The number of software engineers are increasing at an exponential rate and IT professionals have estimated they would need another 8 to 10 lakh engineers, in the next 3 to 5 years, to maintain their cutting edge faced with competition from China and Viet Nam. Their salaries , starting from a modest 10k to 15k, have shot up through the skies to some where in the stratosphere at around Rs. 50k to 1 lakh per month. Most of them are not engineers, but a basic degree holders with a stint at NIIT / APTECH similar institutes. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, as it is strictly following the Demand- supply pattern.
As against this, the conventional ‘ nut-bolt’ Mechanical Engineers, ‘Brick-Mortar’ civil Engineers and LED-LCD Electrical/Electronic engineers along with their Physics, chemistry PhD ‘cousins’ will be lucky to get 15 to 20 k when they start their careers! It is not uncommon in many households, an elder brother with a PhD teaching in a college getting much less than his kid sister working in a call center, BPO. A friend of mine, who retired from a reputed company recently, told that his last salary drawn was less than the starting salary of his son just out of college with an MBA!
While these anomalies abound, there are serious problems that lurk in the corner which are socioeconomic in nature and which could affect society in the long run:
While nobody grudges the high salary levels, the disparity have already started affecting enrollment for basic sciences such as physics, Chemistry, biology etc. There are no takers for science courses and this trend is alarmingly low for Masters’ and PhD levels. A recent study showed that China has overtaken India, in terms of papers published in reputed magazines like Nature, Science etc. Mr. Chidambaram, the Principal Advisor to the GOI on Science and Technolgy recently accepted this as a problem, when he was in Mysore, though he made a half- hearted claim that a majority of students do no go after career or money. Well known scientists like, C.N.R. Rao and Narlikar have felt that unless Government does something to attract and retain scientific talent, the country would go to point of no return in the area of basic science. This could seriously jeopardize country’s technical edge and defense preparedness in the long run.
The phenomenal earning power the young software engineers could itself lead to severe psychological problems in the long run. Generally, people graduate from a cycle, a scooter, a second car to a flat or house as their career progresses! These days, Car dealers give a loan based on the salary certificate and in a few days time a Honda, a Ford is parked in front of the bachelor pad of the young software engineer. While IPODS, up market mobiles , plasma TV, Bose music systems form part of the makeup of the S/W engineer, one wonders whether it is following the pattern of late 90s’ in USA when young investment Bankers became millionaires in their late twenties ,only to jump off high rise buildings, as they couldn’t take their tremendous fortunes or the meltdowns when it occurred in their stride. Not all companies have the ‘strict Middle Class’ culture like the founders of Infosys, which could absorb shocks and prevent future shocks. Psychologists already are worried about the number of suicides, the result of abnormal hours of BPO offices etc.
These are problems for which solutions are not easily available. Probably, it will get sorted out by and by. But it’s worthwhile to see and anticipate the future shocks.
Very surprising that this important topic is crying for comments and yet remains cold for days.
The software boom ( I should add the outsourcing boom) produces the IT fever which relentlessly strenthens and spreads because it provides a short cut to the road to the unpralleled materialistic world, the like of which was never seen in the annals of Indian socioeconomic history. A software factory does not demand the kind of knowledge and experience from its workers that for example a chemical laboratory demands.
The main victim of the fall out is the education sector itself. The liberal arts and sciences are sqeezed by the students exodus to courses that focus on IT. The students' experience narrows down, the holistic personal development becomes diluted and materialism takes over. I have seen the so called software engineers in the code factories developing codes a chore that western countries find it expensive. The salaries they earn puts them in a league in India akin to soccer players in Europe. Indeed in a country where soccer is not played, they are the soccer players with all the maladies that accompany.
Just about 50 years ago, there was satisfactory work-life balance. The growing generation had ideals and had a stable social framework to look upto. These are dismantled quickly by this boom and a void has replaced this. As this situation progresses, at sometime in the future when materialism has been fully experienced, the void needs filling instantly. This is where the cult worship takes over. India will be like the West now in a decade or so. We see people in the West including lots of NRIs are queuing to get a 'darsan'', 'ahug' etc.. from the visiting 'spiritual leader. The people from the lands of Goethe,Kant ' Lincoln and King long for just for 'a hug' !
