Everyone asks: "What do you want to study?" I tell them: "The intersection of technology and business—building and scaling products."

They usually look confused. Then they ask: So... engineering?. "Not exactly. Not traditional engineering."

So business then? Also not exactly.

And then comes the look. The one that says: "Why are you making this complicated? Just pick one."

Here's the thing

I figured this out between 8th to 10th grade. Not the confused, scattered kind of figuring out. The clear kind.

I know I want to build companies that use technology to solve real problems. That means understanding how to build products (the technical side) AND how to bring them to market, scale them, and create sustainable businesses (the business side). I'm not interested in being just an engineer who codes what someone else designs. I'm not interested in being just a business person who doesn't understand how the products actually work. I want both. I need both.

That's why I chose Business Management, Computer Science, Global Politics, and Math for IB. Not because I couldn't decide. Because I deliberately wanted that combination.

But explaining this to people? Exhausting

Few Say: "You should focus. You're spreading yourself thin."

Relatives: "Engineering is a safe career. Why complicate it?"

Friends: "Just do CS if you like tech. Why do you need business subjects?"

Everyone wants me to fit into a box: Engineer. Entrepreneur. Business Student. I don't fit neatly. That's not because I'm confused. It's because the boxes are wrong.

Why I don't want traditional engineering

The traditional engineering path:

• Four years learning theory
• Get placed in a company
• Spend years coding features someone else decided to build
• Maybe lead a team eventually
• Retire after 25-30 years

That path has worked for millions of people. It's stable, it's respectable, it's safe.

It's also not what I want. I don't want to spend my career building someone else's vision. I want to build my own. I don't want to only understand the technical side while someone else makes all the strategic decisions. I don't want to be hired to execute. I want to be the person deciding what to execute. That requires a different skill set than traditional engineering programs teach.

What I actually want

To start a company that builds technology products that solve real problems. Not "start a company" in the vague Instagram entrepreneur way. Specifically: identify problems people actually have, build technical solutions, understand the market, create a sustainable business model, scale it.

That means I need to:

• Build: Understand software development, system design, product architecture
• Strategize: Know how businesses work, market dynamics, competitive positioning
• Execute: Understand operations, team building, resource allocation
• Navigate: Understand policy, regulations, global market contexts

One subject doesn't cover all of this. One degree doesn't prepare you for this. So I'm building the foundation across multiple domains. Deliberately.

Why my subject combination makes sense

• Computer Science: The technical foundation. How do you actually build products? How do systems work? What's possible and what's not?
• Business Management: How do companies operate? What makes businesses succeed or fail? How do you create value and capture it?
• Global Politics: How do regulations, policies, and global dynamics affect business decisions? What contexts do companies operate within?
• Mathematics: The underlying logic. Optimization, modeling, data analysis. The language that connects everything.

This isn't scattered. This is strategic. I'm not learning these subjects in isolation. I'm learning how they inform each other.

The gap in traditional engineering education

Traditional engineering programs teach you to build things. They're good at that.

What they don't teach:

• Is this the right thing to build?
• Will people actually use this?
• How do you get it to market?
• What's the business model?
• How do you scale it?
• What are the regulatory implications?

You graduate knowing how to code but not how to build a company.

Then you either:

1. Join a company and build what they tell you to build
2. Try to start your own company and realize you're missing half the skills you need

I'm trying to avoid that gap. Build the full picture from the start.

The programs I'm looking for

Not traditional engineering. Those focus 90% on technical skills.

Not traditional business. Those assume you'll hire technical people and manage them.

I'm looking for programs that:

• Teach both technical fundamentals AND business thinking
• Focus on building products, not just engineering systems
• Emphasize entrepreneurship, not just employment
• Connect technology to market realities
• Prepare you to start things, not just join things

These programs exist. They're just newer. Less traditional. Harder to explain to relatives who expect you to say "IIT" or "engineering college."

What people get wrong about my path

"You're trying to do too much."
No. I'm trying to do one specific thing—build companies—which requires multiple skill sets.

"You should specialize."
In what? Engineering? Then I won't understand the business side. Business? Then I won't understand what's technically possible. The intersection IS the specialization.

"You're not focused."
I'm extremely focused. I'm focused on building sustainable tech businesses. That focus requires breadth, not depth in one area.

"Entrepreneurship is risky. Get a degree first."
I'm not dropping out tomorrow to start a company. I'm building skills now so when I do start something, I'm not starting from zero.

The confidence I have (and where it comes from)

I'm confident in this path because I've tested it. ApniDukaan taught me: I can build a functional product, but that's only 20% of creating a successful business. The other 80%—marketing, operations, customer service, pricing strategy—that's all business skills. My CuriousRubik internship taught me: understanding the business problem is as important as writing good code. Maybe more important. My UnyKloud internship taught me: technical skills matter, but knowing what to build and why matters more. Scaler taught me: I can learn to code. But coding alone doesn't create value. Products do. Businesses do. Every experience has confirmed: the intersection is where I need to be.

The questions I can answer

What do you want to do?
Build technology products that solve real problems and scale them into sustainable businesses.

What skills do you need?
Technical skills to build, business skills to scale, strategic thinking to make good decisions, global awareness to navigate complex environments.

Why not just do engineering?
Because engineering programs teach you to be hired, not to hire. I want to be the person building the company, not just the person writing the code.

Why not just do business?
Because business programs assume you'll manage technical people. I want to be technical enough to make good technical decisions myself.

What's your five-year plan?
Learn these skills deeply. Work on real projects. Start building things. Launch something. Probably fail. Learn from that. Try again.

The pressure I don't feel

Following the traditional path.

Picking one lane and staying in it forever.

Convincing everyone that my path makes sense to them.

Having every detail figured out.

The pressure I do feel

Finding programs that actually prepare you for this intersection.

Explaining to university admissions why my diverse subject combination isn't "scattered."

Proving to people that this isn't just theoretical—I'm actually building things, not just talking about it.

Making sure I'm building real skills, not just collecting experiences for a resume.

What I'm doing right now

Building technical skills through Scaler and my internships.

Understanding business through real projects like ApniDukaan and my business analyst work.

Developing strategic thinking through my IB subjects and research projects.

Connecting with people who've built companies—learning from their journeys.

Applying to programs that bridge technology and business, not traditional engineering schools.

To anyone who thinks they need to pick one thing

Maybe you do. Maybe deep specialization is your path.

But maybe you're interested in the intersection of multiple fields. Maybe the problems you care about require different types of knowledge.

That's valid too.

You don't have to fit into traditional categories. You don't have to choose between technical and business, between building and scaling, between coding and strategizing.

The intersection is a real place. It's where a lot of interesting work happens.

It's harder to explain at 17. But that doesn't make it wrong.

Where I am

Clear on what I want: Build technology companies.

Clear on what I need: Technical skills AND business thinking.

Clear on why traditional paths don't fit: They optimize for employment, not entrepreneurship.

Still figuring out: Which specific programs will best prepare me for this.

Still defending: Why this path makes sense to people who expect me to just pick "engineering" or "business."

But I'm not confused. I'm just on a path that doesn't have an obvious label yet.

And I'm okay with that. Because the path makes sense to me.

That's what matters.