tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post8860502056550765742..comments2023-04-12T01:12:28.653-07:00Comments on The Indian Shitizen*: Lesson 25: Bechara Software Engineer?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06940726266857576700noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-23407401431398482002007-10-06T03:12:00.000-07:002007-10-06T03:12:00.000-07:00(clap clap)blind spectator?(clap clap)<BR/>blind spectator?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-16691841502401044302007-10-05T01:22:00.000-07:002007-10-05T01:22:00.000-07:00n most of these ITzens dont participate in electio...n most of these ITzens dont participate in elections coz most of them are not in their hometown n they dont care bout the government of the IT cities they r living in... india is loosing a lot, but ITzens r definitely gaining !!!Spectatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960074850306966038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-63725933579388467452007-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:002007-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.xpsytorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11332791077754079645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-88089398922899068102007-10-04T05:24:00.000-07:002007-10-04T05:24:00.000-07:00@sector7 The problem is the glorification of what'...@sector7 <BR/>The problem is the glorification of what's essentially minor value-add work. This causes diversion from true value-creation activities. Services industry in and of itself is not the problem. When hordes of people are put through that grind and lose their initiative and open-mindedness, that's a problem.<BR/><BR/>@mohit<BR/>I don't mean that everyone should start a company, more that people should wake up and see that as an option. If they then make a conscious decision to not startup, then so be it.<BR/><BR/>My vitriol has clouded what I was, admittedly poorly, trying to say.GeekBeyondRedemptionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972222507297532413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-40426227458072348692007-10-04T01:34:00.000-07:002007-10-04T01:34:00.000-07:00@mohiti had indeed read your full article before i...@mohit<BR/>i had indeed read your full article before i posted. i see what u mean here. just cud not get it initially. probably cuz i have seen the most hardened & socially active "Indians" among s/w fraternity (strange... coincidence. *shrug*). but like always... good intentions with a pinch of salt. all good with me. :)<BR/><BR/>lookin fwd to more.xpsytorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11332791077754079645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-27055957870997055002007-10-03T08:56:00.000-07:002007-10-03T08:56:00.000-07:00@geekbeyondredemptioni see your point;but not ever...@geekbeyondredemption<BR/>i see your point;but not everyone can/wants to open up a company ... there will be people who will end up doing the 'clerk' jobs ...<BR/><BR/>@sector7<BR/>i agree with you that just two lines in the end about good stuff that software guys can do (after such a long post) was a little odd; this is the edited post buddy, which had to cut down on some stuff since my original was too long ...if you get a chance to read the one at my blog, u will see that i had more about this ... not a lot more but ...<BR/><BR/>but there's lots more as far as the length of the post is concerned ...bear with me!<BR/><BR/>software guys cud very well be replaced with MBA, lawyers, as you pointed out - but one major difference i feel is that even if ppl work abroad as lawyers etc, their folks back home can easily understand the kind of work they do because they have seen their counterparts in India, but a software guy is a new breed, there was little or no presence of software guys in our parents' time; that is why i call him the bechara software engg ... also of course because i am a software engg myself :)<BR/><BR/>thanks for putting in the stats which actually prove my point that despite his/her contribution to the country's progress, the software engg does not 'seem' to have an obvious contribution in his daily life as he talks/deals/works more america than india ... i give examples of journos and brokers to show that they deal (or atleast that they can claim to deal) with more india on a daily basis ...<BR/><BR/>also agree with .gov, .nic sites ... which is what govt services becoming tech savvy wud refer to ...<BR/>i dont recall bashing software guys in this post for doing low-end jobs ... still agree with ur point there thoughAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-34044141484360400082007-10-03T06:39:00.000-07:002007-10-03T06:39:00.000-07:00hmm. I sincerely do not mind India producing too m...hmm. I sincerely do not mind India producing too many IT professionals.What i do like to see is they coming out and living like humans....think beyond a Java or web logic or dot net or whatever,...read a romantic novel or a book by Bill Clinton,get involved in some community activity,play tennis or.<BR/><BR/>Basically not to forget to live before their code get 'decoded'.Sreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09477030581749662681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-9776930000710587892007-10-03T04:26:00.000-07:002007-10-03T04:26:00.000-07:00I used to think like that 2 yrs back... some of it...I used to think like that 2 yrs back... some of it. But frankly, I didn't get the point here. First half of the post you are talking of Indian Software Engineers in the same breath as Dogs with the exception of their neck straps (yes I know you are a s/w eng too :)). Then somewhere in the middle you ask of their contribution to the nation w.r.t other industry peers (patriotic stock brokers & journalists are BAD examples at best! j.bo should know.)<BR/>Then some more soft-bashing before you finally ask them in the last 2 lines, to spread Internet awareness & make government offices tech savvy.<BR/><BR/>Seriously I don't see where all this came from. I could search & replace the word "Software Engineer" with high profiled "MBA" (who dont live in this country anymore) or "Lawyers" (who are doing legal KPO for U.S corps) or even the haloed "Doctors" (who have setup clinics all over the world but India), without changing a thing.<BR/><BR/>Also, when you say Software Engineer - do you mean Coder, Programmer, Analyst, Web/Application Developer, DBA, ITES executive?? I think you put them all under one hood, which is fair? IT industry specifically has two types of manpower - the Generalists & the Specialists. If anything, you might want to write about that.<BR/><BR/><BR/>COMPARISON. Its inevitable... innit? Everyone compares our much revered Silicon Valley in Bangalore with the one in California. While we nonchalantly bash our engineers of doing lowly & less technology-oriented jobs we have to see through the fact that they had their first foundations as early as 1955 while we are only a 10-15 year old computer aware society let alone the 10 year old Bangalore valley. Again, is it fair?<BR/><BR/>oh.. and I'll add here - Most s/w professionals outside India are NOT SUPERGEEKS from outer space as is made to believe. Check out their job-life-less forums... hilarious! (anyone seen the movie Office Space?? lol!)<BR/><BR/>@GBR - This goes for you as well. Though I do promote & prefer product development but "panchon ungliyan barabar nahi hoti" Not everyone wants to do it, not everyone can do it. Even if so, who will cater to the non stop demand of Services sector? IMO, Product Development is the next best thing Indian <B>companies</B> should look forward to rather than only "end-2-end" B2B solutions.<BR/><BR/>OK, now quickly.... the facts - <BR/><BR/># In most Medium to Large IT organizations, from Yahoo India to Infosys, a separate fund is kept for various charities & NGO's. This money is of course deducted from employees paycheck each month.<BR/><BR/># Each day a new *.gov or a *.nic site is being launched. Where else do you quote your sources from. Where else do you book your flight/train tickets, passports etc. etc. Yes, they are not as "tech savvy" as one would want them, and thats software development & maintenance process for you.<BR/><BR/># Inspite of the aforementioned problems, which I do realize we have to overcome, here are the statistics of contribution of an Indian Sofware Engineers ie. the IT industry (source rediff) -<BR/> * India's IT business revenue - US $ 87 Billion.<BR/> * IT contribution to India's GDP - 7.5%<BR/> * IT contribution to India's exports - <B>35%</B> Yes, you read that right. More than one third.<BR/> * IT contribution to India's new Jobs - 2 million.<BR/> * Foreign direct investment in India's IT businesses - US $ 4 Billion<BR/> * Market Cap of IT companies in India - US $ 225 Billionxpsytorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11332791077754079645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-119984369298104672007-10-03T02:22:00.000-07:002007-10-03T02:22:00.000-07:00I think the analogy of Software Engg to the Babus ...I think the analogy of Software Engg to the Babus of yore conveys a lot of implicit meaning. I also like to think of us as Clerks or Coolies.<BR/><BR/>At one point the "Privileged" jobs were those of Clerks - solidly middle or upper-middle class. What happened then? No value creation. Stagnancy in terms of position, and eventual replacement with Tech/Out-sourcing/etc.<BR/><BR/>Todays Software Babu's are very much on the same cart-track.<BR/><BR/>We need to jump off this track to create true value. Not that this is doable or desirable for the majority of the folk, for whom being a Software Coolie is a good enough career.<BR/><BR/>But as the saying goes, good is the enemy of Best. Read "Good to Great" and "Built To Last" for a good look at how some companies create disproportionate wealth to their efforts.GeekBeyondRedemptionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972222507297532413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-55084188417893200132007-10-02T20:01:00.000-07:002007-10-02T20:01:00.000-07:00For a not so peaceable and dignified version of si...For a not so peaceable and dignified version of similar thought - <A HREF="http://geekmoksha.blogspot.com/2007/06/software-coolies-hear-me.html" REL="nofollow">"Software Coolies"</A>GeekBeyondRedemptionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972222507297532413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969344685134599845.post-32155458457756677962007-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:002007-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.GeekBeyondRedemptionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972222507297532413noreply@blogger.com