I was just sitting and reflecting about what I have learnt in my stint in the IT field, for 2 whole years.... and thought I'll pen it down.
Flash back to 2 years ago , fresh out of college, dint know a thing about the industry , dint particularly care about the subject which I had graduated from . The first thing about a job is that , it puts a stamp of independence on you. For a person who is as young a fickle as I am, money i earned .. i thought was my independence. Am sure that was how most of the people thought. IT industry , people just struggle to get in (have seen a number of my friends struggle to get into the industry) it looks pretty flashy from the outside . Huge buildings (glass edifices) , huge fat salaries (or they think it is),travel, important business impact and the most important factor - how the society view the professionals , the importance they are accorded , everyone wants to join the rat race. So every young person's dream is realised when they entered the industry.
Well , I thought well am in the rat race now and was not particularly thrilled , but the glamor bug had caught me so for sometime I revelled in the fact that I was an "IT Professional".My first job was in the health care domain, dint know anything about it but knew that what they thought me in my graduation was useless here. You need to relearn(always ask myself,then why do engineering , if they make you relearn everything). So you are bundled into teams randomly and assigned a cube (private space which you share with 3 more people). And you start working, no one gives you a clear idea of whom you are working for, what exactly you are doing, you are given a requirement and you have to code. The code which will usually not meet the standards set by the American "bosses". The frantic rush of a release and late night slogging. For my entire stint in my first company , I had no clue what i was doing and no body cared to explain. All the while I was given management funda about loyalty to the company , who paid you and placed enough trust in you to do you job. By the end of the first year I was completely disillusioned with the company , it was like a factory where the shirt is already designed and kept you just inspect it and sew on the buttons.This was the case in most of the places I was told, no independent thinking , no free will. People just kept at it because of the money and did not have the courage to quit and turn to do things they wanted to do .
Indian mentality is a strange thing - its like this very fitted corset which does not allow you to breathe or move if you don't follow the standards set by someone who did something sometime ago. Its like this swarm of fire flies which are attracted to light , a swarm of them just follow it all the time , hoping for the moon. Someone does something , he is successful at that , the rest follow blindly. The great Indian Middle Class, want stability and security all the time , so take the safest and the most travelled path , that defines happiness. Security. Don't do things differently. Tried and tested methods. All this is not a bad thing, really, am not being critical, just an observation.The mentality kills the creativity and individuality from inside.
I know a lot of people who are not happy with what they do but are at it for the security it provides, money , life style ... One of those people Includes me.
I am really not sure what else I can do except be a part of this IT industry, it has been 2 years, I have jumped companies but, in the second company also i don't find that one illusive thing am looking for in my job. I don't know what it is but I know that I don't want to do this for the rest of my life , but again I don't know what i want.
Torn between stability and desire for happiness most of us youngsters just take what is given to us and make the best of it. But I don't know how long this will continue, but Isure as hell am not happy about it.
2 years and I haven't found what I am looking for but have learnt a lot.You have to work very hard to do something and nothing nothing ever comes easy ever. You need to prove yourself relentlessly if you need to get somewhere. Pro activeness is a trait and not everyone has it. Make the best of a situation. And play hard ball. Accountability, analytical approach.
These are the things that I have observed and learnt but not all of them have been implemented. Hell nothing has been implemented. I am not saying that IT is a bad place to be , but for a person who needs to be in a creative original environment , its not the place ... choose your destiny , don't let anyone choose it for you.. Here you don't make a lot of difference to anyone's life , not even your own.
I am not that kind of a person who hates computers or the industry , and I sound like some one's grand mother but it is the truth and nothing but the truth...
I think i drifted from the topic i started with and the structure is not right , but me thinks , I've said everything i meant to say :) Depressing post :P
