IT is not the only option for you

A young Punjabi couple sold their flat in our apartment block and left for Pune this month. Originally from Delhi the husband used to work in a reputed IT company in Kolkata. Since there were no important projects coming to Kolkata in recent times he was utterly frustrated. A bright young man, he was stagnating and wanted to get out of this situation at any cost. His wife who was a teacher in an engineering college had to give up her job and move to Pune for her husband’s sake. He was unhappy and for her it was important that he should be happy. He was the principal provider for the family . Pune was a better place and they were looking forward to settle there. Their daughter was still quite small so school admissions hopefully would not pose a major problem in the new city. When I last spoke to them they had already signed off mentally and were eagerly looking forward to start a new chapter in their lives . I do not think they will ever miss the city .

Another young guy who till last year was working in a top IT organisation is now without a proper job .He is currently freelancing while his wife continues to work in his old organization. It was a workplace love and romance for them and they were pretty happy with their circumstances till the guy left his job. Or was he sacked ? They were still managing and not doing too badly. However the wife has been transferred to Bangalore recently and they are now in a complete fix. Last week while waiting for transport I met another young man at the airport. A qualified doctor he was at present working with a multinational group in Hyderabad .Being a local boy he missed the city but had limited options before him . He had a young family and  had almost bullied his parents to live with him so that he did not feel too homesick in Hyderabad. So now his parents also visit the city once in a while.Their house is partly rented out and their old driver works as a driver –cum- caretaker , ferrying them around whenever they come back to Kolkata. A wonderful solution I thought for miserable souls like him.

Sector V is not shining any more. Campus recruitments are slow and engineering institutes are struggling to find recruiters. Our friend’s son is in his final year in an engineering institution in Kolkata and the parents are extremely worried about their son’s future. This year many companies have refrained from holding campus interviews at several institutions and even if they have the vacancies are limited. Thousands of square feet office spaces are lying empty in Kolkata’s IT city. There are no takers. I am told that there is now a renewed interest amongst students for PSU jobs.

On the other hand a young lady in her final year PG Economics, who had never left Kolkata for the sake of higher education or attended any job oriented coaching centres, recently cracked a difficult campus interview session to win a position in the research division of a foreign bank. Her middle class parents had provided her with good schooling and had allowed her to live the way she wanted to. She had attended a govt college, so fees were low. She was not a topper and her parents had never bothered to thrust their wishes on her. There are others like her who have stuck to mainstream studies and done fairly well. Another bright kid I know, has moved straight into an integrated PHD course in TIFR after completing graduation from a city college. The handsome monthly stipend she gets is good enough to sustain her for the next few years.

While it is important for our IT sector to grow and keep on generating employment opportunities for our young men and women, it is equally important for our young people to keep their options open and focus on areas in which they are interested in and feel confident about pursuing. There are numerous opportunities available for them to explore and numerous vistas to conquer. I hope chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, marine engineers, finance specialists and others will soon stop joining the IT bandwagon en masse.

Ref: picture above "kolkata.olx.in"