"college ke gate ke uss taraf hum life ko nachate hain aur doosri taraf life humko nachati hai"
from the very moment i heard this dialogue, i was sure this will be haunting me time n again. so here i am fresh out from college and remembering this almost every day now that i have re-entered the corporate world. so what exactly is the problem in making big bucks after leaving college. isn't this what you and your parents always dreamt of. so let me take things one by one and start with the root cause of all problems in this world, money.
"yeh duniya kya chahe, money money, yahan rishte naate money money"
when i said above that money is the root cause of all problem, there was some reasoning behind that. the problem is when u earn "less" money, u start looking at those who r earning more than u and u think "what the hell" and when u earn "more" money, u start asking for even "more" because then there is no end to it. another problem is that with the economy doing great, any "tom dick n harry" is making money these days like anything. good people weren't getting jobs when i passed out of iit and a salary which was luxury at that time, is less than the average salary of a passing out iitian these days. and with the media hyping the iims as if just an entry into the coveted institute is a lottery, everygoddamn relatives asks you only your salary when you are at home.
compare this to the life that one enjoyed at the college. education loan provided by various banks was the answer to every financial trouble and one was never hesitant in spending money. had the confidence that one can repay it when he starts earning the greenbuck.
the second problem with corporate life is that life becomes a routine. one wakes up everyday at the same time, gets ready, works 11-12 hrs in office, get back home, have dinner and sleep early to wake up at time the next morning. basically one becomes a clock himself while setting up the alarm in his clock everyday. there is a hardly any day when there are any surprises. i really don't know how people "get a kick" from this kind of daily schedule. contrast this to the college life, there were no worries. if one is late some day in going to bed, he can always miss the morning lecture rather than waking up on time to reach the class in a zombie state. plus you can play the sport of ur choice every evening, listen to song on your p/c whenever u feel like and the list goes on and on. basically you were not bound by rules n regulations to comply with and u can always "break free". had the confidence that one can complete his courses and earn the degree/diploma for which he has come to the college.
the third and probably the biggest problem is that in the corporate world, u are working for someone else. you might be getting a great salary, but don't forget that the firm is making a hell lot more than that by utulizing ur services. after hearing the "kick" syndrome from many ppt presenters, i am sure some people are really kicked in their back when they fail to perform to their marks in the firm. i remember my 4th and 5th term when i was the stats tutor. that was one thing i did out of my own interest and i put more time and effort for the tutorship as compared to many courses but at the end of tenure, that thing really gave me a lot of satisfaction. i got only two thousand for three months tenure, and i obviously agree here that one can't make a life with this kind of salary, but the point is that earning even that small amount of money made me feel nice because i earned it doing something i felt good about and enjoyed thouroughly.
i know thakur will say that i am again at my "eternal crib" and so i think that this is the truth of life and one has to accept and start enjoying it. may be then one will also start getting the "kick".
