Junk technocrats

As ironical it might sound, there would be some if not many IITians who might fall into this category. I am a bit embarrassed to be one of those. The term "Junk technocrat" here is coined by my stupid brain by combining junk bonds and technology. Its common sense to expect IITians as technology graduates to have a better sense and awareness of newer technologies and their intricacies. Or atleast not to be clumsy and outdated in the area. But yet they are. There is no direct correlation between the quality of an IITian and the technical expertise the person possesses. From IIT, you would expect that won't you.

To share a few personal feelings on the subject, it gets a bit embarrassing and sometimes irritating when people expect that I am the one that can get them the next app, website and what not made with ease. I think its the perception that the word technology creates. The reason here is two fold. Firstly, IIT never tests you as a technocrat before letting you in. Neither your ability nor your interest. Whether its possible or not its a different matter. True, people good in PCM can be expected to be fit in engineering but in a age of computers and when almost every new breakthrough innovation in technology is through computers, these three clearly are not good enough. Also in hindsight, alignment of interests of student and an institute's vision should match. Interviews could be very helpful in that regard. Secondly, as I've explained in blogs before the quality of education is still far away from it should be. The professors are not innovative and inspiring enough to embed the importance of technology in students and fail to get them motivated to gain knowledge. They have to learn to connect to students in a much better fashion. Students can be blamed to an extent only.

After joining the industry, working in technology and now in finance studying global trends I definitely see a lack of innovative spirit in our students. Its because of our education not fostering that culture and also due to the financial condition of our people. But as a country we have to realize be it US, be it Germany, be it Japan all leading nations have to depend on technology to maintain a lead in international markets. As the best institutes in technology and with the kind of recognition that IITs already get they have to do better.

To conclude, the purpose of this blog is to show the mismatch between what should we be achieving and what are we achieving through an IITian. Either we should start labelling them as universities where our top brain study from or else as a technology institutes they should welcome students only with a "techie" mindset. 

JEE - Staying motivated all along and comparisons

Going back to the preparation for IIT-JEE, there's no denying its tough and takes a toll on the student. Simply because at that stage the intensity and focus required can be hard to attain. So you have to find reasons to be always up there with your effort. Now also understand that effort varies with each individual. Think for yourself is the first important point. You cannot look around for your answer. It has to come within you. For a 15-16 year old the reasons have to be simple. As simple as find motivation within the family, you could do it for your parents or to prove a point to someone who does not believe in your abilities. It could be about feeling better about yourself because that's what achievements do to you. They make you a happier person. Embed the importance of the exam in your head so that you do not lose focus. Again, people have their own reasons and ways of going about doing things. So would reiterate that you have to find your reasons. The next part - how to handle downfalls? Never lose faith and hope, till the exam is over. I have friends who told me after 11th that they cannot clear JEE and were thinking of leaving the preparation mid way but for some reason continued and ultimately studied at IIT. Downfalls are just opportunities to regather yourself and work that bit harder so that you give yourself another chance. Its not over till the last chance. I remember from my experience wherein I went into a period of overconfidence and got a series of low scores  which affected my confidence in turn but the only way to get back to your peak is to be there and keep working hard, hit the right notes and persist. The good thing about working hard and staying there is that you keep yourself in the hunt. Nobody can promise you success in JEE and life but only you can increase your chances.

Comparisons are the other part. I strongly believe you start comparing when you feel a bit down in the competition. You start looking at others, caring about their views and try to copy them to attain what you are looking for. Now even though the basics are same for everybody, comparison never help but only lead to distractions. Its tough not to compare specially when you are lagging behind. But so is to lead in a competition. Trust me, everybody is better off not comparing. The process will not only help you to focus but also give your best. Also remember its okay to observe people who are better or to derive inspiration and techniques from people but you are better off not being judgmental about them.

So keep these points in mind and am sure you will be satisfied with the results whatever they may be. Good practices never cause any harm. 

IIT Delhi, Mumbai vs the rest

Okay this post is going to be less fact based and more of observation and opinion. So those who are going to get offended are free to counter it and if some things are wrong can correct them too.

Its been close to five years since passing out and after observing IITians in multiple sectors and places, there are some topsy findings and observations I'd like to share. In our counselling days, IIT Bombay used to be the top choice and little did anybody know for practical reasons why? Like everything else in India it was once of those herd mentality. No doubt placements and city were the key criteria but the kind of excitement and attraction IIT Powai generated was exceptional. Its clear to me why now. While being at IIT-Delhi I always used to think that Delhi was a huge plus. Staying in a place like IIT, always felt the need to get out and be away from IIT life for sometime specially in the third and fourth years when some of us felt overdozed with the interhostel and IIT events and acads life. Wherein lies the point that apart from factors like placements, faculties and facilities a thing that most people neglect is the city. I would say its very very important and that is where Delhi and Mumbai are a huge positive not only in those four years but later on as well. Now the opinionated parts - It seems like Mumbai is indeed the best IIT in terms of smartness of students that it churns out. In my observation, students of IIT Mumbai are a touch ahead of their counterparts especially when technical knowledge or exposure is concerned. Delhi I would say is slightly better if you have an entrepreneur in you although Bombay would be close. It is the best in distracting you away from acads which in some ways is good also. Chennai embeds the south India mindset in you where foreign univs education becomes a must and most coveted. Where you develop not only hatred for north India and IIT-D but also begin to question the intellectual quotient of most Indians. One common observation for all non-Delhi and non-Mumbai IITians is that they tend to become weird with their personalities. By very nature, most IITians are nerds or/and introverts. The other IITs seems to amplify those qualities. Specially Kharagpur and Kanpur. Students in these IITs in general seem to be consumed for years in their IIT life and their lingos even post IIT. Needless to say, it becomes boring and irritating for others around.

Now obviously this post needs a lot of editing and induction of better thoughts, ideas and better articulation but leave it for sometime in the future.

Also if you find the post biased towards two of the IITs it is.  

3 idiots distractions - 2

Okay a lot of people have stopped wondering post 3 idiots what IITians are doing post engineering in some of the fields like investment banking, theatres(even films), writing books etc etc. Its something which has been explained as passion. Its kind of newly accepted wisdom post speeches of Steve Jobs (Stanford one) and some latest movies that unless you follow passions its improbable to make it big. Without doubt that is true. But the negative effect of all this that is happening is IITians are lost between two worlds.

Where my thoughts are coming from is the corporate world. IITians in their newly garnered belief of pursuing passions and interests have invariably have got themselves into a situation where they neither focus on their company's work nor their personal interests. In effect, you fail to perform in both areas. Most of the work in the corporate world is below par for them and not challenging and rewarding enough to put their complete energies in. Its then reflected in the results they come up with.

The other part is distractions are a direct result of always looking out for something better. Its pretty natural that academics and hardwork take a backseat and glamour attracts students in their teens. The short term attraction may make you believe what is not really the case. Just performing well in college dramatics and being appreciated for it doesn't make it a great career option. Once you figure out the practicalities at a wiser age things can turn out to be pretty different. Also for an average lower of middle class IITians distractions can be punishing. Passion no doubt rewards but always do remember odds are stacked against you. So before taking the plunge its necessary to evaluate one's psychology and assess whether you are ready to bear the risk of the difficult path ahead. Also its necessary to differentiate between distractions and passion.
Remember that when you get attracted by jazzy world of sportstars, actors and hedge fund managers your probability of getting there is very low and price of losing pretty high.

The reason that I write this post is not to discourage IITians from taking risk and pursuing different paths but give a lit bit of thought before taking the plunge. Not even asking to over-analyse because not many successful people do that but know your strengths and weaknesses before blindly following the trend.
And do remember the preparation time of JEE, when most of us shunned the distractions around us to pursue the greater goal of achieving something big at that stage. The key is focus and persistence. Don't get into something where you can hope to neglect those two things.

A sharp mind, is it enough?

Now this post is not for the exceptionally stud dudes of IITs and not for the ones who are all-positive individuals who like to believe such things are unimportant.

People tend to assume that sharp minds that are blessed with intellect and strong reasoning skills have everything to make it big. But having seen the way it works for the last several years amid the brightest minds, a lot of other factors play a crucial role. And I would not like to get into other skill sets which add dimensions to one's personality apart from a sharp mind in this post. My focus is the circumstances, the background and the choices one makes for his life. The upbringing and family plays an important part. I have seen post IIT after that hostel life people's choices of higher education, jobs they get into, marriage etc are all mostly dependent on their backgrounds rather than solely based on the career prospects. Obviously for similar caliber IITians that takes them to different places. Circumstances are specific situations that people find themselves for some inexplicable reasons. Some for good and some for bad. A seemingly good job on campus may not work wonders and not so desired options take people places. Foresight is one thing but landing up with better opportunities can be just a matter of chance as we all have learnt over the years. Then there are choices that we make, some because of preferences and some due to above mentioned factors. Truly they play a very important role.

Surely I am writing this post after 4.5 years passing out from IIT and the people I come across have long careers ahead of them but I am pretty confident that permutations would become even more complex from here. Its like walking on a chain of paths created by a multinodal tree. The reason of writing this one is simple. Each one of us has tendency to make comparisons. And especially as IITians there are high expectations and pressure. And even though we do not look for excuses for our failures and success reflects intense efforts according to us but as mere mortals we do have certain blessings and limitations that need to be acknowledged for our positions. And for non-IITians please do not assume that sharp mind is all you need. Its equally tough and baffling for even the best minds to attain greater heights. 

Why its no wonder when NIT, IIIT Hyd student outperforms IITians!

I recently came across an article on "How success can lead to failure". The reason of many IITians starting to lose the plot after success of IIT-JEE could be similar. Over-analysis and having too many choices.

To begin, people often tend to over analyze once in IIT and start to feel they belong to an elite group. There is also more pressure and a sense of responsibility that you start to feel as an IITian. Comparing peer group jobs, work profiles and salaries is pretty common. Many of us have discussed in informal gatherings how our relatives, parents and friends perceptions are totally based on the best IITian benchmarks  and how their expectations are so skewed for us. Often it results in poor and pressurized decision making on the part of IITians. Well, one of the actual reasons of failure after IIT or under performance compared to peers or a person's own abilities is a direct result of distractions. An IITian has far too many directions as options to consider and often the choices results in poor focus. To give an example people aim for CAT, GRE, GMAT and then they have a go at tech, consult, finance etc - all kinds of jobs. Without a concentrated effort two things happen - one you are unaware of your future which leads to apprehensions, second you fail develop skillsets to outperform the masses in one particular area.

So say a guy from IIIT Hyderabad who gets into a coding kind of culture, where people share the passion of programming he quickly has the route to success. He might know just one way to make to the top league and he's got into a company that will take him there. An NIT person may start preparing for CAT right from the second year. He knows that to get that MBA from the best institutes of India you still have a chance. Most IITians, spoilt for choices, relax or tend to lose focus. Essentially making them weaker in their pursuit once the pool gets together in jobs and MBAs. Having said that I would still bet on an IITian to take the lead in the longer term once he gets his focus back. Its important to understand that backing your strengths and focusing on one specific target is very important.

Comparisons made across geographies, sectors and in different phases of careers are not fair. An Infosys employee who joined in periods prior to economic boom and having had worked in US for some years, owning property in Bangalore should not be compared to an IITian who worked on a failed startup and joined the workforce after say 2008. Again, there are exceptions of brilliant non-IITians, not undermining anybody here. Just trying to explain the various reasons behind the differences that prop up over time. 

Is CGPA the most important thing in IIT life?

Well, this is debatable and IITians would be divided in answering this one. I'll pen down my perspective here. The answer is even though it is important, its not definitely the most important thing. Now the next part is - it depends. If you are planning for higher studies in engineering it may be the most important thing. If you are going for higher studies in other fields, maybe not so important. For someone who is looking at jobs or startups in the future definitely not the top of your agenda. CGPA definitely sends out a signal to a person looking at your profile about your sincerity and hardwork. So if you are dealing with people with conventional mindset and who view academics as the screening factor it can be very important. If you are looking at IIMs then again its one of the criteria to score over others. Not to forget a lot of shortlists and final selections in placements are based on your grades.

Sounds contradictory, right. Well even though I've mentioned points in which grades can be the most important differentiating factor let me tell you why I think its not the most important factor. The answer is success and my definition of success here is excelling in one's particular field in the long run. And to me, the things that matter more would be the quality of the person, his passion, hardwork and directed effort in his field. Decisions at important junctures and luck are also important based on experience. CGPA is too minuscule a thing to capture all those aspects to play as the most important factor in the long run. But again, if you've got relaxed and thinking about caring less about your grades let me warn you if you compromise on grades you should back it up with something else to show that its not just lax attitude or lack of competitiveness that got you there. In my experience, people with better CGPA are more often than not are more hardworking, sincere and likely to succeed in future. Also lower grades often lowers your confidence which may hamper your prospects in the short run. Its one of those things that you rather would like to have than not. 

Seen people with 5,6,7 GPA doing better than 8 pointers and definitely seen the other way round. So know that there is no rule. My best advise would be to treat them as school percentages, always better to keep them high to keep parents, peers and society happy. A balanced approach is the best approach at the end of  the day.