If you rue not choosing the “right” career path early on in life then you’re not alone, as even billionaires are susceptible to the proverbial grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side cognition process. For instance, if you ask Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata what would his calling be if not for leading Tata Sons? ‘A career in architecture,’ would be his most likely response.
“I always wanted to be an architect because it renders a deeper sense of humanism. Also, architecture has motivated me and I had a deep interest in that field. But my father wanted me to be an engineer and I spent two years in engineering,” said Tata during an Q&A which he uploaded on his Instagram account last year.
Tata said he benefited greatly from the profession as it helped inculcate a deep sense of humanism which he would require later in life especially while “putting things together.
The octogenarian billionaire philanthropist regrets not being able to pursue the profession for long despite earning a degree from the prestigious Cornell University in 1959.
“I never regretted being an architect. I only regret that I was not able to practice it for long,” he said.
The field, which he practised brief period of two years, inspired and motivated him.
Tata said the profession was his true calling which he realised after spending two years in an engineering college, as per his father’s wish.
“Those years of engineering convinced me that I needed to be an architect which is where my interest really was,” he had earlier said during an online seminar organised by Corpgini on ‘Future of Design and Construction.
Tata thinks that someone who thinks architects can’t be great entrepreneurs would be way off the mark to do so.
“The sensitivity that you create as an architect, the ability to put things together, the ability to run a project on the basis of a budget, the intricacies of different materials coming together, all those things are well taught in an architectural curriculum,” he lauded.
Ratan Tata joined the Tata group in 1962 and took over as group chairman in 1991. He led the group till December 2012.
