30 years ago during this month I started my first job of a Assistant to Engineer, I was paid Rs 2000 a month & had the job as Assistant, I would visit shops in Pune & remove faulty cctv cameras. I was given a 2 wheeler & on a normal day I left home at 8am, drove 150 kms in a day & reached home back by 9pm.
I was given an extra Rs 50 as driving allowance for the month. My helmet did not have a screen guard so by the time I reached home my face was all black because of the pollution & no one could recognise me
I had little money in my pocket so I lived in a 6*8 feet room sharing it with 2 friends in a small village on the outskirts of Pune. There was hardly any electricity & water where I lived I had big dreams but my first day at work I realised probably I may never achieve any of them. The harder I tried the more I failed. The next 5 years I struggled hard but nothing worked. I would save money & invest in doing courses.
Someone told me to learn MSOFFICE & LOTUS123 & I will find a better job. I did it but could not find a job.
The someone told me to learn AS400 & you will get a better job. It was very expensive so I took a few years to save money (by doing home tuitions) learnt AS400 but could not find a job. I had no guidance and probably I was doing all the wrong things.
Then someone told me to learn ASP.NET, I did that & finally landed the job of a trainer in a small institute. They offered me Rs 10,000 a month. I had never earned this money before. I was very happy.
After a long struggle I found a job as a software tester. But the salary was Rs 6500 a month. I decided to take a paycut. It was a lot of money to give up. But I went ahead & did it. The best decision probably I ever made.
When I told my friends they laughed & said you are earning the lowest salary. Only I knew what I had achieved I was very happy.
I kept working hard & studying along with my job. I remember leaving office at 6pm everyday attending my online management classes & then coming back to work at 9pm and working till 12 midnight. I was working 7 days a week then.
It took the next 2 years to land a better job. By this time I was earning 25,000 a month.
The journey from there was tough but nothing compared to what I went through. Even after all these years I still remember my first job better than I remember others. What about you?
