There is a version of me that played it safe.

The one who took the highest increment, stayed in the first good job, climbed the ladder rung by rung, and treated appraisals like milestones of success.

That version of me does not exist. And I am increasingly grateful for that.

I am a Chartered Accountant and a CFA - credentials that usually come with a fairly predictable script: join a respected firm, pick a lane, stay in it, and compound expertise over time.

It is a sensible path. It was simply never mine.

I always believed you do not discover what you truly enjoy by staying in the first place that hires you. You discover it by being willing to leave.

The Mutual Fund Beginning

My career began at an asset management company, working on mutual fund products.

It was stable, analytical, and respectable. I learned how investment products are structured, priced, and sold. But while I was doing the work well, I was not pulled toward it. I was not reading beyond what was required. I was not curious after hours.

That absence of curiosity is often the clearest signal of all.

The Startup Detour

So I left and joined a blockchain startup as Chief of Staff.

In startup language, that means doing everything.

Strategy, operations, fundraising conversations, hiring, firefighting - I was exposed to decisions far earlier than a traditional corporate path would have allowed. It was messy, fast, and deeply educational.

Then the funding dried up. I had to carry the lessons and move forward.

Writing in the Margins

In between roles, I began writing finance blogs and ghostwriting for others.

Writing forced clarity. To explain complex financial ideas simply, you need to understand them deeply. It sharpened my thinking in ways spreadsheets never quite could.

It also gave me something unexpectedly valuable - proof of thought. A body of work that showed I could make technical ideas readable and human.

The Cold E-mail

Then I cold emailed an investment bank.

No referral. No recruiter. No network advantage.

Just an honest note about my path - the AMC, the startup, the writing, the credentials, and the unconventional arc connecting them.

They called me in.

What stood out to them was not a perfect résumé. It was adaptability. Evidence that I could wear many hats, enter uncertain rooms, and still create value.

Ironically, the thing I worried would hold me back, a non-linear career, became the reason the door opened.

Two and a Half Years Later

I am still here.

For the first time in my career, I am reluctant to leave. The work challenges me. The environment rewards both depth and versatility. I find myself thinking about it long after office hours end.

The restlessness I once felt has not disappeared.

It has simply changed direction.

Now it is aimed at getting better, not getting out.

What I Hope You Take Away

I gave up increments. I gave up the comfort of a straight-line path. I took roles that confused people at dinner tables. I started over more than once without knowing exactly where it would lead.

And I would do it again.

We often quote:

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

What we forget is the second half:

...but oftentimes better than a master of one.

If your path looks strange from the outside, that does not mean it is wrong.

It may simply be harder to explain and far more interesting to live!