Piecing My Path in Business
By Vidhi Malik
Reflecting on my journey, it’s pretty amusing to think about how determined I was to become a mechanical engineer for the past eleven years. From the classes I chose in middle and high school to the hobbies I pursued and even the summer camps I attended, everything was geared towards engineering. However, something changed as I approached the college application season during the fall of my senior year. I had an epiphany, possibly influenced by my experience in AP Physics 1 and 2, and realized that my true passion was elsewhere. It wasn’t the intricacies of engineering that captivated me, but rather the process of connecting pieces to form a coherent story. This newfound interest in creating storylines, especially within the realms of people and business, made me rethink my career path. I was able to solidify my realization by maintaining an open mind and exploring the process of every product or service everywhere I go. Thinking about the simultaneous transactions and the accounts of all these organizations and businesses I surround myself with without even noticing, made me realize I might be better at analytics than I thought.
Interestingly, I noticed a common thread in my love for puzzles, building Legos, and analyzing companies’ cash flows — they all involved piecing together elements to form a bigger picture. While this might sound peculiar to some, it was this realization that cemented my decision to pursue a major in business during my first year of college. This shift in perspective sparked my curiosity about how companies and organizations operate and manage their finances, ultimately steering me toward accounting at Northeastern. However, changing prospective majors based on what I paid more attention to created some obstacles. Not having much knowledge in the field and not fully sure how I was going to approach the idea of pursuing my major in college, I tried to find intro courses online and joined Women in Business at Northeastern. Joining this organization allowed me to open up and learn new skills I never knew I would even need in my professional journey. Especially being a woman in an ever growing analytical industry, improving networking and interviewing skills have allowed me to connect the practice and knowledge from both my majors into something I can pursue in the future. Having a diverse background has given me an advantage for approaching ideas and solutions with a different light — whether it be through an engineering, creative mindset, or a data analytical mindset.
The countless interactions, communication chains, exchanges between people, and frameworks of the business realm are major pieces to a puzzle in which a student can find their interest.
The tree called business has so many branches of all different sizes. It’s not easy, but it is necessary to stop and think: What is business really? The countless interactions, communication chains, exchanges between people, and frameworks of the business realm are major pieces to a puzzle in which a student can find their interest. Finding my branch on the tree of Business let me pursue my interests with the hopes of learning more.
Vidhi Malik is a second year and an official member of Women in Business at Northeastern University, pursuing a combined major in Business Administration and Data Science with a primary focus on Accounting and Advisory services.
