The Journey so Far

First Day First Show. 1st July, 2011. Jamshedpur

So here we are again. Six months into Tata Steel and I am out of probation period. So technically speaking, unless someone in the organization places charges of sexual harassment against me, I feel I can take my position for granted. :P

But things have been strange. And in the last few months, there have been phases of absolute elation to utter despondency. The former a rarer emotion now; I have been forced to ask myself copy-book questions from job-search portals. Questions like- 'Am I really doing what I really wanted to do? Is this the way I had hoped it would turn out'??- to note a few.

Just wondering if all this is super idiotic and that every graduate new into a job does go through some kind of turbulence.
 
But yes, the fact that these questions are rearing their heads at this juncture is something I hadn't anticipated at all. And I have at times wondered whether I made a mistake by not opting for the other company I was placed in.

Don't want to take anything away from Tata Steel though. It's a great organization and administered at all levels by engineers from reputed institutes. Engineers who, just like me, have joined at the Graduate level and have then gone on to make it big. It is a great place to start and learn, and people here emphasize enormously on training and grooming. Tell me an other organization which spends around 13-15 lacs per head on its GETs in the first year of training and does not expect a single paisa in return.

But I have other issues. Submerged Arc Furnaces don't evoke the same kind of passion as Blast Furnaces did. Joda is no match for Jamshedpur. And I hadn't really imagined that I would have to move into a completely different segment of Metallurgy.

So the improvisation.

MBA Entrance Examination sheets are being solved. Parties and happy hours are being skipped. Alcohol consumption has been cut down entirely. 'BC' with friends has been decreased to the least acceptable level.  Instances of money splurging in this month so far: 0.

The trend is pretty similar though.

When I was in my 11th & 12th, all I wanted to do was bunk classes at school and prepare for IIT-JEE. In my engineering days, co-curricular and cultural activities attracted me much more than hard core Metallurgy did. Blast Furnace was a rare exception. Here again, Quant and Verbal Ability seem to have won the fight for the numero uno spot on my priority list. Poor FeMn furnaces have an Asst. Manager to turn to.

When would I have that phase in life when I would solely enjoy my core activity and not look for other 'fringe' interests?

My eccentricities notwithstanding, I do love Tata Steel. I love it very much.