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Read it on MSN today.
Life is beautiful outside the US as well!
Satya Gottumukkala, like many other software professionals was bitten by the "US bug" in the late Nineties. He shares his experience of working in the US and tells India Syndicate why he eventually decided to return and be a part of the booming IT industry in India.
Many of us dream of going abroad with a specific set of goals. In my case, being an Andhra-ite, there was enormous amount of peer pressure to go to US, the IT mecca. While attending a couple of interviews in 1996, I was looked at by the companies as one incompetent IT guy since my resume did not include a stint in the US. I was not keen on working in the US as life was cozy for me in India after ten years in the industry. With both, my brother and sister already in the US, it was also difficult for me to convince my parents about my going to US.
After attending some interviews and getting three offers, I finally decided to join Wipro in their Hyderabad office, as the other two opportunities happened to be in UK and Canada. But after landing in Wipro, I was asked to go to US as an account manager for one of their new accounts in Boston. I now had no option but to take it up. But I was clear that I would come back after not more than two years. I therefore decided to make the most of my stay in US by mingling with the local Americans and getting to know the market better.
Once in the US, life got even more comfortable. The highways, the ATM's, the clean roads, the ease with which things get done; all of it impressed me quite a bit. Like many other expats, my family and I were slowly but surely getting into what I call the US web. Got a car, traveled across US, saw some wonderful places and more importantly, my wife and daughter were getting to like the place. In the back of my mind, I knew that we were not even thinking of India anymore.
My account in US was growing at a mad pace and I now had a team of 150 people, both in India and Boston, working for this customer. Wipro was now talking about a green card and I was ready to take it as we now started to see some good green bucks in our bank accounts. All this changed suddenly with my boss quitting Wipro to start a company and asking me to join him as one of the co-founders. I was not convinced initially and neither was my wife. We discussed it at length and thought that we will disturb the apple cart as my responsibility in the new company would be to go to Bangalore to start an offshore delivery center.
The next day, driving on route 128 and seeing so many small companies on the way, I thought that I should take up the offer, as it would be very enriching for me professionally and personally. Moreover, we would also be able to get back before our daughter got used to the school in US. I started the discussion that evening with my wife, who, quite naturally, was against the idea. However, within a week, the decision to come back to India was taken. Though my wife wanted to stay back for some more years, I was able to convince her with the carrot of a full time maid, once back in India. With two children now, she was finding it difficult without domestic help.
The biggest worry seemed to be the schooling as we were returning in the middle of the academic year. We also decided to return back to US in case we were unable to adjust back in India. We therefore, sold off most of the furniture and other household items, but still had some items that we could not sell or wanted to keep. We packed these items in seven boxes and shifted them to a friend's place close by.
With the help of some friends, we managed to find a fully furnished apartment in Bangalore. Now, I had the responsibility of ensuring that everything went smoothly and that my family liked it. My daughter was five years old while my son was just two. The first major hurdle for us was getting an admission for my daughter in a school. We wanted her to get into a Montessori school but none of these schools were willing to take a new admission in the middle of the year. After a lot of effort, we managed to get her admitted in one school. The initial days were hectic, but we started to enjoy the great cosmopolitan nature of the city. Culturally, we had a shock as Bangalore was more like US and most of the people either spoke about Pizza Huts or burgers. The only trouble was that my daughter kept asking us to take her to Boston on the weekends!
Slowly but surely, we started liking Bangalore. At work, everything was same - same customers, same projects, same schedules and same pressure. Everything was same except that we worked when US was sleeping and vice versa. This did put some pressure on my working hours as I was now spending time after office hours to have US calls. For about six months, we were not sure whether this would be our final destination or whether we would go back to US. But things started looking good for us as we could visit our parents more often and we could even attend family get-togethers in Hyderabad. Everything looked good except that we missed driving on the US highways as well as the US compensation. My wife was enjoying all the help she was getting at home and and soon no one was even thinking about going back to US.
After five years in Bangalore, I have no regrets. We have the best of both the worlds - same IT projects and the comfort of living in the second Silicon Valley. But I still get this question from my wife "Honey, when will you get back the seven boxes we left in Boston". For which my answer would always be, "In my next trip".
Life is beautiful outside the US as well!
Satya Gottumukkala, like many other software professionals was bitten by the "US bug" in the late Nineties. He shares his experience of working in the US and tells India Syndicate why he eventually decided to return and be a part of the booming IT industry in India.
Many of us dream of going abroad with a specific set of goals. In my case, being an Andhra-ite, there was enormous amount of peer pressure to go to US, the IT mecca. While attending a couple of interviews in 1996, I was looked at by the companies as one incompetent IT guy since my resume did not include a stint in the US. I was not keen on working in the US as life was cozy for me in India after ten years in the industry. With both, my brother and sister already in the US, it was also difficult for me to convince my parents about my going to US.
After attending some interviews and getting three offers, I finally decided to join Wipro in their Hyderabad office, as the other two opportunities happened to be in UK and Canada. But after landing in Wipro, I was asked to go to US as an account manager for one of their new accounts in Boston. I now had no option but to take it up. But I was clear that I would come back after not more than two years. I therefore decided to make the most of my stay in US by mingling with the local Americans and getting to know the market better.
Once in the US, life got even more comfortable. The highways, the ATM's, the clean roads, the ease with which things get done; all of it impressed me quite a bit. Like many other expats, my family and I were slowly but surely getting into what I call the US web. Got a car, traveled across US, saw some wonderful places and more importantly, my wife and daughter were getting to like the place. In the back of my mind, I knew that we were not even thinking of India anymore.
My account in US was growing at a mad pace and I now had a team of 150 people, both in India and Boston, working for this customer. Wipro was now talking about a green card and I was ready to take it as we now started to see some good green bucks in our bank accounts. All this changed suddenly with my boss quitting Wipro to start a company and asking me to join him as one of the co-founders. I was not convinced initially and neither was my wife. We discussed it at length and thought that we will disturb the apple cart as my responsibility in the new company would be to go to Bangalore to start an offshore delivery center.
The next day, driving on route 128 and seeing so many small companies on the way, I thought that I should take up the offer, as it would be very enriching for me professionally and personally. Moreover, we would also be able to get back before our daughter got used to the school in US. I started the discussion that evening with my wife, who, quite naturally, was against the idea. However, within a week, the decision to come back to India was taken. Though my wife wanted to stay back for some more years, I was able to convince her with the carrot of a full time maid, once back in India. With two children now, she was finding it difficult without domestic help.
The biggest worry seemed to be the schooling as we were returning in the middle of the academic year. We also decided to return back to US in case we were unable to adjust back in India. We therefore, sold off most of the furniture and other household items, but still had some items that we could not sell or wanted to keep. We packed these items in seven boxes and shifted them to a friend's place close by.
With the help of some friends, we managed to find a fully furnished apartment in Bangalore. Now, I had the responsibility of ensuring that everything went smoothly and that my family liked it. My daughter was five years old while my son was just two. The first major hurdle for us was getting an admission for my daughter in a school. We wanted her to get into a Montessori school but none of these schools were willing to take a new admission in the middle of the year. After a lot of effort, we managed to get her admitted in one school. The initial days were hectic, but we started to enjoy the great cosmopolitan nature of the city. Culturally, we had a shock as Bangalore was more like US and most of the people either spoke about Pizza Huts or burgers. The only trouble was that my daughter kept asking us to take her to Boston on the weekends!
Slowly but surely, we started liking Bangalore. At work, everything was same - same customers, same projects, same schedules and same pressure. Everything was same except that we worked when US was sleeping and vice versa. This did put some pressure on my working hours as I was now spending time after office hours to have US calls. For about six months, we were not sure whether this would be our final destination or whether we would go back to US. But things started looking good for us as we could visit our parents more often and we could even attend family get-togethers in Hyderabad. Everything looked good except that we missed driving on the US highways as well as the US compensation. My wife was enjoying all the help she was getting at home and and soon no one was even thinking about going back to US.
After five years in Bangalore, I have no regrets. We have the best of both the worlds - same IT projects and the comfort of living in the second Silicon Valley. But I still get this question from my wife "Honey, when will you get back the seven boxes we left in Boston". For which my answer would always be, "In my next trip".
