Failed Expectations

The moment the fresher steps into the software organization with flying dreams of earning a really fat pay-cheque he/she is bound to do justice to the responsibility given to him. But who bothers what !!! Why at all spend time in equipping oneself with unnecessary, Not-all-that-important required technical skill set be it from in-depth compiler knowledge (or) knowing how a network infrastructure is deployed in the organization.

As far as the job given to the individual is completed within the stipulated schedule, upper echelons are not going to dig deep into the rabbit hole to see what the engineer is really up to. If one learns/works much more than what he/she is expected, management in some organization might encourage them by respecting their extra effort by awards, recognitions etc.,

It’s a typical 9-6 white-collar job with age-old plan-for-the-day. wondering what I'm talking about? Checking yahoo, gmail, hotmail and what-not-mail-account will not do any good to the company paying the fat salary. Infact it’s a burden to them in the way of cost spent for the bandwidth.

Take a typical tyro "X" starting his career in a ABC MNC. For the first few months X thinks he/she'll be in the radar and starts paying his full concentration in the tasks assigned for him/her. When he/she gets accustomed to the colleagues, upper echelons slowly a laziness creeps in from god-knows-from-where resulting in "Lets postpone the work for sometime" attitude since i can persuade'em after all i've seen, known them for such a long time what bad they'll do to me. This very thought of assumption is nothing but a starting of a bad omen in the career.

Why that is not every s/w programmer isn't typical software geek coming up with a scintillating software? In spite of the 85% college score and 95% distinction in the school why is that the individual just ends up as one another typical uncompetitive programmer ? The very amusing answer is we all know the reason behind why we are just one another geek. My intention is neither to blame the devout programmers in the field nor the real posing programmers. My targets are the wannabe programmers who always have the quest for the ultimate knowledge in his/her domain, aspiring for a odyssey to the pinnacle of perfection.

Most of my optimistic suggestions are gained from the learning's i've undergone in the past few years. To start with, programmers are not by birth but they are made in the computer lab. Sounds stupid ? It's definitely not at least from the days i've seen in my college days computer education. As they say if the basement isn't strong then there is no point in shedding mammoth effort in bringing up a sky-scrapper. What pleasure one can derive by looking at the sky-scrapper toppling down to ground-zero? Most of the college day computer education really sets the base for a smooth journey in the professional career.

To start with the phase 1 of the career what more you can expect from a typical aspiring s/w engineer in his college days? Chill out in a lounge bar with friends/girl friends? Have fun trips? No that's not where i am getting at. Life is just not computers. As they've said all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. That's 200% true. Who want to put up with the dumb-box for 24/7.

Let’s talk about the education side. A typical middle-level indian college (exclude the IIT, REC, BITS, IISc family) student faithfully mugs up the entire concept of computing by excruciating his encephalon day and night and finally manages to dump the contents in the white-paper provided in the examination hall. This brain-dump concept of education to my knowledge ages from the lower standards in the school. If the student is so attached with the brain-dump what's the point in adhering painful process of understanding things conceptually? Just mug up and get the "A" grade, brag and get a computer science major in one of the boasting engineering college.

This is what typically recognized as a EDUCATION. But deep inside what the student has gained out of the whole process? Nothing, but the graduation proof. How can you expect such a person to land in a cozy career in computers just with the mugged up knowledge? Even if one manages to get inside a organization what's the learning curve, grasp of professional qualities? Albeit, the management part of the career is ignored how about the technical aspects? Is the person really qualified in the technical domain from the knowledge he has gained in his college? Sure there are plethoras of questions which are very hard to answer after pondering over the past of a person.

When I was given the responsibility to groom the tyros from *one of the best* colleges in the city I really got a interesting rather frustrating insight. Know what... It’s another engineer addicted to the internet-browsing, mail-checking, rediff-column reading syndrome. I personally hate someone on my back (or) I'm going behind someone's back to get the work done. Are we into some kind of low-end-business? Definitely not we as a grown-up are supposed to learn our responsibilities from what we've been inducted in the entry. What's the point in pretending that "I don't know what I am for"? It really annoys the mentor when he has expectation of the newbie to be proactive in using their time in learning, practicing, suggesting concepts, ideas and any productive means which'll be beneficial to both the organization as well as the individual. I'm sure I’m not having a utopian dream but it’s a dream which can be made to happen in reality if the individual has a sheer commitment and the fire to prove himself.

I'm definitely not claiming myself to a ultimate pro in the business but it bugs me a lot when I see someone not using the opportunity they've been presented. Not everyone in the crowd gets a chance to earn their bread with this stable form of opportunity. Think of all those aspiring, exceptionally talented individuals who have been denied the chances to prove due to someone else who snatched their golden chance.