The Contrarian View
Jawwad wrote a post berating poor fresh grads (and their parents) for joining stable companies rather than boostrapping something on their own. He writes well, has sound logic, but I love flames too much to let this pass. There are two implicit questions here:
1) Why wouldn’t a smart fresh grad bootstrap something if he has a killer idea?
2) Why would he join an MNC, when he could work with Random-Software-House (Pvt.) Ltd? Look at my post on IBA.
So here goes my attempt at starting a flame which Jawwad will hopefully add lots and lots of fuel to.
Why would a kid join Cisco or IBM, when he could join Random-Software-House (Pvt) Ltd?
Because the reward is often not proportionate with the risk. There are two types of IT companies in Pakistan: Those doing cool work, and those doing insultingly mundane offshore development. Its a crime joining the latter. If you do, then you die and go to the purgatory.
For cool companies it is a difficult call. At most of these companies the starting salary is not comparable with what you get in Banks and MNCs, and there is no real upside of stock options or an imminent billion dollar IPO. If you perform well, then 5 years down the line, the differential in percentage terms is about the same. Without getting into the real numbers, my friends in Cisco and Oracle are getting significantly more than their peers in local companies. The second difference is exposure. My friends in IBM travel abroad every other quarter. Austria, Switzerland, US and Dubai being popular destinations. The lucky ones go to Monaco, Barcelona and Cape Town. In Pakistan, they meet their customers almost exclusively at the CxO level. I don’t know of many local companies that give 22 year olds this level of exposure and executive interaction.
Financially speaking, fifteen years down the line you will probably be better off working with a good MNC. May be they will also fund your MBA, and make you travel the world, with some foreign assignments here and there for good color. You don’t have to report to whimsical seths, and have a job that is relatively secure. The risk vs. reward doesn’t add up.
Jawwad care to comment.
-Adnan
ps1. There are exceptions on both sides.
ps2. Local companies CAN hire top notch talent. Read how.
Tags:
1. July 2007 at 07:01
[...] For those of you have just joined in, I blasted Adnan for wasting four years of his life at IBM and not following up on his dream earlier. Adnan came back with two questions and one answer basically asking why should a new kid not work at a multinational? Money, travel, prestige and CxO exposure are all better than what a local firm can offer or what he can offer to himself? Plus there is that whole issue about the whimsical Saiths (urdu for owners)…Why indeed? [...]
You are it.
7. July 2007 at 03:32
hehe..some interesting thoughts flowing around in these blogs, I’m tempted to join in.
It seems what both Adnan and Jawad have done is try to categorize people as black or white. Unfortunately, its not so simple. If your parents broke their backs trying to get you through school, its unlikely that you are going to take risks anytime soon, no matter how much you want to.
Secondly, choosing a company to work in isn’t like a basket of fruit out of which you pick one. With jobs far and apart, your lucky if you get multiple offers. Identifying a ‘cool’ company is not so clear either, I don’t recall hearing any company which was doing any innovative work in the few years I worked. The lack of awareness about the industry and what goes on in companies doesnt help either.
23. July 2007 at 10:47
[...] Technology | Entrepreneurship « The New Rules The Contrarian View » [...]
1. August 2007 at 04:45
spyware detect
Aww… I just found this blog too! Well best of luck with the projects.
1. August 2007 at 05:32
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Aww… I just found this blog too! Well best of luck with the projects.I’m thinking about doing the same thing very soon.
12. August 2007 at 08:04
all ps2 games
Really nice site you have here. I?ve been reading for a while but this post made me want to say 2 thumbs up. Keep up the great work.
9. January 2008 at 02:49
Well people, first and foremost, I can testify that local companies can indeed offer that CxO level exposure and similar travel options.
Look at me. I just joined here as an Editor six months ago, and now I’m going to be traveling to Lahore later this week for a very important meeting with some directors of an MNC. Additionally, I have been communicating consistently with CxO level executives ever since I’ve joined here.
If you are talking about growth, tell me something, if you join a company such as Cisco, what are the odds that they will put you smack dab in the front of a new, hush-hush mega project they are working on?
In a smaller company, you stand a much better chance to get into a more senior position in much lesser time. And if you have the skills, you can quite easily grow, not just yourself, but you can also grow your company.
Being in a large organization means stability. You will never have too much resting on your shoulders, but being in a smaller, local firm means that you will have ten times more responsibilities, and you will simply mean more to the company.
Personally, I’d rather work in a local company, gain experience, and then start off my own entrepreneurial setup.
Additionally, there are quite a few jobs out there, the only thing is, you need to be what these companies want. Additionally, having a good network of contacts helps a lot as well.
Infact, that is one of the best things us 20-somethings can do; establish a good network of contacts. Make sure you have some influential friends.
As Rehan Akbar says, it really isn’t that easy to find a decent job nowadays, but that is because we don’t put in any time in establishing a decent network. We indulge in a zillion paltry affairs, such as (but not limited to) partying, dating, having fun, but not in serious, well thought out networking.
Another issue with the market is that its too choosy nowadays. You stand a much higher chance of getting hired in smaller companies as they try to make do with what they have, whereas larger firms, MNCs, know what they want and get that.
As I said earlier, we just need to make sure that WE ARE WHAT THEY WANT!
Closing this up, I’d like to add that there are opportunities out there.. We just have to look for them, and keep ourselves dynamic enough to fit into those jobs..
Regards,
Kashif Malim
Editor in Chief,
CxO Media – IDG Pakistan
2. March 2009 at 21:20
is there an easier way to learn this stuff?
27. September 2009 at 05:11
[...] The past two years have been an interesting experience for me, and have given me the opporunity to refine my original thinking. So today, once day after my 27th birthday, this is what I have to say: Bilal, you have raised some good points. I wrote another post approaching the same issue from a different perspective. [...]
2. April 2010 at 06:45
[...] his life at IBM and not following up on his dream earlier. Adnan came back with two questions and one answer basically asking why should a new kid not work at a multinational? Money, travel, prestige and CxO [...]