Can a degree in History really prepare you for boardrooms, balance sheets, and business strategy? Akanksha Singh's journey from Delhi University's Kirori Mal College to the Indian School of Business suggests it can.
A History degree is often dismissed as impractical in a world obsessed with engineering, coding, and business degrees. Here is a journey that tells a different story: one where reading History became the very skill set that carried her from a newsroom internship to a role at Mamaearth, and eventually into one of India's most competitive business schools, ISB.
Akanksha Singh is currently pursuing her management degree at the Indian School of Business (Cohort of 2027). Singh completed her schooling from Jagran Public School, Lucknow with 95.4 per cent in Class 12 examinations. She later went on to pursue a Bachelor's degree in History from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University.
Telling us about her personal and academic background, Singh stated: "I come from a family of Engineers and back in Class 10th, I scored a 10 CGPA." She mentioned that her family naturally expected her to pursue Science education. However, Singh told NDTV that she was very motivated to study journalism. Singh also pointed out her interest in History and Political Science that motivated her to opt for Humanities in Class 12.
Singh noted that during COVID 19, she tried her hands on various journalism and social media internships. During those internships, she also researched about the media industry, finally concluding that "India as a country has stopped reading" and "TV industry is a sunset industry". Singh noted that she felt that the coming generations are more inclined towards social media for news consumption.
Taking her call, Singh decided that the journalism career might not sustain her living. She told NDTV that she therefore decided to reach out to the placement cell of her college. Singh also noted some kind of resistance while she wanted to register for the placement cell opportunities, with claims such as "History honours students do not register with the placement committee, nobody has ever done this."
"It was not very smooth," Singh said while describing her placement journey. Determined with her decision, Singh noted that she prepared for the placement rounds, practising quantitative aptitude, reasoning, and more. With some initial setbacks, she could finally sit for some companies who did not have any degree bar and qualification restrictions.
Months later, Singh got an offer from Mamaearth for the role of Management Trainee. Singh recalled that it was very competitive. However, she cleared the aptitude round and the interviews.
Singh started working with the New Product Development wing of the brand, the team that designs and builds products. She mentioned that it was a completely new world for her, coordinating with researchers, scientists, vendors, and trying to understand numbers and chemical reactions.
She also learned marketing, researched about markets, spoke to consumers, and got to learn about the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Singh later moved to the revenue side of the organisation, where she joined the e-commerce team and handled performance marketing. She also shared her experience with the advertisement and strategy team of the Honasa group.
Singh noted that she was promoted twice during her professional journey with Mamaearth. She joined as a management trainee and was promoted to the role of Senior Manager in four years.
Singh later realised that to succeed in a department like that of Strategy, one needs to have a knowledge of everything, and they should master everything. That is when she decided she needed proper business training. Singh made her decision to pursue MBA. She gave the CAT exam and decided to prepare for ISB.
Crediting the institute for valuing diversity, Singh said that she started preparing for the GRE exam, and ended up scoring well. She wrote her essays, noting that this is where her Humanities education helped her.
Her interviews revolved around why as a History student she is pursuing business, Singh said. Explaining her ISB journey, Singh noted that the first term was full of subjects very new to her, such as, statistics, accounts, finance, and economics. On the contrary, most of her peers have a background in one of these subjects. "I am competing with the best minds of the country right now," she said.
Singh also mentioned that her friends helped her a lot in understanding concepts and topics that were very new to her.
Speaking to NDTV, Singh said that right now her placements are going on which is very uncertain, adding that nothing in her life so far was certain.
Addressing people who underestimate humanities' education, Singh said that "it often happens that people try and joke around that I have a History degree."
She stated that AI has fundamentally revolutionised how we look at technology. She shared that "AI is a productivity tool that anybody can use." Advising future aspirants, Singh suggested that they need critical thinking skills. "Brands are looking for critical thinkers nowadays," she asserted. "People need to look at things from many angles," she added.
Speaking from experience, Singh maintained that critical thinking is not developed in one day. It takes years. Reading History, philosophy, and understanding what the author is trying to say cultivate critical thinking. "This is what humanities' education gives to students," she said.
"My humanities' education has trained me to understand the nuances," she noted. She further explained that a lot of business education is about reading cases and drawing inferences, connecting dots, which is where the humanities' education plays a major role.
Talking about market research, Singh asserted that History students know about research. "Humanities education makes a person cultivate his/her own thought process," she said.
When Akanksha Singh told her placement cell she wanted to register for job opportunities, she was met with disbelief: "History honours students don't register with the placement committee." Years later, she's pursuing an MBA at the Indian School of Business, having already climbed from Management Trainee to Senior Manager at Mamaearth in just four years. Her journey is proof that the road less travelled can still lead to the top.
Feeling confident about her journey so far, Singh said that her humanities' education will help her throughout her career.
