india

[shyface 19]

hello was wondering if any members here are or did work in india and how did they think about it, as i was thinking of moving jobs and looking for something closer to thailand, and is the money for working there any good what type of job are you doing or done there, looking for a little bit of help in this department on what kind of jobs are best suited in india and wage for the job you do. thanks

[glassdude007 7]

Im working offshore India now...

Its a shithole and you should stay well clear of this place....

I wish i could....

[mike_asia 1]

Im working offshore India now...

Its a shithole and you should stay well clear of this place....

I wish i could....

 

i agree it is a shithole, no reason to look for work there.

[jacko 8,866]

I did a couple of assignments in India, well seperated locales.

They were similar though in the fact both were shitholes.

 

India is an effort, and you would need a good vacation schedule...

 

Aye up, where there is shit there is money.

(people are Ok though)

[Saddic 31]

I saw this thread and have been struggling with how to answer (over an above the usual response level)... So here are my experiences, hope you find it informative: (enjoy)

 

All pretty much agrees with my experience...

 

I work for an Indian outsourcing company and have to make quarterly trips to the mothership...

 

How I got there was through pure luck??? But I do take side trips both on the inbound and outbound side of the trip to a little 'burg by the sea :)

 

Now to the part about working in India..

 

It never gets any better or easier... I've been doing the trip since the late '80's

 

The country is filthy. With over 50% of the county population living below the poverty level... standards for health, water, pollution, etc??? Don't bring your western ideals...

 

DO NOT drink water from unknown sources!!! under any circumstances. You WILL be sorry... for over a week! Maybe more..

 

The risk of contamination to food due to non-constant power is pretty high.

 

Traffic is a nightmare... It takes HOURS to get anywhere... My situation the office is located outside of a main population center... What would take me maybe 15 minutes in the west... takes about an hour...

 

Construction is done like most countries (from the 50's by hand... hardly any heavy construction equipment, so it takes FOREVER!!!) So any type of road construction project is likely to f*ck you up for years...

 

Power goes out constantly (although it has gotten better) since the late '80s (when I started going back and forth)... Most western connected business have alt-power (UPS at a minimum)..

 

Garbage is dumped into piles in the street... "civil services" like garbage collection happens... but FIRST, the low classes get their pick of the choice parts, then the lower than low.... then the animals (cows, horses, dogs, rats!!!, crows, etc)... What is left is blown around by the winds...(including whatever bacteria happened to be growing... which you eventually breath in with the dust...)... eventually, a truck comes by and gets shoveled up by the work crew...

 

Shanty towns are where ever there is space... this is where the lowly folks live... usually by the rivers where the human wastes can run off (to god knows where, but I assume that generations of this type of behavior has polluted the ground water something fierce... Eventually the surface water makes it's way to the Ganges river... (remember this when you see all those tourist and travel shows showing all the people bathing in the river...)

 

Most business folks making the trip get put up in one of the western (or near western) hotels... for about $300+/night... A total rip off, but there are only so many of these types of hotels, and demand is high...

 

Since I work for an Indian company, they put me in a Guest house (about $25/night).. It, I liken, to most of the youth hostels I visited during my backpacking days through Europe... (including no hot water)... I can tolerate it for about a week... (but after that, I need a Soapy to get clean)...

 

Working conditions are pretty much what you would imagine, open office space, with lots of folks crammed in... Equipment, chairs, desks are very worn, broken, old, or obsolete (by western standards), but pretty much "modern" by local standards... Getting new computer equipment is a paperwork nightmare (lots of government rules & regs to follow)... so nothing is quick (where as in the west (or even thailand) you'd just go over to the local IT center and buy the stuff)...

 

Strikes are another annoying occurance... they happen often... They happen for lots of reasons, mostly political... and with a multi-party gov... that means often...

 

What it means to you as a worker? You can't make it to the office, or your folks can't make it to the office... and/or public transportation won't be working that day... you are f*cked...

 

No problem you say... I'll just dial in and work from home...

 

I say, In your dreams... While internet is offered (in some of the more populated places)... the type, speed, & level of service is spotty at best... My folks can't get anything better than dial up speed 56k...

 

I am told that faster is available, but you will pay plenty for it... if it is available in your area... It is cost prohibited for most of the locals...

 

So bottom line:

 

Your mileage may vary...

 

It will depend on where you get located, and how much the company will pay for you...

 

So you wanna work in India!?!!?

 

My advice, get a job in a huge multi-national company and hunt around for projects that are being outsourced... then volunteer to be their bitch!!!

 

You will be up against all the other Indians in the company who see it as their stepping stone, or want to go home, etc... and you will be up against the HUGE workforce in India who are desperate to get a job to take them out of the country... The odds are not good unless you have tons of experience.

 

... but then again you might get shipped to rural China instead... but that's another post...

 

Good luck...

 

PS: Oh yeah, Full disclosure: I am not Indian, and am not based in India... As near as I can figure, I still have this job only because the client insists (otherwise I think the Indian company would have gotten rid of me long ago... In my company, I think I am the only non-Indian)... Read into that what you will...

Edited January 29, 2011 by Saddic

[pcdodger 2]

Been there a few times for vacations and travelled around quite a bit but never worked there. As others have said

it is, in the main, a shithole but a fascinating shithole.

Having said that, after Saddic`s post I cant imagine anyone would look forward to working there.

 

 

 

PS

Saddic, great post.