The Ice-Breaker!

Here is my first speech at the Toastmasters club I joined recently. That speech mostly describes the person as I am, so the best place for the permanent writeup would be on my blogpage! So here it goes:



"I am the 'Geek' called Software Engineer!"


Hello Friends,

I would like to start my icebreaker speech with the inspiring words from the Chinese philosopher, Confucius: " Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life!"

Well Friends! I am a software engineer! I am a geek! Well I was fortunate enough to have a career in a field I thouroughly enjoyed. I started my career as an Embedded Systems Engineer about 6 years ago. For starters, Embedded systems are the computers designed to perform a few well-defined tasks, unlike the general purpose PCs. Examples vary from mp3 players like IPODs, microwaves, car dashboards to robots and aircraft control systems! We write the softwares that program these hardwares.

Coming back to my topic, I joined a small company called Aftek Ltd in central India in September 2001. I was yet to finish the last semester of my masters. That was soon after the Y2K bubble burst. The software industry was in a bad shape and the job markets were down. I was among the lucky few who could get through the few campus interviews that came our way. I was literally jumping with joy, excitement and pride when I got my appointment letter. I was to start as a trainee engineer with a meagre salary of 5000 Indian rupees per month, which was really peanuts. But still, I was lucky enough to get a job in an industry tormented with layoffs and pinkslips! I still remember the anxiety and excitement of my first day at work; the chill that went down my spine as I was introduced to the product I was to work on. It was a small portable ticket-issuing machine, with a tiny printer attached to it. I was awestruck when I read the source code that controlled the tiny device. It was so different from whatever i had learnt as a student! Real life experience as ALWAYS is SO different from the formal training! I was amature as a programmer.. how was I supposed to grasp all that knowledge? As time passed on, I not only learnt the nuances of the software but also understood the business aspect of my product. I could use the knowledge i learnt to help make my product a success in the local market. I eventually got absorbed in the company and got to work on many more exciting projects like an IR projection keyboard for handheld devices, bluetooth headsets for mobiles to name just a few. I really enjoyed all my projects and I can talk on and on for hours about them :)..

Ok, that was about the geek in me! Apart from this, there was also an important aspect of my career: the peopleware. That includes my colleagues, my clients & my bosses. I learnt a lot from all of them. What I learnt, could easily be another speech topic. I made some of my best friends at Aftek ltd. I still remember the time we used to spend sipping hot coffee while we took break from our glaring monitors! We used to call it coffee break. But it was more of chatting than coffee! I can still smell the hot and delicious snacks that our company served us every evening sharp at 5 pm. Ahaha! Good enough to stretch us for another 4-5 hours of hard work! Yes! We used to work from 10 am in morning to usually 9 at night, sometimes more than that. My family used to get really irritated bcoz of my irregular timings. They used to say "Why even bother coming home? Stay in your dear office forever!" But I never complained. My work gave me such a high, I didn't really need additional caffeine to keep me going! My company was my second home, and my team was my second family!

I spent 5 of my best years in Aftek ltd. But as they say all good things come to an end. November last year, i bid adieu to my exciting career and got married to my prince charming from Dallas! Life took a 360 degree turn as I started a new career as a simple homemaker. I completely enjoy doing that too, though I never imagined that from myself! :) .. As my luck would have it, I got the coveted work permit for this year meaning I can start the second innings of my career in a couple of months. Till then, I am making the best use of my time here with toastmasters. To conclude, I would quote Paul Clitheroe, a successful TV presenter and financial analyst. He said "For many people a job is more than an income - it's an important part of who we are." Yes, My job at Aftek gave me financial stability and freedom, a sense of satisfaction & achievement, the pride of having done something creative, and most important, my identity! I am sure something similar awaits me here, as I get ready to 'restart' my career as the Geek called Software engineer!