Jan 28, 2020
If you want the ultimate satisfaction, teach.
An interview with Sreevatsav Rajanampalli | Everyday People #79
Hi, this is Season 3 of Everyday People. This week, Mr. Sreevatsav Rajanampalli. Note: this interview was conducted in April 2019, so some details might not be outdated.
1. Who are you, what do you do, and what is your current side project?
I’m Sreevatsav who hails from the Temple City of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
I’ve done my Masters in Electrical Engineering from NIT Trichy, and am currently employed with Alstom for the past 5 years (from July 2014) as a Software Engineer.
I always had dreams of floating my own company — tried and failed doing it twice. My first attempt was to start a coaching institute for teaching GATE aspirants. The second attempt was to start a software company with an idea to digitise menu for restaurants.
I’ve shelved other plans as of now, but I’m pursuing my side career in teaching, which I’m passionate about. I teach GATE aspirants on weekends.
2. Tell me about teaching. You started a business in coaching, and now with a salaried income, you continue to coach. What about teaching appeals to you? Why is it important to teach others?
I don’t know why, but I’ve been interested in teaching from childhood. I always loved to take sessions for my classmates during undergrad.
I started professional teaching while I was studying. I consider teaching to be my first job. It gives me satisfaction. I’ve had numerous students coming back to me after taking the exam, thanking me for the effort I’ve put in to teach.
Those testimonials keep me going every year even though there is a lot of mental and physical stress involved.
A thankful note from my students at the end of the day and the sense of satisfaction of learning a new thing is what drives me. Should I stop seeing these one day, that would be the last day I teach.
3. Is teaching your ultimate passion? Is your job as a designer a means to an end, or do you derive satisfaction from it as well? Tell me about your day job and what it means to you.
Yes, no other job gave me more satisfaction then teaching. My job as a Software Designer gives me a only a paycheck at the end of the month. It is there to meet ends.
My day job expects me to satisfy my bosses more than myself. It is monotonous and organisations won’t take risks by changing the roles if you excel in what you do. They don’t think that if a guy performs well in this role, he might do as well if given a role of his choice.
Maybe I’ll start loving my day job if I get someone who thinks like this, but I don’t see that in the near future.
4. What 3 life lessons do you resonate with the most? From your childhood to everything you do now, what are key pieces of advice you can give to the reader?
- Never let anyone take decisions about your career, even if it is your parents. Go against everyone and do what you like, because you are going to live with the decision for the rest of your life.
- Never trust people blindly. In the end, everyone is selfish in their own ways.
- A breakup is not the end of your life. There is in fact beautiful life after that. Don’t give up.
5. Awesome. Lastly, what can you leave the audience with?
Since I hail from Tirupati, anyone who wants to visit and have darshan [pray at the temple] can contact me anytime. My family loves to host and help anyone out there. Email me at sreevatsav.r@gmail.com.
Hello friendo, you made it. THANK YOU for reading!
This is Season 3 of my interview series. I believe everybody has an interesting story to share, even if they don’t know it themselves. I try and bring that out of them, so that you can see that someone else’s life is as complex and large and beautiful as your own. I believe that is inspiring — do you?
Everyday People is season 2 and up of Talkback Tuesday, a project I started in 2016. The previous interview was the first interview of Season 3.
Sagnik Biswas is an events man, having been in events all his life. Click below for his top three skills you can learn by managing events.
