New Delhi (Aakriti Goel NEET Success Story)The career path in India is considered to be a straight line: become an engineer or a doctor, Other career options are considered later, But Aakriti Goyal’s story challenges this old thinking, He earned an engineering degree from BITS Pilani, took on leadership roles in a high-pressure startup career, and when work stress took a toll on his health, he left the corporate world in his 30s to become a doctor,
Aakriti Goyal not only cracked the NEET exam, but also got admission in the MBBS course of Hindu Rao Medical College by securing 1118 rank. Currently she is a final year MBBS student. Also a successful digital content creator with more than 1,00,000 followers. His journey has become an inspiration for the youth who are disappointed with their career and think that ‘it is too late’. Aakriti’s story proves that life does not need to be run according to any script. You can change career at any age.
Engineering to medical: Aakriti Goyal’s unique career transition
Aakriti Goyal always wanted to become a doctor and had a keen interest in biology. But after 10th class, due to social pressure and enthusiasm to become a ‘woman engineer’, she chose the path of engineering. After missing out on IITs and NITs, he pursued a dual degree in MSc Economics and BTech Electrical and Electronics at BITS Pilani. He struggled in Electrical Engineering but achieved a 10/10 GPA in Economics. He got amazing confidence from studying engineering.
Burnout and breakdown in the corporate world
After leaving BITS, Aakriti Goyal chose the fast-growing startup world instead of campus placement. He took leadership role in a company like Healofy. His work here was very demanding – working with the CEO, handling new initiatives and looking after the company’s PR. He liked this speed, but working late nights, excessive stress and irregular lifestyle had a bad effect on his health. In January 2020, due to excessive stress, she suffered from hormonal imbalance and her body reacted.
Ikigai showed the way to MBBS
Just before the lockdown in March 2020, Aakriti Goyal left her job and took sabbatical for months. During this time he considered many other career options like yoga teacher, HR consultant or law. Ikigai (Japanese concept, which helps one find purpose in life) practice with a career coach in July 2020 planted an idea in his mind: MBBS. Although he considered it a joke. He felt that it was too late now, but his curiosity outweighed this question.
Success in NEET and new identity
On August 12, 2020, Aakriti Goyal joined online coaching for NEET UG and adopted a structured study system like an engineer. To prepare for NEET UG, he gave more than 100 mock tests and studied for more than 10 hours daily. Despite concerns from family and friends, his determination paid off. He took the NEET UG exam in 2021 and cracked it with AIR 1118 rank. Aakriti is a final year MBBS student at Hindu Rao Medical College.
Engineering experience is coming in handy
Aakriti Goyal also works as a part-time consultant using her engineering and leadership experience. She creates content on an account called ‘engineer_to_doctor’. His story teaches the youth that career is not a ladder, but a playground. Here you can play on your own rules and change career even after the age of 25. Many people told Aakriti Goyal that 6 years (MBBS) is a long time. But Aakriti’s question on this is, aren’t you going to live those 6 years anyway?
