The other day I was talking to this colleague of mine and he mentioned about a client he met during his stay in the US. Lets call our Texan as 'X'. X is supposedly a 40 year old guy who is involved in the business part of the company. His role and responsibilities would involve nothing with IT at all. But this guy was so interested in this whole IT thing that he learnt COBOL, C, VC++ etc all by himself and by learning I don't mean that he read some books and calls himself a techie. This guy is a now a technical architect and he doesnot even have any degree related to IT, unlike most of us engineers. And what more...he even created this tool to design UIs and guess what it is now a patented copyrighted one !!! And he supposedly paints and makes furniture for his home , all by himself....
Now to be honest I have hardly come across anyone like that at my workplace and I bet most of you might not have too. How would we after all! I think its in our bloodline to think that someone making a table out of wood or someone writing a poem or creating a different form of art is looked down in comparision to one passsing in the first class in his board exams. And what next, with all discouragement to your creativity you are working now in a atmosphere where spending 10+ hours at work is the order of the day. Not that I apprecite the dedication we Indian show to our work, after all that is what has put us on the whoel IT map of the world today! But at the end of the day , don't you feel that something is missing , something called an outlet for your humaity or creativity or anything different than the normal humane tasks.
Besides the westerners have this amazing wrk life balance that impressed me so much during my work tenure in the US. They come early , leave early , absolutely don't waste more than an hour a day at work. And of course you have all the time in the world to pursue your interests after your day at work is done. Imagine what all you would do when you are home by 5 PM. I do listen to people talking about how evereybody has only 24 hrs a day. But I woudl love to know the secret of how they fit in everything in it!
3 comments:
I personally believe that the attitude towards life and the education system here in US and most of the developed countries are quite different when compared to that of India.I hate generalisations to some extent but the majority rule has to be considered sometimes....
I have just watched Taare zameen par and wondered how it truly reflects the minds of many parents....In India there is more encouragement for techies where as in US the standard of education(Maths,physics etc) is really very low. They give top priority to extra curricular activities though....We Indians are a developing nation and so i just can't blame our habit of taking calculated risks.We sometimes even neglect our physical and mental health in the process of making a living:) People develop individuality at a very young age here in US...I bet u can find none with no hobbies n passions here.People are adventurous..they love sports,music,arts,computers..what not...Be a bit liberal when it comes to their sexual ethics,and you find them to be the "people living to the fullest"
The other side of the coin is that nowadays Americans hardly can compete with techies from China and India.The recent statistics that 1 is an Indian from every 7 engineers here in US has
made them think twice about their education system now. Too much of anything is worse than nothing i believe...there should be a balance in life..so does education...
Sometimes i wonder how my husband seems to have more than 24 hrs a day..His efficiency at work is more than 200% i guess..haha..He volunteers for 2 more projects other than his own project,moreover he starts his own little projects related to his interests,STILL he has all the time to help me and be with me even in his busy schedules.Multi tasking is his success mantra.He keeps reading ,which is one of his passions,even while he is busy with his work,eating,watching tv,or even if he is in toilet.He never stops working for his future interests.STILL he has time to take me around the city,be patient while i shop...In a single day he can do what 3 men can in 3 days..this is no exaggeration...and now i feel there should be
only one reason behind this...the BRAIN and YOU are its master..just wake up, grow up, channel your resources and make up your mind ,I bet u get more time to live than u think u have :) Constant reading and proper planning gives patience and perseverance to achieve ones goals i believe.
Anyways creativity n individuality are the boons of nourishment and are not possessed by birth...It's the responsibility of every humanbeing to nourish oneself and get truly educated.
This is more to do with the economy of the country. In a country like India, you get everything from a house maid to Carpenter to Plumber to a mechanic in few hundrede which translate to a few dollars, while the same in countries like the US would be taking a larger pie of your money.
This is one major reason why in the developed nations (where everything comes at a cost) people afford to do more things.
I would bet if the same guy was in one of the developing nations, his knowledge of paint would have confined to the ads on the tv.
They make these as their hobbies as everything is costlier.
Now with the advent of IT in India, where every thing is priced higher for a IT professional just because he/she is drawing a good amount of money, this trend is starting to catch up in India as well.
People have started this from their home with regard to their household chores and slowly they are going to venture out. (why would anyone want a cut in their pocket)
1.Educated at an Army School
2.Holds a Degree in Aerospace Manufacturing Engg
3.Holds a Degree in Sociology
4.A Soldier in British Army
5.Lyricist
6.Musician.
If you are wondering what am I talking about,then it is all in brief about James Blunt.
The kind of upbringing makes a difference in the way a Persons life gets moulded.Obviosuly,the way of upbrining a kid in India is quite different when compared to other countries.I guess that might be the reason.
Have you ever thought of haning up your boots from a lucrative Software career and taking up some offbeat course which drives your passion.I guess not.
Have a nice weekend,
K.Kiran.
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