Hi ! This is my gift to a beginners with the experience I got from after walking a path full of successes and failures . Please don't forget to thank me if this actually adds some value to your existence because I actually got wounded so that you don't : )
LEARNING #1. College is your time to learn skills and follow your heart
Informatica is a place I loved to work at. I received appreciation in my life for the first time in Informatica. Before Informatica , I was planning to run tuitions through Instagram channel called @englishkatution which kind of blew up in Assam somehow during covid and I was daily adding students in my batch in 2020. Being in a great place to work like Informatica, I realized what was missing in my previous workplace - Appreciation and Trust. I understood that I should have worked harder during my college time.
You can call me blunt but professional life takes a lot from you in terms of time and energy . You are no longer the uncaring-cool-going to the moon kind of guy .Once college packs up , the world has a few expectations from you .The world being your family and society .Everything revolves around your package . But I will suggest you to acquire skills in college in some field which does not look work to you . If you waste this time in TV Series and movies and addictions , you will be kicking yourself in a future job you don't want to but have to do . This is not a good place to be . Be skilled . It's not about just marks rather its about what will enjoy doing each and everyday of your adult life .
LEARNING #2. Be Financially Literate
Be aware about the financial assets and their returns . Study the stock market and the debt assets and gold and bonds . If everything in life has some kind of monetary aspect attached , why not learn about money and how to make it work for you . Learn to beat Inflation at least .
LEARNING #3. Don't join a job just for money or experience years on RESUME
Don't get me wrong .I have nothing against any type of company . Product Based companies and startups are the way to go because they will actually let you develop things . Mass recruiters mostly want generalist to fill positions in their support projects .Its a trap as you don't like the work , don't grow any skills , become redundant and pay is actually 1/10 of what you get for a good product based startup and companies . It's better to go for even a free internship in a startup rather than joining any service based company .Build a portfolio NOT a cv .
LEARNING #4. Understand Life and Death
A Human is an animal , although we don't think about ourselves like that . We watch movies , listen to songs , read books and dress up to go out . We eat in restaurants , go to pubs and even go to different continents . Understand that nobody knows anything .There are humans who run the world and then there are those who catch a public bus to reach office . There are humans who discovered and invented great things and there are homeless nameless humans on every street of the country in a state of oblivion . I just want you to take a moment and make you realise that whatever you think you have done , good and bad , will be lost in time . This world has been running , time is flowing from god knows when . There was a time when stone age roamed this world ,then monarchs , then wars .Where are all those people ? No body knows . Please realise that each person in your family and friend circle will perish . Love them while you can . Even you will perish like I will .
LEARNING #5. IT industry is NOT just about coding
IT as we think in college is not just programming .Rather its about teams and how thousand of team members work together five days a week to meet a deadline for a company client . Its more parts management than it is technology . The only way is to understand the requirements of your team and never stop learning .Learn to write emails , understand what people actually need when they speak to you and learn how to prioritise . Thats all you need .
Work from Home will give you flexibility. I love that too but you can NOT build real connections over zoom calls even with your video on. There is saying called “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes” . If work from office is what it takes to learn and grow in your career, so be it. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Clear Oral and Verbal Communication is mandatory along with Comprehension skills
A day job at an IT company is a lot more than sitting on a chair and coding . It's about meetings , presentations , strategies and teamwork . Your boss should know exactly what you are working on and there should be a reasonable deadline defined mutually . You should be able to discuss the errors and difficulties you are facing in the daily huddle .You should be able to go to the tester and communicate exactly how urgent is the testing of your fix .
From what I have experienced there are many people who work in mass recruiter and other IT jobs they don't love .They do not care because it is their only sole option to fulfil the responsibility of winning bread for their family . I believe that a human should be able to do whatever he wishes to do . But whether it be film industry or FAANG companies or IIM/IIT colleges , there is a high barrier to entry . There are billions of humans and we do not actually care about what happens to the 'Others' . The only way to break this barrier , I see , is to have a clear goal mindset in college and build yourself and your skills so that nobody can treat you like just another engineer resource . OR if you are already out of college and can not afford to go for masters , take my advise and postpone your marriage plans for a few years and build yourself NOW , one spare moment at a time .
And most importantly , be kind . You are here for few years . Give all the love while you can .
