Inspiring story of Raunak Singhvi, Chartered Accountant, who made a career change at 29.

After completing CA and CS in 2013, Raunak joined RBS as an analyst in financial reporting. He worked there for two years, before moving to BCG as part of their internal consulting team in 2015.

In October 2017, Raunak moved to KPMG India as a Senior Consultant in the BFSI space. 

One day, a conversation over lunch, with a senior partner of a top consulting firm, changed Raunak's perspective of a satisfying career.

In an environment where everyone was trying to make money and leave a legacy, Raunak realized that he didn't aspire for this. It was his moment of truth; he didn't want to become a partner. That didn't excite him. Raunak dared to question his current career.

In 2019, he left Delhi and moved back to Jodhpur, his hometown.

He is currently working on a couple of start-up projects across the education and e-commerce space.

He is working with Marwari Catalysts, a Startup accelerator in Rajasthan to nurture an entrepreneurial ecosystem across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India.

Raunak underscored the support he got from his family and friends. “I had a difficult time convincing them, but once they were on-board, I was satisfied with my decision,” he said.

His friends rued to him about their lack of courage in pursuing their real purpose.

Raunak says that taking a call on a career change is not simple. "One cannot look for guarantees as there are none. You have to be grounded and have total clarity in your head because you can’t afford to be clueless once you quit.”

Being able to express oneself fully and having the freedom to do what one loves is undoubtedly liberating, he says.

Raunak advises against taking a sentiment-loaded decision, considering a career change could hurt one's financial security.

Those who seek to switch to a new career path, Raunak believes, should maintain an emergency fund worth 18 months' expenses as it would act as the shock absorber during the interim period.