I know it may sound strange or a joke but hear me out. At this point if someone asked me to list the  skills I have learned over the years, I would probably mention communication, teamwork, problem solving and obviously MS Excel. But there’s one skill I have mastered without taking a single course or earning a certificate would be:

The more I look back on it, the stronger my beliefs becomes that surviving this city deserves a place on people’s CV. Also reflecting and saying on behalf of all youth. 

I am sure many young to older people in Dhaka have at least one story that starts with,

“I left home early but…” Mine certainly does.

I still remember I was heading from Mirpur to Bashundhara R/A, and just ten minutes before leaving, Google Maps showed a clear route. I thought I would reach on time and went out from home at around 1:50 pm.

But Dhaka had other plans.

An unexpected blockage appeared, and suddenly my usual route became impossible. I had no choice but to take a longer route crossing Uttara, passing through Diabari, going around the airport back side gate, and finally reaching NSU.

By the time I arrived, I was already exhausted and stressed. Getting scolded by faculty for being late while standing in front of whole class almost brought me to tears. At that moment, it felt unfair. But later I realized this was another lesson Dhaka had quietly taught me how to adapt when plans fall apart and keep moving forward anyway.

I have reached the office late from nearby area just because a rickshaw-wala mama crossed another rickshaw roughly and here comes a standing two rickshaw wala mama’s WWE and for me clock is clocking and boss is waiting to scold me again. I have spent more than two hours stuck in traffic, watching expected arrival time on google maps get longer instead of shorter. There were several days when heavy rain flooded the streets, forcing me to switch from one transport to another and on those day I didn’t even take the umbrella. 

At first, these events felt so frustrated. But over the time, I realized something unknowing. 

Without being aware, Dhaka had been teaching me skills that no classroom ever did.  Patience, adaptability, time management, crisis handling, quick decision making, emotional resilience are aspects that nothing but Dhaka could teach me.

Take a moment to think about it. How many cities develop your skills to create three backup roads, before leaving home? To estimate whether a 20 minutes postpone will turn into an hour? To leave for a 10 a.m meeting at 8 a.m because you simply don’t trust the roads? Living in Dhaka turns into an everyday survival activity. 

One thing I have noticed about youth of this generation is that we have become experts at tweaking our expectations. When someone says I am just five minutes away, we intuitively ask, Dhaka five minutes or actual five minutes? Somehow we have learned to laugh about the situations that would have once spoiled our day. Maybe that’s our coping mechanism. Maybe it’s resilience. I think It’s probably both. 

And then the weather.

A bright shiny sunny morning and suddenly become a heavy cloudburst before lunch. Within minutes and second, roads fade away under water, transport becomes unpredictable whether its public or private ones and every careful planned schedule breaks apart. Still all have to find a way to show up. Maybe alittle late, maybe a little tired but everyone show up.

That’s something I genuinely appreciate about the people in this city.

What’s interesting is that employers often ask candidates who can work under pressure, adapt to new challenges, manage time effectively, solve unpredictable problems, and stay calm in difficult situations.

Sometimes I feel like living and surviving in Dhaka city has been preparing us for those interview questions unknowingly.

Obviously this isnt to feel nostalgic about traffic congestion, poor infrastructure, or the regular inconveniences that million of people face. These are serious challenges that call for real solutions. Every difficulty forces us to become a little more resourceful and solution oriented, a little more patient, and a litle more resilient that we were in the previous days. 

So no Living in Dhaka probably won’t appear or list in the skills section of CV anytime soon.

But if resilience had a certification, if adaptability came with a credential or if surviving unpredictable days counted as professional experience, I think an entire generation of Dhaka city residents would be overqualified. 

Jokingly sometimes I am curious about what happen if cities awarded degrees or certificates instead of testing our patience. 

No written exams, no viva.

Just years of leaving home early, watching plans break apart, changing roads without notice, surviving waterlogged streets, missing buses by seconds,not getting online car or bike when its urgent and somehow still making it to where you had to be. 

Perhaps, Living in Dhaka is an unofficial qualification.

But if resilience, adaptability, patience and persistence are the skills employers value most, then I think every youth who calls Dhaka home already has a pretty impressive and well rounded CV.