Written for Synapse (My Engineering college magazine in March 2017 )
It has been approximately one hundred and thirty-one thousand hours (131,400) since I passed out as an Electronics Engineer from Thadomal Shahani (TSEC). Life has come full circle, and I have the opportunity to share my experience with all of you. I still remember the day I came to TSEC to take admission. My grandfather insisted I take up Computer Science, but I chose to follow my childhood passion and pursued Electronics Engineering, though I am currently working in the IT Industry.
I have great memories of college: Teachers, friends, the class, and taking the morning B.E.S.T @7:15 AM to reach Bandra from Chembur for the 8:00 AM Lecture. We were in the old building, the one attached to R.D. National College, not the new one. When one talks about Thadomal, one can’t forget the iconic Jai Sandwich. He might not remember your name, but he will remember what you order regularly (and will refer to you as TSEC). My friends and I also used to go to Chandu Halwai for a quick snack (on the main road, opposite R.D. National College). We used to get Kulche Chole over there, and my friend used to tell them “Ek Kalke Chole Dena”, for the fun of it.
In terms of Engineering, the 1st year is supposed to be the most rigorous year over the span of 4 years. Primarily because we had 8 subjects in each semester, compared to the other semesters. My favorite subject was Engineering Drawing; I found it more fun than any other subject.
SEM II we had was PASCAL, while the Computer folks had COBOL. We considered both of these technologies outdated, as at that time C, C++, and Java were the latest programming languages. Little did I know that I would start my career in COBOL. After starting work at Syntel, I realized that COBOL and, for that matter, mainframes were the most widely used technologies in the world (over 70%), because mainframes are still considered highly robust and secure. Many Banks in India also leverage mainframe systems for backend processing. I have even seen Crossword (Book Store) using a black-and-green screen that looks like an AS/400. By the way, we also learned C, 8086, and 8051 programming. We used to use computers like the one shown in the photo with the old Floppy drive. I think they were 80386 PCs. In our Computer Practicals, as soon as we heard the words “Program Save Karo!!,” it meant the end of our practical session. For my final-year project, we built an OP-AMP Application Simulator using Java. So I knew many languages other than COBOL.
By the start of the 3rd year, many of my batchmates had already started planning for an MS in one of the universities abroad. It was a known fact that approximately 90% of Thadomal students travel to the USA for an MS. Very few decide to stay back, gain some experience, and then pursue an MS or an MBA. I was in that 10% who decided to stay back and pursue my career here in India.
Thadomal provided me with the platform and the basis from which I could try to get a Job via Campus. I had a decent % score, so I could sit in the aptitude test for all companies that came for placements. I was not able to pass most of the 1st-level tests, and even when I did, I was not able to pass the interview. At that time, not many companies were coming to college because 9/11 had happened recently. It was only in September (3 months after the final exams) of that year that Syntel came to the campus for placements. They called us at a school in Andheri (Mahakali Cave Road) to give the Aptitude test. I got called for the interview. One question I was asked in my interview (which I can never forget) – “Do you have any preference for any Technology?” – I answered, “No, I don’t have any preference,” and in the end, I got the Job.
When I started working at IT/Syntel, I was very focused on technical growth and delved into the depths of many technologies. It was only after some years that I realized that, beyond a certain point, technology alone cannot help me grow/move forward in my career. One example I like to relate to this is Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg did not create Facebook because he knew ASP.NET, Java, or any other technology. He created Facebook because he saw a business idea for creating a platform that could be used to connect/share content with friends. So, it is very important to know the What, Why, and How of things. The gist of what I am trying to say is that, in most cases, we come across “Business Driving Technology” rather than the other way around.
In Summary, three things which I would recommend to keep in mind
- Understand the business need/problem
- Look at the big picture
- Finally, link how we can use technology to solve the business problem.
I had the most memorable four years at Thadomal Shahani Engineering College. In the end, I would like to thank all my teachers, Dr. Ashwini Kunte, Anuradha Rao Maam, Mani Roja Maam, Rajput Sir, Medha Maam, Mathew Sir, Anushree Gupta Maam, Vijaylakshmi Badre Maam, Shristi Bhatia Maam, Neeru Phatak Maam, Uttara Bhat Maam, Jyoti Kashyap Maam, Amit Hatekar Sir, Professor Honawar and the then Principal Professor Kranti kumar.
Signing off for now.
I AM TSEC
Harish C. Rijhwani
Roll No 118
BE Electronics 2002 Pass Out