Teacher!!

After 8 years working as CA –

Monika Agarwal’s transition has given
her inner fulfillment
MAY 10, 2018

Insights
 1. Practicing CA involves long work-hours, which becomes difficult when
you have a family.
2. One should not fear to take a risk. For example, I changed my career at
the age of 32 after working 8 years as a CA.
3. Teaching gives me inner fulfillment, which is far more important than
what I was getting as CA.
4. One must love kids in order to work with kids and it requires a lot of
patience.
5. CA involves handling someone else’s money, which is extremely risky,
and it is a profession that even though would give you a lot of money, is
based on a lot of lies which was becoming very stressful for me.
6. Look beyond money because it is more about finding yourself and
seeing if you’re apt for the career or not.

Profile Details

Name – Monika Agarwal

Profession – Teacher at American Embassy school

Age – 45

Gender – Female

City – New Delhi

Industry – ​Education
Where have you been born and raised?

I was born and raised in New Delhi. I have an elder brother. I would say I had
a slightly different school experience because till class 10th, I was in Lady
Irwin school which was an all-girls school. In my growing-up years, I had
friends with same ideas, so it was a very comfortable growing up and helped
build my confidence. I switched school to KV because I wanted to change
stream, which was not possible in Lady Irwin. It was a Co-ed school, so I had
a lot of new experiences and my outlook changed.

What is your family background? Who all had the most

influence on you and how?

My dad was a civil engineer with a government job in the ministry of shipping
and transport. My mom was a homemaker, though her qualification was MA &
B.Ed. Not doing a job was her choice. She helped me a lot during my school
years.

The greatest influence on me was my grandmother and mom. My Nani

received an education even though she belonged to a business family and
getting an education in those days was very difficult. Mom set aside her
career for us so that we kids could get everything that she couldn’t, and she
had a lot of patience and always had a smile on her face. She never cribbed
about anything. So, I always think that if somebody like them can do it in those
times, I can too. These two women are my real-life heroes.

Please give us a summary of your career

I did ​B.Com​ (Hons.) from ​Hansraj College, DU​ and gave my foundation exam
for CA after 12th simultaneously. I graduated from college in 1994 and
completed my CA in January 1998. I worked as a CA for 8 years.

In 2003, I took a ​sabbatical​. I wanted a change in the career because I wanted

to give time to my daughter.

Then, I completed one-year nursery teachers training course in 2004. I started

substituting as a teacher in the American Embassy school because they want
their teachers to substitute before becoming permanent. In January 2005, I
got a permanent job there and I have been working there ever since.

Which institutes are best for the education/training of this

profession?

For CA, there is only one institute called ​ICAI (Institute of Chartered
Accountancy)​. Though, they have no particular institute where they give
classes. The classes are just affiliated with it.

For ​Nursery Teacher Training (NTT),​ there are organizations in Delhi such as
the ​South Delhi Polytechnic​.

What are the costs associated with the education/training of

this profession?

The fee for CA coaching in today’s time would be around anything between
Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2,00,000 per year. The same thing applies to the NTT.
What are the typical entry-level jobs in this profession?

To become a school teacher, you must be a graduate at the very least along
with NTT diploma or B.Ed.

To be a ​Chartered Accountant​ one must clear all the CA exams.

What is the range of remuneration one can expect when

starting out in your line of career & industry?

As a CA

5 years of experience – 5 lakhs per annum

10 years of experience – 15 lakhs per annum

20 years of experience – 30+ lakhs per annum

As a Teacher (in a high-profile school)

5 years of experience – 5 lakhs per annum

10 years of experience – 7 lakhs per annum

20 years of experience – 8 lakhs per annum

Teacher’s salary doesn’t change much with experience unless you take on
roles such as principal.

Describe your work

Being a teacher assistant, I help the teachers to run the class smoothly. I work
with kids from 2nd grade. Sometimes, particular kids need more attention so, I
have to work with them separately.

I work 5 days a week and my work timings are 8 am – 4 pm. If there is PTM or
event, it stretches to 6 pm.

What are some of the positives, which would encourage

someone to consider this career/job?

For me, teaching is a job that gives me inner fulfillment. You learn a lot from
young kids. They teach you how to love life and be carefree. You get the
feeling of never getting old. In a way, you do not age as you are always
surrounded by young kids aged around seven/eight years. Teaching also
requires less number of work hours and you can spend time with family.

What are some of the challenges that you would want someone
to be aware of when considering this career/job?

When I was a CA, I used to have really long hours of work and I used to work
6 days of a week on most weeks.
My day would start at 9 am and I had no clue as to what time I would come
back. It could be anything from 7 pm to 10 pm. This way, I was not able to
give time to my family that they deserved.

Also, handling someone else’s money was extremely risky and it is a

profession that even though would give you a lot of money, is based on a lot
of lies which was becoming very stressful for me.

What are the relevant trends/skills/technologies that are

currently commanding a premium in your job profile?

With regard to teaching, one really has to be passionate about working with
kids, which in turn requires a lot of patience. One must know how to remain
calm and have a positive attitude and how to not raise your voice. One must
know to balance between when you want to be their friend and when you want
to be their teacher.

What kind of person would be happy in your career?

The person should know how to take life easy and enjoy the company of kids.
One should have such a sense of humor that you are able to tell a silly joke
and laugh about it the same.

Given another choice, what would you do differently as far as

your professional selections are concerned?
I was passionate about teaching and interior design. So, when I decided to
leave my job as a Chartered Accountant, I chose to teach because the interior
design would again have the problem of long and odd working hours.

What would be your advice to students or professionals who

are just starting their journey on a path similar to yours?

My advice would be to be open to all opportunities that are available to you.

Look beyond money because it is more about finding yourself and seeing if
you’re apt for the career or not. You can switch careers. For instance, I
switched career at the age of 32. Go with the flow and enjoy life.

If you liked this article, you may like to check out ​our conversation with CA
Kailash Badoni​.

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