Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Work and study - not for me!
All over the world, students work, even as they study. India appears to be different.
Yes, by the time a student graduates he/ she would have worked 'somewhere'. But most would have done it as a short term thing. For 'experience', exposure to an industry or because a course requires it.
Working on a year round basis - along with studying - is not popular. Maximum agar ghar se baith kar thoda computer pe kaam hota ho, to theek hai. But flipping burgers/ serving coffee/ being a shopgirl - nah.
Of course, there are young people filling up these jobs. But they are from what we call 'lower middle class' backgrounds. They need the money, they have no choice.
The study-work linkage
The common excuse given by students is 'if we work, our studies will get affected. The fact is, most of use spend less than 2-3 weeks a year actually studying. At so many colleges, classes are held for barely 2-3 hours a day.
And yet.
It's almost like young people know yeh time dobara nahin aane wala. May as well chill out and enjoy now. Job to zindagi bhar karni hi hai.
So they'd rather sit at home... (not studying). Idly flipping through channels, scrapping strangers on orkut. Sleeping. Doing nothing.
I don't blame them - it's a valid choice. But I would like to point out that 21 or 22 years of this kind of life and then you enter work, a raw and idealistic person.
You look for work to be non-stop excitement.
A bit of prior exposure to doing just a 'job' - as opposed to a career could help take off those rose tinted glasses. There is nothing 'meaningful' about serving customers. Yet one has to do it - and preferably with a smile.
Such an experience may not add weight to one's CV in the literal sense. But it makes you a more humble, well rounded and grounded person. Which is especially important in the Indian context, where kids are often smothered by familial and parental love.
There is something to be said about the experience of working which involves plain and physical labour. As opposed to work which requires only intellectual input and mental energy. We are all for the latter, but the 'labour bit' - we'd rather leave it for the 'less educated'.
I don't expect this class divide to end anytime soon. But more undergraduates opening up to the idea of working - without being choosy about the work they do - is certainly a first step.
Yes, by the time a student graduates he/ she would have worked 'somewhere'. But most would have done it as a short term thing. For 'experience', exposure to an industry or because a course requires it.
Working on a year round basis - along with studying - is not popular. Maximum agar ghar se baith kar thoda computer pe kaam hota ho, to theek hai. But flipping burgers/ serving coffee/ being a shopgirl - nah.
Of course, there are young people filling up these jobs. But they are from what we call 'lower middle class' backgrounds. They need the money, they have no choice.
The study-work linkage
The common excuse given by students is 'if we work, our studies will get affected. The fact is, most of use spend less than 2-3 weeks a year actually studying. At so many colleges, classes are held for barely 2-3 hours a day.
And yet.
It's almost like young people know yeh time dobara nahin aane wala. May as well chill out and enjoy now. Job to zindagi bhar karni hi hai.
So they'd rather sit at home... (not studying). Idly flipping through channels, scrapping strangers on orkut. Sleeping. Doing nothing.
I don't blame them - it's a valid choice. But I would like to point out that 21 or 22 years of this kind of life and then you enter work, a raw and idealistic person.
You look for work to be non-stop excitement.
A bit of prior exposure to doing just a 'job' - as opposed to a career could help take off those rose tinted glasses. There is nothing 'meaningful' about serving customers. Yet one has to do it - and preferably with a smile.
Such an experience may not add weight to one's CV in the literal sense. But it makes you a more humble, well rounded and grounded person. Which is especially important in the Indian context, where kids are often smothered by familial and parental love.
There is something to be said about the experience of working which involves plain and physical labour. As opposed to work which requires only intellectual input and mental energy. We are all for the latter, but the 'labour bit' - we'd rather leave it for the 'less educated'.
I don't expect this class divide to end anytime soon. But more undergraduates opening up to the idea of working - without being choosy about the work they do - is certainly a first step.
Labels: summer job, work and study
Comments:
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Hey Rashmi,
How well presented is this lovely article here.It is certainly very essential of students like us to take up the meanest of jobs so that we know what hard work really means...Its sure enough that we would need more number of people like you that we should star thinking like.Keep up the good work and hey do keep writing and giving facts on this as many of us youngsters need such facts to be presented to us ..and help us use our brains fruitfully.
How well presented is this lovely article here.It is certainly very essential of students like us to take up the meanest of jobs so that we know what hard work really means...Its sure enough that we would need more number of people like you that we should star thinking like.Keep up the good work and hey do keep writing and giving facts on this as many of us youngsters need such facts to be presented to us ..and help us use our brains fruitfully.
Hey, very very true!! But I believe am one good example of a guy who is working and doing his studies. I joined an organization after my undergrads and have now got 5 years of experience and am doing by grads thru correspondence from ICFAI...!!
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