Once again, time to move on

It’s not very long ago, I wrote a blog post about moving on and here I’m writing it once again.
After almost 3 months of joining Capgemini India, I’m quitting my position. I will join MphasiS, an HP company, starting next week.

My short stint here has been a real pleasure. I’ve met some wonderful people and it’s a little unsettling to quit a company after joining in couple of months. In hindsight it’s not one of the best decisions I have made, however, I do hope that after couple of years, I would be able to connect the dots looking backwards.

I will be moving to Pune after living for more than 4 years in Mumbai and will be devoting time side-by-side to my entrepreneurial dreams as well. Let’s hope for the best.

It’s time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, babe grass is growing
It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going

No, I’m not an engineer

No! I’m not an engineer

Yes, although, I am working in IT but I’m not an engineer. I know engineer are different breed, they save world by coding and working in IT. But I’m not engineer. I’m a simple-plain just another computer graduate working in IT.

I know for a fact it’s not at all fashionable to be in IT industry without a B.E./B.Tech badge. People get surprised and sometimes shocked that a person like me is sitting among them who is not an engineer and he is as good, if not better, as them.

I was an average student during my schooling days. I did want to join engineering college like everyone else. I did not want to do it because of my interest in it but because every other person in my class was trying for it. however, I realized that it was something which was not meant for me. I just didn’t feel the need to get an engineering degree. I did not even appear for a single entrance test for engineering and ended up getting computer science graduate degree.

Is it really required to get an engineering degree to work in IT? I mean I have seen all sorts of engineer (chemical, mechanical and even civil engineers) working in different roles in IT. I really don’t understand what problem the mechanical/chemical engineer is solving by coding in Java/PHP or administering the Oracle database. Is this what he has got education for?

With all due respects to engineers, there are more than approximately 3500 engineering colleges (couldn’t find an official figure on AICTE website) and these days one can get admission easily in any Baankelaal Chavannichhap Engineering College, which might have setup of few acres in the far most outskirts of city with almost no infrastructure and most of the faculties comprising of old students. Need not to say, the quality of these engineers is not very reliable. In 2004, India produced more than 450,000 engineers out of which 31% were Computer engineers. But are these engineers employable? Answer is a clear no.

These engineers will have to go through a rigorous training of 2-3 months in the company and then only they will be somewhat productive after signing the service level agreement of 2 years, in most cases. And trust me on this, for these kind of thorough trainings you don’t have to be an engineer.

I’m not saying that guys with degrees like MCA are directly employable, however, they have better understanding of computers and their learning curve would be shorter as compare to a mechanical/chemical engineer.

So, It’s not the degree what matters. It’s the attitude, knowledge and skills that matter. No doubt that engineering degree would put you in job queue ahead of few not-so-cool computer graduate like me but it would definitely not give you that extra edge while working. You have to prove yourself.

P.S: This posts is not at all talking about engineers from IIT/NIT and such elite colleges, this post is about engineering colleges in every nuke and corner of every city.

My Royal Enfield Experience

Since my childhood days, I was always fascinated by the marvelously designed body, the melodious thump and the royal look of Royal Enfield. After learning driving on a Bajaj Chetak, I wanted to ride Bullet to feel the Bullet-ness (if there is such a term) but never got a chance to ride as none of my friend had one. Primarily, all these years I have been riding the definitely male, Bajaj Pulsar.

I decided to buy a bike last year and after a lot of thinking I settled for Royal Enfield. The Bullet was first choice without a doubt but I wasn’t sure if I am the right person for it. I used to hate driving specially in Mumbai traffic and maneuvering that beast is not an easy task in Mumbai chaos. I got different opinion about Bullet like the amount your are paying to buy a bullet can be used as a down payment for a car, why do you need to buy a bike now, Bullet khareedna matlab haathi paalna hai and so on. Needless to say I did not pay attention to any of these unwanted suggestions.

Now, the next big task was to decide on the model. As I had not driven a Bullet; so, I was sure that I am not going for Standard model because it had gear shift on the right side. I wanted to go for Thunderbird Twin Spark but it does not have that thump sound, although, after going through quite a few forums I got to know that a retro silencer can give that thump. I almost zeroed in for a Machismo and that’s when Royal Enfield launched Bullet Classic models.

It was a historic launch in the sense that all models except for Thunderbird were being discontinued and going forward Royal Enfield is going to produce only UCE (Unit Construction Engine) and not CI (Cast Iron) engines. I could not make a difference in these two types of engines . I took a test ride of Royal Enfield Classic 350 and was pretty satisfied with the ride.

I booked my bike (Royal Enfield Classic 350) on 25th Nov, 2009 (just after 21 days of launch) by paying Rs. 10,000. The company owned Bandra showroom promised me the bike in 50-55 days as I booked a silver color bike and there was less demand for silver color. I made a mental note that I will get a delivery during Makar Sankranti. However, to my disappointment I received a call from store after a month that I will not get my bike before second week of February. I consoled myself by thinking that it would be a prefect gift for me on my birthday.

Till now, 111 days have passed (and also my Birthday, Holi and Gudi Padwa) and 3 more deadline extension have been informed so far. The next expected delivery week (yes, they talk in weeks) is third week of April. I have sent an email to Royal Enfield seeking explanation about the delay and have received a canned response that you will receive a bike on first-come-first-serve basis whenever it’s ready. I have made several calls to showroom about my bike and to empathize, they have offered me to return 90% of my booking amount and I can pay the complete amount at the time of delivery. They have also send me a Classic calendar featuring Milind Soman.

My excitement of owning a Royal Enfield is dying down, although, I still look every passing by Bullet with an astonishing feeling, the same way a kid looks up in the sky whenever he listens to sound of an aeroplane.  I am no more counting days to get my bike, however, what disappoints me the most is the manner in which the delivery date is being extended every two weeks. I am unable to comprehend how Eicher Motors is not able to produce these bikes when they have only three models in production now unlike in past when they had 4 models. The demand has increased understandably for Classic bikes but you are in business of producing bike and should have evaluated the spurt in demand.

I am still waiting for the day when I will get a call from Bandra Royal Enfield store that your bike is ready and you can take it home. So far this has been my Royal Enfield experience without even driving it.

I still love Royal Enfield, the bike but I hate Royal Enfield (Eicher Motors), the company.

Update-1 (April, 8th, 2010): After 134 days of booking, I have paid the complete amount for the bike. I have been told that bike would be available next week. Thanks to delay in production, I have to pay Rs. 2287 extra as there has been some hike in excise duty or something. Thank You Eicher Motors for making me pay extra for your fault.

Update-2 (April, 20th, 2010): After 146 days, the bike is delivered today. I don’t have words to explain the feeling of owning this beauty. The wait was all worth it

Time to move on

This week, I have completed 4 years in my current company and I will be leaving Atos Origin for another opportunity. Exactly 4 years ago I joined Atos Origin with new dreams and with a lot of anticipation about SAP world. I have gone strength to strength in SAP, learned a lot, got certified but there is still a lot to learn. That’s one thing I like about SAP, the learning never stops. Almost everyday you will face a new error, interesting issues, new findings, a different method to do things, a challenging customer and tight deadlines.

These four years have been truly enjoyable here and have made a lot of friends. While working here I got a chance to work in The Netherlands and thanks to Schengen visa I could visit few wonderful cities like Amsterdam, Rome, Venice, Paris, Brussels, Interlaken and Luzern. I still cherish those memories of my stay in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Working with European colleagues was a completely different and enjoyable experience. I developed interest in cycling during this time ( had had a fall as well, with swollen eye ) and bought a cycle here in Mumbai too, although it’s not easy to cycle in Mumbai.

Now, I’m looking forward to join my new organization with new hopes and new set of expectations. I know it’s not easy to leave your comfort zone and adapt to new company’s work environment and culture but still I hope that transition would be smooth and I will provide value to my new employer.