“You know my son is a Software Engineer in a
big MNC, we did everything we could to make him a successful engineer and look
where he is now. He might even go abroad this year from company”.
Does this sound familiar? How many times haven’t
we heard this conversation in weddings or family gatherings?
Every parent wishes their offspring gets the
best of the education, best of the facilities to facilitate the studies, books
and what not. A son / daughter has an exam, it’s a bigger exam for the parents.
They wake up at ungodly hours to ensure that they can wake them up, give them
nutritious food, internet facility, may be even drop and pick them up from exam
centers.
The achievement of becoming a graduate is not
just the students; it’s also their teachers and most importantly the strength behind
them, their parents. Parents also understand when their children take-up campus
selection or job interviews; they understand the process and gather information
when possible.
But what happens next?? Being a software
engineer by profession, I would limit this write-up to talk about the saga of
this profession alone. So join me in understanding what we do.
A student’s life takes a leap when they enter
the professional world. It does not remain a world of books, college projects, friends,
and a cup of chai or Maggie from the college canteen. It is a different ball game to face the world
on your own without a helping hand neither from their chaddi-buddy friends nor from
the parents.
It’s a big BIG world out there, competition,
trainings, peer pressure, the pressure to outperform, the pressure to keep
yourself abreast with the fast changing technology not just to get grade “A”
but to keep moving in the ladder; be it in your designation or be it in the
salary stack.
Understanding the dynamics of this profession
is not rocket science but it is different.
It is definitely not a 9-5 job that is logged every day, and this is where creeps
in a lot of gap and mismatched expectations.
I understand and acknowledge that there were
problems like work-life balance issues even in the 80s but let us all imagine
it manifolds in this generation.
A young professional at an age of let us say
23 years is expected to keep updated with latest technology he or she is
working on, build softskills; the right way of approaching people, talking to
clients, handling feedback every 3 months, and doing something more which is
one expectation that keeps ballooning every year and all this is apart from the
actual work that is never fixed from 9 to 5.
So what am I trying to convey here? When our
parents could understand us when we were tensed during exams, understand us
when we would sit late for studies, go to college on weekends for special
classes what happens when we start working? Why does this understanding go
south??
After a 5-day long, ( believe me it becomes a
long week even if it is just 5 days when your manager or customer is sitting on
your head until you have delivered what is required) all that we would want to
do is unwind during the weekends, peace when we are back at home from work. I
also understand that we would be responsible for things at home as well, but if
every mother or father takes a minute to understand what would have happened in
a day’s time of their child at work, it would make a lot of difference.
Before a dad / mom aspires to make their
child a Software Engineer, it would be a good thought to understand what it
takes for them to be parents to a Software Engineer.
Are you ready to make your child a Software
Engineer??
