Hi Friends,
It's been long 11 years in a single organization for me after my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and Banking. It was definitely a dream come true to finally get into the organization which I could not gain entry after my engineering because of my awareness and careless attitude. It took me more than 6 years to get a job which can pay for my past, present and future requirements after Engineering and MBA degree in my hands. This is definitely a road to riches story for me as I started my wages from R20 per day before I started working for this organization. It was not because I was not educated, I was already an Engineer in Electronics and earning R20 a day I was still happy that I was able to wake up and go someplace at a certain time. I am still not rich to afford everything I want or desire but I am able to eat and travel wherever I want within my budget. I am grateful for all the 12 cheques I receive every year from this organization since last 11 years that I have been able to make my lifestyle and build a fortune.
My first month was for the Trainee Program to get into the culture of the organization and learn the specific skills required to work up the Corporate Ladder. The training program was full of new people to become friends with and enjoy the camaraderie among all the new joiners. We will go to a day-long class together, prepare case studies, play in the evening and then have dinner together. It was a culture to learn from them and also make them friends for life. I was given my preferred choice in terms of my career goals and location and soon I was there reporting to the allocation associates. I still remember that from my first salary, I bought myself jeans and a t-shirt as it was the worst purchase ever in my life because of the quality of clothes.
I spent some time on the bench before I could get into my first project as I was waiting for my training to get over in Oracle Apps. Soon I traveled to Kolkata on a business trip to learn the Oracle Apps in a classroom session and that's where I realized the grandeur of my organization. I got transit quarters to stay and was served best of food in the evening. It was there I watched Yuvraaj Singh hit 6 sixes live on TV one evening while enjoying the Air conditioning of the room.
Soon, I was back to projects and was assigned one after another. Some of them were as per my skills and some not. But overall I kept going and learning whatever I could from all the new associates I could meet in my organization and all the bosses I was working under. I did undergo a lot of online training in various topics when I was on the bench while learning Income Tax rules too and trying to save some money out of my junior trainee level salary. After my initial luck in the organization where my dream of drinking tea in a ceramic cup was achieved in a project where we were sitting at the client location and the catering there used to provide us food, tea, snacks, and cold drinks as and when we just call the kitchen. I really enjoyed my 3-4 months in that project before I took leave for my marriage.
After my marriage holidays, I was back on the bench and waited for more than 2 months to join another project and soon I was working day and night setting up myself in the project as well as at home as my wife came back to stay with me after leaving her job in Mumbai. This was the biggest mistake of my life and she could not find any suitable job for the next 2.5 years and my money problems raised instantly. I used to get some money from my brother to take care of all the accessories and special items needed to run the household and he was literally paying for all my credit card purchases. I continued to struggle to pay mines and my wife's education loan and savings was none.
We were blessed with a baby girl and soon after she turned 6 months, my wife got an opportunity to join back in her job profile. It was hectic at first and soon we could find one nanny and soon it felt that life is on track now. Savings wise it was still zero and I tried stock market too with the advice of my father's friend but soon I lost out on that too. As I changed the house from one rented one to another, I was given an opportunity to go to London (Onsite) and work there for six months. That brought another kind of challenge as I had to leave them in India as my wife could not travel and nanny too ran away because of some police checkings at that time (2010).
Being in London was a dream come true, my savings increased with which I could pay my loan off in the next 6 months and during the next 8 I stayed there, I saved for my future house. I bought my first laptop, my first Walkman, my first iPod Dock, my first Sony Handycam and many more things which are still part of my day to day life. I am still using my Dell Laptop XPS today and wants to move to Apple MacBook Pro. The job there also gave me the confidence to work under pressure and with an intelligent client. Meanwhile, I had to come back after 14 months as my wife and daughter were struggling without me.
Once you come back from onsite, the next one will be like you have to stand at the back of the queue and will take you some projects in between. Life was good as you could meet your friends daily and drink the tea at the tapri outside office. India offers a lot of good food and during this time, I enjoyed a lot with family and friends. For me, it took me more than 2 years and two overseas banks (worked at offshore centers) to come to my third one here in Johannesburg, South Africa. Coming here also took a lot of time due to VISA and other requirement but it was worth the wait. I have been working in Johannesburg for the last 5 years with various clients and it's a great experience.
Loyalty with one company doesn't pay you much in terms of salary hikes but it pays in the long terms due to onsite travel where you get additional benefits like extra allowance to sustain your living expense in a foreign country. I have been able to make the best of it all as I never thought about changing my job to any other company. But one day, I too want to work for the Apple's and Google's of the world but only if I am some kind of expert in the area they are looking for the right person and I am able to fit in that puzzle piece.
Cheers!!! Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your products, events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!
My first month was for the Trainee Program to get into the culture of the organization and learn the specific skills required to work up the Corporate Ladder. The training program was full of new people to become friends with and enjoy the camaraderie among all the new joiners. We will go to a day-long class together, prepare case studies, play in the evening and then have dinner together. It was a culture to learn from them and also make them friends for life. I was given my preferred choice in terms of my career goals and location and soon I was there reporting to the allocation associates. I still remember that from my first salary, I bought myself jeans and a t-shirt as it was the worst purchase ever in my life because of the quality of clothes.
I spent some time on the bench before I could get into my first project as I was waiting for my training to get over in Oracle Apps. Soon I traveled to Kolkata on a business trip to learn the Oracle Apps in a classroom session and that's where I realized the grandeur of my organization. I got transit quarters to stay and was served best of food in the evening. It was there I watched Yuvraaj Singh hit 6 sixes live on TV one evening while enjoying the Air conditioning of the room.
Soon, I was back to projects and was assigned one after another. Some of them were as per my skills and some not. But overall I kept going and learning whatever I could from all the new associates I could meet in my organization and all the bosses I was working under. I did undergo a lot of online training in various topics when I was on the bench while learning Income Tax rules too and trying to save some money out of my junior trainee level salary. After my initial luck in the organization where my dream of drinking tea in a ceramic cup was achieved in a project where we were sitting at the client location and the catering there used to provide us food, tea, snacks, and cold drinks as and when we just call the kitchen. I really enjoyed my 3-4 months in that project before I took leave for my marriage.
After my marriage holidays, I was back on the bench and waited for more than 2 months to join another project and soon I was working day and night setting up myself in the project as well as at home as my wife came back to stay with me after leaving her job in Mumbai. This was the biggest mistake of my life and she could not find any suitable job for the next 2.5 years and my money problems raised instantly. I used to get some money from my brother to take care of all the accessories and special items needed to run the household and he was literally paying for all my credit card purchases. I continued to struggle to pay mines and my wife's education loan and savings was none.
We were blessed with a baby girl and soon after she turned 6 months, my wife got an opportunity to join back in her job profile. It was hectic at first and soon we could find one nanny and soon it felt that life is on track now. Savings wise it was still zero and I tried stock market too with the advice of my father's friend but soon I lost out on that too. As I changed the house from one rented one to another, I was given an opportunity to go to London (Onsite) and work there for six months. That brought another kind of challenge as I had to leave them in India as my wife could not travel and nanny too ran away because of some police checkings at that time (2010).
Being in London was a dream come true, my savings increased with which I could pay my loan off in the next 6 months and during the next 8 I stayed there, I saved for my future house. I bought my first laptop, my first Walkman, my first iPod Dock, my first Sony Handycam and many more things which are still part of my day to day life. I am still using my Dell Laptop XPS today and wants to move to Apple MacBook Pro. The job there also gave me the confidence to work under pressure and with an intelligent client. Meanwhile, I had to come back after 14 months as my wife and daughter were struggling without me.
Once you come back from onsite, the next one will be like you have to stand at the back of the queue and will take you some projects in between. Life was good as you could meet your friends daily and drink the tea at the tapri outside office. India offers a lot of good food and during this time, I enjoyed a lot with family and friends. For me, it took me more than 2 years and two overseas banks (worked at offshore centers) to come to my third one here in Johannesburg, South Africa. Coming here also took a lot of time due to VISA and other requirement but it was worth the wait. I have been working in Johannesburg for the last 5 years with various clients and it's a great experience.
Loyalty with one company doesn't pay you much in terms of salary hikes but it pays in the long terms due to onsite travel where you get additional benefits like extra allowance to sustain your living expense in a foreign country. I have been able to make the best of it all as I never thought about changing my job to any other company. But one day, I too want to work for the Apple's and Google's of the world but only if I am some kind of expert in the area they are looking for the right person and I am able to fit in that puzzle piece.
Cheers!!! Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your products, events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!