Thousands of young people have this dream. Of a future packed with glamour, excitement, public adoration and lots of money. Too often, career aspirations of youngsters turn out to be a far cry from the image and opportunities provided by industry and society. The IT industry brought about a new sunshine to bask in.
Ashok never looked at any other career other than IT. Born and brought up in Bangalore, he made it to Digital through a campus interview after completing his Engineering in Computer Science from RV College. He'd never worked anywhere before. He'd never seen the insides of an IT office till the day he first stepped into Digital GlobalSoft's office at Khanija Bhavan. He was zapped. "It was the first time I had seen something like this and I felt like bringing my parents to show them this beautiful office" he says as he reminiscences that eventful day.
But there was still this gnawing feeling. How would he be treated, being a fresher? What expectations the company had from? Will he cope up or asked to buzz off? Typical emotions of any youngster just out of college. But then, as luck would have it, things turned out to be quite different. "Everyone was so friendly and that helped me adapt pretty fast," says Ashok and his body language corroborated that statement.
He's into technical support and helps his clients with solutions for a critical software application used in call centers. He's part of a group in the e-application business unit. It's a 24 x 7 customer support function and requires the group to work shifts on a rotation basis. At times, Ashok has to go through the drill on a night shift and occasionally, even on weekends. Initially, it bothered him a wee bit but then, as he says, "It's part of the job and part of life. Everyone in the group does night shift so how can I say no?"
What's it like, this transformation from a college environment to a work environment? "It's like a river joining the sea," says Ashok. And as he swam with the tide he noticed a self-development take place in his life. "As a person I've changed a lot in these one and half years. I've become more and more professional," a contented smile, says it all.
He loves travel, especially trekking. The last time he and some friends ventured out into the forests they actually camped and cooked out there. "The idea is to get the best out of a holiday, with the least expenditure," says Ashok and the mathematics showed he spent 400 rupees in that entire week.
Talk of shoestring budgets. This one had no strings attached.
Note: This story was written when the company was known as 'DIGITAL'.
