The last 4 months have been a “great learning” phase in my life.
I think this is the first time I was facing “failures and obstacles” both in the personal and professional front [I mean at the same time].
Today I smile, not because the road ahead is easy but how much I have matured thanks to these experiences.
I came back to India on January 2nd, 2009 overly confident and ambitious. Our house was in a great mess. Due to mom’s sickness and hospitalization, the house had not been cleaned since ages. It was terrible. The cleaning of the house itself took me about 2-3 weeks. At the same time, there was my brother’s marriage preparations happening. I did not concentrate during this time on jobs.
I did get an interview call from Yahoo. I attended the interview at Yahoo B’lore on 19th Jan but did not get through the interview. This was the “first disappointment”. However, since I had prepared a lot for the interview, I was happy that I had given my best during that period of time and this preparation will actually help me in further interviews.
Meanwhile, there was this passion or thought in me to do something in the social sector. Now, I had no clue what I could do for social development. I actually thought social sector is all about “charity“.
I was searching on the internet for “platforms” which would introduce me to the social sector and answer my questions: “What a Software Engineer can do in the social sector?” “How can technology especially computer technology help in social development?“
I came across this institute called “Center for Social Initiative and Management” in Hyderabad which was offering a 4 month course in “Social Entrepreneurship and NGO Management”. It seemed like the “perfect” platform to get my questions answered.
We meet every Saturdays from 2:00pm to 6:00pm as part of the course. The course introduced me to lot of ideas about the social sector. Though I cannot say it has answered all my above questions, it has helped me broaden my vision regarding social initiatives.
At the same time, I also joined an NGO named “Freedom Foundation” which works in the field of HIV as a volunteer because I did want to get some first-hand experience working in an NGO
In the meantime, I was applying for jobs. I did attend a couple of interviews in Hyderabad. The “salaries” offered by them were so less, their attitude was not to my liking and so on.
I also had this thought in the meanwhile “What if I work full time in NGOs?” Why take up a “Software job” at all?
I spoke and visited a lot of NGOs. Most of my time went in calling people, roaming around, visiting people. But “nothing” materialized out of all this.
Then I realized, there is something wrong in my approach. I am not clear what I want to do and why I want to do it.
So I wrote down “What am I passionate about?” “What do I want to do in life?” “What kind of job do I want?”
Let us deal with these questions.
What am I passionate about?
~ Technology especially related to Computers. I love solving problems. I love writing code. I especially love “web development”. I used to always be excited about programming assignments I got during my M.S.
~ Sharing and learning. Like for eg: I love what they call “social media” blogging, twitter, orkut etc. I have made so many virtual & real friends from whom I have learnt immensely.
~ Social development – Let me borrow a term from Dr. Mohammad Yunus, “Creating a World Without Poverty”. [I don't know anything about this field, I am just an amateur but this is something that excites me]
~ Teaching - I do not like this term “teaching”. I would rather use “Interacting”. I was a teaching assistant during one semester for undergraduate Computer Science students teaching them “How to build a mini e-commerce website?” and I tell you, I was totally energetic and used to look forward to each session of how to make the classes “meaningful” to the students
I have many other interests like drawing, human relationships, history, people etc.
What do I want to do in life?
~ Not sure [Haha..this is the answer that's on top of my head]
~ This is a big question. I will come back to it later. It needs more introspection and clarity.
What kind of job do I want?
~ A job which could include my passion of technology+sharing+learning+teaching. You must be wondering why I did not add “Social development” in the previous equation. For technology to be meaningful, we need a deep understanding of the needs of the people to whom we are catering. And I as yet have no clue, what “real social development” means or how I can contribute.
Err…Wait you said you wanted to work in an NGO full time?
Yes, I am open to it. However, the past 4 months I have realized, simply thinking to work in an NGO is not enough. People will “take you for a ride” [I am not complaining or blaming anyone]. I was close to being hired by a couple of NGOs but realized it was not the place for me.
First you need a “vision“. Then you need to choose an NGO that aligns with your “vision“
I do not yet have a “vision“. I believe the vision will come over time. Till then, I am not working in an NGO just for the sake of it.
Ok, now that you have read the post [and hopefully did not get bored], let me know of any job opportunities that would involve my mentioned interests
P.S This is just a “portion” of my thoughts. It is tough to encompass a lot of “experiences” in a blog post.