Long back, when I was in Cognant & was in the middle of one of those days, when I had not done anything remotely technical (don't confuse technical with mechanical reproduction of work), I would plan this entire piece of writing. I had planned so many things to write. Things about Cognant, things about NANO (:P) or things about DW Kol as a whole. I always targeted this piece of blog as my way of venting all my 26 months of frustrations. But now it is in front of me. This coveted piece of writing which I wished to pen down some day(since writing this implied I am flying away from IT to PhD) lay bare in front of me. But it seems my memories are failing me or I have mellowed down a lot, since all those frustrations are nowhere to seen & I am beaming with energy to face the toughest challenge of my life.
So the first thing that needs to be addressed here is "How do I define my IT dream?" A simple(not so simple for the DW Kol Cognant juniors) one word is the answer. ONSITE. At least, I can vouch for the fact that most of my DW batch mates would not differ from me on this count. Things like learning a cutting-edge technology, or developing an answer to a really challenging problem always takes a back-seat over here. But we were expected to do that only. As a senior once rebuked me and I quote his exact words "I do not expect you to overcome any technical challenges". I still wonder whether this was a singular or a plural "you" which included "me".
Enough of plurals! Now its time to get personal. When I look back at my 20 months stint with Cognant, I sometimes question myself about the inanity of the tenure. Except the financial support(which made sure I can apply with MY money), I guess, I got nothing else. These few months really showed me the potential of not working smart & succeed. If someone thinks I am cribbing, then she is wrong. No! I am not complaining. Remember, I do not have any one to complain, but through this I am venting out my frustrations, which otherwise I could not. If you "beg" to differ, I can't care less.
The worst thing about my stint @ Cognant was my manager & my department. They were pretty much the lamest thing that can happen to any one. The department didn't have decent projects & the manager, decent managerial skills. He was, is & will be the lamest professional(should I call him that?) I have & will ever meet. He had created records & devised ways of scrapping projects which one can never imagine.
Its pretty human not to be satisfied with what one gets. But still then the worst thing about a techie returning from Sector V is the drooping shoulders. Its like she is not happy with what she has done today. She is simply intellectually satisfied with her work. & somehow she feels she cannot take it even for one more day.
But then during this stint, I met with a few great persons whom if I don't meet ever again, I will be cherishing their company that I had. I shouldn't be taking names, but they were very the persons who at least helped to make the pain bearable. I miss you guys a lot.
But enough of this. Adios & keep waiting for the next part of the blog "...to live mine"
