Founder's moving post for son who traded corporate comfort for deep-sea diving
"He didn't need me to protect him from this choice. He needed me to trust," education platform Careers360's Maheshwer Peri said.
Maheshwer Peri, founder and chairman of education platform Careers360, said his son Vinayak studied engineering and later worked in product, where he was good at his job, well-liked and was adding value. From a parent’s perspective, everything about the role seemed right.
Maheshwer Peri, founder and chairman of education platform Careers360, has opened up about the fears he faced as a parent while watching his son walk away from a secure corporate career to pursue deep-sea diving.
In a post on X, Peri reflected on a fear he believes only parents truly understand: “There’s a particular kind of fear that only a parent knows. The fear that comes watching your child choose a life you can’t quite protect them from.”
Peri said his son Vinayak studied engineering and later worked in product, where he was good at his job, well-liked and was adding value. From a parent’s perspective, everything about the role seemed right.
“Security, salary, workplace - everything about it looked right from where I stood,” he wrote.
However, Vinayak felt he did not fit into corporate life: “Not as a complaint but a quiet truth. He didn’t like the closed spaces, the stillness and the daily routine.”
During a family holiday, Vinayak tried deep-sea diving - an experience that would eventually change the course of his life. Peri said his son kept returning to the same diving site, trained rigorously and began interning there, helping tourists with safety demonstrations and equipment checks.
Over time, Vinayak earned multiple certifications in diving and survival, before eventually quitting his corporate job and moving abroad to train further.
He now works as a deep-sea diving instructor in Indonesia. While the job pays less than half of what he earned in the corporate sector, Peri said his son appears more fulfilled than ever.
“He is happy. Underwater, undercompensated, and, by every real measure, more himself than he ever was in that office,” Peri said.
Peri admitted that his fears as a parent have not completely disappeared, but said the experience taught him an important lesson about trust and letting go.
“Sometimes love means stepping back and letting someone be honest, brave and trusted,” he wrote.
Calling Vinayak’s decision courageous, Peri said he was proud of his son for choosing passion over comfort and embracing a difficult, less-travelled path.
Read his post here:
The post prompted many readers to reflect on the balance between security and passion, with several praising both Vinayak for following his heart and Peri for supporting his unconventional journey.
Maheshwer Peri is an Indian entrepreneur and education sector leader best known as the founder and chairman of Careers360, an education platform that offers career and admissions guidance to students.
Maheshwer Peri, founder and chairman of education platform Careers360, said his son Vinayak studied engineering and later worked in product, where he was good at his job, well-liked and was adding value. From a parent’s perspective, everything about the role seemed right.
Maheshwer Peri, founder and chairman of education platform Careers360, has opened up about the fears he faced as a parent while watching his son walk away from a secure corporate career to pursue deep-sea diving.
In a post on X, Peri reflected on a fear he believes only parents truly understand: “There’s a particular kind of fear that only a parent knows. The fear that comes watching your child choose a life you can’t quite protect them from.”
Peri said his son Vinayak studied engineering and later worked in product, where he was good at his job, well-liked and was adding value. From a parent’s perspective, everything about the role seemed right.
“Security, salary, workplace - everything about it looked right from where I stood,” he wrote.
However, Vinayak felt he did not fit into corporate life: “Not as a complaint but a quiet truth. He didn’t like the closed spaces, the stillness and the daily routine.”
During a family holiday, Vinayak tried deep-sea diving - an experience that would eventually change the course of his life. Peri said his son kept returning to the same diving site, trained rigorously and began interning there, helping tourists with safety demonstrations and equipment checks.
Over time, Vinayak earned multiple certifications in diving and survival, before eventually quitting his corporate job and moving abroad to train further.
He now works as a deep-sea diving instructor in Indonesia. While the job pays less than half of what he earned in the corporate sector, Peri said his son appears more fulfilled than ever.
“He is happy. Underwater, undercompensated, and, by every real measure, more himself than he ever was in that office,” Peri said.
Peri admitted that his fears as a parent have not completely disappeared, but said the experience taught him an important lesson about trust and letting go.
“Sometimes love means stepping back and letting someone be honest, brave and trusted,” he wrote.
Calling Vinayak’s decision courageous, Peri said he was proud of his son for choosing passion over comfort and embracing a difficult, less-travelled path.
Read his post here:
The post prompted many readers to reflect on the balance between security and passion, with several praising both Vinayak for following his heart and Peri for supporting his unconventional journey.
Maheshwer Peri is an Indian entrepreneur and education sector leader best known as the founder and chairman of Careers360, an education platform that offers career and admissions guidance to students.
