Great post !!! I liked it . The spirit with which u wrote is great. I am in final year now, and on the same platform of taking decison and doing projects.
thanks On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 1:22 PM, mustafa hussain <[email protected]>wrote: > > I totally agree with the views expressed in this write up. > I too worked for a reputed IT company for years and realized that this is > not why I did my engineering for. All we did in the company was back-end > laborious work. > Finally, only after working for 4 years was I able to leave and join IIT > for higher education. > > The problem is once you join an MNC, it becomes exceedingly difficult to go > back to your core. > The more you work the more you drift away from engineering and towards > management/consulting etc. > Unfortunately most engineering graduates consider IT industry as core > industry for computer engineers. I would like to tell them that work in IT > is as close to computer science as it is to mechanical engineering. So if > you are joining an IT company, you should know that you are going away from > core CS. > As such for people with interest in core computer engineering, IT MNCs > should be the last choice. They should consider start-ups, higher education, > or core companies first. > > Regards, > Mustafa. > > > On Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Aveek Sen <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Its been a year since I left college. I took a somewhat different path >> compared to my other friends. I decided to join a start-up instead of >> a big MNC. There were a few hiccups initially, but by God's grace I >> finally found my footing and am doing pretty well now. I wanted to >> share with you some of the things that I have come to realise in this >> short period. >> Once you graduate from college there are 2 kinds of job you can go for: >> >> 1) The MNC that conducts aptitude tests and retrains you from scratch >> in their organisations. This means that if you were good at anything >> in college, you are going to lose that touch now. >> 2) The smaller (or even MNCs) companies that look for only specific >> skills and hire you looking at your matching skill sets. >> >> Now most people in an Indian Engineering college will happily admit >> that they do not have interest in any particular technology and do not >> really care about a "meaningful" job. I would urge such individual to >> continue reading this mail, since I am going to address them too. >> Let me briefly tell you about the current transitional phase that the >> computing world is going through. Computing is surely going to move >> from the PC to handheld devices in the future. The iPad has sold 3 >> million units in 80 days. Every other mobile company is scurrying to >> ship Android and Meego (both linux based operating systems) installed >> devices into the market. For the first time in the history of >> computing, an open platform is being pushed as the default choice as >> operating system on so many hardware platforms. That means, Linux will >> be everywhere. If you arent already on Linux, you are already pretty >> outdated. I see in Bangalore a lot of companies working on various >> breeds of these devices. Small handhelds that let you do a few tasks >> well. All these will inevitably run Linux. >> Hence, the industry is looking for talent, and talent in this sector >> is surprisingly scarce. Sure, a company could train you and then use >> you, but what if you already have the skills from your college days? >> Wouldnt you be a better bet then? >> Here is where I urge each and everyone of you to have a project of >> your own in college. Not one of those "copy/paste" projects that we >> submit at the end of the semester to our professors, but a real piece >> of software that does something useful. More importantly, let the >> world know about your project. Tell your friends about it and update >> your facebook status messages saying you have developed this new >> thing. I am also telling this to all the people who do work on some >> project but never share it with anyone else for whatever reason. >> But what if you dont give a damn about all this? What if you are least >> interested in writing code? I would argue that there is something >> useful that can be written by even the most dis-interested of the lot. >> For example, would you, the Counter Strike addict, like an sms alert >> every time someone creates a new CS server on the lan? Would you be >> interested in streaming CS matches on your mobiles devices? Do you >> want an alert whenever a new movie is uploaded on DC++? >> At the end of the day, it is surprising how far these small projects >> take you in your career. There will be thousands and thousands of >> students who will still not have any idea about the latest >> technologies (or even obsolete technologies). In this context, you >> will stand out from the crowd and will be easily noticed. >> Working in companies like TCS and Infosys is generally not an >> enjoyable experience. I do not have personal experience in this >> regard, but I can tell you this from what I have heard. But we have >> responsibilities towards our families, and hence we must earn. Ideally >> though we should be able to earn well and enjoy the work as well. This >> mail is about how to make yourself fit for this ideal situation. >> First, develop a skill. It maybe in any category (completely unrelated >> to software as well). Second, let people know about it. Third, >> approach organisations that work in that field. >> Chances are that if you develop a skill in a public space like the >> internet, you will be noticed while still in college. Hence it is >> important to be in a public space. It also helps refine your skill >> through feedback. >> Look at Afzal and Harsh Vardhan Singh (the duo who went to Cannes Film >> Festival from our college). They did exactly this. They are truly >> finding meaning in their lives. >> The fact is that after a few years in the software industry you will >> start hating your life. I am only saying that you realise this earlier >> while still in college. >> It seems too much work to have to look for a job on your own, which is >> understandable considering that companies visit our campuses to take >> us. But think about all the other fields. Aspiring actors move to >> Mumbai. Models carry a portfolio to offices before they make it big. >> Even the kind of gruelling process GRE aspirants go through while >> applying to universities is an example. All of this is to find a spot >> of harmony and accord with ones own natural abilities and the work >> place. Yet, in software, we happily forego this peace. It is sad. >> I am not advising that you not appear for MNC interviews in college. I >> would not advise anyone to take that sort of risk. I am instead asking >> you to be good enough to get through those interviews (which you >> already are) and also strive to find a meaningful place for yourself >> in the industry parallely. Once you are out of college, you will >> realise how quickly 4 years passed by, but the fact of the matter is >> that 4 years is ample time to do so many useful things. Each one of >> you could build something truly amazing in these 4 years. Make sure >> you do it and also tell everyone about it. >> All you have to do is devote a few hours per week, and it will >> generally lead to an immensely better life in the industry. >> The silicon valleys of the west were built on these basics. Its our time >> now. >> -- >> Debayan Banerjee >> Software Engineer >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "GNU/Linux Users' Group, NIT Durgapur" group. >> >> >> -- >> l...@iitd - http://tinyurl.com/ycueutm >> > > -- > l...@iitd - http://tinyurl.com/ycueutm > -- Kumar Anurag -- l...@iitd - http://tinyurl.com/ycueutm
