N2N : 2 - The Cloudy Days !

NULL to NOW

This is in continuation of my previous post: N2N : 1 - Null, The Absolute Beginning !

Chapter 2: The Cloudy Days !

Time has put an end to all our sleepy sessions... We have completed our trainings and moved into projects.. I have been assigned to software testing, I do not know on what basis! Those days, I did not have much idea on s/w testing; but still my mind said that is not the one I wanted to be doing. I wanted to be doing some challenging works, with all the energy and sparks of fresh engineer mind. But life doesn't always give you, what you wanted. I was going in the way, life take me; so as my career..!

My first project was to perform testing of a media management product, which can organize, podcast all media files and communicate with electronics devices like car stereo, home player, TV, Nokia Mobiles N series etc. through WiFi and UPnP technology. The cubicle of our project team looked more like a small theatre/lab rather than a work place.. There had car stereo, TV, home player, WiFi adapters, media collections etc, etc scattered apart from our computers. We could use these devices as our choice of interest in watching movies or listening songs etc as a part of work.

For the next few months, I was going along with the stream, enjoying music, movies during work. The product, in-fact was great idea as a whole; this product even got best innovation award in consumer electronics section at international level. And also, I have been learning ABC's of S/w testing from this project.

But deep inside myself, I was thinking, if I m really doing things which fit to my abilities! No... Absolutely it was not! My work in that project was, something that any normal person could do; it doesn't require an engineer's mind to do that work. And more over, I felt that work very boring. Those were cloudy days of my career; and I keep thinking deeply on how to get rid of this..

Though I was late, I requested management to move me to a more challenging project. There has been some good attempts by management to move me to development project; Thanks for all the attempts by good hearts, though it was not fruitful.

At the end of the drama, I was requested to continue in the same project. The reason being, there had been frequent attrition from my current project already. For the sake of hell or heaven, I did not argue much. That is the way, I always been since from my childhood. Sometimes, this character brought good to me... but some times, I have paid much for being so...

My first attempt of swimming against the stream collapsed there. Life was again flowing along the direction of stream; and so as my career..!

[To be continued]

N2N : 1 - Null, The Absolute Beginning !

NULL to NOW

I would first tell you what "NULL to NOW" is... I just wanted to put together all the crazy incidents, thoughts and the path in my career life from an absolute beginning to now...

PS: I have tried my best to avoid criticizing or pinpointing anyone, who has been a part in my way here... Still my dear colleagues, If you feel, something pointing about you, it is not intentional or meant to be so.. I am just expressing myself...

Chapter 1 : Null, The Absolute Beginning !!!

Like any other newbie, who comes out of an engineering college to a corporate world, me too had lot of energy, enthusiasm, expectations on that day.. lots of passion to start a good career. I woke up too early that day and with great enthusiasm... precisely @ 6.45AM, which is a kind of too early by my own standards ;) . Then got ready in fully formal dresses & shoe and started to the company with a file having all my certification and offer letter. You know, the file in my hand was all, what I earned in life so far, with 21 years of education...!

All this days after I get offer letter, I was imagining about this day.. I was expecting a big organization with all hi-fi facilities... When I reached in front of the office, I realized it is a very small organization in a double floor building with limited infrastructure and around one hundred people. And that is where I started my career as so called a software engineer... As saying, 'First impression is the best impression'!! ...and I did not let the spark, energy and enthusiasm to get collapsed..

The next few months were training period... you know, how would one feel to sit in a training classes on the first few days of corporate life.. After all we were fed up with sitting in classes, seminars and sections for a long period of 4 years in the name of getting an engineering graduation.. I had to say, it was quite boring (Sorry, my mentors & trainers, but that was fact..) The training in the first few months dispatch the fresh spark and energy with in us... They taught us .NET, Frameworks, S/W testing, Configuration management tools, Java, J2EE, blah blah blah. (To be honest, I don't remember the rest.) ..

May be the training organizers thought, they could inject all of this into our small brains with a one month training sessions.. But one thing they haven't thought is, so many lectures, professors and teachers attempted to do the same for years in our college/school life and failed... And in real fact, how far we learned from those training is always a question mark, who on earth knows.. I've never tried to judge that.

But there was something else I am learning above all these sleepy sessions.. That is the helping, motivative, humble and down to earth characters of some senior colleagues, even in the situation where they don't require to be doing so... Until that, I never expected people in the rank of CEO, Founders etc, would come get introduced to fresher-trainee in person, have lunch together or personal talks! That is something which make you more comfortable, especially when you are in a new corporate world. And along with that, it also gives more responsibility, by having a feeling like you are watched by all..! May be it was just a business tactics, and this outcome was, what the company exactly wanted to happen.. But anyhow I liked the humbleness and helping behavior of some people, even when they are at heights..! I just captured that to my life as well.

All together, it was a fresh beginning to the world of software.. ! All the electronics and instrumentation circuit diagrams learned during 4 year life of electronics and instrumentation engineering has been thrown away and here the first step into a new world. !

The absolute beginning to the world of corporate life.. !!!

Next chapter of this series @ N2N : 2 - The Cloudy Days !