Change- The only true constant

A couple of months back, I so vividly remember my manager calling me and a bunch of guys with a wide smile on his bright face. “Check this out guys, this is so really kool” That’s how he began. He had a screen from google in front of him which was asking the question “did u mean infosys hiring?” when you actually typed in “infosys firing” :P.

And with this post, you can very well guess why those memories came rushing back: D… Oh yeah, it’s real… The once proclaimed Government Company has started throwing away its most precious asset – its prized resources. It had to happen I guess; for how long can one remain insulated from the whole turmoil. And the current crisis being what is, it would only be a surprise if people were not thrown out. Reorganization and revamping, lots of stuff happening. And in these changing times, I am sure there would be no dearth of opportunities. It’s only in times of need that we stand the most to gain. As they say, necessity is what drives people the most towards their goals.

Now, I wouldn’t want to comment on any policy related things here; that’s beyond the scope of this blog. My purpose rather is to spell my annoyance at the way things are done.

To start with, there is a maddening haste into getting fresh new heads. Not the slightest of effort is taken to filter the entrants based on their interest or goals or even their software abilities. Frankly, I am baffled at the way talents were scouted at first. You can’t really blame these I.T companies in a way coz all they wanted were heads who sailed through a requisite years in educational institutions so as to leverage that to gain entry into the prized servicing sector of economies across the pacific. This was of course smart business. And the whole pricing model and the working style was simply amazing. Friedman was so bowled over by it, that he wrote an entire book on the flattening of the world. And by the way, that book I feel is a must read for anyone working in collaboration with the global economy. Now, if not for this entire crisis, nothing would have stopped the I.T bandwagon. They would have simply gone about recruiting like mad, getting more and more hands key in or stare endlessly into that ever ubiquitous machine. Only that between attending calls and fixing bugs, many lives gets destroyed.

Almost everybody enters this field for one reason; for want of employment but most importantly the irresistible allurement of the six figure sum getting wired into your account. I haven’t met many who have chosen this industry out of pure interest or absolute passion. It’s hard to, coz what you expect may never come your way here. It’s a complex maze out there. Confused people coming to you for solutions, a perplexed you offering him the solution, they coming back to you again for change in that, you going back to work a way out, they coming back again, you doing it over again – at times if feels as though the vicious cycle will never end.

Well, if I had to go on about the perils of the industry, I might just go on and on but how much can I blame about my bread provider. And I.T is, I believe the most optimal solution to many a problem. Let’s suffice to say that its high time people realized what they really want to do with life. Careers need to attain newer dimension. Education has to gain fresh meaning. Not a sixth standard kid running his ass over some coaching classes to finally make it into genetic engineering and then end up inserting bugs into codes written for unknown clients.

A wake up call – that’s how I feel the current situation is. For everybody; for employers and employees alike; hopefully this will get us up and thinking about our own selves.