Hello. No. That is my nickname. My real name is Krupali. Actually, I decided to do Business Management because they offered Aviation as an optional subject. I wanted to become an Air Hostess or work for an Airline firm. And I did complete my course successfully. I also got several job offers from the Aviation industry. But when it was time to take up these offers, I realized that I would have to work at odd hours.
My father was not too happy with this idea. He said, “Why don’t you look for a regular 9 – 5 job? They are a safer bet for girls your age.” No, I wasn’t a rebel or anything like that. I asked my seniors who were working in the Aviation industry and they too said, “This job is not for straight forward people like us. We need to master the art of dealing with all kinds of passengers. And behind the glamour of it all, the odd work hours are quite stressful.” That made a lot of sense so I decided to try my luck in the IT sector.
It was actually quite amusing too. Maybe it was a stroke of luck. Who knows? But I did get a job offer from a good IT firm quite easily. I mean, here I was, a girl with no technical knowledge at all. And a firm was willing to hire me. I don’t know. Maybe the interviewers thought I had to potential to learn and adapt. And that was that. Initially, I was clueless about everything. Literally everything.
But I had an excellent team leader and head too. They were very patient with me and slowly I developed the skills that were necessary for my role. I mean, honestly, I just knew MS Office. And it was a pretty tough time too. All my colleagues were engineers and could understand what was being discussed and I had a blank look on my face.
But yes, I must admit it was a blessing in disguise. I learnt all that I had to learn while I was working with these people. It was at that time that I decided to get a Masters’ degree in International Business. I would work through the week and attend classes during the weekends.
That was another thing that made a lot of sense to me. You see, I was working for a firm which was dealing with international clients and dealing with things practically during the week. And I was learning the same concepts theoretically too in my classes. The whole thing came together amazingly so I knew how things functioned in the world of business.
No, the pay scale was low, quite low actually. But I was fine with that because I knew how much I was learning here. Yes, you are right. Money was not my prime priority. All this happened 10 years back and like now, with the Carona Virus lockdown, we had a big recession at that time too. So I only got my full salary in the first month. After that, we all had pay cuts of 25%. But I was happy that I had a job and stuck on with what I had in hand.
Yes, a lot of people were getting fired then too. Yes, reality can be quite sobering. Well, I worked in that firm for 4 years. But I decided to move on to another firm because they were dealing with newer technology. In the world of technology, things progress at a pretty fast pace and it is important for us to be in touch with the latest technology. Cloud computing is the in thing now and this firm was using it. It was not a very big firm. It had only 20 people. But obviously, the pay was much higher and I got the opportunity to work in the latest domain.
Yes, my resume was floating around on job portals. So I was not actually looking out for another bigger or better job. I just got a call from the folks that I am working for now one fine day. They offered me a better opportunity and I knew I would be learning something new here too. No, I’m not a job hopper. In the IT sector, people switch jobs every two years. I don’t do that. I’ve been working here for the past five years and I’m fine with that.
No, I don’t have to work for long hours here. My firm is located on the outskirts of the city. We all travel by the company buses. I have to take a bus to reach the pickup point too and do the same on my way home. It is a 45-minute commute and that can drain you completely. But we have fixed office hours so regardless of the work pressure that we are constantly under, we just have to leave the workspace at the stipulated time.
Yes, our firm does have a canteen. Most of the time they serve south Indian food but junk food is obviously available too. I eat my breakfast there. But I carry my dabba with me. I cook whatever I want to and can in 20 minutes flat at home before I leave home. No, my Ma does not mind it, really. That way, she too gets a chance to sleep in for some time. She starts cooking for Dad and herself after I leave. Yes, I am grateful that I return home to a homemade piping hot meal every day.
Yes, unlike other married women, I do not have to plan for each meal or manage the house, husband or kids. So, I am able to focus completely on my job. And believe me when I say this, by the time I reach home it is already 8.30 p.m. The traffic here is as bad as it is in Mumbai and I have no energy left to do anything else when I reach home.
But I do cook during the weekends and help my Ma with the household chores especially now that we are locked down. I do work from home and now we all have a 30% pay cut. The same thing is happening again. A lot of people have been fired in my firm too. So, I’m glad I still have a job. They will find it difficult to replace me. And that’s a fact. Not something to be proud about. I know the nuances of the firm and all my team members too. If they do hire another person to replace me, they will have to train that person first. And also pay that person a higher salary. Businesses have gone cold. So that way, they too have to hold on to people they can rely on in the future when life becomes normal.
Yes, I know other IT people have to put in extremely long hours at work. Oh? That’s nice to hear. I didn’t know that such IT firms in Pune provided such nutritious meals for free to their staff members. That’s not the case in our firm here, however. We have to pay for what we buy. But I’m glad that we have that facility. Sometimes, when we have no time to cook or feel hungry, we can always eat something in our canteen. I’m glad you liked listening to my story. I was equally happy to share it with you too.