Random Thoughts
Engineering Degree & Irrelevant Jobs
My computer has been working fine for quite a long time but unfortunately, in the recent past it has started a host of irritating interventions whenever I opened a web page. It was obviously because of the so-called viruses which would have infiltrated into my system. Every page started taking a long time to open and even if opens it had funny ads and highlights which are either sexual in nature or promotional stuff like insurance, medical coverage etc.
I requested, therefore, my friend, a computer engineer to send someone to format the entire system before it crashes and he sent a young boy to do the job. I don’t need too many things to be loaded except the Microsoft office and its auxiliaries. It took nearly two hours for him to do it and he came quite exhausted after a day’s work at 6pm and left around 8 pm. He also confided that his education and degree did not actually help him to know this practical work but he underwent some training later to work in the field.
Undoubtedly it was quite a work which needs brains and patience. I also understood from the boy that he needs to travel to a lot of places for such work. But, to my surprise he was given a salary of Rs. 6000 per month which approximately works out to Rs. 200 per day; that too almost on all days of travel work.
The other day I met two guys in Levi showroom where they have also studied some Fashion and Marketing Technology after graduation in engineering for two years cost of which was twice as much as the cost of 4 year graduation in engineering.
Today if you want to engage an electrician for a job of just one hour, the charges are around Rs.200. If a carpenter works for a couple of hours it costs not less than Rs.300. Our watchman who is an illiterate gets a salary of Rs. 4000 which demands not much labor but more of physical presence. I pay my house maid Rs. 5000 for two times cooking. But, here good workers are difficult to get.
I just do not understand this disparity in our country. Educated labor has become cheaper than skilled labor. We find every third boy and a girl is an engineer from a vague engineering institution. These engineers are of no use to any job honestly speaking. Most of the engineering graduates working in the IT industry are doing banking or monitoring work which has no relevance to what they studied.
Our misplaced priorities and vanity had brought the country to this level. No other country in the globe differentiates professions like Indians do. We differentiate and look down and up people by what work they do and not for what their actual strengths are.
Unless our attitude changes, we will have more of engineers working for very low salaries and in irrelevant fields and we will not only difficult to find a plumber, carpenter or hair stylist but also see them earning and enjoying better lives than these educated guys.
12-Jun-2013
More by :
G Swaminathan
Top | Random Thoughts
