Friday, October 21, 2011

After College - MBA or Job ??



Finally the most awaited & also the most dreaded ( for  few ) season of one’s Engineering career – the placement season has started. Everyone is trying to be as presentable as he/she can be. Even Saurav, who never bothered about his dressing sense, was in his best attire. The thought of  better job prospects & better future was lingering in everyone's mind & so everyone  was trying  his level best to  impress ( or fool ) the interview panel.
The same people who  were once diehard fans of  wrestlemania  & other sports  were now discussing the gyaan given by Kotler  baba & Steve Uncle . The campus was buzzing with words like TCS,TechM,Wipro, Infy etc. as IT companies dominate this season in the Engineering colleges . And the placement season was responsible for this wind of change. Although it was temporary but it was a welcome change. So finally when  the placement season was over, most students  were placed & while others decided to go for higher studies -for them either it was the critical CAT or the Mighty MS or the glaring GATE .

I would like to share two incidents which would show the euphoria surrounding this placement season and at the same time  madness of the Engineering students.

1)      (1)  One of my close friend , Saurabh  ( he is different from the one I mentioned earlier ) was so excited after he got placed in TechM, the first company to visit our campus , that he started shouting at the peak of his voice…moving from one building to another..ready to announce …I have arrived !. Few thought he has lost his mental balance & even volunteered to take him to the Doctor . However, I decided to keep a low profile:) 


)         (2)Yes , my friend Kapil is different. Trust him to do the unexpected & he won't let you down.I would not like to mention how he was dressed for the interview…it  can be anyone's guess. Finally, he was called for the interview & there he showed who he was. When asked about his dressing sense, pat came the reply  “ I don’t think it has any relevance to my knowledge or for that matter my job profile “. The panel members were shocked …But the show has  just started . Many questions were asked but  his replies were never staraightforward. Finally he was asked why he should be hired. Very candidly he replied that he was much better than the many candidates who were selected . Finally , they said that ,” You fit the bill & you are hired .” And here was the masterstroke from Kapil ,” I don’t think this company is fit for me and I don’t want to waste the time of other candidates who are waiting outside. Thankyou "…and he left . This was a rude shock for the interview panel .Whether it was  madness or something else but it surely made him a star overnight.

Engineering is like an expedition, a four year long journey. Insipid in the beginning, interesting in the middle & responsible & beautiful at the end. You can always be singer, guitarist,pianist ,cricketer,etc.  first & then an engineering student. It gives you ample freedom to excel in your area of interest. Such is the beauty of life in an engineering college.

The session after placement waiting for the  call from the company to join is very placid and serene. The busy schedule of college bus timings, class works, exams and results is no more. Spending most of the time with friends, new releases, late night roaming, computer games, short trips & placement parties make the daily routine. So everyone was trying to make the most of the opportunity available to them..Living life King size .
And finally after the final exams , it was time to bid adieu & get ready for the hunt. A hunt for a purpose, A hunt for knowledge, A hunt for the stomach,A hunt for a career and a hunt for a life.

With bucket full of dreams, We finally landed in our respective cities to start what we call professional life. One important thing I would like to mention here is that even after our placement we used to discuss the merits & demerits of doing MBA after our engineering.
Finally we ended up joining the company in which we were placed & MBA took a backseat.

Was it a big mistake ???

                                                                                                    …………………….to be continued.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

iMourn iRespect Steve Jobs !!


 For Indians all hell broke loose after the sad demise of the visionary co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, who died after a long fight against pancreatic cancer. Steve Jobs' impact on modern society can not be understated. But the immediate beatification of Steve Jobs fulfills all the criteria for mass delusion and is evidence of some kind of quasi-religious quackery . Every Tom & Harry ( one name omitted for obvious reasons ) was dying to join the league of Mahindras & Tatas to pay rich tributes  to  the man behind iPad,iPhone & iPod.
There were posts on facebook  & tweets on Twitter and everyone was iMad to outsmart others in paying tributes . Everyone iMourned  the demise of Steve Jobs & everyone was iSad about it.
Few examples are :
Atul
3 Apples changed the world: the one that Eve ate, the one that fell on Newton's head & the one that Steve built. RIP Steve Jobs .

Sudhanshu 
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do" - Steve Jobs 
Goodbye Steve Jobs. Visionary. Leader. Genius. Inspiration. Thank you for moving us to resist settling for average. R.I.P 

Hunny 
"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me."-Steve Jobs R.I.P !!
With due respect to the genius Steve jobs was, I would  like to ask all the people who went berserk how many of them use Apple products. People went overboard & compared Steve Jobs with Gandhiji . Now it was  time  for me to go iMad. I mean I don’t see any reason behind this. I wonder at the Mania of Crowds.
My post does not intend to demean Mr. Jobs or his achievements. He was a modern magician who reached into tomorrow and came up with things that changed millions of lives and nobody can deny this fact. It merely asks that we keep them in some kind of perspective and by doing so might better honor his life, work and legacy. But to listen to some of the weeping and wailing on all social networking sites & micro-blogging sites one is forced (incuing me ) to think that prior to the inventions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad no-one had ever previously listened to music, endured a telephone conversation or read anything on a screen. Let me make it clear  Apple improved each of those experiences; it did not create them.
Although iPad, iPod are great hits but it’s also true Apple remains an elite and niche product . Macpro is anytime costlier than HP or IBM product.
There’s no doubt that Steve Jobs was a genius . But that does not mean that people should throng Apple stores to hang around with other mourners and make a fool of oneself. Those that do so reveal themselves as members of a cult or iReligion  that's just as stupid as any other and equally deserving of scorn and pity.