Dear Rediffguru, I did my engineering in ECE long back in 2006 and started my career as a software engineer in a top-tier IT MNC in India. Soon I lost interest in the insurance projects I was assigned with. I worked with Mainframe systems for 3 years and due to the very unimaginative nature of my work, I quit the MNC against the wishes of my parents. I always had this passion for visual narrative and storytelling, so I appeared in the entrance exam of FTII in Film Direction course in 2008 while I was still working in the IT sector. I got AIR 8 but failed to crack the interview. As my parents were very disappointed with my career choices and always pressed me to be in a job, I did not sit for the FTII exam in the following year, and instead started learning 3D Animation & VFX from a so-called prominent institute. I had completed 5th year in painting from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh while I was in class X, so animation was not difficult to grasp. But I suffered due to poor infrastructure of the Indian animation industry, meagre starting salary etc. I had to start my career afresh with a low salary in 2013 and changed a job to land in one of the Big Four MNCs in its creative department in 2015. I have completed 8.5 years in this firm and have been working as a Manager since 2020. While I was learning animation, I assisted in live-action filmmaking. Later, before joining the Big Four firm, I got selected in the first ever Film Restoration and Conservation Workshop in India, organized by the Film Heritage Foundation. I was also selected twice in 2 national level screenwriting programs for my story ideas but could not materialize the ideas into scripts due to lack of time on my part for commitments to the office job. Those programs had fixed timeframes for completing screenplays. After spending a substantial time in the current job which has not been offering me anything new anymore, I decided to renew my connection with films. I got selected in the entrance exam to study Master's in Film Studies at Jadavpur University in 2022. My course will end soon in June. I have studied Master's while working in my present organization as a part-time employee and I am scheduled to join back as a full-time employee from July this year. I am a family person now and got married last year. My parents are old & ailing and I look after them. They are not in a position to oppose my career choices anymore. My question is, what career options could you suggest for me going forward? Shall I pursue a PhD or look for suitable creative job options? As I have been in touch with films and related studies due to my Master's, I do not wish to lose the momentum again. I am 40 years old and aware of my complex situation. Please advise. Thank you so much.