I am waiting for my new project to be kicked off; it’s been quite a while I am without any active work and people around me keep asking me one question has your project started and I keep answering them not yet. People outside the Information Technology (IT) keep asking me what you people in software do day in and day out apart from sitting in front of boring computer.
As I got enough time to hone my skills during this period, I also got some time to think about this question that is put on me every now and then and some time personally also I feel guilty of getting good paycheck for doing nothing important. Some people ask me this question due to their lack of knowledge in information technology while others ask me due to sheer jealousy as IT has made all their work easier. I tried to take into account as many profession as I could think of and tried to compare it to the job in software but I could only think of one thing that best matches or I should say overtake the IT profession. I could see my self as a soldier preparing himself for the most important battle of his life.
I have always had a very high respect for the people in defense for all the obvious reasons. If I get to live another life then I will try my best to be in defense. But for the present life I compare myself with a similar mindset though in a different profession.
Software Engineers (People in IT) can be very much compared to the soldiers (People in Defense). Like the soldier wait for that one important battle to prove himself similarly the software engineer wait for the one project where he can prove himself. When the battle starts the soldier forgets everything (day/night) and remembers only one thing he has to win this battle and make his country safe and proud. Similarly when project in IT is kicked off the team members forget everything (flexi timing) and concentrate on the completion of the project by which he can make himself and his company proud. It is the soldiers who provides the security to the nation by fighting the internal and external enemy and take the nation to higher altitudes same with the software engineers, they have taken India to different level by successfully completing one project after another and taking giant steps everyday in the field of IT. India has the second largest army in the world with more and more people willing to join everyday comparing this to IT at the current stages no other country can match the IT work force that of India. Teamwork is another important similarity between the two, though teamwork is key to any organization in any field but it might not be the most important factor as in this these two professions. Another similarity that comes to mind is that of a personal life. Like a soldier away from his family safeguarding the nation waiting for that one letter from his parents and loved ones after waiting for the enemy for the entire day/night at the borders, ditto with software engineer waiting for that one call or making calls to his parents or loved ones after coming from a grueling session in the office where he have attended client meeting/team meeting, writing complex code or brainstorming for a simple customization that his client is asking for. To end this article I will like to draw another similarity between a soldier and a software engineer that will justify my writing this article. Like a software engineer seldom learn anything when he is in a critical project but that is the best time for him to utilize the experience he has and how effectively he has used his time when in waiting for some work to be assigned to him. How about comparing this with the soldier who waits for the war to begin and in anticipation he prepare his body, mind and his artilleries that are most important to him.
So in my view it is not a matter of shame or feeling guilty been out of work for some time rather I would suggest everyone in IT should be out of active work for some time so that he can sharpen his axe and prepare himself for the next big. Opportunity.
But one should remember that client is no enemy.
No one can stop India to be a super power we are brave (soldiers) and very much capable of providing security to our nation. We have the Brain (Software Engineers) that no other country can match. I am proud not only to be an Indian but also to be part of the IT work force when our country is on the verge of becoming a developed nation.
