Switching Careers at 25: Is it Too Late for CAT Preparation?

Ans: Yes, your friend is eligible to give JEE Main 2026.

Ans: Order of Preference (for CSE):

Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore

Manipal University Jaipur

Reva University, Bangalore

Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore

Ans: DAIICT

Ans: Mechanical branch is not suitable for women as most of the jobs are not white colored

Ans: See NIRF ranking of colleges and universities

Ans: NFSU DELHI btech CSE ( cybersecurity and forensic science)

Ans: Spandan, pause before you mail the resignation.

Your maths
60 k take-home
40 k spends (15 k of that is EMI on a 9 L loan)
→ 20 k buffer

A newborn will nudge monthly costs up by 8-10 k. Cash cushion shrinks fast.

So the plan must earn while you learn, not leap blind.

Keep the paycheck six more months.
Use evenings to test micro-ideas. Risk stays capped at ?0 for now.

Choose a “cash-this-month” niche, not a moon-shot.
Pick work that turns inventory ≤ ?50 k into sales inside 30 days.

Tiffin + office snacks (two dishes, 40 boxes) - ?25 k utensils, ?10 k FSSAI, ?5 k flyers - ?120 per box × 40 = ?4.8 k /day

Amazon / Flipkart reselling (phone cases, cables) ?40 k stock, ?15 k ads 25 % net margin on ?2 L monthly sales = ?50 k

Weekend print-on-demand & personalised gifting kiosk ?45 k heat-press kit (other options are there too) ?300 profit per mug × 200 pcs → ?60 k Bring Your Mug - Take Away Memories.

Local social-media management for clinics & salons ?0 gear, ?3 k Canva Pro ?8 k-?12 k per client; 6 clients hit target

None need heavy staff or rent. All can run beside your day job.

Set one simple goal: ?15 k profit by Day-30.
Hit it twice, raise target to ?35 k. Only when side income beats salary three months straight do you quit.

This is critical - Plug leaks early. Refinance personal loan to longer tenor; shave EMI to ~?10 k.

Park 1 L of savings in an emergency account—no touch.Skill up tiny, daily.
Watch a YouTube on ad copy, take a WhatsApp course on GST filings. Low cost, immediate payback.

Start small, sell fast, reinvest every rupee. Freedom comes, but by steps, not by one loud jump.

Ans: Losing a role stings, but you still hold 12 years of know-how. You have lost a job not your talent and skills. Here’s a reset plan buddy.

Re-price, don’t discount. Reframe pay from “match my last CTC” to “pay me for problems I solve.” Turn two big wins into numbers - saved ?4 crore, cut churn 18 %.” That shifts talks from cost to value.

Shrink the job, keep the rate. Offer a six-month contract or project-based retainer. Firms swallow a premium more easily when the commitment feels lighter, and it puts you back in play fast.

Reach out to five ex-managers or clients this week. “Know anyone struggling with X–Y? Happy to jump in short-term.” Warm intros beat cold LinkedIn blasts ten-to-one.

Negotiate EMIs, pause SIPs. A lean runway buys freedom to walk from lowball offers and pick the right next jump. - That is how you can control cash burn.

I am curious - What’s one past project you can package into a 90-day consulting offer and pitch by Monday?

Ans: Finish Pega Process AI and GenAI missions on Pega Academy.

Grab the Lead Decisioning Architect badge; it pairs decision rules with machine learning models.

Add open-world AI skills
• Evening habit: Python + Pandas + basic ML (fast.ai or Google crash-course).
• Learn prompt writing and RAG patterns; Pega GenAI exposes hooks to LLMs from AWS & Google.
Build a side demo: Pega case flow that calls a small-language-model API for claim triage.

Study event streams (Kafka/PubSub) and container basics (K8s). These glue Pega to data pipes the business already trusts.

Share results, blog, community posts, a PegaWorld talk would be cool. Recruiters hunt presenters.

Which cloud path AWS or GCP feels easier for you to start this month?