If you are an eightees kid, then the only dream that your parents would have had is to watch you grow up to be a doctor or an engineer. And if you come from a lower middle class family, the only option you have is to pursue engineering as medical fees are not for the faint hearted. Back then in the early 2000s, engineering was considered so big thanks to recent IT boom. Other fields like arts and commerce were for those who barely managed to scored. Engineering was meant only for the creme de la creme, as it was considered to be very tough to even get a seat, let alone study it. Today, social media is the new rage and we have digital marketeers, designers, influencers etc. Back then, these were alien terms. And unless and until you were an engineer or studying to be one, you were looked down upon.
2004 was the year for me to start graduation. Since 2002 I was preparing to get a free engineering seat. I was a pretty good student so I was not the one to sit and study morning, noon and night. My parents knew that so they never pressurized me to study all the time. I know of a few parents who used to lock their kids up in their rooms so that they could only study and be free of distractions. I went out and met my friends and enjoyed life along with studying. Finally after two whole years, the results were out and I had managed to score a pretty good score. This even got me a free engineering seat in one of the best colleges of Bangalore. This college was a stone throw away from where I stayed, so I thought it was a win win in every possible way.
It wasn't! Four years of studying a hundred subjects is nothing less than torture. I was in the telecom branch, so I thought it would be really interesting. The first year is common for all the branches and you learn stuff that you clearly will not be using anywhere in your life. I remember learning mechanical workshop stuff and soldering and filing metal. I learnt how to measure the exact height of a building from a distance as part of civil engineering. I learnt to draw a million weird shapes from all angles as part of graphics and learnt to add and multiple two or more numbers using micro chips. These were not the only things that I learnt. There was theory classes and hours of practical classes where you write ten pages of code to see a tiny curve on the CRT monitor.
And yet I did it all. At that point of time I did not know that I would never be using any of these learnings ever in my life. The only subject that I enjoyed was my main subject, telecommunications. I learnt about the origin of the telephone and the signals, various call flows and how routing works etc etc. It was realistic and for a realist like me, this held my attention the most. Soon, four years were done and I had a job in hand even before I passed out. Campus placements were another added tension during engineering. You carry the burden of hope on your shoulders until a company decides to offer you a job. And then you finally see your parents smile.
When I joined my company, I was put in to a telecom project. So all that I learnt as part of engineering, could I apply it here? NO! What you are taught for four whole years have nothing to do with what you will end up working on. Those bloody graphs and images would mean nothing to you once you pass out. You are taught new things and soon all that your studied will cease to exist in your mind. All those examinations and practical classes and the sweat and the tensions will suddenly not make any sense at all. After a few years, I moved into a core telecom project where I could relate to about 0.1% of what I had studied as part of my telecom subject. Everything else were just steps to help me get a degree and a job in return.
I know the world is filled with more engineers than humans. So if you are one too, please do share your experience.
Gosh!
ReplyDeleteFun fact- my aptitude test told me to try for IIT, or become a CA. Yeah I know, I'm divergent :p
Thank goodness I chose commerce. And commerce is totally work-oriented. We learn things that we will use in our CA course, as CAs!
I always thought engineers were pretty boring people. You know, always measuring things and doing god knows what. But seeing that so many bloggers out here are engineers, I have had to change my opinion about them! :D
Oh tell me about it. And yet I pursued my Masters in Comouter Science Engg. Gosh! And good is it doing in the IT Company that I'm working for? Nothing! I can totally relate to this, Soumya :)
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Isn't this such a waste? Studying for four whole years and not using a thing? But you must have been a really smart student to have bagged a free seat and that- near home. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteOh! That's so sad that despite Telecommunications being your fav subject you couldnt apply the learnings in the corporate world. Blame it on our education system :D
ReplyDeleteSame story with me Soumya.Coming from a middle class family I could not perceive medical and went with engineering which was a free merit seat.8 Semesters and 64 subjects for no use.True learning began only when I started working.I have lost interest to study for certificates or degree any more.
ReplyDeletehahahaha, how perfect are those first two paras
ReplyDeleteI loved the line that "medical fees is for the faint hearted"
All the best for A to Z Challenge
Flood of engineers these days
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience 😊
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This sounds extremely tedious. I'm a 90's kid, and my parents had a similar dream - Medical. But I had to sum up all the courage I would ever have to tell them I wanted a different life. Whew! Yet, I was made to waste 4 to 5 hours giving endless exams.
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hahaha...I feel for you. Thankfully my parents did not push me towards engineering hard enough. But now I am a HR personnel working for a manufacturing company and need to hire mechanical engineers on a regular basis!!
ReplyDeletePoints To Ponder
Haha!!Well it's true for the 90s kid too! While reading, my experience from college days came flashing back! Whatever we might have become, but those were the golden days of our life for sure!
ReplyDeleteSoumya, I could relate to every word that you said here. Like you, even I was asked to study for a free seat because a paid seat wasn't an option. I was forced to do engineering though I had a better rank in CET. I would have managed to get a good college in Bangalore but I was forced to settle for Hubli only. But now that it is all over, I have mixed emotions. But I like engineering now. Like you even I don't get to apply much of what I study because in the industry they work on completely different things. Yet I like it.
ReplyDeleteMost of them move into software companies after their engineering where we either code or test using software languages .I did my engineering in Electronics and Communication but moved into a software company like most do .But I do have few friends who moved into VLSI design or semiconductor companies .They stuck on to their fields of study.So probably it’s the choice we make.But having said that there is not too much choice of such companies though.
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