Whatever Happens, Happens For The Good

Let me start off with a brief introduction about myself. By profession I'm a Software Test engineer and by qualification I have done by B.E in Biotechnology. As you can all see there's no logical link between what I have studied and what I am doing and I know there are many others who are like me in this respect. Many a times I think what the fuss is all about when we are deciding the stream that we are going to specialize in when we are ultimately going to do something unrelated.

I remember very well how hell bent I was about doing Engineering when I was done with my 12th but I couldn't figure out which stream I would fit in. In 2002 the IT industry was not doing too well so Computer Science was ruled out, Mechanical and Civil were meant for guys and not for girls was my opinion. So Electronics was the best suited option for me at that point of time. When I went for my CET counseling, I realized that there were many likeminded people like me because Electronics was 'THE' subject and it was selling like hot cakes. With great difficulty I managed to get a seat in a fairly good college during the first round and I was very happy even though somewhere in the corner of my mind there was always a doubt lingering in my mind if I could really excel in it.

The second round of admissions was something that everyone was looking out for. Some wanted to get into a better college, some wanted to change their course and some wanted to change both the course and the college. This was when the much hyped and talked about subject, Biotechnology came into picture. They were introducing this for the very first time in Karnataka and when I heard about it, I knew that BT and I were meant to be. I always liked life sciences and to actually do Engineering in a subject that dealt with it was like a dream come true. My parents were very supportive of this fact and I decided to go for it with dreams of getting into glamorous jobs like forensics where people are actually unraveling crimes through the help of DNA or genetics etc.

I finally managed to do my Engineering in Biotechnology and because of my interest in the subject I got good results as well. I am pretty sure I would have had numerous back logs if I was in Electronics. It was not very long before everyone realized that the hype surrounding the subject was just hype and all the big proposals of setting up a BT park and millions of jobs being created remained a dream. The course no doubt was one of the most interesting things to learn about but the job scene was not quite impressive at that time. During the 6th Semester, everyone's focus was more towards getting a job, not many people really cared if the job they were getting had anything to do with what they had been studying for the past couple of years. Everyone wanted a job that would pay them well.

Many of the companies were really apprehensive about the role of BT engineers in their software company and didn’t want us attending the interview. That’s when the frustration set in. It’s a strange feeling when you see people around you getting job offers while you are just sitting around and gaping at them. At that time it doesn't matter if you were better than that guy academically. Many people had plans of higher studies but even they wanted a job because getting a job was like a confidence booster. I would get irritated when I would see people having more than one job offer attending yet another interview. When everyone had almost attended 30-40 placement interviews, I had attended only 3 interviews because there were no BT companies who came for interviews at that time. When I had almost given up hopes of getting a job, Cerner happened to me. I really wanted to get in here because it is a Healthcare IT company, they were paying well and they were also keen on having Biotech students along with others.

Today it’s been nearly 3.5 years since I got recruited into Cerner as a Software Test Engineer and I have no complaints about not getting into a hard core Biotech job. It was because of my interest in Biotechnology that I managed to get good grades in engineering which in turn helped me get a good job. Your happiness and unhappiness all depends on how you look at life. Trust me when I say whatever happens, happens for the good.