India, Oct. 12 -- As chief product officer at Cisco, Jeetu Patel's paycheck is easily in the millions. However, Patel is no stranger to struggle and hard work. He started his career not in the corporate world but in the service industry - waiting tables for $4 an hour.

The journey from earning $4 an hour to make ends meet to working at a company with a $270 billion market capitalization was not easy, but it did teach him a lot. Patel says that the experience he gained as a waiter has been invaluable to him.

In fact, he is of the opinion that everyone should work in the service industry to gain a deeper appreciation for hard work.

"I think everyone in the early part of their career should work in the service industry somewhere," Patel t...