How I transitioned from being a fighter pilot to the corporate world (Part 1)

Ajay Krishnan
Nov 5 · 6 min read

About 22 years ago, I started my journey to be a part of the third-largest standing military in the world. As I stepped into the premises of one of the most renowned military boarding schools in the country, holding my mother’s hand, I would have never guessed how my life would turn out.

While completing a seven-year sojourn at Sainik School, Kazhakootam and preparing to commence a tougher one in a military academy later, my dreams were all about a new gadget I had discovered — the computer. This contraption fascinated me to the ends of the earth, knowing what I can make it do if I knew how to talk to it the right way. When my mom first showed me what the Internet was (it cost Rs. 120/USD 2 for an hour of access through a dial up connection those days), proverbial seeds were planted in my mind about what I wanted to do. And it was not soldiering, by any means.

But somewhere along the journey, as wisdom dawned and peer pressure built up, that dream faded amidst the sudden realization of the need of a job-oriented course after school. Being in a military school for such a long time, the primary option for a career was just that — the military. Weighed in by the responsibility of supporting a single mother who had brought me up single-handed since I was two years old, joining the Indian Armed Forces as an officer seemed like a viable and logical career choice.


I was commissioned in to the Indian Navy in 2008. Since then, I went through many life-changing experiences in my life — some of them classified, some of them silly. If I didn’t mention till now, I was a Naval Aviator and a fighter pilot, undoubtedly at the apex of the food chain when it comes to military aviation. For ten years, I upheld the essence and traditions of this great fighting force to the best of my ability. A decade of uniformed service to the motherland.

My proudest achievement.

However, there were issues in my life that needed addressing without which the cornerstone of my existence — family — would have crumbled. Long working hours and sparsely available weekends and holidays were taking a definite toll on my personal relationships. My marriage which was just two years old, was getting shaky with my better half asking for a little more time for us to be together instead of at office. I could not say that she was being overly demanding, because what she put forward was a blatant fact. Early morning briefings and late night appraisals were robbing me of my sleep and mental health, which I was not fully aware of. Add to it long deployments to areas where we barely had cellphone reception. This went on for more than a year, and finally at a certain point which pushed me past the threshold I put in my papers. Though an understanding Commanding Officer who knew me well (as every CO should, about his subordinates) cleared them and forwarded them with the right recommendation, I was not sure whether it would be approved or what I would do if it were. Military was all I had known in my life and nothing else.

Fortunately, inspiring my confidence in my top brass, my reasons were taken into confidence and my papers cleared within a year. But till about a month before my requested release date, I still did not have any confirmation whether I would be allowed to leave. However, I started preparing for the future nevertheless. I was about to plunge into the unknown with no pension and no depth of knowledge, and see myself without a job at the age of 32.


The first thing I did was take stock of my finances. I made sure that I had enough savings to last me for at least a year without a job. My prudent habits of personal finance really helped me out here. Along with my Provident Fund and bank balance, I had some mutual funds that I could dig in to if push came to shove.

Next, I started reading. Blogs, online articles, magazines, Twitter and Facebook accounts of veteran officers who made the transition before me and even books on entrepreneurship (I was not sure if anybody would hire me). I have to admit, this was the first time I spent considerable time reading on topics other than professional ones like avionic systems, turbojet engineering and meteorology. And it really helped me understand the changes that had taken place on the other side in the decade that I had been cocooned by the military.

Before I even started looking for a job, I wanted make something very clear to myself : what did I want to do? I was already a pilot, which means I had a very valuable skill. But I was a fighter pilot with no experience on multi-cockpit aircraft (unlike the passenger planes fighter jets are designed for only one pilot). This meant I would have to get my flight certifications and simulator experience followed by an aircraft type-rating — a financial outlay of about 50 lakhs (USD 70,000). It was unthinkable for me, as I knew I would be left with no financial cushion if I put that much money into one basket. It was also the time of the great Jet Airways deluge — there were highly qualified pilots with thousands of hours of experience looking out for a job. I knew I would get drowned in that vast ocean of supply.

So, I enumerated my skills on a piece of paper. I was good at public speaking, articulating my views and ideas well in a way that was easily understandable to a non-native English speaker. I was also good at explaining concepts (from my experience in aerodynamic theories and teaching it to my junior pilots) and theories to people who may have only a basic understanding of the subject. Combined with a pleasing personality, I realized these two skills would be a gateway for me in the field of Sales and Business Development. My next most marketable skill was my military background itself which had a good probability of landing me a security job. However, this was not an area that I was really interested in. It is pertinent to note that retired military officers command good pay packages and benefits in the security industry — probably most retired senior military officers earning more than 1 Cr/year are exclusively from the security domain. The third skill I had was in man management — this meant a career in HR. This also interested me, and I put it as second on my list. Finally, I put ‘entrepreneur’ as my fourth choice.

Next, I started contacting people whom I knew personally working in the corporate sector. Naturally, I started with my school seniors and other retired officers whom I knew while they were in service. I came to know from my wife, who was an expert at corporate image management that this process was called “networking”. Except two of these contacts, all of the others suggested me to either go fly a plane or become a security officer.

I did not want to do either.

Here I was, unsure if my papers will go through, uncertain of what job I was most suited for and uneasy about the recommendations I was getting. It was clear that for the first two options on my list I had to either settle for pay packages far lower than what I was getting as a Naval pilot or undergo expensive certifications to even get noticed. Furthermore, I was also getting suggestions of doing a full-time MBA (which was again going to cost me) before even trying for a job. This was the moment when you doubt all those self-help books that tell you “to do what your heart wants to”, and “follow your passion”. Neither of these pay bills and put food on the table so sometimes you do need to be pragmatic and take a less pleasing choice.

So I decided that I will, indeed, “follow my heart”.

What happened next really forms the crux of my second life story..

(Contd in Part 2 here.)

(P.S : This blog is purely for educational purposes for transitioning veterans, and NOT a commentary on life in the armed forces.)

Ajay Krishnan

Written by

Investor. Author. Solutions Specialist — Cyber Security and Digital Forensics. Helping veterans transition to corporate success. Engineering a safer world.

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