Sanjay Manaktala - My beta does computer things : your guide to success, love and rock-n-roll in the IT industry

CONTENTS

SDLC (Software Developers Life Cycle)

I f youve picked up this book, you and I are, more likely than not, the exact same person. We grew up under humble circumstances, listened to our parents and society on how to plan our lives and are terrible at dating even though we have no idea why. We also probably had that awkward romantic encounter in college that scarred us for life. (To the girl whom I first kissed, Roja, Id like to apologize for the defect-riddled version of me you had to deal with. Thank you for being a beta tester, the finished product is now much better). As a result of all the aforementioned missteps, our focus has always been on pushing the accomplishments of our lives forward. Good grades meant good job, good job meant good money, good money meant good wife (or good husband) and so on. While the book of our life remains to be read you can be damn sure it has already been written. This book, however, is not that book, although it is going to help you find the pen to change the way that book finishes. Game of Thrones became a hit TV show that now lives well beyond what was written in the novels, carving its own path with increasing popularity. Your life and career will hopefully do the same. I cant promise you TRP ratings but I hope to deliver some personal satisfaction.

So, why read a book thats going to explain an industry you might already be a part of? Well, to be frank: To work smarter and not harder. Or to explain it better, since I also value hard work: To make sure you know what youre getting into and to ensure that you succeed for the right reasons in the software industry and beyond. Im not going to tell you how to cut corners and ace just the job interviews the way Kota might seem for many students trying to ace exams. Instead, my goal is to help you process the people (clients, colleagues, bad managers), the places (onshore, training), and the things (money, startups, education) you have and will experience in the years to come. Just like you prepared for college and experienced something different when all was said and done (was anybodys college experience like 3 Idiots?), jumping into the IT industry will have its own set of misaligned expectations and pleasant surprises. So many people dont do well in interviews because the ironic thing is that many of them havent even asked themselves, Where do I see myself in 5 years? (I was one of them). If you want to develop for others, you must first develop for yourself. See, Im like a coding Confucius.

Were going to look at what skills you want to learn, what things ACTUALLY interest you instead of the junk you tell people (e.g. developing tools in Java or C++, making games for mobile, finding users for your new app or travelling around the country giving PowerPoint presentations), and perhaps laugh a little bit in the process. These are all things you need to think about and not just because you need something thats good for your resume or your parents.

You want to make money and travel the world. You want to date girls (or guys) and enjoy your twenties and thirties. Work does not need to sacrifice a truly rewarding youth and a youth with no regrets does not need to sacrifice your career. My goal here is to get you to realize that. Corporations can suck but they can also be awesome. Many of us make money. Many of us enjoy our lives. Few do both. And Im not talking about movie stars or singers. Im talking about the people who work in IT.

Try saying this to a headhunter

India produces roughly 1.5 million engineers per year across nearly 4,000 engineering colleges. The industry is valued at $150 billion and growing faster than your moms anger when you say you want to quit. Even though the graduates include all disciplines under the term engineering, its fair to assume a good chunk of these kids (as well as your own colleagues if youre already working) have ended up in the IT industry. Ive had hundreds of conversations where I ask somebody:

In the 1960s, the American Dream meant a stable manufacturing job, a beautiful family and a four-bedroom house on a nice plot with all your friends as neighbours. For India, in modern times, the IT industry has helped fuel a similar dream. The industry promises a good paycheck and job security, admiration amongst friends and family and, of course, added benefits like overseas travel, a few days of partying in the night clubs of America (lets be honest guys, I know youve already Googled them) and a host of other cool things you may or may not want to post on Facebook.

We all want a comfortable life and everything that comes with it. We want to travel the world, show off online, date amazing people and earn a good living for ourselves and our families. Im completely on board with this thought. I grew up in a 1BHK with my mother and brother. After busting my ass through high school and college, all I cared about was making a decent wage so I could have my own room and party along with my friends. Wanting a comfortable life is everyones right. But the older you get you will realize comfort does not equal happiness. In fact, comfort can often be your own worst enemy. When the business class trips get boring, when youre on your seventh iPhone (or tenth customized Android, you know who you are) and fortieth Instagram photo of waters of some crystal-clear beach, or the slopes of some lush Himalayan trek you will realize what I mean. And Im not saying you shouldnt get those things. No matter what older people say, youre only 22 or 25 or 30 once and I say, do it. Get them, experience them, enjoy them. Just remember that in todays day and age, with cheaper flights, a billion photos a day, virtual reality video and whatever tomorrows trend will be, most people will also get those things and their value will diminish. There is a whole lotta life left to live after you accomplish what youve thought was so important.

So at the very least, while youre on the track you most definitely should still be on, lets accomplish a cooler adulthood earlier and help you understand how you really want your life to unfold. When I was thirteen, all I cared about was video games. When I was twenty-three, I had enough money to buy enough games, but realized I didnt care as much. Youll realize the same thing about parties, fancy offices, and hotels ten years from now. Dont underestimate what actually makes you happy. Its more than money and hotels and a title. Youll be bored of these things in your thirties. You think you know what you like and what you hate today. But I also hated reading and simple multiplication tables when I was younger. Life has a lot of these phases, and they dont stop.

As a comedian, people often ask me if those jokes I just said on stage were my own thoughts or had come from elsewhere. I obviously have to write my own material (which is why stand-up comedy is such a unique art form), but comedians often casually respond to this by saying, Of course I wrote them. People who say funny things they didnt write are called actors. In the same way, after ten years in seven different Fortune 500 organizations, and having met thousands upon thousands of developers, testers and other senior technology professionals across the globe, I can tell you a gigantic chunk of us are simply actors in an already scripted routine. We travel the world in droves. We stick to ourselves. We focus on our increasing savings and credit card points. We dont develop our social skills properly, and later, many of us think the universe has cheated us and it owes us something. How the hell did that happen?