IT vs Core Sector = Money vs Ethics

Its very convenient to be in the computer science field today (amongst all engineering fields) since thats where the moolah is. So if I take up a lucrative offer at Microsoft or Oracle or our desi Infy (ya, it offers a good package at IITs), there's no ethical dilemma - I've studied comp. science for all my engineering-life!

The scenario for other branches, sadly, is quite different especially for civil, chemical and mechanical engineering students. Firstly, the number of companies offering a job in their core sector is very less; and secondly the salary they offer is comparable to (if not less than) what Infy pays to a NIIT course holder. So what do they do? - they take up IT sector jobs, get trained in Java/ SAP/ some-niche-IT-stuff and try to live happily ever after. After all, they've studied hi-tech construction/ compounds/ machines for 4 or 6 years, and here they are - showing all their might on a keyboard.

Whether or not it affects the individual conscience, this should be a matter of serious concern to the authorities (MHRD, I guess! or whosoever is the policy maker here). This is an IIT for God's sake - if such things happen here, then don't even go looking for what happens elsewhere. Students of all branches are trained to be the one of the best in their respective fields, and then robbed off the opportunities that'll actually help the government to reap the benefits of the subsidy-beans they sowed.

I can't think of anything to come up with even a single suggestion to prevent this from happening, which makes me feel guilty of crying foul here. But hey, I'm not the brightest mind in the country. I'm sure this is not a completely unsolvable problem.

Thankfully, there is a policy in place at IITG, which forbids financial firms to recruit from engineering streams - otherwise even the comp. science students will join the club :)

Interview with Eric Schmidt

Fav lines:
1. "You learn when people talk, you don't learn very much when you yourself are talking" - on why does he teach in Stanford in spite of being the CEO of one of the most important companies of the world

2. "Internet is a scale business"

3. "They are going to do it whether you give them permission or not" - on characteristics of very successful entrepreneurs (like larry & sergey, chad & steve of youtube)

4. "They are well-managed and are perfect in their executions.. they've faced challenges that Google is yet to overcome" - on what does competitors of Google do that Google does not.
(Just compare this candid honesty to Steve Ballmer's remark on Google's strategy to allow its employees to spend 20% of their time for their pet projects to foster innovation as "unproductive, one can't expect to achieve innovation by such measures")

5. "Be engaged" - on what message would he like to give to all those entering technology business today
(Actually, the video got truncated at 10 mins. This line is in the podcast here)

Made In India

This tag has eluded software products for long, though Indians have been an ingredient in almost all of them. Be it outsourced services or offshored products, one thing is common - we are the anonymous back-end. Time is ripe for our desi visionaries and innovators to create a mark, not only for themselves but also for a new reputation that India deserves.

Proto is an event showcasing technology startups in the country, bringing together VCs and aspiring entrepreneurs. I think its tagline says more than any other text or quote on its site - "Create. Collaborate. Contribute"

Whether it matches the scale of Demo or not, remains to be seen. I hope it does (perhaps get even bigger)!