In the year 2000 when I was in standard 10th the buzzword in career management was IT.Even if you were one of those lazy bums you would have known that something big is happening and that's IT.The Y2K fever was at its peak and even people able to identfy Java as something related to programming rather than something assosciated with coffee got a chance to pay a visit to Uncle Sam's land.Engineers were no longer the only privileged ones to get into IT sector.Graduates from all streams had already joined the bandwagon after completing some fancy course from those over-hyped IT institutes that made some quick buck.Indian IT companies saw some massive growth defying all laws of business.Basically India was shining.
But as it goes good time does not last a lifetime.Y2K bubble burst and then 9/11 happened which saw massive number of IT professionals returning back to India.But the impact IT industry had created on aspiring engineers was there to stay.Many overnight success stories had to close shop but the power houses of Indian IT sector which had a diverse business profile and was just not a by-product of Y2K bubble were resilient to this downturn.Growth rates became more realistic and sustainable.The madness was gone but the impression was made.The verdict was out.IT was here to stay and stay big.
This entire craze had a big impact on shaping my career.When the decision was to be made in 2002 on my future course after high school I became biased towards engineering so that I can join the supposedly elite group of software engineers.Engineering stream did not matter any more as IT companies were ready to pick up any engineering graduate and cast them into their mold.The downturn was gradually fading and the IT industry emerged stronger.But what nobody noticed was that other educational streams suffered major blow.Even students not interested in engineering had to dump science streams because of peer as well as parental pressure.The problem was everybody wanted a pie of IT.This led to engineering colleges getting established in every streets of India and obviously quality was compromised.Nobody complained as all parties were happy.Parents could pay and transform their children into engineers,colleges could make quick money,industry was getting qualified workforce if not talented and government was riding on this success.
Even I was overawed by the glamour of IT industry and refused to join any other sector.Money was good and even academically run-of the mill students had a chance to go abroad as soon as they joined the industry.IT industry soon became crowded and the gloss started fading.Money and a trip abroad started drying up.But people had no choice as once you are into this madness for few years it is very difficult to join any other sector.Most of the work happening in this industry in the services sector(where majority of the workforce is employed) is not intelligence intensive.It does not allow you to think and gradually cripples your brain.Suddenly you realise that a grand mistake have been made in your life and there is no way that it can be undone.After all control+z does not work in life.Everything is predictable and monotonous here.It leaves you with nothing but frustration as it has done to me.Frustration of not able to do something meaningful or something that gives you satisfaction.
I have realized that this is not a Hollywood movie where I have a time machine at my disposal so that I can re-design my career.The curse of IT has spelled its doom.But it is up to us to decide whether we want it to take control of your life.IT is not bigger than life.I am not biased against any industry.But just a word of caution.All that glitters is not gold.The upcoming students of India should really invest some time to find out what is their cup of tea rather than blindly jumping into the already overcrowded boat.I have figured out that there are lot of meaningful things to do in this world than wasting time,energy and gray matter in this industry.Have you?
