LAMP

My tryst with Web Development

Monday, May 01, 2006

Intellectual Slavery

After around 4-5 months now, since I joined this company/project; I can confidently say that this place is inhibited by literate fools who at best can order Intellectual Slavery. Companies like this claim that they allow complete freedom to all employees in choosing/managing their career path. But, the reality is you are at your own risk/luck in managing your career, something not under your control most of the times.

Unless you are an experienced professional (though the definition of experienced is subject to discussion), as and when you join the company, the HR dept. tries to throw you in any damn project, they can think of. The Project manager takes you in, irrespective of the fact, whether you want to join the project or not, for they don’t need you to do work, but to increase the team head count, so as to claim higher amounts from the client. Just another brick in the wall, as my friend says.

Then you are asked about the level of satisfaction achieved in the first year of employment, and it is also expected that you’ll be proud to be a part of such organization, so idiotic are these fools.

Anyways, you try to start & continue for sometime with all this hoping things might change one fine day. On that fine day when you ask your seniors about your aspirations/goals, you can be sure, that they’ll be taken aback. When you tell them, you’ve learnt/seen enough that’s possible to be learnt/seen in your current profile & you need to move on; you are told that huge efforts/resources have been invested upon you. Dare not think of changing your current course of action, because that’s unfair. Yes, I understand that’s quite unfair.

Other Intellects appointed to help you in such situtations tell you that goals/plans you plan to achieve are quite a grey area and you should stay away from it, for the simple reason, you are a novice. And unluckily, if you’re not, then stay far away all the more, for all your acquired knowledge from past shall be of no relevance in your new chosen field.

You are told to follow the process & continue in the field chosen by them for you. Such tenure is long enough to cast your career in that particular competency. Employees do raise these concerns to the management, but none of us have seen any remedial action/improvements on their part. Some people accept it as their fate and continue spending their efforts/time like that. Others put up papers in the company as and when they feel they’ve got a better oppurtunity.

But, neither the organization nor the people in auhtority are ready to change. For they continue to earn profits after all this. Another person is hired in as a replacement & process resumes. So, who’s bothered to take into account complicated issues like career shift?

As per my experience, people in authority & HR Department as a whole are the real culprits, for all this nonsense.