When Rangan Srikhanta started studying IT at the University of Technology, Sydney, in 2002, his eyes were wide open.

"It was the year after the bubble burst [so] I was constantly assessing where I'd be going in the future," he says. "By 2004 I could see the market wasn't looking good for IT grads; luckily UTS started offering a double degree in business and computing."

Taking on two extra years of study quickly paid off. Srikhanta chose an accounting major, which helped him score an internship at professional services firm Deloitte and a job on graduation.

"I was interested in the intersection between technology and business so I decided to do internal audit," he says. "They call it risk services. I felt it would give me an understanding of management processes within a business ... and might give me future skills to run a business."

For the 18 months he worked for Deloitte, Srikhanta's job involved servicing clients such as WorkCover or medium to large enterprises.

Though there was plenty of scope to climb the ladder, Srikhanta's passion lay elsewhere. Since his university days he'd volunteered with the United Nations Association, which he describes as "a citizen action group promoting the values of the UN in society".

While at the UN Association, he stumbled across the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program.

"In 2005 a whole host of scientists and Kofi Annan launched OLPC at the World Economic Forum," he says. "I thought we needed to bring it to Australia."

Shortly before he began his Deloitte role, Srikhanta began lobbying for OLPC Australia.

For a while, he managed both his paid role and volunteering passion. "I'd sneak out of work at lunch and ship laptops to Fiji and Samoa," he says, laughing. Eventually, he decided to resign from Deloitte.

"I didn't have a plan but I couldn't see [risk services] being the pathway to my happiness in life," he says.

Luckily, serendipity stepped in.

"I left on October 3, 2008. On December 10 we got an email from the IT department of the Commonwealth Bank asking how they could help," he says.

Three years on, this social enterprise has serious wings. CBA gives OLPC Australia free office space in the centre of Sydney; $5 million has been raised from corporate Australia; and 6000 laptops have been delivered to more than 100 of Australia's remotest communities.

"We've got a whole program. It's never been done before in terms of technology and education and we've become a lighthouse for OLPC globally," Srikhanta says.

In the process, he's found himself a career as the program's chief executive officer. "I had an agreement with the board I would be paid, but only if we had money in the bank," he says. "I didn't charge anything for six months."

Nonetheless, Srikhanta sees an important role for social enterprise.

"I want this model to be replicated," he says. "Social enterprise should be a viable career path for a person leaving university. It's not about making $10 million and then giving back."

Then:
Salary: $54,000. "By now I'd be a manager, approaching about $90,000, but partners would earn upwards of $250,000."
Work-life balance: "Good but I was busy, as I was also volunteering on the side. Although for me that didn't seem like work."
Hours: 40 hours.

Now:
Salary: $120,000. "I volunteered first [for 3½ years]. The first year I was paid I earned about $45,000 but my salary has increased now."
Work-life balance: "I'm so involved with trying to achieve the goals of the organisation, I get happiness out of it."
Hours: "Not that good! Maybe 70- to 80-hour weeks. I do what's required."
Miss: "Having a structure where you are given a career path."
Challenges: "There are really strong social needs we need to tackle around childhood education [and technology] that there's very little precedent for."