Meet Aakriti Goel: A BITS Pilani graduate who quit a ₹30 LPA job, cracked NEET, and became a doctor at 30

In 2021, when most professionals of his age are focused on promotion, salary and career growth, Aakriti Goel made a decision that surprised many people.He quit his corporate job, gave up a salary of around R30 lakh a year, and started preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).At that time he was 30 years old.A year later, he secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 1118 in NEET-UG 2021 with a score of 676 out of 720.Today, the BITS Pilani student is in the final stages of his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) journey at North DMC Medical College, Delhi, according to his LinkedIn profile.The issue is not just about clearing competitive exams. It’s questioning what success means and whether it’s too late to start over.

When success lost its meaning

Goel completed his engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani in 2015.Unlike many of his colleagues, he was not interested in the conventional way of the industry. He chose to work with startups, trying different roles and jobs. Over the years, he built a successful career in the Bengaluru ecosystem and eventually rose to a leadership position.In many ways, he fulfilled the aspirations of many young professionals. However, something felt missing.According to the interviews he gave in 2021, the project was also meaningless. Salary, authority and job growth did not give the meaning of the goal they expected.“I’m not a 9-to-5 guy,” Goel said, explaining why he prefers small companies and non-corporate roles.Things changed after years of hard work.

Health problems and a difficult question

For almost two years, Goel spent more than 14 hours a day on the medical start-up he thought was his career.The job went from bad to worse.She suffered from a hormonal imbalance linked to severe stress and quit her job soon after the Covid-19 pandemic began.What followed was a period of recovery. She stayed at home, practiced yoga, painted, and slowly regained her health. But after he recovered, another question arose.So what?They would return to the original world. With his experience, the path remained open. Instead, he began to rethink what he wanted in the next phase of his life.

Rediscovering old dreams

The answer came from an unexpected place.Goel turned to the exercise of Ikigai, a Japanese framework often used to identify purpose and goals. The process brought back a childhood passion.He said: “I wanted to be a doctor when I was a child.”A few years earlier, he chose engineering instead of medicine. At that time, he did not regret his decision.But after spending almost 10 years in the professional profession, he realized that being a doctor was the job that made him happy the most.“After being an engineer for more than 10 years, I now know how I want to be a doctor,” he said.The decision was clear, but the problem was very difficult.

Back in the classroom after ten years

By 2020, Goel had spent many years in education.Although physics and chemistry were popular, biology was no longer part of his daily life. He just started, watching free online classes and rebuilding the concepts he learned last time in school.The arrangement required discipline.He studied for 10 to 12 hours a day and wrote more than 100 mock exams. At first, the results were far from what he wanted.“In the beginning, I was getting around 590, but in the end, I broke 700,” he said. Ten months later, the effort paid off. His score of 676 got an AIR of 1118 in NEET-UG 2021.Many people found the results hard to believe.Even his parents were initially surprised by the decision to leave a permanent job and return to student life.

A question of age

One of the most notable actions in Goel’s case is not related to NEET. It’s about age.By the time he completes his medical, advanced and professional studies, he will be much older than most of his peers.That doesn’t concern him. “Age should not be a barrier to achieving anything in life,” he said.“We tend to put too much faith in the popular belief that ‘what’s done is done’ and ‘we can’t start our careers again’. Or ‘we’re too old’. It’s not true.”For Goel, the problem is not how long the journey takes. It’s like the destination feels right.

More than a career change

Stories about career change often focus on risk. Foregone payments, future uncertainty, and the possibility of failure.Goel’s case shows otherwise.It raises a question many professionals ask themselves quietly at some point: what happens when external success no longer equates to internal satisfaction?For him, the answer was not another promotion or a new company.It was back to class, back to biology. And finally, back to the dream that he was thinking about when he was a child.Today, as he continues his MBBS journey, his path serves as a reminder that careers don’t always flow in a straight line.Sometimes important progress looks like a setback.