Software Dinagalu Page-2 : Training days of Infosys

I have the subject in hand and the content is very much there, but motivation to write is missing. I am trying to keep the promise I made to myself. 

Training days started off with a week of "Finishing School" (I understood the meaning of this word few years later), where we had many fun activities and personal improvement sessions. These sessions and many other personality development programs in Infy, indeed were good and after these many years, I have started to appreciate that.

The second week started with basic courses and again the brain washing started here. They always said as Infy takes freshers from all streams, they start with the basics. This week again was fun, as we needed to read just few pages and write the exam. Most of us got "A" grades. 

Here comes the twist in the tale, the third week started with C and UNIX. We were supposed to learn UNIX in 3 days and C in 5 days flat!!!, that too with the projects. In the class room, we were taught basics and then phew....we were told to design and implement a Library system in 2 days. We did everything, coding/code sharing/code smuggling etc...etc..Finally most of the teams had the same code underneath and UI was different with people putting their group name, name and likewise.

After C and UNIX, all electronics students were taken out to work for a OSDC (Off-Shore Development Centre). 1 month training started there instead of normal courses like VB, Oracle etc. This is the only training till date, which I have attended without interruption. Now, after 8 years if I try to sit in a training either my superior tells me not to attend or invariably I get a 

call which assigns me a more important work; Blame it on easy accessibility because of mobiles or may be people have forgotten to be slow and steady.We used to have sessions for the whole day and many afternoons I used to sleep peacefully. Many of the things used to bounce over the head. 

The best part came after training. Around 10-15 of us didn't get any project and they made us sit in a big conference room with each one having a phone and computer. We used to play computer games and even cricket in that room. 

We all sat in that room for around 1.5 months waiting.........

Software Dinagalu Page-1 : Initial Days of Infosys

For who are "differently abled" in Kannada, Dinagalu = Days. 

I am keeping up my word and back with a post in the first week itself. The series starts!!!

As a software professional (this word doesn't have any literal meaning here), i should stick with version control and my posts will have different "Pages". And I am allowed to have page numbers in decimals.

The first Page is all dreams and enlightenment. If there is a hint of sarcasm, that's called reality.

The story starts on a chilly, foggy winter day in December 2000, 4th Dec to be precise. I was all set with a thought that I am going to change this world forever. Joining Infosys was a dream come true (not entirely according to me but according to Infy HR and PR), which only 1 out of 50 or 100 could achieve. Now after 8+ years I know that I am not going to make a difference out of the blue and 1 out of... is another number of the game called BUSINESS of any IT/ITES company in India. 

The first things that strike to me when I think about Infy is, TIE and formal SHOES. We had to wear the tie on Monday, then it became Monday and Tuesday. But the Off-Shore centre I worked was casual enough, so we used to remove the tie once we enter the building. Few people used to have a spare sandal in the cubicle for use inside the office!!! If you cant brake the law, try to bend it.

Catch the bus at 7AM from NR Colony and be in Infy by 8AM was the usual routine. Classes used to start at 8:30AM. We were all thrilled with the conference room and in the first session they announced that we are the biggest batch in Infy history till now, and we were thrilled even more. This was the beginning of my "Number Crunching" experience in IT.

The first 5 days were all fun; games, passwords/mailboxes/bank accounts, preaching about Infosys ethics and more number crunching. The best part here was I made friends with Avinash and Vivek. We three went for lunch/snacks together till I was in Infy for the next four years. Avinash died in a car accident in 2007, which I am yet to understand why; and for vivek, he is the best friend of my son (and mine too).

We were "trained" for 3 complete months and our instructors kept on telling that 3 months of Infy training was equivalent to 3 years B.S degree in UK. Crash Course, how amazing!!!

More about training in the next Page.