Are You A Happy Clerk?

A number of engineering graduates
in India are getting into business process outsourcing. At an event in Bangalore
held recently, former Union Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar
Joshi regretted, “India has become the account keeper, a nation of clerks to
the world, while China is the workshop of the world, a tragic reversal for a
country that boasts of the most ancient civilization, where every aspect of
modern, western science can find its seed.”

But what he failed to mention was “highly paid” and “technically
educated” clerks. Maybe, we are dumbing down but do we really care? Maybe the
comment would make our technocrats angry but it is all forgotten in the mindless
work we do and the daily routine of life.

What does an engineering degree mean today anyway? How many of those who
study engineering go on to stay in the profession? When I watch the news of
inventions by Indians, it never fails to surprise me that none of them is an
engineer. Rather they are from a non-technical background. Occasionally, I come
across the rare one who is still interested in what he or she does.

Mindlessness

It starts with our choice to pursue engineering or a technical degree. When
asked, why do they want to study engineering or technology, the most common
response I got from the “would be” engineering students is, “Just
following the others. All my friends applied and so I did.”

This is what I got from the majority of students. Some seem to have thought a
little more, “I don't care about the major as long as I can make 50k a month
after I graduate.” However, most of them seem to opt for
engineering/technology not as a conscious career choice but because of the above
two reasons.

It continues in our own educational institutions when professors encourage us
to present papers at some technical conference or the other. Students present,
glorified plagiarized papers, which involve “research,” and case studies
that would make Kavvya Viswanathan seem like a saint. Then comes the
thesis/project we pick to do. It doesn't matter if it is original or copied. I
remember the puzzlement of my board when I presented them with new software,
stupidly thinking that “originality” means everything. They were less
interested in the software and more interested in the project report and the way
it was formatted! I realised it meant squat and though I don't mind it meant
squat to those professors, I dread to think what this might mean to eager young
minds that get into engineering because they really like it.

BPO Beckoning, One for the money

The emergence of the BPO sector in India and the exorbitant salaries they
offer reminds me of an old Elvis Presley Song titled Blue Suede Shoes. The song
best describes the problem between the engineering sector today and the demand
for engineering degrees, which should have otherwise died a quite death by now.
The lyrics go something like this: 

“Well, its one for the money,

Two for the show,

Three to get ready,

Now go, cat, go.

But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.

You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.

Well, you can knock me down,

Step in my face,

Slander my name,

All over the place.

Do anything that you want to do,

but uh-uh,

Honey, lay off of my shoes

Don't you step on my blue suede shoes.

You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.”

The blue suede shoes here is the BPO sector and the priorities of the people
working in it are as the lyrics described. Apart from burnouts due to the high
stress in these jobs, most seem to lose interest and desperately search to do
something fulfilling but find themselves stuck in the sector or repent when they
realize that it's too late. 

Choose your Career Consciously

There is an old saying, “Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you
do is happiness.” So choose your career consciously and not based on just
paychecks. It is okay if we remain a nation of clerks but it is important for us
to remain a nation of “happy” clerks and not just highly paid but
dissatisfied ones. In addition, it is not possible for all employed at call
centers and similar industries to work there for 30-40 years. So always think
long term. We must ask ourselves, would I be happy doing this job 30 years down
the line? Author and career coach, Darlene Montgomery says, “The work that is
your true work may be something so natural to you that it rarely feels like
work. Your true work often transcends degrees and education. But often it takes
great courage to do the thing you're gifted at.”  According to Montgomery, these are the ten signs you have a
conscious career (see table above).

It is true that ordinary companies cannot beat the salaries offered by those
in the BPO sector. However, it is important, you love the job you do. Maybe your
final goal is to become an inventor or an entrepreneur. Just don't lose sight
of it in the long run. Also remember, those who are unable to earn the money but
are in a challenging job are always more happy than those who are in a boring
high-paying job. So choose your career consciously, for this would be a job you
would be doing for the rest of your life.

Deepa Kandaswamy

The author is the founder-moderator of the IndianWISE e-group

mail@dqindia.com