I am 32 years an engineer old and head a product division of an MNC, I didn't get here overnight. i knew my engineering results were not up to the mark and took whatever came my way initially, made sure I left no stone unturned, whether i was asked to count refrigerators or stack up washing machines, and then demanded a profile I wanted once the time was right.
On the contrary i see fresh graduates walk in to my department and say within 2 months claim they are being underutilized, I try not to laugh, why do engineers from third rate institute with a "donation" degree feel they are gids gift to engineering.
And this is an attitude not just confined to the workplace, as a counselor I was asked by final year students why a 60% in 3 sems out of 6 was not good enough for Stanford.
The second party responsible for this are parents, who play no small role in bloating the egos of their children, time for a reality check everybody, 30 years back there were 100 graduates applying for a single medical representative or clerks position. Reality check " Beggars cant be choosers" if you can choose then leave don't crib.
And as a last word I doubt if Ms Smita Rajan' father wud have done the same if smitha was a boy. For all psuedo feminist cant stand the heat dont blame the kitchen.
RE:lazy generation
by akash mehta on May 01, 2008 11:22 AM Permalink
I agree with Saikat, you don't get lunch for free. I too have started by workin in call centre's, never took that job as low, infact motivated myself into it and now manage an IT Location for one of the Top 5. Having a right attitude, taking each responsibility as a learning experience is more important than MBA or Engineering Degree. I have many people who are double qualified that me working for me. Above all, if one can't take pressure, quit and if you are so capable then crack IIT or IIM or find a job which you think is to your level. You reach the sky by starting at the ground level. Also there is no hear in observing human behaviour (tea habits), that skill will help to be a better manager when you do have to observe you teams. Neither is taking a call at the call centre at 2 AM, it helped me to appreciate what customer service is and how imp the customer is. You can either crib or learn and grow. Choice is yours.
RE:lazy generation
by Priya Jagat on May 01, 2008 11:23 AM Permalink
You nailed it right! Half-baked so called engg or B-school grads with very little knowledge of how things work in real life, mis-led by goebells media are led to believe that if you are say a mech. engg. you probably will have to work only at the shop floor and anything other than it is assault on one's dignity. Real world business is totally different and success in career comes only with overall experience & that includes engg. counting stock in a godown also
RE:lazy generation
by Ashish Arora on May 01, 2008 11:24 AM Permalink
I absolutely agree to the same, we own a placement agency in hyderabad and a number of Engineering graduates come to us looking for a job in any MNC/BPO/Marketing, when asked why they are not looking for a job in their field the standard answer is "i have a low % in my degree so I am looking for a job in a call center", when asked why a call center? their answer is "because it is a easy job and doesn't require hard work"!!!!!!!!!
Beat that - these guys require a job which doesn't demand them to work hard.
Some people come to us looking for english training, their grammar is not in place, neither is their pronunciation skills. When they are asked to brush up on their grammar basics like nouns, preposition, tenses, they have a very apt answer " I engineering graduate, I know english well, don't teach I basics" (this is an actual answer by one of the Job aspirants"
The problem with a lot of people is that they don't realize that no job in the world is demeaning, earning a degree doesn't make one fit for a higher position or a highly skilled work. Position and responsibilities come with experience.
In the article by rediff, they say this is the dark side of jobs boom in India, they don't realize that this is just a couple of people complaining about how they thought they would get more responsibilities but what they got was a starters Job which requires them to prove their worth. In the case of the lady working in the bank, it was her choice to take the loan.
