Snehasikta Chandra

From  the beginning of my engineering, I was dreaming about different job profiles but never ever have I imagined myself in front of a computer, sitting in a cubicle, debugging code. Finally like most of the engineers, I got placed in a top-class MNC and my joining was on 30th June’18 in Chennai which is 2000 kilometers away from my home. Coming from a middle class family, I had no other option but to explore the opportunity I was getting. I finally boarded my flight for the first time on 28 June’18 and reached Chennai with lots of hopes , dreams, fear and mixed emotions as I was leaving my home and parents for the first time. Finally I entered the beautiful Cognizant campus in Sholinganallur , Chennai as an employee and found myself surrounded with South Indian people in the induction hall and south Indian food in the cafeteria. I felt like running back to my hometown.

But on 3^rd of July , a magic happened. I was assigned in a training batch of 15 people. Initially I was sitting alone as my English was poor and I was very introvert and suddenly I get to hear ‘hi’ from the girl sitting beside me. That’s the point of change in my life. I started talking with my ‘tuta futa’ English which everyone liked. Then onwards I made wonderful friends from whom I learnt Tamil and Telugu, made friends from multiple states, enjoyed the tea breaks, exchanged cultures, tried south Indian food, enjoyed beaches in weekends and a lot more.

Yes, I didn’t know some technologies but my friends taught me those . These IT buddies taught me how to eat with a spoon and fork, how to use Ola and Uber. Yes, I cried on the first day in Chennai as I neither knew local language nor familiar with the computer language, neither familiar with the metropolitan culture. But I cried on the last day in Chennai as well because by the time I felt the heart of Cognizant, the heart of Chennai. From 28^th October 2018, the new phase of my life started, as I got my project in Pune. All training friends remained in Chennai and I was alone in Pune.  When I landed in Pune I was a naive girl and now this place has made me a woman who has got stronger than who I was earlier.

In my school/college days , even to fill water in the bottle, I used to take a friend with me, I couldn’t go alone..That ‘me’ has started solo exploring the beautiful city , Pune. For the first time I went alone to multiplex, restaurants, street markets, tourist places and I really enjoyed solo exploring with google map.

IT world made me financially independent , Chennai gave the taste of hostel life , and Pune helped me to become a woman of 21^st century.

Once I used to copy others to stay with them, Pune gave me the vent to become myself  , I live my life as a wish and people around me accepted me for who I am .I had a pre conception that IT life is hectic , we wouldn’t have work-life balance. Now I am grateful to this industry and I also welcome others to join here- besides official work and salary, working in IT industry has given me a lifestyle, a scope to explore different cultures, a scope to change my personality and mindset and a lot more.

Let’s grab the opportunity that’s coming in our way – because –  once Nelson Mandella said –

“I never lose, I either win or learn”

Total Work Experience : 2 Years (Cognizant)