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Originally Posted by Gansan Am I right in assuming you are an IIT grad from your handle? If so, the stock of IIT has dropped considerably in my book after reading your irreverent post. |
I'm afraid but if you were to drop the stock of IIT considerably based on one dissenting post (even if challenging the thread), then I would humbly request you to read my signature. the fact is that there may be thousands of faceless nameless quiet rohans out there. For nandu saab's noble initiative to succeed, it is important to answer the rohans of the world convincingly to sell an AF career much better than it is done now. Your response does nothing for the cause unfortunately. If pedigree causes prejudice because of one dissenting post, please drop IITD and IIMA in your book for this post of mine as well
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Originally Posted by nanduchitnis Worth caliberating. There is so much venom in the two posts that he has made. |
So what - why not counter him logically than label his disagreeing posts as venom? The guys who don't need convincing are already sold. The point is to convince those that may be on the fence, na? Why not convince him logically as a test case - the rest of the masses would anyday be easier na?
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Originally Posted by vivekiny2k You will see the difference between an IIT grad and a NDA grad if left in the middle of a jungle without any support, or any adverse condition for that matter.
I am not saying it happens every day, I am not saying it will never happen, and I am not a D-day fanatic either. I am just trying to clarify what differentiates boys from men. |
Since this is a thread about convincing people practically - let's leave hyperbolic rhetoric outside the room, shall we? But I must give you a pop quiz- Who is the fastest to do the 7 summits from India? (and purportedly the world?)
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Originally Posted by neel385 A lot of interesting points have been put forth in this thread so far and Rohan's points seem to be the most belligerent. While a lot of plausible counter arguments (by many non-faugis as well) have already been put up, let me add another dimention to this argument on certain points which I feel have not been suitably answered yet.
For the record, I am not trying to belittle any one's point of view, but, trying to ensure that any reader gets a whole some perspective into what the services stand for and hence are better informed and hopefully a bit motivated to encourage people to join the AF.
Actually, the armed forces provide a whole lot of things that can be called "quality of life", but the major problem in penning it down is that most of it is inanimate. Let me try and put it this way, there is no other service which trains you to be an officer and a gentleman. There is only so much that money can buy. The rest needs to be imbibed. The services provide you with an opportunity to do just that. And if one spends sufficient time and energy just being alive and recipient in this environment, you change as a person. You enjoy things in life that would go un-noticed otherwise. The same rubs down to your family and those around you. To put it simply, you find more "quality" in "life". Apart from this major yet often overlooked perk, the others such as clubs, CDS etc have already been mentioned. |
Much appreciated your useful and calm-headed point-wise response to rohan. Interesting point on the 9Gs though - yum!
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Originally Posted by goandude No it does not negate the negatives. It has been put up to tell people that everything is not rosy, if you can adjust to the thorny side then OK, you will have a great life but if you (or your spouse) cannot, then getting off could be sticky. |
Thanks again for keeping the discussion grounded (esp around the spouse part!!).
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Originally Posted by Ace F355 BBR_SHR
I understand what you mean and I tend to agree with you. With such a huge number of people available at our country's disposal, our Army's workforce is also quite large. I agree other ranks may not get all the benefits similar to officer ranks; but rest assured their lives are still good enough.
One of my distant cousin sister is married to one such guy, a Naib Subedar in Indian Army. The guy is from countryside, and I am darn sure he is still doing well and good compared to his friends/colleagues from his village. The only problem according to him is, he is posted to a distant location and he can't move his family along with him. His vacations also do not compensate for all the hard work he puts in. But ask him whether he is happy about his job or not, and the smile tells you rest of the story. |
That is an interesting perspective because BBR_SHR actually raised a very valid point - because honestly this thread so far seemed to talk about the starry side - every job has the quiet foot soldiers (be it the guys BBR mentioned, or the IT guy quietly writing one little bit of code for a big software) and it's good if the discussion revolves around those people as well (esp what Ace wrote in bold above - emphasis mine). that's another perspective I have recently come to appreciate after learning to see the world throught he eyes of true villagers (no, not Millenium villagers!!).
That said, I want to put another parallel or dissenting voice (depending on the reader's perception) forward. I personally respect scientists who do apex research more and here's why:
- AF careers do offer a substantially better quality of life and lifestyle
- Financially, I'm not sure whether the perks of an armyman's life will be much better than those in any pure science but i would reckon so.
- Throughout MOST of the career (except beyond a certain stage), the AF person will receive far more respect from all quarters
- Lastly, and most importantly, the scientist who designs the Agni missile or the LCA or the eye-in-the-sky satellite has as much a decisive impact on the ground as the brave AF guy flying them. Technological edge has often been as decisive as valor in the battlefield.
- Maybe i've seen too many movies but I don't think our top scientists recieve that sort of safety net that our top military men do - on a whole, not talking about the likes of Kalam.
No prizes for guessing my inclinations - I never had any remote desire to get into the armed forces. I did have a fascination for a pure science career at some stage but it petered away somewhere. Infact, I remember among the 35 folks who qualified for the National Physics Olympiad 2000, only one chose a career in physics. Similar was for the National Chemistry Olympiad 2000.
Monetary considerations drive career choices for a lot of young minds and as I said in my 1st post, that needs to be addressed. And addressed for both armed forces as well as pure sciences, in my opinion. I'd be glad if I see such a thread for pure sciences some day as well.