Losing Job due to Recession, Embracing change
Although my company has not yet announced "loadshedding", the rumour is that it's inevitable. Like my colleagues in IT, I am in total panic. Perhaps I shouldn't have chosen finance at all. Should I look at marketing? Please advice.
Kishori
You know, there's a classic stock market aphorism: Invest when there's blood on the street. Sound advice, except when it's your blood on the street.
The popular debate is not how much the economy would dip, but where the bottom would be, and whether at all it would bounce back. Of course it will, says the incurable optimist in me (but this is not about what I 'feel').
The question is When? And does that mean that until that happens we stop planning for our careers?
Instead, if we stick to the classic concepts of career selection and career retooling - choosing the field we love, and preparing for a long-term stint in that career, chances are we won't come to grief.
So instead of moping and lending ear to all the doomsayers gathered around the water cooler (or office corridor), take stock of your current situation, review your skill-sets and experience. Better still, get a proven expert to review it for you.
Use the slack period to acquire new skills, spruce up your bio, network with people in your industry as well as in others that interest you. Look at related upcoming fields that you idly toyed with all these years. In short, put your head down and think and act innovatively. Follow my favourite maxim: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
No stream or profession is “recession-proof.” Every industry has its cycles — its ups and downs.When the earth shakes, all trees shake - some more some less.
At this point, your industry may be in a down cycle. Which means you may have to settle for a lower raise / payscale than your counterparts in some other fields.
And remember, you didn't plan this. It happens. These are cyclical events that happen from time to time - globally (although this is one hell of a whopper). Just concentrate on doing your job the best you can, volunteer to take on extra tasks - in short, make yourself indispensable.
Also consider investing in a short-term course - that finance or marketing module, you always wanted to pursue or that language which would give you a leg-up (computer or foreign). Catch up on your fitness regime. Learn Yoga, Tai Chi, Karate, Salsa, Bhangda, whatever.
Among others, you'll have the advantage of keeping abreast of new developments in your field. And when this downturn lifts, you'll be all shining and ready to grab the new opportunities that open up and reap the harvest and perhaps even command a huge premium. Keep learning and growing and the rewards will come - as sure as day follows night.
Historically, our economy has shown tremendous resilience whenever it's been down for the count. There's no denying that the global turmoil has had its impact here, but since the global services sector relies so significantly on Indian talent, experts feel that if the slowdown is a short one, it could even fuel business for Indian firms as US companies look to cut costs. Perhaps this will also catalyze Indian outsourcing firms, predominantly dependant on the US market, to diversify. So, let's keep our fingers crossed. The psychological impact aside, domestic IT growth may not suffer overly.
The question is, do you have the self-confidence and conviction to weather the storm?
Career in multimedia and animation
I could not get into a good computer engineering course because I am not very good in studies. What is the scope of multimedia and animation? Could you please tell me something about these fields? I am fairly creative.
Mandeep Singh
So what if you couldn't crack the engineering entrances, your creativity can take you places.
Multimedia covers a number of areas like animation, web design and CD authoring. Students who are not so comfortable with the English language can do the web designing and multimedia course easily. For hardcore programming jobs, companies prefer those with BTech or MCA degree but for multimedia and web designing jobs, these degrees are not so important. Any student who has completed a multimedia course and has a thorough knowledge can easily get a job.
Besides this, you can also start your own DTP, multimedia or web designing business with a small investment. Several private and some government institutions offer courses in web-page designing and multimedia. But all these courses must be weighed for their worthiness with a pinch (if not a handful) of salt.
Make sure you select one that focuses on the fundamentals of web-page designing and production processes besides relevant languages like HTML, XTML, java, etc.
A good 6-12 month course should familiarise you with getting onto the net and working with these languages, using the various multimedia software used for animation, moving images, colouring text, etc which go on to make a web page.
After that, the next step is to team up with a websitedesigner or developer to get the necessary hands-on exposure. You could even work as an assistant to a web-master initially. Also, it makes a lot of sense to invest in your own computer. This work requires a lot of practice and self-learning.
While reading and practice will sharpen your skills, finally it's your talent and speed that will take you places.
According to Nasscom, animation and gaming are set to register a CAGR of 35% and 78% respectively to reach $950 million and $300 million by 2009. Large companies like Sony Entertainment are looking at India as a market as well as a resource base for technology partnerships. By the 2009-end there will be a need for more than 30,000 animation professionals - give or take some thanks to the slowdown.
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