Being employed in one the largest Indian IT firms is probably the worst thing that could have happened to my career, or in fact to any aspiring 'real' engineer. I enjoyed an amazing first two years of work life. Awards, recognitions, growth. Java being my passion from the past 6 years, made me a Java geek. And the burning desire to do something big drove me to work like a mad bull. The feeling was ecstatic, a ride that would never seem to stop, until one day I plummeted from the seventh heaven onto the hard ground reality.
It was a fine day, an holiday in fact. However, I had seen few holidays during my workaholic life. 16hrs was an average, during those days. It was during one of those, so called fine days, that the reality hit me. It came as a rush and and in the form of a most ghastly accident, while riding home back from office - floating on one of nine clouds. I was in the process of setting up a client presentation. A badly broken arm and the melancholic picture of it hanging precariously from the arm socket left a lasting impression on my mind. Those two months while I recovered, changed me forever; and hopefully the course of my career.
Quite often one gets a feeling of being driven, and the entire life seems to rush by and when you look at the past it is a gloomy or a fantastic dream. And you wonder, what am I doing to chalk out my own destiny?
The IT industry is now running on numbers, which seemed impossible a few years back. India became one of the largest outsourcing countries in the world with a multi-million dollar industry requiring to churn out thousands of 'IT professional' every year. Under-graduates with any degree - computer and IT was not a must, diploma holders and in some places students with a simple computer certification were given opportunities to work in the magnificent cities of modern India. It was much later when they realized that the metropolis's looked far from magnificent and resembled pure chaos.
The 'engineers' soon thronged the IT capital. One after the other, a building was constructed to cater to the hungry IT giants. No one wanted to be left behind in this mad race. Price shot up, land became expensive and renting a two bedroom apartment seemed close to impossible for the bourgeoisie. And in the middle of all this rose the upper middle class. The needs of these unsatisfactory dollar driven folks were never ending.
The AC factories as I called it, filled up, and that was when the gloomy story unfolded.
Pressure to bring in more folks, to train more 'engineers' grew as the demand for IT services grew. As the companies became giants, and new fresh companies started, the criteria to get into the companies started to diminish. 50% in higher education and the likes. Quality became a myth to be written in bright power point presentations given to white folks around the globe.
I looked around me one fine day and said - 'Where are my peers, the intelligent guys, the intellects, the ones from whom I learned and became what I am today?'. The company that taught me leadership, communication and skills that would take years to built otherwise. Where is the environment which I enjoyed being in. Never a topper and ready to learn from folks called real 'genius' was a satisfactory feeling.
When you sit and look around, you are able to spot a few handful people you can discuss any topic of the day with, that feeling drives me to madness, a feeling that made be so repulsive, that I could puke any day thinking about it. IT industry had transformed into an industry of fools. Skills plummeted, growth was aplenty for farts who could speak a few English words.
Software is not that simple. It requires real engineering and skills to build a good software. Any project I come across, is a real mess. With no thought involved, it was just thousands of lines of code that performed some task. There was no music in the lines, no cohesion. Code written beautifully creates excitement, and the more you indulge in it, the more you love it. The pathetic projects driven by hunger for growth and for money left no quality in its wake.
It is not always been such a grim picture. I have grown a lot more touchy in the new project that I have joined. My earlier project had few excellent mates and made the office life interesting, something that I looked forward too. However the feeling that I was being taken for a big ride did linger at that time as well.
For some reason, I felt I needed to do something extra ordinary, I am not sure what this feeling is, maybe everyone does feel like this, but few go that extra step to actually make it happen. I have thus decided to pursue my Masters in hope of finding something that would entice that extra interest in me. I do hope that the biggest gamble of my life pays off.
And I hope I find that special step soon!!
It was a fine day, an holiday in fact. However, I had seen few holidays during my workaholic life. 16hrs was an average, during those days. It was during one of those, so called fine days, that the reality hit me. It came as a rush and and in the form of a most ghastly accident, while riding home back from office - floating on one of nine clouds. I was in the process of setting up a client presentation. A badly broken arm and the melancholic picture of it hanging precariously from the arm socket left a lasting impression on my mind. Those two months while I recovered, changed me forever; and hopefully the course of my career.
Quite often one gets a feeling of being driven, and the entire life seems to rush by and when you look at the past it is a gloomy or a fantastic dream. And you wonder, what am I doing to chalk out my own destiny?
The IT industry is now running on numbers, which seemed impossible a few years back. India became one of the largest outsourcing countries in the world with a multi-million dollar industry requiring to churn out thousands of 'IT professional' every year. Under-graduates with any degree - computer and IT was not a must, diploma holders and in some places students with a simple computer certification were given opportunities to work in the magnificent cities of modern India. It was much later when they realized that the metropolis's looked far from magnificent and resembled pure chaos.
The 'engineers' soon thronged the IT capital. One after the other, a building was constructed to cater to the hungry IT giants. No one wanted to be left behind in this mad race. Price shot up, land became expensive and renting a two bedroom apartment seemed close to impossible for the bourgeoisie. And in the middle of all this rose the upper middle class. The needs of these unsatisfactory dollar driven folks were never ending.
The AC factories as I called it, filled up, and that was when the gloomy story unfolded.
Pressure to bring in more folks, to train more 'engineers' grew as the demand for IT services grew. As the companies became giants, and new fresh companies started, the criteria to get into the companies started to diminish. 50% in higher education and the likes. Quality became a myth to be written in bright power point presentations given to white folks around the globe.
I looked around me one fine day and said - 'Where are my peers, the intelligent guys, the intellects, the ones from whom I learned and became what I am today?'. The company that taught me leadership, communication and skills that would take years to built otherwise. Where is the environment which I enjoyed being in. Never a topper and ready to learn from folks called real 'genius' was a satisfactory feeling.
When you sit and look around, you are able to spot a few handful people you can discuss any topic of the day with, that feeling drives me to madness, a feeling that made be so repulsive, that I could puke any day thinking about it. IT industry had transformed into an industry of fools. Skills plummeted, growth was aplenty for farts who could speak a few English words.
Software is not that simple. It requires real engineering and skills to build a good software. Any project I come across, is a real mess. With no thought involved, it was just thousands of lines of code that performed some task. There was no music in the lines, no cohesion. Code written beautifully creates excitement, and the more you indulge in it, the more you love it. The pathetic projects driven by hunger for growth and for money left no quality in its wake.
It is not always been such a grim picture. I have grown a lot more touchy in the new project that I have joined. My earlier project had few excellent mates and made the office life interesting, something that I looked forward too. However the feeling that I was being taken for a big ride did linger at that time as well.
For some reason, I felt I needed to do something extra ordinary, I am not sure what this feeling is, maybe everyone does feel like this, but few go that extra step to actually make it happen. I have thus decided to pursue my Masters in hope of finding something that would entice that extra interest in me. I do hope that the biggest gamble of my life pays off.
And I hope I find that special step soon!!
6 comments:
ROFL...hehehe!! someone is frustrated!! :)
hey why are you making our lives miserable by pushing some frustrated thoughts our way too. Ignorance is bliss and I have been enjoying this bliss.. please dont make it tough for lazy and incorrigibles like me who have grown our roots so deep that it would take SOME effort now.. and this hard work at this old age does not come easy.. :)
But Mr Real Engineer, i wish you luck and sincerely hope you get out of this rottening environment. All the best Taj!
essays ??? You are on your way to write another Suitable Boy !!!
hmmm Miya Multi-Dollar industry is what it'll become and u prnounced it well before it has become.
Anyways all the best for your pursue for something special.
@kapil
Didn't get you, I meant multi-million dollar industry [edited the post]. And hasnt IT become that?
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