Why business? Why not the day job?

Posted by nandeibam on Jul 25, 2010 in General | 653 comments

I graduated in 2008 with a degree in B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering and like any other IT engineers in the country, I joined the corpo-”rat” race as a Project Engineer in Wipro Technologies, Bangalore.

For the first few months, life was new and it was exciting. But then, let’s tell the truth, it became boring (I will tell you why in my next article). Well, that’s not the reason why I left my day job though.

So, why actually did I leave my day job?

One – Growth is slow. It is obvious because you are working for someone else. No matter how hard you work, you will stay in the same level for quite some time, you will get the same pay and the same coffee. You spend 10+2 hours everyday for the job and yet you think twice before taking a week’s leave for a holiday with your love ones? Well, that’s no life!

Two – You work where you are required, NOT where you enjoy. Imagine this: You are trained for 3 months in Java, then you are put to work on Wireless Network Planning, and after a few months, you are asked to take a test in Unix for the next project? Yes, this is what actually happens in Wipro and as matter of fact, in any other outsourcing firm in India. A friend of mine who worked for over 1 year in IBM India, told me that after being trained in C and C++, he was made to work in a Unix Server Administration Team where he just needed to reply to tickets saying “Please try again later”, almost in every case. Well after one year, when he was asked to shift to a Java Development Project, he did exactly what he was expert in – told the manager, “Please try again later”.

And if you ask them why they are doing this, they will say “Change is good, and to move forward in life, you need to adapt to changes”. In fact, that is why I left my job… for a change.

Now, I work on a small online business model and I am exploring new things. Plus Points: I love the work and I enjoy doing it. That is what matters the most. Plus, I get what I work for (of course much more than my day job pay) and plenty of time to spend with friends.

Well, there are minus points too. You can’t guarantee the stability and predict the outcome every time. That is true in almost all business models. You have to play with the risk and that’s why you get paid here. And in the online business, you stay a lot at home and don’t get to meet many new people. Here too, life MAY become boring after a while. But with a plan to take the business further, that sure can be managed, I guess.