UGC-NET English Literature Is Not The End; It is the Beginning

I consider the graduate and post-graduate students of English Literature are the ones who are not yet born. These students are still like the child in the mother’s womb. They are unaware of reality and how the world works outside. 

Only after cracking your UGC-NET exam in English Literature and stepping forward in the field of academics will students of English Literature be born. Cracking UGC-NET is not the end, but it’s the beginning of your career.  

Unfortunately, most students think that after qualifying for the NET exam, it’s the end of their education. They can go on bragging their certificate, and opportunities will automatically land in their footsteps. Unfortunately, it’s far from the truth.

The same goes for the PhD. 

To understand it in a better way: qualifications are the tools that make the journey easier. 

Your certificates, PhD, research papers are the equipment you required to deal with the obstacles such as loss of a job or moving from an old job to a new college that provides more incentive and facilities to its employees. 

However, to reach the end of the journey, to achieve financial freedom with good designation and firmly establish your name in the field of literature takes years of practice and learning. 

The Losers of English Literature

After getting a job, I’ve seen people saving money for items that do not produce anything after six months. Some items reach the junk within a few months. 

I remember a colleague of mine who bought a car on the downpayment on his third salary. After six months, he lost the job. Bank employees reached his house. His car and savings were gone. His elegant British accent did not help to convince the bank employees.

Similarly, some students can waste their hours reading PDFs on their expensive mobile phones. When I ask them why they don’t take printouts and read them, the excuse is, “We cannot afford.”

Time losers are the real losers of English Literature. The students who value their money over education cannot go far.

They can waste three years cracking the exam by referring to the free outdated sources circulated on WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook. Still, they cannot spend a small sum of money on purchasing books, attending courses, or learning a new skill such as writing a blog or designing their website.

The world constantly changes, and it demands us to change now and then. If we do not fuel ourselves with more knowledge, it’s a full-stop in our career.

Qualifying UGC-NET English Literature is not the end, but it’s a beginning of a new mindset that learning is a long-term process and commitment to life-long learning will alone help you thrive.

Literally No One

• Literally, no one will come to your house and offer you the job letter. Therefore, you need to take responsibility for your personal and professional life.
• Literally, no one put books on your lap. You have to seek them out by yourself and read them. Hundreds of libraries and thousands of bookstores are out there. The question is: “Are you courageous enough to pick a book and read it?”   
• Literally, no one will help you if you are always afraid of asking. People who are doing well in their academics and have already achieved a comfortable living can help you. But you have to ask them first. If you don’t ask for help, you don’t get it. 

The Biggest excuse is:

• “I cannot ask for help. I can do everything by myself.”
• “I cannot attend that course. It’s too difficult.”
• “I cannot afford more books, more courses, more seminars and more workshops.” 

Such people don’t deserve more income, more freedom, more choices, and more ways to contribute value to society. 

When you reject education, you are going to pay the price for the lack of education.

Journey After UGC-NET

Some students crack the NET examination and then sit again in the exams hoping to crack JRF. I have no problem with the students having hopes and want to qualify for JRF.

But I do have a problem when you give more time to JRF than it deserves. It’s fine if you want to try for two more attempts for JRF. It’s okay to give an extra year to your ambitions.

However, it’s not suggested to waste more than a year on JRF.

You have qualified UGC-NET exam. Now, start building your career brick by brick. Do not let the time go out of your hand. Otherwise, there will be no difference between the time-losers who don’t want to educate themselves and those sitting again and again for the exams even after qualifying it.

Try for PhD and other exams. You can also enrol yourself into B.Ed. Program. You can do networking and build connections with academicians. You can seek guidance, connect with like-minded people, join a college and start teaching.

Simultaneously, you can keep up with your studies for JRF. When a working woman can crack the UPSC exam, why cannot you think of qualfying JRF along with a job?

My Experience

I remember when I started teaching at a University, no one knew me. Most teachers thought I was not a teacher but a student who recently had taken the admission.

However, my networking skills were so good that by the end of a couple of months, I was personally invited by the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor to have dinner with them. After few months, I started spending time in Vice-Chancellor’s room. We became good friends. He was 40 years older to me. I became like a son to him. He prepared food, and we had a friendly discussion on several topics on every dinner.   

Some teachers have been teaching in the University for seven years, yet I became dear to the higher authorities.

• Success is not luck by chance. Instead, it’s a combination of a different set of skills and time management. 
• If your routine has endless hours of browsing YouTube, Instagram and Facebook feed, envying your friend and her boyfriend who visited last night for dinner, you cannot expect yourself to grow from inside out.

Concluding

Cracking UGC-NET English Literature is not the end; it’s a beginning. It’s beginning to leave the college education behind and embrace the attitude of becoming a life-long learner. 

What you are going to do with your future solely depends on the choices you make today. You can choose the lifestyle of winners by putting more time and efforts in this subject, or you can choose mediocrity.