The advise of the Nobody

So here is a story that everyone is super familiar with. I am going to take you through a nostalgic route.

High school, 12th standard, board exams are over, you are relaxing in your house, with a hot cup of tea, bajjis and TV. This is the only time after ages when your mom or dad have not told you to study and have not thrown dirty glances when you were watching TV.You are blissfully happy thinking about the next 3 months you are going to spend royally wasting your time and sitting on your bottom doing nothing.

Enter useless-full-of-uncalled-for-advice-mama.

“Enna pa, 12th mudichitiya? (So boy! you are done with your high school?)

You are suddenly awakened from your day dream by this huge person and you immediately sit properly in the couch and try hard to quickly swallow the big piece of pakora from your mouth meanwhile nodding so as to not make it seem like eternity until you give your answer.

“Ammam uncle”(Yes uncle) Still wondering who this guy is.

Your mom then comes in and exchanges pleasantries with him and tells you how she knows him, he is as expected an aunt’ husband’s brother’s uncle or something similar to that. Well basically you dont care.

Not only he is loud and disturbs your perfect evening watching TV,since he is around, you cannot watch your regular MTV, Channel V where there are always near naked women dancing. It just was not manners. So you are forced to switch to Sun TV or worse Sun news to watch a bunch load of crap. So successfully by entering your house, he has screwed your mood.

Then he goes on to your studies. He wants to know all about your scores, right from 12th board results to TNPCEE , to what college you want to what course you want.

So you triumphantly mutter that you want Computer science. You then look at his face and see that every muscle of his face slowly changing to finally end up in a cringing look which is as scary as Vijayakanth smiling. So obviously you are scared and wondered if you said something blasphemous or if you accidentally changed to MTV.

“Enna pa, Why do you want to do CSE, the market is down no” he says.

You blink your eyes as obviously you are not quite clear as to what market he is talking about. What do vegetables and computer science has to do with each other . Immediately your mind wanders towards the potato your mom promised to make today only to come back to the crazy old man talking again.

“THe computer industry is down my lad. You wont be able to find any jobs. Dont take CSE or IT” rambles our all-knowing nobody.

“But I have always wanted to do CSE and I like programming and everything” you say in a weak feeble attempt to try and speak back to an elder. Now we all know how blasphemous that is.

Your mom then throws you a ‘listen to elders’ look.After 16 years of being in a Tam-Brahm house, you should almost expect this look. You get that look 10 times a day if not more.

“You should do ECE pa. That is the course that has more scope today. See if you do an ECE you can get an IT job and also do masters in America if you want . With ECE you have cross functional advantages pa. Don’t do just because you like it, you should also think about what will get you job no” our well equipped nobody gives free advice, the only thing that comes free really.

So here comes someone, completely ruins your evening, eats the remaining pakoras your mom made for you and confuses you on your future life ,altering plans!Now he has made you think! THe one thing you did not look forward to do the whole of your summer.

I have heard this take ECE, you have cross functional advantage, you can do anything you want mambo jumbo too many times when I told people I wanted to do computers. I am taking nothing away from ECe guys, if it excites you , that is what you should do and not even think twice. ECE was never my cup of tea so i decided to not heed to the nobody’s advice and went my own way.

Considering its the time of counseling, let me just ask all these nobody’s who throw away free advice to everyone who seems to have an ear attached to them.”How many ECE guys get to work on electrical companies? 1 or 2 in a college.Everyone gets absorbed in to TCS, Infosys or one of the other mass recruiting IT giant. So is the work that they do there electrical or electronics. Nope. I am sorry , you code!

In that case why not learn coding! If you go to do masters, that is an entirely different ball game, because you are obviously interested in studying more of the subject.

So please dont buy the whole BS about doing ECE because the industry is down. Even if you do ECE and industry is down, you wont get hired as you will get placed in an IT giant in India!

And btw I really hope people who still profess allegiance to the dont do CS as market is down try and explain to me who is having the last laugh ! Cause I sure did.

PS. Nothing aginst ECE or EEE , I have a bunch of friends who love those subjects and who are rockstars in it. The post was only for those who were forced in to taking ECE when thier heart was some where else.