While talking to a student of mine earlier about his prospective project opportunity at a reputed research facility, I was asked to recommend a few areas in which he could select his project. I ended up telling him to choose one which would get him a good job. Considering just how diverse the ECE course is, and with all the job opportunities allegedly available to an eager graduate, I figured this would be easy.
And then I realized the irony of the situation. Me, a college (assistant) professor, telling a youngster how to land a good job. I'm not sure if I should be quietly amused or indignant at myself, to be honest. It's not like I actively hate my job - I enjoy the core aspects of it. Being a teacher allows me certain freedoms - Relaxed working hours, no overtime, interacting with human beings on a daily basis, communicating ideas and concepts to (occasionally) eager minds, and on the rare occasion, involving myself in new projects. But, along with the positives, come the inevitable metaphorical hemorrhoids of the profession - Unnecessary and redundant paperwork, the clerical work which nobody ultimately bothers about, but apparently NEEDS to be done, the perpetual red tape and frustrations dealing with the academic bureaucracy, and the forcibly enforced target of "completing the syllabus" to ensure the students get good grades, at the expense of actually learning something.
Being a cynic at heart, I have always maintained that our education system is messy, archaic and needs a lot of change. Now that I've been involved with the system, and having seen it from the inside, I see just how rotten the core is. We emphasize so much on rote learning and examinations and grade-oriented studies, on fixed syllabi and University-wide standardized examinations, on theoretical courses with attached labs focusing on a predefined set of experiments to be dutifully performed, and eventually forgotten. We have stubbornly stuck to our heritage of Asian Education Model™, emphasizing discipline and memorizing, spoonfeeding and coddling our youngsters, so they excel in learning the facts needed for their jobs.
We are stuck in the old mindset of Job-oriented education - which would explain why most of our popular course choices are targeted towards the lucrative job markets - Engineering, Medicine, Business, Commerce or Arts and Design. Pick a course which would teach you something about the esoteric and the aesthetic beauty of the world, while not actually preparing you for a traditional job, and you would have your family, friends and neighbors pointing fingers at you and wondering where you went wayward.
Back to the point, I'm reminded of why I chose to be a teacher - Because it's convenient. I'll be honest and admit getting back into academia was not my first choice of a career. It still isn't. While I admire the people voluntarily choosing this profession, it was more of a fallback option for me.
What I really wanted to do was get into "industry", into a job which was "not software". A job which allowed me to engage in some kind of research and development, where I could exercise my creative mind and work on solving real world problems, and run my brain and get something useful done. I am easily bored, and I know I'd would be hating myself and the world (more than usual) if I ended up a desk jockey or a code monkey. That just isn't me. (The code monkey part, that is. I have the self-loathing part down pat).
So, when I returned home and looked at the job prospects, noticing the abundance (albeit slowly shrinking) of software-oriented jobs, I figured I'd give up and jump on top of the next okay-looking job I could find - And I ended up a faculty member in a new Engineering college back home.
Over the past three years at the same job, I've often considered jumping ship and looking for a new job - but I've always held myself back. Whatever the reason - be it fear, apprehension, lethargy or just plain apathy - I've hated myself for it - for lacking the self-respect to stand up for myself, for not listening to my logical brain which keeps telling me I'm better than this, or simply for not doing anything. Like I said, while I don't hate my job, it doesn't make me happy. It is one of those things which has turned into something of a necessity and a basic need for my daily existence, than something which provides joy. ( I suppose this is true of large number of people all over the world - So I can't really claim monopoly on work-related ennui).
I know I deserve better - And I know I CAN do better. I just need the more-often-than-occasional swift kick in the butt (or a kindly whisper in the ear from the angel on my shoulder), reminding me to respect myself and go out and achieve something I can be proud of, and happy about.
They say change starts from within. Ugh. Does it have to be this hard?
And then I realized the irony of the situation. Me, a college (assistant) professor, telling a youngster how to land a good job. I'm not sure if I should be quietly amused or indignant at myself, to be honest. It's not like I actively hate my job - I enjoy the core aspects of it. Being a teacher allows me certain freedoms - Relaxed working hours, no overtime, interacting with human beings on a daily basis, communicating ideas and concepts to (occasionally) eager minds, and on the rare occasion, involving myself in new projects. But, along with the positives, come the inevitable metaphorical hemorrhoids of the profession - Unnecessary and redundant paperwork, the clerical work which nobody ultimately bothers about, but apparently NEEDS to be done, the perpetual red tape and frustrations dealing with the academic bureaucracy, and the forcibly enforced target of "completing the syllabus" to ensure the students get good grades, at the expense of actually learning something.
Being a cynic at heart, I have always maintained that our education system is messy, archaic and needs a lot of change. Now that I've been involved with the system, and having seen it from the inside, I see just how rotten the core is. We emphasize so much on rote learning and examinations and grade-oriented studies, on fixed syllabi and University-wide standardized examinations, on theoretical courses with attached labs focusing on a predefined set of experiments to be dutifully performed, and eventually forgotten. We have stubbornly stuck to our heritage of Asian Education Model™, emphasizing discipline and memorizing, spoonfeeding and coddling our youngsters, so they excel in learning the facts needed for their jobs.
We are stuck in the old mindset of Job-oriented education - which would explain why most of our popular course choices are targeted towards the lucrative job markets - Engineering, Medicine, Business, Commerce or Arts and Design. Pick a course which would teach you something about the esoteric and the aesthetic beauty of the world, while not actually preparing you for a traditional job, and you would have your family, friends and neighbors pointing fingers at you and wondering where you went wayward.
Back to the point, I'm reminded of why I chose to be a teacher - Because it's convenient. I'll be honest and admit getting back into academia was not my first choice of a career. It still isn't. While I admire the people voluntarily choosing this profession, it was more of a fallback option for me.
What I really wanted to do was get into "industry", into a job which was "not software". A job which allowed me to engage in some kind of research and development, where I could exercise my creative mind and work on solving real world problems, and run my brain and get something useful done. I am easily bored, and I know I'd would be hating myself and the world (more than usual) if I ended up a desk jockey or a code monkey. That just isn't me. (The code monkey part, that is. I have the self-loathing part down pat).
So, when I returned home and looked at the job prospects, noticing the abundance (albeit slowly shrinking) of software-oriented jobs, I figured I'd give up and jump on top of the next okay-looking job I could find - And I ended up a faculty member in a new Engineering college back home.
Over the past three years at the same job, I've often considered jumping ship and looking for a new job - but I've always held myself back. Whatever the reason - be it fear, apprehension, lethargy or just plain apathy - I've hated myself for it - for lacking the self-respect to stand up for myself, for not listening to my logical brain which keeps telling me I'm better than this, or simply for not doing anything. Like I said, while I don't hate my job, it doesn't make me happy. It is one of those things which has turned into something of a necessity and a basic need for my daily existence, than something which provides joy. ( I suppose this is true of large number of people all over the world - So I can't really claim monopoly on work-related ennui).
I know I deserve better - And I know I CAN do better. I just need the more-often-than-occasional swift kick in the butt (or a kindly whisper in the ear from the angel on my shoulder), reminding me to respect myself and go out and achieve something I can be proud of, and happy about.
They say change starts from within. Ugh. Does it have to be this hard?
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