Dying Passion Or Dying For Passion?

There is saying in this country born out of the youngsters wisdom on the state of affairs here “In India, you become an engineer first and then you figure out what you want to do”

For a country that gave the world her zero her algebra, the Raman effect and a genius like Ramanujan we now have to lament in the fact that people leave a profession for another and do the same again in a year as soon as contractual obligations are complete is a cause for worry and also a reason for introspection.

People searching for what they are meant for is a rare case in this country however where people have become so bent on adjusting that we hardly notice what we are doing anymore. The dreamers are either able to succeed due to some miracle or they simple are leaving our shores for better markets and are realizing their dreams elsewhere. When you ask about what makes people leave the jobs they are doing and search for new jobs, we can have a lot of answers. The first and most obvious one is job satisfaction. I know people think and believe why a person is not satisfied by a job but believe me when I say no person is so simple that we can fathom out his true reasons. That being said however the most major reasons that this is happening can be classified into a few major subheadings or sub-reasons.

Majority of people in India admire and look for the word job security. Gone were the days when only a government job meant job security, nowadays a guy with a job out of campus placements is someone with job security. The first job in someone’s life is supposed to hold special meaning to him or her but unfortunately this term has pretty much forced quite a few youngsters in this country to take the first job they are offered in their campus recruitment. They give their best for the job out of uncertainty if they will be able to qualify in the future for other jobs. Supposing that they get it they become lax in their future efforts out of the confidence that they have got a job and that they don’t need another one or a few people get overconfident and go screw up their chances. These two cases result in one thing: you have a job, but it most likely is not the job you wanted or dreamed yourself doing. What happens later is that you hate yourself, kick yourself and try to get out of that job and try for your dream job later on. Some lucky ones succeed, for others well your just out of plain luck mate.

The second category of people, dream big. Indians following out Ex-President His Excellency Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s words “Dream, Dream, till your dreams are transformed to reality” and the second set of words “Dreams should not be something that you see when you sleep but something that shouldn't let you sleep”. I believe that the wise Dr.Kalam meant was that everyone should work exceptionally hard to achieve what they want. However these people being somewhat intelligent dream that them reaching or obtaining their dream job as a dream. They forget that getting the job is the easy part, keeping is harder. They give their everything to get their dream job but aren't prepared for the hard wok that comes after. After all dream jobs aren't easy otherwise everyone would have one. These kind of people are the high spirited dreamers who once n the job get cold feet because of the responsibilities and the work load. They start shorting out and unable to cope with the load just walk out of their jobs one day. They are simple lay people with high dreams and higher expectations of themselves and contribute a large amount of the deserters in any army.

The third kind are the people who might get a couple of offers but accept most likely the highest paying one because of a host of reasons such as societal pressure, parental pressure or financial affairs. The thought of what x’s mother’s y^th aunt might tin kiss a big factor in India and it causes undue pressure on someone looking for a job. These people though are declining in the current scenario still contribute a bit. They feel self pity/loathing depending on other factors. They usually are more worried about what others think and often take undue and un-needed stress upon themselves. A few bear up to it. A few put on bravado for some time and tuck tail and run away at the first sign of trouble or at the first opportunity available. These weak willed weasels can never get anywhere and will probably keep shifting jobs to more important looking and sounding titles for all of eternity. They just aren’t satisfied with what they got but neither are they strong enough to bear up with the bigger tasks. The other kind s parental pressure. Similar in circumstances but the major difference being that the influence of parents reduces as one grows older/marries/parents dying. This causes this kind to get out of the emotional turmoil perhaps with some support or perhaps due to lack of guidance from other sources(like constant parental advice). The degree of freedom will help them settle somewhere instead o being jumping jacks.

The last case is of the people in financial trouble. These people are the diligent handworkers. They are the people who take a job because they have to and the only reason they’d jump ship was if they were offered a job closer to their dreams (if not their dream job) while the pay was equal at least or better. They will work hard in any job but they will work with passion on their dream job. However a small problem with this kind of people is that they will only switch when they are young. Though getting older should make men wise it doesn't seem to be the case with these people. They get comfortable and averse to switching jobs later on even if it their dream job. Job security comes into play once they are settled.

Overall the more alarming thing is the fact that inspite of all the jumping around that people do trying to find their dream job India is hardly the place to support it. Most of all the system is to blame for turning the people this way. We are a country that votes by caste, votes for money or alcohol  and yet complains that no development takes place. We are a country that crushes the young people’s dreams and make enigmatic statements like “if one Abraham Lincoln was born in America then 100 Abraham Lincolns should be born in India”. Dear sirs and madams if you crush the dream of every childhood Abraham Lincoln then he will remain stitching slippers or writing code for another company instead of becoming the president or prime minister. For a country known for its It coding prowess we haven’t created one coding language or built one plane on our own. The innovation of the ancients is all but gone in the current country. Those with intelligence and resources are leaving the country and those without resources are jumping around trying to find “dream” jobs. While the rest are either trying to maintain status quo or doing their best to spoil what name is left of the country. Only a few intelligent fools are trying to maintain the balance by staying back and trying to repair all the damage. It is yet to be seen which way the outcome will sway.

This article was originally written and featured in www.pandaartworks.com