u/FirmWestern8311

Did a bachelor's in Political Science from DU.

Worked a year in political consulting as part of a fellowship. Was supposed to work for an MP but didn't get one. As a result, I just put my head down and didn't do the grunt work most of the other fellows were doing. The difference is they were assigned MPs and I wasn't, I didn't want to work in political consulting. Did a small internship at Niti Aayog with a different consulting firm. The work was dull, the impact they were making was negligible and they treated me like I was shit. A lot of condescension and what you're doing is beneath us culture. I was mostly just cross checking data from an excel sheet. Told my dad what was going on, he said okay you wanna work for change, I'll help you. He had a vision for a while he wanted to work on. But no one to execute it. I tried my hands on it for 1.5 years, worked my ass off even though it was extremely stressful and I had little to no knowledge of the industry I worked in. 1.5 years later, I was burnt out, the product we had created expired and the team had left. Now I am wondering what I should do. I wanted to go for a policy research job but I've heard they have a terrible work life culture. And well, for me, being able to exercise is more important than earning money right now. I was also thinking of a Master's degree - either a Masters in Public Policy or an MBA from abroad. Thoughts? I am absolutely exhausted trying to figure out which option fits the best.

Tldr: BA in Political Science from University of Delhi → political consulting fellowship that went nowhere because no MP assignment → dull internship at NITI Aayog with toxic consulting culture → spent 1.5 years building a high-stress social impact project with dad despite no industry background → burned out, team collapsed, product failed.

Now stuck between:

policy research jobs (interesting work, questionable lifestyle),

an MBA/MPP abroad,

or rebuilding something independently.

Big constraint: work-life balance and time to exercise matter more right now than prestige or money.

Did a bachelor's in Political Science from DU.

Worked a year in political consulting as part of a fellowship. Was supposed to work for an MP but didn't get one. As a result, I just put my head down and didn't do the grunt work most of the other fellows were doing. The difference is they were assigned MPs and I wasn't, I didn't want to work in political consulting. Did a small internship at Niti Aayog with a different consulting firm. The work was dull, the impact they were making was negligible and they treated me like I was shit. A lot of condescension and what you're doing is beneath us culture. I was mostly just cross checking data from an excel sheet. Told my dad what was going on, he said okay you wanna work for change, I'll help you. He had a vision for a while he wanted to work on. But no one to execute it. I tried my hands on it for 1.5 years, worked my ass off even though it was extremely stressful and I had little to no knowledge of the industry I worked in. 1.5 years later, I was burnt out, the product we had created expired and the team had left. Now I am wondering what I should do. I wanted to go for a policy research job but I've heard they have a terrible work life culture. And well, for me, being able to exercise is more important than earning money right now. I was also thinking of a Master's degree - either a Masters in Public Policy or an MBA from abroad. Thoughts? I am absolutely exhausted trying to figure out which option fits the best.

Tldr: BA in Political Science from University of Delhi → political consulting fellowship that went nowhere because no MP assignment → dull internship at NITI Aayog with toxic consulting culture → spent 1.5 years building a high-stress social impact project with dad despite no industry background → burned out, team collapsed, product failed.

Now stuck between:

policy research jobs (interesting work, questionable lifestyle),

an MBA/MPP abroad,

or rebuilding something independently.

Big constraint: work-life balance and time to exercise matter more right now than prestige or money.

I watched this play in the Kamini Auditorium where Nitish Bhardwaj reprised his role of Shri Krishna, a delight for the eyes.