I joined TCS as a fresher. Felt like my life was finally sorted. I was so happy during my training that I felt I could stay in TCS forever. After completing my training and joining my base location, first thing I did was to set up my profile on all Job Search apps and websites and started searching for another Job.
Here’s what happened!
I was good in academics. Loved developing logics,coding etc. I was passionate about my field and I wanted to Learn,Grow and Contribute. Some people told me not to settle down for TCS as it’s not the right place for me.
Still…TCS had the brand name and I was in a private college. That was enough for me to underestimate my potential and think that TCS was the best I could get. ( And what could be so wrong with it anyway? )
Our seniors told us not to worry about the recruitment drive because they will take almost everyone and little do they care about what you know and what you don’t, just be decent with your English and you’ll be in (Even then I did not get the idea that I was making a mistake).
I gave my 100% , worked hard on my technical skills and prepared well. I got selected. And those who did not prepare at all also got selected.
Their training is like a Sugar Bait. They say training is for your professional transformation. But actually it is there for 3 purposes:
They pay for some of your expenses during training so that they can put you under a bond amount of 50,000 and they call it Service Agreement.
They waste 3 months of your first job so that it is even harder for you to switch after joining the “Actual TCS”.
They give you an impression that you are working in the BEST company in the WORLD! So that you at least stick around for those 3 months.
They know genuine people are not going to want to continue so they prepare for it beforehand.
I performed pretty well in training. Because it wasn’t that challenging. Most of the crowd had no idea about Coding. It was very easy to emerge as a star performer. I was happy, without realizing the fact there is no growth without challenges.
I got top rating in training and I felt that was enough for me to land on a good Project and it would be a good start for my career!
I joined my base location at Pune. I was very happy and excited. Ready for giving interviews in projects. We were taken inside a cabin. The RMG (career spoilers of TCS) told us something which I can never forget and that actually Transformed me from a care-free College Student to a dedicated career-oriented Professional.
Here it goes.
“Be Thankful that you are working in such a great Company! Rest of your friends are roaming around unemployed. So we have decided a project for you and you better not show any resistance in joining otherwise we will stop your pay. Five associates are already on loss of pay”
That finally made me realize what a huge mistake I had made. I was working for a Company that did not hire me for my Quality but just to increase it’s Quantity.
I knew the project that required such a talk before it’s introduction was a good-for-nothing-project which no one wants to join. I wasn’t wrong.
It was on a client location having no facilities that other TCS employees get. No canteen. No travel option. Even the HR visited only once in every 3 months. These things can be ignored if you have a growth option in the project. But No! Just copy paste work, repetitive and no challenges. Technologies were the ones that appeared 60 years ago. The crowd was a bunch of people who have spent 15–20 years of their lives working in the same project, doing the same thing over and over again and they did not feel a fresher & that too a girl had the right to follow her passion.
I tried to fight for myself. Told them I wanted to work on latest technologies. I was good in technical, I wanted to learn and grow. I said I deserved a better project. I said I wanted something challenging and good. I joined thinking they would appreciate my skills and put me in the right place. I even proved my worth during training (I knew there were good projects and I could clear the interviews but I was never given a chance! I wish I had realized my potential earlier). But all they could say was:
“You are a fresher and You have signed a bond. You don’t get to decide all this. You being better than others in technical doesn’t matter. We can MOLD you into anything we want. And you must continue in that. Even if you don’t like the technology, you’ll get used to it. Work for 2 years over here and then MAYBE we will listen to you.”
They used to laugh when I would tell them working on old technologies and having no growth would spoil my career.
“Since when did freshers start deciding what’s good for their career? At least wait for 2 years”
“We are working in the (same) project (seriously! duh!) for the past 20 years and we know what’s good for you (really?)”
So basically they wanted me to kill my ambition, kill my passion and accept working in an unsatisfactory environment on age old technologies and majorly do just copy paste work. And maybe after spending (wasting) 2 years of my life I would be able to have a say in choosing what kind of Job I want to do.
Well, the mistake was ultimately from my side. I underestimated myself and landed in such a company.
I finally resigned. Got into a product-based company. They took 3 very difficult interviews and I cleared all. I felt satisfied that they actually wanted me for the Quality and not the Quantity. Now I’m working on Latest technologies. Directly developing new features in the product (from the very first day of joining). I am a fresher and there is no discrimination here. After working here for the last 3–4 months I’ve learnt much more than I ever could if I had stayed back in TCS. (And yes I also get paid more! And Yes I am a fresher)
Now I’m happy, satisfied, and I love what I do.
Moral: It’s never too early to be ambitious and serious about your career. It’s never too early to take a stand.
Going anonymous because it’s just not just my story. There are various others who face similar issues.
Edit: So many upvotes! thanks a lot everyone for your encouragement.
Well, some of you asked what to do for product based companies.
DATA STRUCTURES is the most important subject for that. And keep in mind that they expect you to start contributing from the very first day so they may put into scenario based rounds and ask you to solve tricky problems. Don’t take stress about giving the correct answer quickly!. Be calm and think about it rationally. Take your time and tell them what’s going on in your mind. They want to see your approach that’s all! Be thorough with basics.
Also, please read Tushar Kanti Mishra’s reply on this thread. He has explained why such companies are good for nothing even when you have the “ZEAL to learn and explore things”. It’s definitely not important to start with something big. One can start slow and have a steady progress as well. But a place which pulls you BACK is never the right place for you.
On our project site we had no access to internet (it wasn’t allowed). The Operating system was so old that only few things worked on it. Like putty and notepad! I went and complained about the internet then they provided remote access for 1–2 days. I did few courses on TCS website and made few programs on java online and that was enough for them to call a meeting and tell me that I am not supposed to do all that. So the situation is not always ideal for everyone.