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October, 2001 VIEW PORT |
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Master
File CHANNELS Politics
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Of Nephews And New Economy By M.G. Subramanian A few days ago, a lovable, if distant, nephew walked into my drawing room with his parents in tow. Given the season, a combined reading of the three faces could easily forecast the subject of our imminent conversation. That morning he had learnt of his rank in a competitive examination (name withheld on request) and he wasn't sure if he would get a seat in communications or electronics. What if he could only get computer science? Was much of a future left for it? And, by the way, are those slips really pink? This lad certainly left me groping for words. If I were a specialist IT industry analyst prophesying for a faceless public I could easily have rehashed a safe quote from any one of tens of beleaguered US IT CEOs who are beginning to sound more like each other than the visionaries that they were once written up to be. But you don't do that with nephews. Uncles have accountabilities that analysts don't! Too much of an 'overcorrection' By now I have heard enough anecdotal evidence about young persons getting nervous about IT careers and colleges changing their admissions mix. I have an honest fear that our nephews are getting too market-savvy for their own good. And some of us uncles or cousins are getting too scared ourselves to do anything about it. If the wholesale migration to an IT-weighted choice in careers was an unsustainable and decidedly harmful aberration, this reverse swing of the pendulum too can prove too much of an "overcorrection". As long as we continue to under-perform in the infrastructure sector with well-meaning incompetence, IT is the only good press we can hold on to, give or take an off-patent molecule or a deciphered gene. Holding on to that requires some concerted thinking before the next examination season begins and the next round of campus interviews. Let us face it, whatever else built great companies, economies or nations, knee-jerk reactions certainly didn't. Striking a balance It is well to remember that it will take a longish while to teach computers to think by themselves, leave alone write software. It follows that the news doing the rounds about the death of the high-tech career opportunity is greatly exaggerated. So here is a recipe for earning respectable unclehood in these troubled times: The world will need IT professionals in the tens of thousands for a very long time to come. It is good to have lots of young people re-recognise other branches of engineering. That will make us build our roads as well as we build software. But you don't need to encourage a mad rush in the reverse direction as if pursued by Godzilla. If you are in a position to influence technology education policies in your state or community make sure that every branch of learning gets enough of a foundation in IT and its tools. That way we will have enough to reinitiate the momentum of 60-odd per cent growth when IT becomes fashionable again. If you're an influential industry spokesperson make sure that the Government does really understand that. We can't make great software until we make passably good hardware too. Total self-reliance may be a questionable economic practice but a balance in competencies is not. Great organisations are built-to-last on foundations that have to do with being human and humane. Make sure that your organisation is only shedding fat and not foundation. If you can get away with it do hire one more or fire one less. Remember, love is your nephew never having to say, "Uncle/auntie, you never told me so!" The author is Vice-president, Strategic Resources Development, Tejas Networks |
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