Ex-IPS officer’s post about his 8 career paths inspires conversation on career diversification on Linkedin
https://www.habitstrong.com/about-habitstrong-rajan-singh/Rajan Singh, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and IIT Kanpur alumnus, has sparked conversation online after sharing the diverse professional journey he's undertaken in a viral LinkedIn post. In the post, Rajan revealed that he’s ventured through eight vastly different careers so far, including law enforcement and investment banking education.
He listed the following eight experiences in the post:
- Electrical engineering student for four years
- IPS officer for eight years
- Strategy consultant at McKinsey
- Investor at a private equity fund
- Finance teacher (briefly taught investment bankers with a friend)
- Tech entrepreneur working on learning products
- Physics teacher and entrepreneur
- Trainer in neuroscience-backed focus and productivity at his startup, HabitStrong
But what really caught the attention of readers wasn’t just the variety of roles—it was Rajan’s reflections on the broader concept of career paths.
He shared his ambition of experiencing even more fields in the future: “And if I get to live and work long enough, I hope to experience another 8-10 career paths. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It depends, I guess,” he said. He went on to say, “Doing just one thing allows you to go deeper into your craft and benefit from 'compounding’.”
Rajan acknowledged that sticking with a single profession could lead to deep mastery and long-term benefits, yet he also recognized the power of variety. "But diverse experiences help you see unrelated patterns, connect dots, and generate insights that would otherwise be impossible. In some sense, you go through a veritable 'horizontal compounding,' if you will,'" he explained.
He also said, “Either way, the age of learning one thing in college and milking it for the next 35 years is long over. We all have to keep moving, keep learning, most likely -- keep reinventing.”
He also pointed out that the old model of sticking to one job for life is outdated. “That is what makes life exciting. Because every day is a new day -- the game of life starts again,” Rajan concluded.
Singh's post sparked a lively discussion online about the concept of nonlinear careers. One user praised the idea of "horizontal compounding," stating, " Horizontal compounding is such a great way to frame it. Diverse paths don’t dilute value - they multiply insight!"
Another user shared their own experience, saying, " Going by the yardstick you talk about in this post, I have experienced around 7 career tracks till now - I feel I have harnessed enough 'horizontal compounding'. As I age, it feels scary in some ways. Now that I am well past my mid-30s, I really want to explore 'vertical compounding'."
Many were motivated by Rajan's honest account of his career. One user commented, “Your story, your life trajectory, is so inspiring and astounding! Would also love to know about the challenges you faced along your wonderful journey."
