Need info on Cognizant

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hotshot05

hotshot05

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Got placed in Cognizant last month.
Based on what is happening with my seniors, I have no hope of getting the joining letter before end 2013(optimistic) or 2014 (more plausible).

What is the training period like? Is it an inherent disadvantage that I am from a non-IT stream (I love to code though :ashamed:).

Those of you who have worked in CTS or are presently working there, how is the job environment like? And what is the state of the company at present? Some say that there are very few projects, some say there are lots of projects. But they surely are not giving out joining letters in a hurry. Only a quarter of my seniors have got joining letters till now.

Should I keep CTS as a viable option? Or should I try somewhere else too?
Is it possible for a non-IT stream student to get placed in IT based start up s or small companies? They usually place a lot more stress on computer science knowledge. I do not even know Java. Only C, Python(self taught) and Data Structure. I do not even know anything about the subjects like Automata, Software engineering etc etc.
 
First of all Congratulations.
pros:

1. process oriented
2. secured job. ( they did not fire a single person during 2010 recession, rather hired people)
3. Decent onsite oppurtuinities
4. many domains.
5. excellent brand name.

Cons:
1. Salary hikes and promotions
2. Little hectic work ( depends on your project)
3. Too much competition for onsite.


P.S: I am an ex employee, worked for 3 yrs , joined as a fresher, off campus non IT background, non Btech.
 
If you want to go into IT sector, go ahead. It's a well known company. But if core job is what you're after, try for something better.
 
blkrb0t said:
If you want to go into IT sector, go ahead. It's a well known company. But if core job is what you're after, try for something better.
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I kind of love computers. And so IT Sector is what I aspired to join. But have heard that we can get more meaningful projects in smaller companies. But since I am non-IT, do not know if I stand a chance in those companies.

Also love doing microcontroller based applications. The problem is that the companies(e.g Sieme
s, ABB, Honeywell, Rockwell) which employ people in this domain recruit mostly experiened people or freshers from top colleges. And I have not yet been able to find small companies where I can gain some experience.
 
have heard that we can get more meaningful projects in smaller companies
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Never go with this assumptions. Its all your luck. You can get best and worst projects in any company. If every one was given a chance to choose the project, No one would choose for maintenance projects.

So don't think too much, You just need an opportunity. Go for for the one which you feel is the best. But in the mean while, keep trying for other companies as well.
 
2 things to do while waiting for CTS joining (after your graduation maybe?)

1) Apply for jobs elsewhere, with a company employ you sooner.
2) Join a computer course. Gain some programming experience.
 
thenvk said:
First of all Congratulations.
pros:

1. process oriented
2. secured job. ( they did not fire a single person during 2010 recession, rather hired people)
3. Decent onsite oppurtuinities
4. many domains.
5. excellent brand name.

Cons:
1. Salary hikes and promotions
2. Little hectic work ( depends on your project)
3. Too much competition for onsite.


P.S: I am an ex employee, worked for 3 yrs , joined as a fresher, off campus non IT background, non Btech.
Click to expand...

2 points which are incorrect.

Salary Hike, Incentives and Promotions should go into the pros. That is its USP. Compared to TCS, INFY these are in a deeper ditch.

Second during recession a lot of practices were shut down and quite a few ppl were out of a job but again compared to other companies CTS' situation was much better.
 
hotshot05 said:
Got placed in Cognizant last month.
Based on what is happening with my seniors, I have no hope of getting the joining letter before end 2013(optimistic) or 2014 (more plausible).

What is the training period like? Is it an inherent disadvantage that I am from a non-IT stream (I love to code though :ashamed:).

Those of you who have worked in CTS or are presently working there, how is the job environment like? And what is the state of the company at present? Some say that there are very few projects, some say there are lots of projects. But they surely are not giving out joining letters in a hurry. Only a quarter of my seniors have got joining letters till now.

Should I keep CTS as a viable option? Or should I try somewhere else too?
Is it possible for a non-IT stream student to get placed in IT based start up s or small companies? They usually place a lot more stress on computer science knowledge. I do not even know Java. Only C, Python(self taught) and Data Structure. I do not even know anything about the subjects like Automata, Software engineering etc etc.
Click to expand...


CTS is a very stable good IT firm to begin your career, the main advantage is that the majority of their revenue comes from the Healthcare vertical, and you may be aware US Healthcare is undergoing a massive overhaul, business will be very good for the next 5 years at least. This is one of the primary reasons CTS is the fastest growing and maximum revenue generator for the last 5 quarters compared to all IT companies.

Dont worry about the organization, it is a great stable and growing organization, if you put in dedication and handwork there is only one direction you will go, CTS rewards key talent with good hikes some of my friends got close 40-50% hikes, so it all depends on how much you are willing to put in and contribute.

Having said all of the above, nothing is stopping you from applying and enhancing your skill set further, so work on that and this offer is a great backup to have.

All the best!
 
CTS rewards key talent with good hikes some of my friends got close 40-50% hikes,
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oh.. really.. i really boubt that. May be they have started that after a huge attrition during 2010-2011. But the average hike will not be more than 5-10%.

But to me, its one of the best ones to work, if learning is your intention.
 
Jasku said:
CTS is a very stable good IT firm to begin your career, the main advantage is that the majority of their revenue comes from the Healthcare vertical, and you may be aware US Healthcare is undergoing a massive overhaul, business will be very good for the next 5 years at least. This is one of the primary reasons CTS is the fastest growing and maximum revenue generator for the last 5 quarters compared to all IT companies.

Dont worry about the organization, it is a great stable and growing organization, if you put in dedication and handwork there is only one direction you will go, CTS rewards key talent with good hikes some of my friends got close 40-50% hikes, so it all depends on how much you are willing to put in and contribute.

Having said all of the above, nothing is stopping you from applying and enhancing your skill set further, so work on that and this offer is a great backup to have.

All the best!
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so it all depends on how much you are willing to put in and contribute.
Partly true, but you also need a slice of luck !

btw, I do think that 40-50% for a year might be possible, for longer time periods, it will average out to the same industry standard
 
I'd say wait for the US elections. Healthcare is 27% of Cognizant revenues. If Romney gets elected, that revenue stream goes poof, and things could get very interesting :P

YMMV in any big IT co. You might get some sexy cutting edge dev work on a prototype ipad, or be sitting all night at a terminal looking if some critical batch job is still running
 
@OP: I don't see any reason why you should not keep looking for better alternatives if you have free time to attend interviews. In fact, considering your current situation, You really should. Choice is always good to have. In any case, even Infy has deferred the joining dates for 17,000 recruits.


quixand said:
Salary Hike, Incentives and Promotions should go into the pros. That is its USP. Compared to TCS, INFY these are in a deeper ditch.
Click to expand...

Jasku said:
if you put in dedication and handwork there is only one direction you will go, CTS rewards key talent with good hikes some of my friends got close 40-50% hikes, so it all depends on how much you are willing to put in and contribute.
Click to expand...

There isn't really any consistency in salaries and other rewards when it comes to companies like TCS, Infy or Cognizant. Success in these organizations depend on a lot more factors than just hard work and dedication. Some people may be earning well and getting rewarded despite average performance and others who perform well may not even have their work recognized. Things like your visibility to the right people, attitude of the people you are reporting to and other such things make a difference.

My sister got offers from both Cognizant and Infy and chose to join the later (she was lateral entry with 5 years exp though, not fresher) and she had personally no reason to regret her decision over the last two years. Some of her colleagues who joined Cognizant at about the same time earn less than her. In any case, there is no consistency in the salaries of even the people she works with inside Infy. She gets more than the other people in the same experience level group and there are people in other projects who have 3 years or more experience than her, equally good in their work and still earn a lot less than her. There are also some who are not that great, lazy and still get rewarded with decent hikes and promotions.

The only consistent thing is that these companies try to under pay whenever they could. For instance, I have a mere one year more experience than my sister (and working in a different company) and I earn quite a bit more the senior project manager in her project who has 7 years more experience than me and a bit more than twice of what my sister earns. That is the magnitude of difference that these companies have compared to some of the decently paying companies.
 
thenvk said:
oh.. really.. i really boubt that. May be they have started that after a huge attrition during 2010-2011. But the average hike will not be more than 5-10%.

But to me, its one of the best ones to work, if learning is your intention.
Click to expand...

Well, I said key talent, not average hikes.

greenhorn said:
I'd say wait for the US elections. Healthcare is 27% of Cognizant revenues. If Romney gets elected, that revenue stream goes poof, and things could get very interesting :P

YMMV in any big IT co. You might get some sexy cutting edge dev work on a prototype ipad, or be sitting all night at a terminal looking if some critical batch job is still running
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Well @greenhorn, the elections will make a little difference, not all the changes will be rolled back, there may be amendments and stuff, work will continue to flow for sure. But yes, Healthcare is a key agenda this election.

Btw, does your work involve US Healthcare?

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Lord Nemesis said:
@OP: I don't see any reason why you should not keep looking for better alternatives if you have free time to attend interviews. In fact, considering your current situation, You really should. Choice is always good to have. In any case, even Infy has deferred the joining dates for 17,000 recruits.






There isn't really any consistency in salaries and other rewards when it comes to companies like TCS, Infy or Cognizant. Success in these organizations depend on a lot more factors than just hard work and dedication. Some people may be earning well and getting rewarded despite average performance and others who perform well may not even have their work recognized. Things like your visibility to the right people, attitude of the people you are reporting to and other such things make a difference.

My sister got offers from both Cognizant and Infy and chose to join the later (she was lateral entry with 5 years exp though, not fresher) and she had personally no reason to regret her decision over the last two years. Some of her colleagues who joined Cognizant at about the same time earn less than her. In any case, there is no consistency in the salaries of even the people she works with inside Infy. She gets more than the other people in the same experience level group and there are people in other projects who have 3 years or more experience than her, equally good in their work and still earn a lot less than her. There are also some who are not that great, lazy and still get rewarded with decent hikes and promotions.

The only consistent thing is that these companies try to under pay whenever they could. For instance, I have a mere one year more experience than my sister (and working in a different company) and I earn quite a bit more the senior project manager in her project who has 7 years more experience than me and a bit more than twice of what my sister earns. That is the magnitude of difference that these companies have compared to some of the decently paying companies.
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Absolutely, there are external factors outside our control, which is true of any organization, all I was implying is that CTS is decent platform and that all one can do is put in the hard work and dedication. Again, all of this is true if you enjoy your and are passionate about it.
 
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greenhorn said:
Nah, I work in Retail :D
I've seen BFSI take the hit in 2009, and now telecom seems to be having some trouble, but healthcare has been the star of late. Till now :P
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That's cool, yea i have been in healthcare for the past 7 years and it has treated me well. I am extremely passionate and totally love the domain.
 
Thank you for all the inputs. Learnt a lot.
@Jasku CTS gave quite a pitch about the healthcare segment during the intoduction presentation. Can you tell me what kind of work is CTS is involved in in the healthcare sector?
Do they only make softwares for automating the healthcare services? Or is CTS involved in making medical equipment?
 
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CTS is more of a software company. I am not sure on the entire spectrum of projects they have but most will be related to how a US based provider can send a charge to the payor, get the remittance and post the payments to patient account.
 
greenhorn said:
respect man, Have no idea how you manage to learn all those regulations.
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Well, obviously I dont know all the laws, have decent knowledge about the Payer side, and working knowledge of the entire healthcare spectrum, but yes, its really interesting, so I dont find it a burden.

hotshot05 said:
Thank you for all the inputs. Learnt a lot.
Jasku CTS gave quite a pitch about the healthcare segment during the intoduction presentation. Can you tell me what kind of work is CTS is involved in in the healthcare sector?
Do they only make softwares for automating the healthcare services? Or is CTS involved in making medical equipment?
Click to expand...

Well, they are predominantly into the Healthcare Payer space, they help out with payer related functions, primarily claims adjudication etc. (you will probably have to Google some of the stuff). They have now come up with the CBC - Cognizant Business Consulting, where they provide pure IT consulting service. Basically, they provide IT services for the US Healthcare (Payer) domain.

I dont want to bore you guys anymore, hit me up if you have any further questions.

Cheers!
 
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