Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayek the CEO of TCS is in his mid 40s. |
Wow, I just looked him up, he was still in college when I was already working in TCS.
While he took the finance route to the top, many of my peers who are still in TCS are stuck in middle management because they worked as engineers. This is a common theme. Although these companies make their money through IT services, those who do the actual IT services work are disposable. Indian IT companies are in the business of making money, and not in the business of technology innovation. Therefore, real power/control lies with folks in sales and finance. They are the real rainmakers of Indian IT companies. Once I understood that, I left TCS and joined a tiny company where I too have some power/control. Still there after 20 years.
Members from non-IT fields are saying that longer experience is an asset in their fields. Actually, it can be true in IT too, provided folks were careful in their choices. But, most of them weren't and aren't careful about it. People often talk about re-skilling, as if they can change their profile like a costume. In my opinion, the most valuable asset a professional has is their domain knowledge. When doctors/lawyers work for 20+ years, what they gain is domain knowledge. That is what makes those years so valuable. Similarly, if an IT professional builds domain knowledge about an industry, it is much more valuable to the company than a skill you pick up over a month from some certificate course. Technical skills are just tools in your mental toolbox. Knowing how to apply those tools to solve problems or build products/solutions for an industry, is domain knowledge. For example, to develop a banking/taxation software, the knowledge of banking/taxation is 10 times more important than knowing programming. Unfortunately most IT professionals keep hopping from one industry to another, without bothering to learn anything about the domain.
These days many IT folks are learning statistics/data-analytics/ML. But these are tools too. If you don't have domain knowledge, you will not know how to apply those tools to that domain.
Last year, a 17 year IT professional was seeking a job at my company. He was making insane amount of salary in Bangalore, but was willing to take a pay cut so that he can work in his native village. My biggest problem with him was that he didn't understand what domain knowledge meant. It went something like this:
Me: Looking at your CV, I don't see any domain knowledge relevant to enterprise telephony. Why are you applying here?
He: I have lots of experience in embedded programming, so I can pick telephony programming easily.
Me:I am not talking about programming. The domain knowledge in enterprise telephony takes many years to learn. All the fresh engineers take at least 3 years just to get a hang of it. And I expect much more than that from seniors, they have to be good enough to advice customers. It is not something you can pick up over a month via some training. You have to go through full life cycle, more than once.
He: Hmm...
Me: BTW, going through your CV, I couldn't really make out what domain knowledge you have. Can you shed some light on it?
He: <he listed out some 8-10 fields>...and agriculture...
Me: What?
It is not possible for someone to have domain knowledge in so many fields. At least, not in more than 2-3 fields. It appeared he was just naming various industries for which he had developed software. So I asked for clarification.
Me: You have domain knowledge in agriculture?
He: Yes. I have developed software for an equipment that measured soil moisture. It is used by farmers.
Me: So, are you an expert in farming?
He: Ugh... No.
Me: Listen, having domain knowledge means knowing the customers business better than they do. Most of the time, customers have clear business requirements, but have vague ideas on how to solve it. In those circumstances, because we would have implemented solutions numerous times in that domain, we can suggest/provide effective solutions and advice on the best practices.
He: Oh, that makes sense.
Me: Now can you tell me whether you have such domain knowledge in any industry?
He: <he gave some shaky answer, I don't remember it clearly>
He clearly had no definite domain knowledge. He had worked on various platforms using various programming languages. He just had a big toolbox. His long experience created high salary expectation, while providing no value in return. This is how long experience becomes a liability rather than an asset.