Out of College

May 2013 - 15,00,000 Engineers graduated in India, out of which >90% wouldn’t know enough tech to get a decent paying job or at-least one they’ll be happy with in the long run.

Existential Question 1 - Engineer or not?

Summer in Bangalore was a welcome change from the heat I’d dealt with in Chennai for 4 years. I was slowly falling in love with the city, mostly because of the weather and unlimited dosa’s I was getting in the PG mess. But was the love sustainable, definitely not with the INR 7000 pocket money and specially when it was coming from papa. So the question was -

1. How do I find work?

Ans- No idea, feels like recruiters have lost access to Naukri.com and LinkedIn, why else would they not call me otherwise.

2. Do I want to spend any more time in trying to be an engineer

Ans- no, No, NO!!!

These questions felt tricky at the time. Who would have guessed that the answer would hit me in a random bus ride when I saw a random FB post ranting about a walkin drive for a job at a BPO. Icing on the cake - that day my trip to the interview location would be free because I had the bus day pass + I had a clean shirt in my backpack, so I was practically ready for the interview. The next question was is BPO the place I should go to, specially because of the engineer wala khandaan I come from. If this turns out to be a wrong decision, I’d become a joke in front of the padhaku cousins. RISKY MUCH?

My career aspirations being unclear back then made the whole decision making more complex. But is decision making actually this complex? As it turns out, it wasn’t. Me being decent in communication was enough for me to know there were chances I could maybe succeed/compete well in a BPO. Chances of success: 51%, slightly farfetched yet seems achievable.

Great, decision made. Let’s switch buses, reach Domlur and put your best foot forward for the interview.

17-05-2013: First day at Dell India Services in inbound call support, with a question in mind – could I get promoted to Team Leader within a year?