I know that many ppl reading this blog would be IT professionals working in india and would cringe at the word sweatshop. But come on people we have to face it sometime and call a spade a spade..We have heard many statements like India is -- The knowledge capital of the world , The It hub of the world , blah blah blah...But the truth behind all this is that "India is becoming the software sweatshop of the world."
Think sofware engg what come to ppls mind??
1.Hefty pay package
2.Lots of perks
3.Cozy air conditioned workplace
4.Cool foriegn Trips
5.Flexible working hours
Only people who worked in this sector will know the dark,ugly, unknown side of it.Not many people think abt the follwing things..
1.Average working hours put in in a year.
2.The pressure under which the work is being done.
3.The number of lunches,breakfasts and dinners skipped.
4.The number of close friend's and relative's marriages missed.
5.The meagre number of hours spent happily with our families
6.The activities we have outside work (for most people it is NIL)
7.Number of months spent away from friends and family in some foreign land with no one for company.
Is money all that is required in life. If we are given any arbitrary amount we want and are asked to sit idle the rest of our lives how many of us would opt for it?Not many I am sure. Situation most ppl are in now is just the converse.Why are we taking this sitting.Work is for earning money.Agreed.Earning money to do what? If u r a software engineer try to ask these questions to yourself:
1.When was the last time you had an evening(i mean 5-7) on a weekday to yourself?
2.How many times have you told yourself-"This is new to me.. I am learning thats why I have to stay late to finish the job"
3.When was the last time you learnt something new outside work?
4.What else u manage do u do on weekdays except work?(don say i read newspaper everyday ;-))
5.When was the last time you did something that u enjoyed doing.
I know you don have to enjoy work.U do it for money.I agree.But are u being paid to work 5x12 60 hours a week?Nope.U are paid to work 40-45 hrs. But most of us are stretched to do more hours.Maybe ur employer says u r new thats why initially you have to work hard.He hired you knowing your current skill set is'nt it. So it is his moral responsibility to factor in learning time.Are we getting lured by money,comfort and trips to exotic locations that our job promises us? What do we get at the end of the day.Big pot bellies,unhealthy lifestyles,broken families................. and a good bank balance.Will the last one balance all the others.
The big problem with all the software people in India is basically this:
1.Thinking the work assigned to oneself as "MY WORK"..It is just "SOME WORK" assigned to you right..
2.Not saying NO when they have to.
3.Not knowing to prioritise between business committments and personal committments.
If you are a person working in the software industry please think hard if it is all going to be worth it @ the end of the day....
ps:Guess there are lots of bullets in this post.It is supposed to make it Explosive ;-)..
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7 comments:
Hey Prashant, thats a very very pessimistic view about life...If u start thinking like this soo early in ur career, thats realy tough da...I totally disagree with what u've said. Whatever work we get in our companies can be finished within the mandatory 8.* hours that we're supposed to work.We don't work for this much time on anyday. We may spend a lot of time in office, but wil be working sincerely for hardly 6-7 hours... Of course, there are times with tight deadliones...but those are exceptions rather than the rule. If late hours continue for more than 3 months...there's something seriously wrong with ur estimates and u shouls escalate to ur Senior Proj Manager.
Thought I've said all this, i still think u've written this purposely so that u'll get many comments...
Hey Prashu,
I can see that you are trying to weigh up the pros and cons. I thought most of the computer engineers have good life (present tense). For any job to be satisfactory, there are three main ingridients-support, stimulation and security. If there is a problem, there is always a solution. So go on, list the possible options to tackle this with implications of each one. Then, you can choose a course of action that suits you and makes you HAPPY. At the end of the day, INNER HARMONY is essential.
This is to let you know that I visited your blog!! keep smiling.
hi Prashanth
It was really mind blogging and most interesting. We r really proud and happy abt yr excellent language. Ofcourse we do not agree with all yr views. U can definitely sort it out if u really want. We feel this is the time that u work hard and learn more. U r now free without any commitments. U can learn more things around u. Keep smiling always. ALL THE BEST amma/appa
hi da,,
first time i am coming across a term called blog.thatä whz i opened..i have heard the same words some where...
who is asking u to staz till midnight and toil urself....it is ur kadalaiäs ,,,coffee tea times,,,chat,,,, browsing all that makes u staz more than thez paz...i think this is totslllz a morf out of bull shit..
sorrz for the spelling mistakes ....i am tzping in a german kezboard,,,,
wherever z comes read as y.
Eat this!!!
I have answered to self, and will answer to you too..
1.When was the last time you had an evening(i mean 5-7) on a weekday to yourself?
--Almost always
2.How many times have you told yourself-"This is new to me.. I am learning thats why I have to stay late to finish the job"
-- Always
3.When was the last time you learnt something new outside work?
-- 4hrs ago, when I was in office..
4.What else u manage do u do on weekdays except work?(don say i read newspaper everyday ;-))
-- all that i want to do
5.When was the last time you did something that u enjoyed doing.
--10min ago, before i started to write a comment
---
PS: pls reply to comments in the comments page itself..
What ever ur told is exactly true. If i leave at 6 o clock, even i had no work, my employer stated look at a peculiar way.
most employers started to rate you as a third degree if u left the office within 7.
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