Guide my career

rdst_1

rdst_1

Skilled
Well this is a question for all those people employed in IT.

I am a student of 3rd year B.Tech IT and i have many apprehensions regarding what my future would be.Many of these arise because of the vastness of the field of IT.

1)What kind of jobs can i expect as a fresher?
I mean that all we know is that you get enrolled as a Sofware Engineer Trainee.However what interests me is how they choose a platform on which to train a specific trainee.

2) What are the skill set most sought for?

One of my acquaintances had told me that in a software enginnering job basic to advanced knowledge of c++ and data structures is solicited.However apart from these basic skills what are the other skills, be it networking, java or software testing etc. that might make one a better candidate than others.

3)This is more of a personal question than one that may apply to general candidates.
I have a lot of interest in making programs based on logic and mathematical statements.Moreover i don't like using specific softwares such as dreamweaver,vb etc., rather i lay more interest in actual coding in native programming languages.

So based on these questions kindly guide me as to what kind of job in the IT industry should i aim for and how to prepare for the specific skill set for that job.

Thanks in advance for guiding me.
 
I myself work in an IT company for past 4.5 years. The company where i work, we were given training for 2.5 months and put into technology not as per our but their choice. This is how it works at least in big companies.

Your choices hardly matter. But as you told that you are interested in coding then dont worry as you will be doing that only for max of your time.
 
being in software industry for 5 years, this is my answer to your questions

1)What kind of jobs can i expect as a fresher?

a) Big company - you have no damn choice, after ur training, you can be posted in anything based on the current requirement they have, so pure luck!

I started my career in a big company and has experienced this first hand

b) Small company - freshers are mostly recruited based on the openings they have and you would atleast have a clue before u join

2) What are the skill set most sought for?

Good programming knowledge is a real plus, good logic intepretation ++

Aptitude and communication skills are more important over the top two

and above all these - most important is WILLING TO LEARN

3) Get strong in any core programming languages like C, C++ and any new technology - for interview purposes

once you are assigned a project/technology, and if its all new to you, put in real hard efforts to grasp them as early as possible, that will help you in your project and your career
 
thanks...

i was hoping somebody would say the exact opposite of what you two have said regarding my first question.

One of my friends who has enrolled in the MS program offered by wipro has been facing similar circumstances where she had been assigned the platform randomly.

However apart from that , since you have said that one might be assigned a technology which is completely to him/her, then what are the evaluation procedures applied.

I mean is he evaluated normally or is some slack cut down as the platform was new to that person.

Also should i go for higher studies,not those normal mundane m.tech etc., but some courses that might help me shape my career in the direction i want to.

Say i do an advanced course in Visual C++, then will it make the company stand up and notice that this guy might be better off at that than just assigning him to some random technology that came up at the assigning computer.

Because if that's the case then i would prefer it this way as i will get a say in what i might end up doing throughout my career
 
Consider this a rant of how things will map out...

STAGE 1 : If you are actually interested in native programming languages and love to code, make sure you are really good at it and have enough know-how, to clear the mundane process of selection into one of the biggies (read top MNCs).

" What about smaller companies?

Smaller companies carve a niche for themselves and work with limited resources = need the best of everything = senior, experienced hires with excellent profiles (most cases) "

If you are technically adept, you shouldn't have a problem with the initial training.

STAGE 2 : Once you start working on projects and build your experience, you look to work harder and switch to higher levels, as far as career path goes.

STAGE 3 : By now, you should have a solid work experience and the ability to guide less experienced folks in technical aspects. say a senior level guy.

STAGE 4 : This is when, few years down the line, you think about switching companies, that offer better prospects, those who are actually looking for senior people.

STAGE 5 : You get to lead a team and remain settled with your current profile and workplace and this just goes on, till you decide to move on of course...

HEIGHTS_v1 : You become a top-level guy in some small-scale IT company and take it to great heights.

HEIGHTS_v2 : If you possess the entrepreneurial trait and preferably a MBA, club that with your experience and IT skills and you can very well start your own concern (company), with a lot of planning and hard work.

There you go, this is how you have it. ;)

Disclaimer: Oodles of hard work, determination and dedication required. :p

Being pro-active and the willingness to learn will also help!

Other points:

* Doing bother doing wasting money on courses because most companies offer good training programs

* Stick to what you are good. If you have to experiment, know your boundaries. Remember, you have to be GOOD at what you are doing.

Good luck!
 
thanks a lot raksrules, spectre and thetoxicmind.

this is really gonna help clear up my head and i really am pissed of as to why there aren't any reps for general talk section.

Seriously this is one of the finest advice i have got till now and it really helps me a lot.

Please feel free to add something more that might help in the discussion.

Once again thanks a lot

Also from what i get till now is that it is better to work in a big company as they will give better training and exposure and one can shift on later to what one might actually like doing or if one is lucky one might end up getting the very same thing there too. Also i guess being proactive might help, as one can always ask to get shifted to an assignment one might me better at than just lug around to please the boss.
 
1. Join company A

2. Work for 1-2 years

3. Join company B. Ask for 30-50% hike

4. Repeat steps 2-3.

For an added measure, you can,

1a. Ask for role change

2a. Ask for hike
 
psynaps3 said:
1. Join company A
2. Work for 1-2 years
3. Join company B. Ask for 30-50% hike
4. Repeat steps 2-3.
For an added measure, you can,
1a. Ask for role change
2a. Ask for hike
Click to expand...

I'm damn sure you're in IT! :bleh:
 
^ Well, wasn't it obvious? :p

rdst_1 said:
Also from what i get till now is that it is better to work in a big company as they will give better training and exposure and one can shift on later to what one might actually like doing or if one is lucky one might end up getting the very same thing there too. Also i guess being proactive might help, as one can always ask to get shifted to an assignment one might me better at than just lug around to please the boss.
Click to expand...

1. Yeah, why waste a lump sum on courses when they are going to put you through training, no matter what. Moreover, you might also end up doing the wrong course, as these biggies will simply give you the basics and train you as per their requirement.

2. Be good at what you are, improve upon that and the assignment will come knocking! Hell, join a company like Infy and they might just send you overseas for projects. :bleh:

There is also the element of luck involved but things will eventually happen in your favour, in due time.

1. Join company A

2. Work for 1-2 years

3. Join company B. Ask for 30-50% hike

4. Repeat steps 2-3.

For an added measure, you can,

1a. Ask for role change

2a. Ask for hike
Click to expand...

Well, it is happening these days. You get bored after 2 years (monotonous line of work) and you want to try another vertical, company, place and obviously want more dough!

This is IT ! :cool:

Last bit of advice: Try your very best to get placed in the campus selection else get ready for a tough time.

Edit: Everybody has to start somewhere and then move on or switch over.

With a job in hand, you have it easy because there are so many 'engineering' graduates still looking for a job and the increasing competition doesn't make it any easier. :(
 
Firstly, please keep in mind that whatever I'm writing right now is purely from my own experience and is in no way a generalization on the whole.

When I didn't get placed in my 3rd year in one of the many fishing companies (since basically they throw a line with thousands of hooks and all the fishes *ahem* engies *ahem* that open their mouth seeing the tasty worm (package), get picked up), I was pretty pissed off.

This was mainly because I had cleared all the aptitude tests but since my aggregate %age was less than the required by around 10 marks, I was not allowed to sit for any HR interviews. Apparently, policy only allows them to give those students a chance who survive by rote learning and score well (Again, I'm not speaking of all of India, but Pune University this is the rule. You just cannot score in an exam without mugging up last year papers questions. Oxford of the east... my ass). And not by the ones who can crack their aptitude tests. ( I'm not blowing my trumpet, but you can see that they actually want people who will do their biding without questioning. )

There were many topics made on this here on TE and I learned one thing in the end. Have patience. No matter what happens, don't compromise. Unless it is an emergency where you have to take a job, then it's a different story. Otherwise, in no case take a decision out of frustration/desperation.

Today, I'm in a small company. In the networking field, which I always felt I was better at compared to programming. And all my friends who got placed in the big I.T companies are crying about the lack of growth and innovation and almost all of them are giving CAT/GMAT and wanting to leave their respective fields after just 1 year.

Some people may have a had a better experience in a big firm and I'm not going to indulge in a flame war here. If you did, good for you. :)

Moral of the story: Things may look bleaker than say, having Angelina Jolie with you on a remote island as your gf, but the clouds will part sometime and there will be sunshine (wow, I should try my hand at poetry :p). No, seriously, I do believe that. Just keep faith and never give up trying. If you feel that you really are good at coding, try to see if the MS plan works out. Good grades and high score will easily get you some kind of financial relief. Two of my friends went abroad and they are really doing some great work.
 
rdst_1 said:
Also from what i get till now is that it is better to work in a big company as they will give better training and exposure and one can shift on later to what one might actually like doing or if one is lucky one might end up getting the very same thing there too. Also i guess being proactive might help, as one can always ask to get shifted to an assignment one might me better at than just lug around to please the boss.
Click to expand...

There are pros and cons with bigger company

1. growth is not as fast and recognition for good work and doing something more that others wont get projected much. Certainly there will be exceptions everywhere, but this is what happens in general

2. Training is not something great (atleast where i started)

but once you are moved to your project, its your rappo with the seniors there which will determine how much you learn and adapt

3. There will be lots of politics, if your manager is an a**ole then it becomes difficult to excel and self-motivate

4. Moving within projects is a really tough stuff and dirty politics will happen there. If you manager doesnt like you, you cant move out to a better project

Nothing a HR can do

Pros:

some more job security and some very good projects if lucky

Onsite chances are easier

Every support system will be systematic

Facilities will be much better
 
Spectre said:
There are pros and cons with bigger company
1. growth is not as fast and recognition for good work and doing something more that others wont get projected much. Certainly there will be exceptions everywhere, but this is what happens in general
2. Training is not something great (atleast where i started)
but once you are moved to your project, its your rappo with the seniors there which will determine how much you learn and adapt
3. There will be lots of politics, if your manager is an a**ole then it becomes difficult to excel and self-motivate
4. Moving within projects is a really tough stuff and dirty politics will happen there. If you manager doesnt like you, you cant move out to a better project
Nothing a HR can do
Click to expand...

Ah yes, the flip side. Quite true! :|
 
thanks all once again.....

@sei - i completely agree with you and i know about the roting part. however i will be able to maintain a degree of over 65% so chances of me not being able to sit for interviews are pretty slim.

also i know that working in a small company isn't wrong either but one will look for these companies only if one doesn't get placed on-campus , right.

I have an interesting incident to report here:

Last year i had the chance to visit the infy campus at chandigarh as a college visit they organize.One of the many lectures were given by a very senior member of infy who happened to be a teacher long time ago in my college.

So I asked him a question,"why do you recruit engineers and train them, when many of the diploma graduates already know these things and are better than us at actual practical implementation of what they have studied.

His answer was,"If i have to make a presentation in front of a client i would prefer an engineer to make it rather than a diploma holder as an engineer would have better soft skills that a diploma holder."

at this point one of our teachers cut in and starting ranting about how an engineer would find it easier to adapt to various roles and here the diploma guy would fail.All in all it was a rant about who's got the bigger stick.

After this i didn't get to talk with that senior member of infy.

However it left a mark on me as to how these companies are degrading our higher-level education system.I mean look at the amount of colleges that are flourishing where they don't give a rat's ass about teaching or knowledge for that matter but are doing brisk bussiness because these companies are ready to recruit people who spent 4 lakh bucks just to get a piece of paper called degree and didn't care whether they were actually learning something.

Hah this feels good . Is there any way i can show this to all these mumbo-jumbo heads of big companies as to what they are creating are not job-oppurtinities but mediocricy and unemployment.
 
There are some advantages and disadvantages of being in a big organization. I have been with one and hence know them.
Disadvantages being

1. Constant Craving for recognition. Managers hardly notice good workers. Chaatus get all the accolades.
2. Performance Ranking process and its results are frustrating. They cannot give a good rating to everyone and hence people who dont get one are frustrated. Here too chaatus (read Manager slaves) get the cake.
3. Getting an Onsite opportunity is taxing. There are many people to grab that 1 / 2 spots of onsite in a project. Most projects work on 70/30 (offshore/onsite) ratio so out of 10 people, 3 are onsite and getting that ticket is not easy.
4. Promotions are there but since it is a pyramid hierarchy not everyone together can get promoted you see, so here only who have edge over others get it.

PS: I cannot think of much advantages (although there are) as i am bit frustrated ATM :mad:
 
Let me add a few thoughts at working in a small company. I joined a very small company straight out of college. Been with them for 3 years now. These are a few things I have noticed, they may be positives or negatives for you.

1) First of all, there is very little politics. As the company is lean, there is no time for that.

2) Any work you do (good or bad) is immediately noticed by others / bosses

3) You have to be ready for anything that is thrown at you. In the last three years, I've done (this is from what I remember) - coding in perl and vb .net (I am not a programmer), html/css/xml/xsl configuration, HR work (went back to my college and interviewed for new hires), financial work (basic accounts and petty cash), sales, tech support. And none of those are the central part of my job profile.

4) Relatively flexible work timings and leave policy.

5) There is no fixed organisation structure. Some people have found it hard to work without a project manager-group dynamic. There are people who have quit within a month of joining.

6) The output rate is much faster than most of the bigger companies. We've had clients that said "Three letter MNC took 6 monhts for a similar project" for a project we did in 3 weeks. If you are a slow worker, be ready to put in those extra hours with no overtime pay.

7) Pay may or may not be competitive with larger companies. (Depends on the company and field)

8) Be ready for questions from friends and relatives ("Where are you working?" "Oh, never heard of it." "Do you want help working for xyz large company? I can put in recommendation" "You should settle in life, find a good company":/)

I'll add more if I think of anything.
 
rdst_1 said:
thanks all once again.....

@sei - i completely agree with you and i know about the roting part. however i will be able to maintain a degree of over 65% so chances of me not being able to sit for interviews are pretty slim.

also i know that working in a small company isn't wrong either but one will look for these companies only if one doesn't get placed on-campus , right.
Click to expand...

No. This is where you are wrong. If you are one of the guys who manages to maintain a degree over 65% ( without simply swallowing and vomiting ), you will be the first person to be frustrated out of your wits in a big company.

During the placement process, you always have a choice whether to sit for a company or not. It just requires some faith on your part that a company will look beyond your marksheet. And mind you, the testing process for the smaller companies is much more intensive. Simply due to the fact that they are looking at your talent, rather than being satisfied with the fact that you can spew vomit. For them, hiring even one employee means that they are spending a lot of time and resources on you. And to get rid of one means a lot of administrative overhead. I've seen this in my company. In this case, the said person left the company and all the servers (mainly linux) he handled. So, our boss now has to monitor those servers also and is feverishly teaching one of my colleagues (who joined with me) to take over his workload. :p

Again, I've got nothing against big companies.. but if you love the work you do (coding in your case, networking in mine) a small company is almost the best place one can be for the starting years.

whatsinaname sums it up beautifully-

1) First of all, there is very little politics. As the company is lean, there is no time for that.

2) Any work you do (good or bad) is immediately noticed by others / bosses

3) You have to be ready for anything that is thrown at you. In the last three years, I've done (this is from what I remember) - coding in perl and vb .net (I am not a programmer), html/css/xml/xsl configuration, HR work (went back to my college and interviewed for new hires), financial work (basic accounts and petty cash), sales, tech support. And none of those are the central part of my job profile.

4) Relatively flexible work timings and leave policy.

5) There is no fixed organisation structure. Some people have found it hard to work without a project manager-group dynamic. There are people who have quit within a month of joining.

6) The output rate is much faster than most of the bigger companies. We've had clients that said "Three letter MNC took 6 monhts for a similar project" for a project we did in 3 weeks. If you are a slow worker, be ready to put in those extra hours with no overtime pay.

7) Pay may or may not be competitive with larger companies. (Depends on the company and field)

8) Be read for questions from friends and relatives ("Where are you working?" "Oh, never heard of it." "Do you want help working for xyz large company? I can put in recommendation" "You should settle in life, find a good company":/)
Click to expand...
 
@OP.. I didn't the thread..

Just don't worry about the tech/evaluation process.. Your first focus should be to get into a good company. now Unless you are a something special then most probably good comany for you would be the one who will pay the most(and you will join it, but for a minor difference(~Upto 1.5lacs) you have to look which is better, or you would be already aware of the companies coming to your college, have something in mind? in our college many CompSci guys used to eye on MS/yahoo/Oracle). So gather the Info like which companies come to your college? what is their selection procedures/criteria? who pays most? and in how many numbers? Then try to work in that direction. Worrying about these dumb stuff like what will happen when you join this and that will get you nothing. Let me say even if a very avg NON IT/COMPSCI guy join a company like yahoo or MS, still he will be OK as long as he is not a DUMBO. I see many people unable to write correct English getting paid more then 10 Lacs per annum.

Yes improving your communication skill/ presentation skill will be a real plus. And once you are in the company you should be learning stuffs slowly on which you work(you will not be rushed in 95% cases :p, they treat freshers like that only).
 
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