No Title

Ok!

Here is the thing. I work as a software engineer. Worked hard, worked smart, grew pretty fast in my career. Looking back at it, it is quite impressive when I compare myself with others.

The software industry is such a huge attraction to young engineers/graduates. There are tremendous opportunities and lots of money whether you are worth it or not. The financial muscle of the industry is unbelievably huge. Now that does not stand true when it comes to salary hikes inside the organisation - but that is a different issue altogether.

Since it is all about money, organisations are also smart. Take some star performers, some average guys, mix it up and put them on a project. What I do not understand is how they expect same productivity from all guys.

Underestimated project execution hours and over-estimated support function efforts combined together makes life miserable. The end result is you end up spending extra hours in office. Here is when you identify the other factor. The mixing up of talent in the resource pool results in a bunch of people who are either self-demotivated or requires a lot pampering. What happens as a result of this is that star performers end up spending crazy hours in office.

You see two kinds of people in the industry. The first kind is a set of people who see the problem and complain about it, get irritated and get de-motivated. Then there are a set of guys, who are real problem solvers, who make themselves part of the problem, get inside it and try to solve it.

Ok. I am losing direction here and have starting venting out. But let me continue.

The Gartner report on IT in 2010 talks about a lot of aspects. One of them being evolution a breed called "Versatalists". They also talk about "Generalists" and "Specialists". I do not think I saw a lot of "Generalists" in the industry in India, but yes I have seen a few in the US and the UK. "Specialists" is what everyone wants to become.

Here is one conversation I had with a team memeber:

I: How's work going?
ABC (Re-named): Hmmm, yeah, ok.

I: So what is the problem? Let me know.
ABC: The work is not interesting. It's repetetive job

I: But this project has it's own challenges. I think there is enough that you can contribute here.
ABC: Yeah, but there is no motivation.

I: OK. So I understand that you are not really getting interesting work. So what is it that you would like to pursue further to grow in your career?
ABC: I want to become a Solution Architect. We are using only 5% of "PRPC" in this account. I am losing all my knowledge on PRPC that I had. I want good work on PRPC.

[ I (In my mind): Grow up kid!! Become a Solution Architect? Work on PRPC for sometime and take a certification and that's it? You become Architect in 5 years?. ]

ABC: What about promotion? When will I get promotion?
I: I shall talk to you later.
( end of conversation )

This is so irritating. Just because you work some extra hours, they assume that they have done enough to go to the next level. Everyone in the industry feels that they work hard and is eligible for a promotion, but is that the case?

No software developer is born as a "Java" developer or a "PRPC" developer. It's about what they got to work on when they initially joined the organisation. 90% of the software engineers in India join the IT industry for the money. Infact, to be frank, it true in my case too. Only 10% join it to pursue the career as a software programmers because they love programming. I know couple of guys who worked for LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) for 15 years and joined my company. They expect special treatment. But if I have to see their performance, I feel that they should not even go back to LIC.

In the midst of all this, did I have a life? Got married almost a year and a half ago. Do I really have a married LIFE?

Answer: No. Not at all.

My wife, one of the most tolerant people I have ever known is trying hard to put up with this.

And I guess I have answered the question as to why I am not able to have a life.

Hmmm ... I need to figure out something.