When Your Job Does Not Related To Your Degree, You’re Not Alone.

Kemang, October 2016.

I believe that our career is about connecting the dots. Whenever you’re interested in something, it will lead you to a place you’ve never known before.

A few years ago, I worried about the future of my educational background in natural science. I have been studying physics for more than 4 years (in college) but was not pursuing a career on it. Meanwhile, some of my friends continued their Master in Physics or worked in related places such as oil and gas companies or the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI). That made me lose confidence in my career path. But why do we have to do so?

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

This quote by Steve Jobs is one that I continue to look up to. Now I realize — after two years struggling as a Marketing Consultant — that it is okay to work outside the range of your educational background. Because what matters is not your background, but how you are doing your job as best as possible.

And now, working at a Tech Start Up company in the People and Culture Division (or the human resource department), I found out that there are many people who are also working in professions unrelated to their college majors.

At GO-JEK, we have induction sessions twice every month to welcome new go-troops (a predicate for go-jek employees). Today, I met a go-troop who came from an Architecture background at UGM (University of Gadjah Mada), yet is working in GO-FOOD Marketing. Several days ago, I reunited with a senior in college who also majored in physics. Despite not having any background in IT or as a programmer, he is now a back-end developer. haha.

So if you’re worried about pursuing a career unrelated to your major, rest assure that you’re not the only one.