, you’ve got this. And they’ve done it.
At some point, you just have to let go and trust that everything you put in will pay off. Even so, life still has a way of throwing you curveballs.
In the last few hours of my final 24-hour exam, my daughter fell sick. She had terrible nausea; we had to rush her to hospital. When we arrived, my wife said: ‘You are going back and you’re going to finish your exam. I will manage. Don’t worry.’ And three hours later, just as I submitted, my wife phoned to say our daughter was OK – she was fine, she recovered.
Some doctors have explained about post-call – what it’s like coming back from a long time on duty. I honestly felt I was post-call on an operation after that exam. I think I made the right choice going into engineering rather than medicine!
Upon reflection, I think an MBA is like a very arduous, very memorable trail through the mountains. I say this because once I completed the programme, I did the Otter Trail with five friends. I was amazed by how much the hike mirrored my studies, you know – I imagined the backpacker carrying the workload of year one; then year two and three. By the time I got to day five of the hike, I was so appreciative of everything. I could put that workload down. I could feel I had achieved something great.
And now? I’m ready to keep pushing myself. Sure, maybe it’s a cliché. But the fact is, pushing your boundaries can mean so many things. It’s so permanent. I’m going to do it – I will push myself. I’m going to try.