My Post BE Work Experience (Research vs Corporate)

BE ETC 2006 - 2010. We're pointing at Aliston (Sampy).
That's me at your right, with my tongue out (no idea why)

After my graduation from Goa Engineering College, little did I realize how hard it would be to face the world after my degree. While in college, we're in a world of our own, a world where we felt we were always the best. The only responsibility we had was to have fun, yes have fun and clear our semesters. I would consider my batch at GEC (2006 - 2010) a very lucky one. We had unlimited support from our faculty and juniors alike, to be the change that we wanted to see. The most memorable events of my time was Happenings 2008, Waves 2009 & PhotoFlare 2010.  My college days were comprised of the best kind of events, both technical and cultural, filled with the excitement one can experience by only just being there. Our batch brought about the birth of the Photography & Robotics club in support with all the staff & students. While we were still in college we considered even starting a company.

Well after the years of fun ended it was just us, with our engineering degree thrown into the cruel world, just another drop to the already existing pool of thousands of engineers who passed out every year. Reading on line about lives of engineers who had passed out made me realize that it really isn't what you study, but finally its about making a living out there in the world. For me somehow, I felt oriented towards my field of study only. Yes making a living is important, but working towards a dream is important too. Somehow I didn't feel like following the herd. While in college I was eligible to attend the interviews of TCS & Congizant. The introductory seminar of Cogni was a big turn off. The statements they used gave me the impression that they looked upon students as mere parts in a bigger machine. No where were they concerned about what the students wanted, or the reason for their choice of engineering. A particular comment passed by one of the speakers made me certain that I wouldn't be joining a software firm at the time.

"Whether you're a Civil Engineer or a Mechanical Engineer we'll train you and turn you into a software engineer"   

--Speaker (Orientation Team) - Cogni

I began to think: "what's the purpose of the field of engineering that we chose? All the dreams that I had working with state of the art electronics & gadgetry my dreams all to dust?" This one choice of joining a software firm would have definitely changed my life forever. I then started to paint this bigger picture in my head, development of the nation & how people were forced into doing jobs that they either weren't trained to do or rather didn't want to do and things that I know people would probably never agree to. I imagine an India where people would be free to choose whatever they want to do, not because the herd does it, not because they get paid to do it, but because they want to do it. For many of my batch mates, these software jobs were just platforms to give them an opportunity to prepare for MBA. I think I'll require another blog all together to air my opinion on that issue.

Okay, so once I finalized that, what would I do? where would I join? Some company who would let me use the knowledge I gained for the development of technology as a whole, my purpose for choosing engineering. Siemens came along, after studying the company's profile, I decided to attend the interview, through 3 rigorous selection rounds I passed and finally felt a ray of hope that my dream would probably be given a chance at this MNC.

I passed out of GEC and there I was, no call, no letter and whenever I would call they'd say you're on the short-list and we shall contact you when there's a vacancy. It was September 2010 and I was just having fun, to a point where I realized enough was enough and I need to take responsibility and start working. A close friend of mine had begun working at the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula Goa. He used to tell me the kind of work they do there. I found it rather interesting, micro-controller programming and circuit design. I had decided. I wanted to work in a place like that which would give me opportunity to develop, my skills in the field I studied in, Electronics.

My Research Experience:

It was here that my research experience began. Slow & sluggish is how I would define it. Funds are in plenty and the work wasn't pressurizing. They pay you to be innovative. I found this rather fascinating. I worked with UNIX systems reading and writing through CAN (Controller Area Network) Cards. The learning curve was a bit steep but Google was my friend. :) I was able to finish tasks that were given to me. Seeing potential, the scientist who was there encouraged me to write a paper, which I eventually did.

The team before alighting RV Sindhu Sankalp for our
offshore trip in the Arabian Sea

In November 2010 I joined as a Project Assistant -II under another scientist in the Marine Instrumentation Division. Well his approach towards work was a bit different. He would push harder to meet deadlines, which was actually good so I felt the importance of completing tasks on time. The work here was related to satellite data validation of Ocean Colour Monitor2. I must say the scientist was a pro at the topic (well, he had to be) but still hats off to him.! We processed the data captured from the satellite in .hfd files that were used by seadas (a software developed by NASA) to analyse the data. The technicalities can get boring for anyone, but in reality for me they were very interesting, I must say. We got to go on a long cruise on RV Sindhu Sankalp, a research vessel of NIO and numerous field trips in the river. I got to travel on account of software projects too, installing and operating Seadas on different systems in Chennai, Hyderabad & Ratnagiri. One thing was certain though, I wouldn't want to stay more than a year at the Institute even though I enjoyed the job. There was zero growth, financially, it was a contract job and the possibilities to learn something other than the particular field of research was nil. I wanted corporate. I wanted a fast & challenging work environment. There were challenging tasks at NIO, yes but it was laid back. I felt I could do more.

My Corporate Experience:

I took a break from my job and decided to do something different, to get a taste of the corporate. So there,

My colleagues at Schneider electric, Goa

after weeks of searching, I finally got a call from Schneider electric for an Engineers post in the Quality Assurance Department. This was it. My chance to experience the corporate. I was immediately absorbed after my interview. My current boss had interviewed me back then in December 2011 after seeing my experience in NIO in the field of electronic instrumentation. Schneider in Goa deals with the manufacturing of Copper & Optical fibre cables and patch panels for high speed data networks. In the corporate world, it's either your degrees or your Experience. Nothing else, yes nothing else. You need to be opportunistic if you want to climb. A degree gives you that extra push, unlike research the brightest are quickly recognized. It's pretty useless being bright in a corporate cultured work environment. If someone sees talent, they exploit it, totally. U need to be 'street smart' in a corporate environment, as my boss always told me. There is a system and a set of responsibilities. Do nothing outside those set of responsibilities, even if you can. If you do, be sure that work is coming your way. I did that mistake many a time, ended up getting lectures from my boss, as I ended up doing work outside my domain. The good thing is he was understanding sometimes, so I got to learn the tricks of working in this environment. I had got selected to work on an international project related to renewable energy. It was here that I was exposed to round table conferences of International business and product life cycle development. I got to communicate with engineers and managers in Singapore & USA, besides contacting suppliers for raw materials. There were events that were organised where I got to use my photography skills and people began to recognise. It's a small Schneider family here at Goa, which makes the work environment pleasant, yet one thing is a must, deadlines need to be met. There's a white board where representatives from every department meet everyday at 10:30am to discuss and sort out issues on a regular basis, moment you've got a responsibility, your name's up on the board across which there is a date, to be given by you. and that date is to be honoured otherwise it gets escalated. This system keeps you on track and keeps everyone updated at the same time.

Finally, after all said & done my conclusion is that there only 3 options you got if you decide to go corporate and want to climb:

1. You work for 5 - 8 years in the same department, then if you are recognised, you get a promotion, or leave for another job with a better opportunity.
2. Study more and within a couple of years, climb up the corporate ladder with better understanding and broader knowledge.
3. Get lucky.! If you're really lucky, there may get a brilliant opportunity for you to jump to an awesome position.

I decided to go with option 2. I am trying to get my things in order to do an MS. The earlier the better. It is important though, the experience, teaches you a lot. I hope my next blogpost will be about my experience in another college in some other part of the world.
:D