Are You Happy with Your Dream Job – A Reality Check

Landed in a wrong place

Everyone has a dream of working in MNCs like Infosys and WIPRO. Right from our college days, we start getting prepared for it. Either you are a B.Com holder or a management graduate or an Engineer. The motto is the same, “To get placed in a reputed company”. Isn`t it? Every year thousands of candidates come all across India to the I.T. hub or we can say to the Silicon Valley of India, i.e., Bangalore! Dream job is the thing which brings them here. Dream job is something which we have pre-assumed in our mind. We struggle a lot to fulfill our dreams and not only have we, our parents struggled too. In some way or the other, we become, what our parents want us to. We work hard to fulfill their dream; which has now become OURS! Hope you all agree with this. Well, it`s good to see dream.

Those who Dream Big! Do Big!!

Now, coming to the battle ground. Let`s talk pragmatically!

1. What you are doing is NONE of your business:

Yes, you heard me correctly dear! It happens. You will be hired for some other roles and responsibilities while you will be placed somewhere else. You will find yourself doing something which is not your cup of tea. One good company…Over 100 selected and you are the one. You thought you got your dream job. You Start updating on facebook and watsapp to your family. But, when you actually started working, you came to know, you are part of a 24X7 support team while you have been said that you are being hired as an associate programmer. On seeing your designation,you dream of writing a complex code for a Multi National Bank but you end up monitoring  their transactional data and preparing reports by copying from one excel to another. You cannot even leave your desk as the client might ping you.This is the reality. It might be due to some resource constraint. But, in such a situation, in spite of learning something new, you forget whatever you have learnt in college.

2. Shut down Shatters you Down:

A big name; offering high packages and limited seats. You are fortunate enough to clear all rounds. Got a pretty good package of 20 lakh plus. In such a situation, Party to banti hai…! Few months after joining, you booked a car and flat as well. Now, after a year, imagine the situation when there is a severe lay-off. Your initial celebration of joining a big name shuts down because there may be chances of lay-off later down. This is why, we say again and again, Think Thrice before joining a New Name! The early you invest, more is the risk of getting in trouble.

3. Onsite Dream:

You get offer from two different companies at a time. One is a good product company and the other is Infosys! The product company is offering you more than Infosys. Still, you joined Infosys! Why so? It`s because you might have heard some where that every year Infosys sends number of its employees at onshore projects. And, definitely like all other people, even you dream of going abroad. That too at company`s cost. What could be more appealing! Nothing wrong in this. But, the reality is that; not all people are lucky enough to go for on-shore projects. Some people might have to  complete a term of five years with the company first. Then, you might been put in a long term off-shore project. Due to which circumstances does not favor you. At last, you get the offer some how, but by that time; you have already decided to leave the company.

4. Expenses taking over Earnings:

You got the job. This gave you an opportunity to come to your dream city – Bangalore. Salary is 2.8 L. Pretty good for a fresher. But, what about the reality. Your in-hand salary is less than even 20 thousand.  Now what….? You are unable to meet a good life style. Sharing a room with three other partners. Sleeping without bed, without an entertain ment box. Is that what you have dreamt of….? Certainly NOT!!! But, this is what you bear after getting a job. Either we talk about a city like Bangalore or any other city. Expenses are every where. And, you will find yourself compromising on your cost of living. Then, you might think, that, earlier the life was more pleasant.

5. Start-Up:

This is new buzz word. The moment you hear a startup, you dream of becoming the maverick developer, where you code day and night. And at the same time you have salary+ stock options. But this is not the case with all the job profiles. You might be put into an operational role where might be managing some vendors. Sometimes you feel a tremendous pressure in meeting the deliverables. And the good times may fade away in the name of restructuring and layoffs. This has happened recently with food apps platforms. At that time, you would repent thinking that you should have joined a regular MNC.

6. Night dream Vs Night shift:

You want a job. You are getting that but you are asked to work in shifts. You are left with no any options except accepting the offer. But, let me tell you; night shift is one of the reasons why many people left their job in between. Working in night shift is completely opposite to nature. Your body may not survive for long time in such a situation. Shifts are often rotational and the timings are changing. One week you have to work from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm. Another week, you have to report at 2:00 pm till 10:00 pm. Sometimes morning, sometimes day and sometimes night , this is from 10:00 pm till 6:00 am usually. These timings vary from company to company. You can have an idea, how difficult it is to adjust accordingly in such shifts. Every week you have to change your routine. You wanted to join your dream company but you are not even getting time to sleep to dream!

7. Working but not getting considered:

You are placed in a large e-commerce company at a salary of 20 lakh plus. You have got your dream job but others don`t get it. Your relatives would be telling you “Tata Walon ke yahan naukri nahi lagi kya beta…?” They will not consider you for their daughter`s marriage. The reason is simple. They don`t consider your job to be long –lasting. Suppose, you have asked to show your pay slip by the bride`s parents. Although your company is paying you a good amount but they don`t have their pay slip. What will you do in such situations? This is the reality of a dream job. People do consider people working in big branded MNCs over Start-Ups and small companies. Some people still muse your working late night and taking calls from the US.

They don’t realize your dreams. Whatever be the case, try to make a good decision. Talk to your alumnus and ex-employees. The bottom line of all this is,

Whether you get your dream job or not; do a good job!