Highly paid less interesting Vs Low paid very interesting jobs

Many times in life we come across this question especially when we are at the beginning of our career as young men. Today's world is so dynamic that we regularly come across this kind of dilemma. The difference between high pay and low pay can be upto 5 times (15000/- p.m. vs. 75000/- pm.)

1. What is Interest?
"Interest is the thing while doing which you are at your best in terms of creativity, energy, concentration and comfort."
As we have seen in movie "3 Idiots", Amir khan and Madhavan finally follow career of their interest. Similarly in real life examples are Sachin Tendulkar (hardly 12th std pass), Gundappa Vishwanath (Bank clerk), Lata Mangeshkar, APJ abdul kalam, Dhanraj Pillai, Vishwanathan Anand, Milkha singh they all followed career of their interest.
  Teaching job is one of the most noble profession after doctors. Doctors save life, teachers shape the future of the Nation but teaching job is not given due respect compared to corporate jobs. Many students even though they had interest in basic science subjects like Physics, chemistry, mathematics are forced to take up engineering because it has better job prospects.
  I had alignment towards subject 'X' but my marks were good in subject 'Y'. When we went for career counselling, the counseller adviced me to go for career in 'Y'. Counsellers' logic is correct but I still think we should go for career in 'X'. One last example, if a childs parents are businessmen but the child is interested in sports, adventurous activities then army, navy, airforce will open up a new exciting world to him but parents may not allow child for that career.

2. Highly paid jobs:
Generally high paid jobs are high responsibility jobs but its not always true and we should be able to distinguish between the two. For example in a company sales people are evaluated on the basis of orders they brought to the company. Its very difficult to find a company with a long term vision which can consider the work of sales people in sowing the seeds which will grow and become fruit bearing trees in the future. Many companies may give attractive salary offers to the beginners but in future, the growth in terms of learning/skills may not be much.

3. Low paying jobs:
Generally in small companies and start-ups people get better exposure and responsibility regarding the job profile. Even though they get less salary, their learning curve will be steeper compared to a person working in a giant company. In giant company you will be given a small task of a project where as in small company visibility of the project is good. Even in big companies people who do R&D kind of work for the product are paid less.

4. How much money do I need?
On an average everyone thinks to have a job which can fulfil the necessary requirements of life like a house, children's education in decent school, etc. But it is always true that demand is always more than supply i.e. expense is greater than income. We have to learn to compromise and maintain an Equilibrium between our needs and resources.

Disclaimer:
If you have High Interest and being paid very handsomely then you are one of the few exceptional people in the world. The above article is not applicable for you. If you can share your experience we all will be glad to hear.

CHILDHOOD THOUGHTS

I would like to share some of the thoughts I always had in my mind during childhood:

1. If earth is Spherical why don't we fall when we cross the edge?
2. If seeds sown in soil it becomes plant. If we eat the seed without chewing why tree doesn't grow from inside us?
3. Why the colour of the sky is blue. Whenever i saw different colours in sky, I used to think that God is colouring the sky?
4. How the clouds might be storing the water?
5. I always used to wonder at the flight of paper plane which flew for many seconds.
6. I always used to measure (in school) my success with the marks obtained in the exams. But now i understand i was so wrong and the world is so big. Competing with classmates instead of making friendship with them!
7. Always used to wonder who runs this country because most of the people I saw around were busy earning and enjoying their own life.
8. Why can't we fly like birds!

STUDY IS NOT EVERYTHING

My schooling happened during 1989-1999 period till 10th standard. My  parents used to tell me to secure 1st Rank in school. Parents thought 1st  Rank is equal to highest acquisition of knowledge. But they knew so  little about the Education system in India, it was all based on memorizing  things without understanding. And reproduce it in 3 hours half yearly and Final papers.

How  Big the world is, we know only when we come out of school and go to  College. I have seen many of my friends who were not toppers in the  school but have done exceptionally well in Real Life. Because they did  many things other than studies like singing, painting, playing, reading  literature, newspaper, story books, etc.

"The school days are the best days in one's life. hence, we should make friends and spend time in creative things."

Now the education system is undergoing transformation and soon it will be best to suit children (it will be more practical).
Some changes in recent times are positive:
1. 2 heavy exam papers are replaced by 4-6 small tests.
2. Earlier students used to fail in a class. Which was very embarrassing but now it has improved students can't fail.
3. Absolute marks are replaced by either grades/ relative grading.

Probable things student should do:
1. Reading (Text books + story books)
2. Playing outdoor games (Football, cricket,etc)
3. Help mom-dad in their household work.
4. Pursue Creative hobby (singing, dancing, handicrafts, etc)

Focus on these qualities to acquire:
1. Patience (Don't hurry for results)
2. Sincerity (Never ever lie)
3. Kindness (Giving, Sharing is the real joy)

Final words:
When we grow up only our practical knowledge comes to use rather than  our marks/grades. Be happy :-) if you get low grades because you have better  practical knowledge than just mugging things up.

TIME MANAGEMENT IMPORTANCE AND TIPS

"There is only 1 thing in Life, which God has given equal to everyone on this Earth, its TIME; whether he is Ratan Tata or an office clerk."
But what we make out of it distinguishes us from others. Discipline and Time management are closely linked. If we are disciplined enough to have a schedule for day-to-day activities, we can save a great deal of time and spend it with really important people in life like family and friends. Whenever I think of Time management, one best example which comes to my mind is "Mother."

Mother wakes up early in the morning around 6am. Does the household work, she prepares food so that children can take tiffin boxes to school and have healthy food. She wakes up children, gets their morning chores done like brushing, bathing, Ironing clothes, etc. Then she prepares breakfast for family and gets herself ready for office.
When she comes back, she manages children, family members and husband. In the evening she spends time on some creative things/ hobbies or sports, jogging, etc. On weekends she plans for family needs for the next week.

"Doing Big things once or twice is easy, but doing even small thing consistently is very difficult, which a mother does. She is great."

Some tricks/tips we can use to utilize Time better:
1. Keep a calander/planner to note down engagements/meetings.
2. Maintain a diary. Every day before going to sleep make a note of things done and things to be done on the next day.
3. Organize your data on Laptop/computer in a very structured manner. Ref: Organizing Your Files, Folders and Documents
4. Keep home tidy. We spend a lot of time searching for the items because of unorganized home.
5. Use technology if possible to help:
  -like Bike/Car helps a lot where public transport is not good.
  -Having a wall clock/Table clock/wrist watch always reminds us about time.

Hope reading this article will help you save some time and will bring joy and happiness in your life:-)

TRIBUTE TO INDIAN WOMEN

On this International womens day, I would like to pay tribute to some of the famous women personalities of our country. Not to forget the important roles played by our Mother, sisters, wives, daughters and girlfriends, they are all so important in our life! without whom our life would have been incomplete.

1. Raziya Sultan
    The only woman ever to sit on the throne of Delhi. she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms. Contrary to custom, her father selected her, over her brothers, to be his successor. She established peace and order, encouraged trade, built roads, planted trees, dug wells, supported poets, painters, and musicians, constructed schools and libraries appeared in public without the veil, wore tunic and headdress of a man. State meetings were often open to the populace at-large.

2. Kittur Chennamma:
    Kitturu Rani Chennamma (Kannada: ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ರಾಣಿ ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ ) (born October 23, 1778 in Kakati, Belgaum District, Karnataka, India – died February 21, 1829) was the Queen of Kittur, India. She was best known for leading an armed rebellion against the British East India Company in 1824. The resistance ended with her arrest and she became a symbol of the independence movement in India. In the state of Karnataka, she is celebrated along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Onake Obavva.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Kittur Chennamma

3. Jhansi ki Raani Laxmi bai:
    Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (19 November 1828 – 18 June 1858; Marathi: झाशीची राणी लक्ष्मीबाई) was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the north-central part of India. She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and for Indian nationalists a symbol of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company in the subcontinent.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Rani Lakshmibai

4. Captain Laxmi Sehgal
    Captain Laxmi Sehgal, was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to in India as Captain Lakshmi, a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma during the Second World War.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Lakshmi Sahgal

5. Veer mata Jijabai:
    The great mother who nurtured and motivated Shivaji to form a great Maratha empire without formal army. There are thousands of mothers who inspire and motivate their children to become good citizens of the world.

6. Akka Mahadevi:
    Akka Mahadevi (ಅಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ) was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement of the 12th century Karnataka. Her Vachanas in Kannada, a form of didactic poetry, are considered her most notable contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature. In all she wrote about 430 Vachanas which is relatively fewer than that compared to some other saints of her time. Yet the term 'Akka' (elder Sister), which is an honorific given to her by great Veerashaiva saints like Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Kinnari Bommayya, Siddharama, Allamaprabhu and Dasimayya, speaks volumes of her contribution to the movement that was underway. She is in hindsight seen as a great and inspirational woman for Kannada literature and the history of Karnataka. She is said to have accepted the god Shiva ('Chenna Mallikarjuna') as her husband, traditionally understood as the 'madhura bhava' or 'madhurya' form of devotion.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Akka Mahadevi

7. Indira Gandhi:
    She is the 2nd longest serving prime minister of india from 1966-77 and 1980-till her death. India was a very naive, poor country when she became prime minister of India and she handled the responsibilities beautifully. She had centralised the powers but that may be the right thing at that time for India's better future. Her major achievements are Liberation of Bangladesh, She nationalised banks, abolished privy purses of maharajas and conducted first nuclear tests at Pokhran.

8. Chanda Kochar:
    Chanda Kochhar (born 17 November 1961) is the managing director (MD) of ICICI Bank and its chief executive officer (CEO). ICICI Bank is India's largest private bank and overall second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank.
Kochhar was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She is an alumnus of St. Angela Sophia School, Jaipur. She then moved to Mumbai, where she joined Jai Hind College for a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating in 1982 she then pursued Cost Accountancy ICWAI, Later, she acquired the Masters Degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies as well as the J. N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy for highest marks in the same year.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Chanda Kochhar

9. Indra Nooyi:
    She  is an Indian-American business executive and the current Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage business in the world by net revenue. According to Forbes, she is consistently ranked among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2013, she has been ranked 10th in the list of Forbes World's 100 most powerful women.
Ref: wikipedia.org/Indra Nooyi

The websites I follow

Embedded systems related websites:
http://www.edn.com/
http://www.embedded.com/

GATE exam for MTech in IIT

I am writing this post to share my experience of GATE exam. Those who don't have much guidance hope this post will help them.

Getting into IITs is the dream for every student who wants to pursue engineering in India. IITs have awesome facilities/infrastructure, vibrant environment and exceptional students. Many great leaders in the world of Technology are from IITs.

Even if you missed the bus (IIT) for graduation, still you have chance to get into it for post graduation (MTech). The entrance for MTech (Master of Technology) is through GATE exam. Cracking the GATE exam is tough because of the number of students appearing for GATE exam is very high and seats in IITs are very less.

Doing graduate studies with sincerity is pre-requisite i.e. most of the syllabus of GATE exam is covered in 1st to 3rd year subjects of B.E/B.Tech.

There are only 3 things to keep in mind to crack the GATE exam:
1. Getting fundamentals clear about all the subjects.
2. Solving lot of numerical and exercise problems.
3. Solving previous years question papers is very crucial.

Some important tips:
1. Have discipline while studying subjects. what I mean is, while studying subjects in B.E. go on preparing your notes this will come handy in long run.

2. Preparing notes takes time and we avoid. But good notes really play crucial role during competitive exam preparation. Use multi color pen to prepare better notes.

3. I have seen most of the students who crack GATE have taken coaching in some form or other. Therefore if your college doesn't have good faculty then consider taking GATE coaching in 3rd or final year of B.E. or immediately after passing.

4. Even if you are doing job, you can take weekend batches for GATE coaching.