I-banks, consultancies vs technology

First of all it's not a real bad feeling for me. More than not complain about the dullness of job life compared to the college life. IIT had always been an institution to me. The feeling of college came in the cultural fest or at times in the intra-inter hostel events. IIT was always a bit difficult for me to understand in the targets it wanted to achieve for its students. The faculties had no more interest than the conventional sarkari babus. Unfortunately or fortunately I am in a technical job or core job and it's not I thought a technical line would be. In IIT only i-banks or consultancies seemed to be the only good jobs and it seemed only because everybody around seemed to have that feeling and that feeling is trust me not at all logical. The truth of the matter is what is good for you...what spurs you on....what really excites you..and if it's not consultancy and finance and it's technology so be it. You can make it big even in technology. And the 'big' include money and prestige too. Don't know why probably except from a few compu guys never really appreciated the worthiness of technology. I must confess I was also one of them. Not that after working for six months in technology it excites me now but atleast now I appreciate its importance. There is quite a lot of scope in it and if my heart would have liked it the only logical thing would be to pursue it and not run after finance or consultancy just because a few believed that they were better. The fact of the matter is .... the decision for yourself and which sector you choose should depend upon your likings and expertise. So if you are better than rest in a particular field no matter what it is you can make it big. My sincere advice to future IITians would be if you think you are good in an area and you have realized it very early work hard and pursue that area and don't give away to all the crap that i-banks and consultancies have to be cracked to make it big in life.

IIT but not IITians future

Over the past four years in one of India's top technical institute there's been a development of a different kind. Ostensibly the desired technical skills sets are nurtured but not up to a determining or satisfactory level.The achievements if analyzed properly will turn out to be non-compliant with the standards desired. The conventional and outdated teaching methodologies, lecture-tutorial lack of coordination, material cramming based examinations, planned but uncared scheduling, poor infrastructure and facilities management have conflated to make a mockery of the process ie the imparting of technical education. The reason I say only technical is that apart from gaining the basics of their respective departmental courses students learn all the arts to dwell well in this clogged environment. Keeping up with the project deadlines and submissions through mobilization of all possible resources except individual's originality and thereafter ensuring both quality and quantity of the developed entity is quite an achievement The process also mostly ensures that IITians evolve to achieve individual laurels.
The days are probably gone when the achievers were sincere conventional sloggers paving way through voluminous bookish data in not-so-well lit areas. It's time for smart and fast raffish boys who find their own ways to beat the system. If the measure is individual's performance there would probably be no complaints but if the overall picture of the development in technical expertise of nation's youth is looked at it is quite sad and dismal.
Being through all this I think somehow the prestiguous academic gurus here at IIT will have to shoulder responsibility and show some selflessness and maturity.They should try to get of their conventionalities, refresh their attitude and move towards youthful thinking, devise innovative stratergies and impregnate interesting methodologies in their teaching if at all IIT's have to maintain their lead in technical domain or else rustiness will begin to reflect in the performance and prestige of the institution.

IITD and IITR

With a bigger and much more spacious campus, a serene environment and relatively sober residents Roorkee is quite a contrast to Delhi. The hip-hop culture, the flaunting lifestyle,the aggressive tones and the overall attitude factor sets Delhi apart. Quite frequently heard and read about the Delhites specialties which the outsiders love to embark upon and usually don't appreciate was not surprisingly quite easy to observe. The inviting nature, the less intense body-language and with fewer thoughts on their minds,IITR seemed to be a younger sibling with amateurish prevarications. The talks had leg pulling,ridiculing and bantering missing in them which surely the IITD crowd can't live without. But then the toughness and boldness coefficient might lag behind, the casualty had a bit to travel to reach metropolitan elegance and coarser paths separates practicalities.
As far as the activities of students are concerned IITR inclines more towards physical activities like camping, trekking,cycle racing and sports culture looked much more prevalent. IITD might score over in creativity and cultural activities and being placed in heart of capital city, life can be more glamorous.The commonness arises from the zeal to excel, the competitive spirit and the highly talented individuals which surely both IIT's can boast about. The styles and cultures may contrast but the desires, spirits and the models are quite commendable and bound to result in successful endeavors.

The buzz

Thinking beyond and breathing outside the air of CGPA's(the grading scale) realm forms quite a minority here at the IIT's. The obsession seems to engulf more or less everybody. Well the boards and JEE weren't enough. Indian academics loves to demarcate, decide fortunes and the student's oblige by craving for any opportunity that results in slightest change in grades or marks. IITians are not expected to be and neither are any different. Some seek attention,some take pride, some see it as opening for better future opportunities, some fear being lamented as under-performers...the reasons may be far too many to list down but the interesting thing is...IIT is still not happy with the technical skills and the enthusiasm shown by the students here which is evident by the constant remarks of the professors about the unhealthy attitude of the students out here.
So it's quite to hard to explain the mindsets as in:
The upper strata(on the basis of CGPA) carries a body language along with them as if there's only a handful better born souls out there than them. Moreover the placements dosen't prove their beliefs totally wrong while the lower strata spends most of the time contemplating and understanding how the hell a minor differences in grades matter so much. But the question is how long are we going to persist with such kind of attitutde...
Maybe the change is very near as new and young India continues to be bold and rejects the supremacy realms based on such petty points. There will be differing views and this text may invite personalized attacks in the form of connotations and remarks but the fact is it's sickening to see people squabble and babble for such issues and it's high time they understand that education in true sense is aimed at attaining knowledge,humility,inclusive growth and development which sadly the current system arrogantly ignores.

The difference

It's going to be one of the interesting and controversial observations that I'm going to pen down.
What makes the brand IIT different? No definite answer but yes quite a few probables. Attitude,belief,hardwork and zeal to excel are all ingredients of a successful life...IITians possessing them in rich quantities.IIT adds the element exposure. The desire...the competition seems to bring the best out of you. The expectations...the gruelling schedule..the intensity..arrogance to some extent contributes to the realization and confidence to just go for it and do it. And the environment keeps you on your toes and pressurizes to act quickly and efficiently.That much for the answer to the curious minds who wonder sitting outside but yes one question remains....Can you overtake this bunch of highly skilled well equipped cream of the country....
The answer is Yes..you surely can...why not is the question one should ask to get the answer...the very fact that an IITian gets so much attention can make him overconfident and complacent(intentionally the her's have not been included) and the system along with the so much expertise can actually turn out to be a diversion for the student, the competition and ineffective academic environment can act as a deterrent for few individuals who hate when terms are dictated by system or its governors ..which may curb their instincts and flights.Therein lies the advantage of non-IITians. Moreover at times they are much more focussed and inspired to prove themselves.
The conclusion then according to my perception and experience then is.... the deciding factor will be the self-belief, hardwork, focus and opportunities which are the conventional constituents of any success story whose rights cannot be patented by the prestigious IIT's.

Extra-ordinarily Ordinary

That describes me. As a senior of mine examines my resume he laments the inevitably conspicuous "average" tag on me. Being quite aware of the fact of being jack of all trades and master of none what can I say. Eventhough I've always strived hard it's hard to find an extra-ordinarily gifted talent within myself. Don't know whether it exists or not but the search is on and the persistence persists.
IIT subsides all doubts, if any, of being an underachiever as there are masters who can make you look quite small. It's a bit sad to keep on losing more often than not, as effort competes with gifted talents, nevertheless the experiences teach.It's not a crime to be born ordinary or is it?However these setbacks create a possibility of becoming the famous failure when everybody ese become successful.
During my very first interviews the gentleman asked me about my speciality.The unconvincing reply"With the diversity I possess i can handle most of the assignments given to me". He seemed quite offended when I opined it's actually a bit tough at this stage to figure out one field for an individual. Our opposing views ensured my rejection and an advice of focussed approach to ponder upon. But the complexity of the problem is my normalcy and ordinariness.
I find my strength in being quite aware of what I am but still feel quite clueless how to use this ordinariness of diverified capabilities to dwell well and build a future. Whatever be the case I'm resolute to fight these failures as failures are shapers of humble learners but I'll still opt for success.

State of the mind

Many not few are who dream to get into the dream institute of IIT but few not many get the chance to explore the intricacies of this place. Being here for almost four years now I have a mixed feeling. Even though you get the brand of being among the country's best it also means you shoulder the responsibility of carrying the tag of India's cream wherever you go and in whatever you do. The brilliance is expected out of you. It may be an encouraging factor mostly but sometimes it does pressurize the individuals. Little does a fresher knows when he enters the big world of IIT. This is a place of big dreams and aspirations and it takes something out of you to compete with country's best.