Young Professionals Redefine Career Success Through Experimentation

Starting with a bold shift, this 25th episode features three accomplished young people who discovered their paths by eliminating what didn't work rather than following predetermined plans. Deepika Ganesh, Aryaman Harish, and Aditi Battu share how they navigated education for sustainable development, data analytics, and immunology—not through linear trajectories, but through intentional exploration.

What happens when you reject medicine despite family pressure? Aditi pursued a liberal arts degree, sampling subjects from molecular biology to gastronomy before finding her direction. (Her unconventional combination proved remarkably effective.) Aryaman created an interactive Netflix dashboard using Tableau and Kaggle data, helping independent producers pitch to Netflix by exploring viewer preferences across genres and markets. Meanwhile, Deepika designed massive open online courses at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, decentralizing business education through region-specific case studies.

From their first jobs—Deepika at KPMG in knowledge management, Aryaman at a startup during a funding round, Aditi in HR at a cancer hospital—they learned crucial lessons about ownership and organizational impact. These experiences taught them that career flexibility matters more than rigid planning, especially in today's rapidly evolving landscape where skills develop through experience rather than academic boundaries alone.

Their advice? Embrace experimentation, notice genuine curiosities, and allow space for boredom to rediscover lost interests.

Listen to discover how these young professionals are shaping unconventional yet remarkably clear career paths.