For a lot of you out there who feel that they've been 'slotted' in a certain profession because of an XYZ degree and it is too late for you to venture into what you love, I have a few stories that will give you the hope you need. [Thread]

I've always believed that it isn't as much about the qualifications as it is about the passion your employees bring in to work. After all, when I started with @TheBetterIndia or @The_BetterHome, I was also someone who had no experience about how Media or FMCG worked.

What you see now is just the outcome of countless conversations with people, a lot of mistakes, and continually learning on the job. Yes, it does require a lot of motivation, asking for help and learning how to pick up after failing, but I'd say it is a 100% worth it.

. @tanayasingh is our Deputy Editor and has been with us for 5 years. It's surprising to a lot of people that she is an engineer. She was always inclined towards languages but it's after she took up her first internship at a corporate that she realised engineering wasn't her thing

While still in college, she started freelancing as a writer and eventually ended up applying to The Better India. "Social Impact and Writing, it was as if two things I loved came together in this job", she says. And the rest is history.

The crux of our content is always to create an impact, and with Tanaya, we have worked on several successful impact campaigns addressing real social issues like water and sanitation, menstrual health, rural policy changes, lake revival campaigns and much more.

The Head editor for our Hindi team @manabi5 also has an inspiring story. A mechanical engineer, Manabi dabbled with jobs in ERP designing, Edutech etc. Writing was always a hobby for her; she'd talk to inspiring people around her and pen their stories.

After she had her first baby, she started struggling with postpartum depression - and what was just a hobby started playing a bigger role in her life as a medium to cope. It's also when she came across @thebetterindia. Back then, we didn't even have a Hindi platform.

"You have to ask constantly. Even if it's a small thing", she says talking about learning on the job. Manabi joined us as an English writer, then set up our Hindi section from scratch, based out of Ahmedabad and made sure that it grew to what it is now.

We also have an astrophysicist on our team who can churn out great short stories and scripts! @anjali_doney joined us about a year back, after doing her PhD in Dark Matter and Galaxy, and working with ISRO for a while. *yes, we have a rocket-scientist on our team*

While she loves physics, she always wanted to work in mainstream storytelling. "I think it is the ability to teach yourself, and take a little gamble even if it's a little later in life", she says, while talking about making a drastic career change.

It's great to have a mix of people from different backgrounds, bringing in a range to the kind of ideas we put on the table. @Maya_Kilpadi is our in-house content specialist and works on creating fantastic content for @the_betterhome. She has an MA and MPhil in Sociology.

She holds degrees in psychology, sociology and economics. With us, she creates content on how to live sustainably. You can also find her living the truly plastic-free and green life. She ran her own publishing company and worked as an environmental consultant before joining us.

"This job was two of my main interests marrying each other - sustainability and writing", she says when asked about working with us. She is also someone we turn to when we're trying to look for green hacks and ideas.

. @SanchPal, creating magic on TBI's social media handles, is a biotech engineer who prepared for UPSC, but due to a sudden illness, she couldn't appear for her mains. It was a significant setback for her, and to cope with it, she started to write.

She joined us while we were still small and learning. Her love for writing and learning new things always helped her perform better at her job. "It's important to ask questions and find someone who has the patience to teach you," she says speaking of training on the job.

@vidyaraja is another one of our writers, who is actually a lawyer by profession. She worked in civil law as a litigator for a while, before joining us @thebetterindia. For her, it was the fact that she could still meet new people and write stories.

“In the end, you have to take that risk and make a tradeoff for something that makes you happy”, she says while talking about the impact she has created with her stories. Yes, we have quite a varied set of people at TBI and TBH :)

For me, it has always been about looking beyond degrees at the potential within people. I also feel that while the learning curve is a little steep, the outcome is also equally better because they are self-motivated and are willing to experiment with new things.

In the end, I'd say if you're someone who wants to make a career switch, don't hold back. As long as you have the hunger to learn, you'll be alright. For employers, take that chance and don't be hung up on a degree, you'll be surprised at the talent you find.