Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Do software engineers love their jobs?

Well, I think they don’t. I haven’t come across a single software engineer who is 'very' happy with his job. May be I know only these types of software engineers! If there is a sense of accomplishment by doing a job, maybe that would result in job satisfaction. My cousin sister is doing her post-graduation in Gynecology. Once she told me that the job is extremely hectic with work hours going up to 36 hrs at a stretch but still when she comes home at the end of the day, she feels very happy and satisfied. Maybe she saved some lives, brought some little ones to this earth. That looks exciting. But as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. If by chance, a doctor is not able to save a life, may not even be his fault, I can’t imagine what a dreadful feeling that would be. Thank God, I am not a doctor. It is too scary to deal with life and death.But I can’t bring myself to say "Thank God, I am a software engineer" either. It is a much safer profession compared to doctors. Study less, Earn faster. What more can I ask for? Looks like something is missing or maybe everything is missing. Every morning when I wake up, the first thing that comes to my mind, "What day is it today?" Oh no, it’s a Wednesday. 3 more office days before I get a break. Everyday I get up waiting for Saturday to come.
The kind of excitement that can be expected at a typical software job is :
a. Getting your code to work
b. Completing your job before expected/in a new (better) way than usual.
Oh yes, then there is the excitement of getting the salary revision letters. That is exactly what I come to office for. I like the independence money gives. It’s nice to have your own money and yet have your husband take care of most of the expenses.
Sometimes I think I should consider change of profession. But then, there is nothing I know other than sitting in an air-conditioned office and typing away at the keyboard. Sometimes, I think I experience a lot more stress than my colleagues do, in similar situations.Learning something new causes a lot of stress for me and this is what every software engineer has to continue doing all his life.
Have you ever wondered why are so many people living on this earth? Hey...I have started going on a different track but its ok, after all, it’s my blog. Some people have said that everyone comes to life with a purpose. Well, what's the population of this earth? And if we consider insects, fish and all living creatures, are there really so many purposes to live? I have no idea why I am living. Well, my husband will have a tough time if I am not living. If that's my purpose then why do I have to work, I mean go to office. If I don’t go to office, I will get bored at home. And of course, I won’t get money. I can always get it from my husband but it’s not the same. Hmm...Looks like money is the only reason I come to office. Then whether I like it or not, I have to come to work, and actually do some work with the hope that it might help somebody. And also with the hope that it doesn’t make life tougher for someone else ;)

Monday, February 5, 2007

Time flies or does it?!! To-do task lists

Sometimes I wonder why I don’t ever get time to do the things I have been intending or resolving to do from quite sometime. Does time fly? Sometimes I think it does, especially on weekends :). Before you know it, it is Sunday evening and you start getting Monday morning blues. But then if I think some more (something I rarely do), I think time doesn’t fly, I let it fly. Now today is Monday and I think the weekend got over a bit too fast but if you ask me what I did on the weekend, well, that’s a tricky question ;) Hmm.....coming to it...I am glad at least 2 tasks could be finally done. One was getting the gas connection transferred from my friend. Oh well…this task was not done completely coz we didn’t take the gas regulator with us. But still, a good start! Hopefully, next weekend will see the end of this task from the to-do list. The other was to get my husband buy some trousers for him. He wants to wait till all his trousers are torn or damaged to buy new ones. At least this task is off the to-do list. But alas, the to-do list keeps growing at a faster pace than our ability to finish it.
There are some tasks which require taking decisions. These are among the difficult to complete tasks and remain on to-do lists for ever. There are some other types of tasks which are among the front-runners for the oldest members on to-do lists like studying, tasks involving going to govt. offices :) Discussing about future plans is one another task that never really takes off leave alone reaching a conclusion.
Looks like the unfinished tasks are due to lack of willingness to complete them. Brings me to the saying "Donkey can be brought near water but can’t be forced to drink it". Am I calling myself a donkey? That’s ok but completely unacceptable if others call me a donkey.