So what remains the best bet for the above-average Indian youth ?

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In the early 1970's (that was around the time when my father graduated), one of the best career options for the Indian youth was to get into the Indian civil services. It had all that a 25 year old's dreamy eyes could aspire for. It had power, respect in the society and nevertheless sufficient money to live a decent living. No wonder it used to command the highest premium in the marriage market.

Times changed with liberalisation. Rapid Industrialisation & multinational invasion made sure that the Indian Babu's paychecks were turned into laughable material. Corruption & favoritism started becoming the hallmarks of the prestigious institution which was once referred to as the 'Steel frame of India.' And yes, the politician-bureaucrat nexus made sure that the power vested within the civil servant's office was kept firmly in check. Add to that , the emergence of a class of politicians who believed in selling anything to everthing to quench their thirst to remain in power. The reduction in salary & power automatically made way to reduced respect in the society. The American software Engineer & the London based Investment banker cornered the marriage market successfully.

So that brought me to a very interesting topic to think about. What remains the best career option for the 25 something Indian youth ? While I don't disagree a bit on the belief that career options in ones life are something very specific to the individual's interests, I also know that the Indian system doesn't quite work that way . An ideal system would be something akin (minus all it's negatives of course) to the American system of education where students end up doing a job that they like to do instead of relying too heavily on market trends. This would obviously increase productivity as you will see committed individuals passionate about their job wherever you go.

Coming back to the Services now, how does it weigh in the new scheme of things ? Something that the Software Engineer & investment banker crowd sometimes forgets to realise is that life often comes back full circle & the only thing that's constant in life is 'change'. And boy, have things changed drastically in the last few years ?

The early years of this decade saw the emergence of the Indian software Engineer. A sure shot ticket to a beautiful bride, he also used to get a 'oh-the geek who earns 25k per month & works in a glossy office' look. That was until 'Change' hit him hard. Today they say if you throw a stone up in the air in Bangalore, it might hit either a Dog or a software Engineer. I don't think I need to say anymore. Marriage marker...Hmmm, be ready with your designation certificate from HR & last 3 payslips.

Come over to the American software engineer. Now that could easily go down as the greatest Con jobs of the century. Would humbly minus all those IIT, MS in American Univ crowd here as I assume they are a bit better off. (unless someone from group too joins with a sob story).
Living purely on a favorable Visa regime, I still don't get it why the average Indian doesn't get this theory right. (Is brand America so strong that it misguides the intellectual capacity of a billion plus crowd ?) . Take into account purchasing power parity & Indian software engineers in America lead one of the most miserable lives I have ever seen. Now now, show me a software engineer in India who invariably buys a second hand car, stands in queues outside garage sales, looks for trash cans in residential areas hoping to find left over stuff..I hope you guys get it now. I can keep on adding to the list. Boy, believe me , the American software techie would think twice even before buying a decent bed to sleep in . So definitely not the dream career, this.

I am not the right person to comment on the life of a London Investment banker (or for that matter one in NY) though I have a quite a few friends who are part of the crowd. Heard from one recently (who got into one after doing a 'tier 1' mba in India) that all he has done in the last 1 week was to play solitaire on his desktop comp. Couldn't help remembering the good old bench days !

So where does all this boil down to ? I do understand that there are tons of other career options that would be worthwhile to explore , but that's not the point here. I am just taking the ones that are the talk of the town. Civil services has always fascinated me cos I believe that one establishment marks the Govt of India as the biggest 'risk-taker' & experimental lab . Which other private firm or multinational would entrust something as responsible or important as manging a whole district in a state with a 21 year old graduate ? For all the talk that centers around giving opportunities to youngsters & designing promising career paths, believe me , all private firms would weigh their options carefully thrice before doing anything like that ! Salary for the Indian babu is definitely coming back with the next pay commision. A changed Indian political class & a reformed administrative system might not be too far behind. Restored power & respect would of course take care of the marriage market :)

So finally, the choices still remain a lot foggy for the Indian youth. If you are amongst the types who would prefer to join the ranks of the 'also-rans' then it doesn't matter much. You can very well spend your life leading a rather oblivious life counting your dollars or pounds. But I don't really think a good part of the 25 something Indian crowd of today would want to do that ? What say ?

Pic : One person I met recently who seemed to be really passionate about his job. He operates out of Battery park in NY. That's the place you board the boat which takes you to statue of liberty. This guy asks every person his nationality and plays the national anthem of that country on his violin. And the best of it all, he doesn't even care to look if the person drops a note in his box. Just goes about his job, I am told he does this morning till evening, 7 days a week, rain or shine. If you ever go to see the statue of liberty, check this guy out. You won't need to look long , just follow the sound of Jana gana mana playing :)