Friday, June 5, 2009

I dont know about my job contract!!!

Today few of my friends got contract extention while other, they did not get the extention at work. Few have already left and others getting ready to leave. The job market in USA is not good for now(06/05/2009). When there is requirement USCIS dont care where and what the consultant was and they approve H1 but since the market is very bad, they are not approving any H1bs and extension. They ask so many ridiculous things. They want the end client letter with so and so data. End Client is not interested in giving all these details. People here( Citizen) have no idea about this Visa processing and all that. As far as they are concerned, if its not you then another.
You have to see the faces of my friends(I am also in the same boat). They are all smiles outside but yelling and crying inside. I dont know how I can help.

Here in America, if your contract extends for another 3 months, we are like "Oh thank God, for another 3 months we dont have to worry". Then after 2 months we again start. Esp since the market is so bad we are more concerned else there would not have been this much of problem. I dont know if we need to worry like this in our motherland. Here we need Visa then extn then green card,oh one other thing JOB!. If we have not moved on this way, we will have to look for a job in our country. 2nd largest population, everyone an engineer, its not that easy to get a decent job. Here in America, if you get a job in McDonald's you can atleast pay your rent.

This place is really nice but only thing is everything needs to fall in place. Else we can end up crazy.
Some of my friends have their H1 rejected. Others are on bench for the past 8 months.
My baby is sleeping next to me. Looking at her face, sometimes I cry. I want to do good for her. I want to climb that ladder of success. I have her on my shoulder. She gives me all the more strength to move on.
I dont know if you are going to laugh at me for saying this, I believe a lot in God, I dont know much about religion but I personally have experienced His blessing. I am sure you must have to. So hope for a better tomorrow and keep yourself in prayer. This should help us all.
One more thing, Prayer alone will not help but your thoughts, deeds and also hardwork should be a good recipe to a good life.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

For a newbie - first day at work

Hi Friend,
Today I want to talk about what an office is like and what you should know and be prepared with before entering the office.
You get through an interview. Now you have to enter the office.

First day of work
The manager or whoever it is will come to greet you. Know that the first impression is the best impression. Please dress formal, when I say formal I am not saying you have to over dress yourself. At office you have to be presentable always. You dont have to be nervous, they are only humans and you are there to help your life,just like them. They will introduce you to all your team members. Also you will be shown around the office - cafeteria, the stationery etc., You will be given your id card.

Your desk
Ask for help desk phone.
You will be at a desk. Power on the system and look if your system is set for you. Ask for your id if you did not receive them. They will give you your temporary password. You can change it. Access your mail. Find out if its set for you. Look through the mails that have come for you. Remember, these mails are generally welcome mails. I had start to work on the first day itself. But they will give you time to understand the work system.

Never go to work thinking - If not this then I will look for another. You go to work to conquer it and prove yourself to you. You must set your standards higher than what others set for you.

Password - each system and organization has a set of rule when setting password. Mostly they be alphanumeric.

So now you have your id, mail set, check if you have your IM set (internal chat within the office). Call help desk to get the access.

Go through the office web to know more about the Company.

Now you are alone. So take a deep breath and take a walk. Go to the stationery, get your fax number, printer names (server\name) etc.

Sometimes your system may not be set to your printer. So map the printer and fax to your system. (Control panel-->printer-->add printer)

Always remember you are not lesser than anyone else. Also please be humble. I hate people who are haughty and people who think they are everything and everyone else should go behind them.

Some people they come extra formal the first day and then the next day in rags. This throws a bad impression on you.
Please be clean or at least wear a deodorant. Many of us Indians smell food (masala). America is not India where you have fresh air going in and coming. We live in apts where there is no proper ventilation. The food is filled in spice and our dress esp jacket has the strong masala smell.
Please use the office phone wisely. If you want to talk to friends about the rain in utopia, use your lunch time to do so. You are at work and they are paying you for your work. Use office stationeries wisely. Don't misuse them.
Always use please and thank you with everyone you are around with. At work avoid personal relationship. Remember this is a professional area and everyone wants to be at the top and they will do anything to get there. So be cautious. People who are not efficient will target you for your weakness. Always maintain a hi and bye relation.

Work
You must know your work or must be willing to put the effort to learn it. You should ask questions to understand the business. Remember you are to work along with people who must have been working with the business for ages. When someone is explaining to you something and you don't get it don't hesitate to ask. Before you start to work you should know what you are doing. Remember, no one is born with all the knowledge. One learns it over the years.
Caution : If you are here for the fun then please go back and give way to someone who really want it.

All the best on your career. Grasp as much knowledge as you can at your work.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Software testing

Software Testing – The profession I chose.

If you type in software testing and Google, you will come across different materials giving a wide spectrum of details related to this topic. One must have a good knowledge about the terms and definition of things related to testing before entering in quality testing. For computer science students, testing is very easy.

But what one should know is software testing is a career that is very easy but if you are not interested in this, this can easily become monotonous and annoying to oneself, and also because of the false tag attached to the field. When you say “I am a tester” the response is often “Oh”. It’s because even a middle school student can do test analysis. It’s that simple.

A person wanting to get into this career must know one thing. TEST ANALYST IS BORN WITH THIS SKILL. It is a gift. This involves critiquing developers or architects work.

There is a lot of work involved in this.

You should know what you are doing i.e. you should know the Business – if you are testing a piece of work, then you should have a good knowledge on what that piece stands on.

When you say there is an issue. You should be able to substantiate your findings with solid proof. Nobody likes being criticized. You should always consider your developer a friend and not a foe. You are there to enhance the work and not to put the developer down. But that does not mean that he is going to consider your criticisms as something that would help develop his code a better one. He is going to defend his stand tooth and nail. This is where your knowledge on Business would come in handy.

No one should expect a test analyst to be an expert at the code. But you should have a good knowledge on the language you are working on. Or at least you should know the logic. This would let you understand better what the developer is talking about. Or incase you see the code you will understand what that code is written for.

You should have some knowledge on the system and the platform you are using.

You must have a keen eye. When you are writing a test case or executing one you should know why you are doing it. I have come across people who say “that s what my test case says so that why I am doing that” or “that s external to my test case so I don’t have to bother about it”. These people are here only for the job and they have no interest in the career. Such people are dangerous for this field.

A good architect, developer, tester plus requirement together can create wonders. Unfortunately, they are very difficult to find. Especially that’s true for testers.
There is a lot of fuss on Automation. Automation is good for regression testing but that also not so much. It’s good to know about automation but that s not the main criteria for testing. This is to help the tester to rerun the function.

Take testing as this. A Singer. Every one of us can sing but to be a singer you need to be born with the ability to sing. You should have a sense of Taal and Sur. The Test plan and Test cases are like the musical instruments. Now let’s take automation. It’s like the microphone. Automation is very expensive and so an Organization must properly decide on whether they really need the tool or not. Whether they want the in-house tool built or they want a license to an outside tool.

When looking back at the interviews that I underwent they were in no way capable of finding out whether I am a good tester or not. They will ask you few questions as to basics of testing and may be SQL. This in no way to let them know, whether you are getting a good tester or not. Only on seeing the work one can understand whether you made the right choice in selection or not.

I enjoy testing so much and I don’t know how to word it. Software testing is a field where you need to keep upgrading yourself. You need to have a good knowledge on various programming languages, data warehousing and different tools in the market. Mind you, not an expert but there is no harm in it. This is especially a requirement if you are a consultant. Each company will be using different packages.

In brief, a software tester is a given talent. Also, just because you are a critique does not mean that you don’t need to improve on this skill. You need to practice the skill productively. You need to be ready to learn new technology that comes in. Several materials are available on the net. You need to be proactive.

All the best.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

the trouble we go through

USA is a dream come true.
Here people cannot make any long term plans at all. Life is so uncertain here. I am talking about the Indians trying to root to here. Its not that easy as it seems. For some people everything falls into place but not for all. You know the life of consultants. Its tough. Esp if you are with a baby who is going to school. The number of people that we have go through. Don't think of working in USA without 1000 years of experience. Also you must have experience on all known and unknown tools. Only if you have these many things on your resume then only we will get through a small consultant, this is the start of the ladder. There will be more than one such middle vendors. Finally we get to the client. So the pay barely able to make the month. The next month is a mystery. At least this is my story.
I don't know if I came to USA with a dream but I really like this place. But its not easy to survive here. Many job contracts starts with 3 month contract, its very difficult to get an apt for 3 months lease. Many cheap affordable apt start at 6 month lease. So in case your contract don't extend you must be prepared to pay another 3 months rent or the lease breakage.
You find a good school for your kid and then what happens when the lease ends.
Anyone who is willing to take an uncertain life over no life in the native must try this.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Making the RIGHT choice

I am turning 33 this year(2009). Within the blink of an eye time flew by. So much has taken place. Now I know who is the LUCKY person. Anybody who has a good parent(s) is the lucky one. As I said in another post, anybody can be a parent but to be a good parent is rocket science. Its not all of us blessed with have good parents. All parents are nice but only few of us know how to grow the kids in the right way. The child who has had such a parent is a blessed person.
Everyone has his own cross to bear but the way they carry it depends on how they are taught to. Sometimes because of our parents many of us are protected from the many problems in life.
As kids we are learning. I would say till the age of 15. Then we are to put into practice what we learnt. From the age of 15 decisions we make are crucial. What to study, what type of friends we need, what to wear, what to think, what we want to be, what we eat, what should be our belief etc.,If we made the right decision then we are set for good life.
The major decision in ones life is the career and then the marriage. If you make the wrong decision in any of these you should know you are not in a good position.
Career is needed so that you have a time table in life as you did have as a child. This disciplines your life. It also puts in challenges that are set by others, this helps you intelligence to grow.
Marriage, this brings you a partner whom you can share your life with. Someone who is there for you. Life is lonely without one of these. A person must have either a good career or a good marriage(as far as I believe). I am a workaholic. I like to learn and keep myself busy. I like the aspect of setting a table for my everyday living. You are lucky my friend if you have both of these or happy with one of them.
To achieve this you have to make the right decision. This decision is made over a period of time. What you want to be or whom you want to be is something we set our minds initially itself. If we don't know this end up in unhappy life.
Its too late for me. But we can teach our kids the importance of SOLID dreams. They should know what they want and how they are going to achieve this. Everyone has a will but not the way.
Making the right choices in life is what makes your life beautiful. Remember we live only once this life. We don't cross this path another (at least that is what we see).
All the best.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The news

One year its the Katrina and the other year its recession! No matter what it is we loose lives. The other day a man in NewYork shot to death many people. Why? because his self esteem was low. People kill their family because they dont know how to survive this time. Mostly the killing is due to the ego on how to face the world. What are people going to say? How do I look at others in this situation? Its never "How or what way will I survive?"
If for a second,men think "What is the best way to SURVIVE?" they would not do this? I agree its easy to write things but reality is not so easy. Even when I have a problem I panic a lot. But then I give my all to God and think of the best positive way that I am going to handle the situation. Sometimes we come across situations that we cannot handle ourselves. We need to rest our head and let nature take its course than you taking a gun to others and yourself. Life is precious.
Its sad to see how things are moving. News has become a picture of the concentration camp. It has nothing more than unemployement, war and death.
We must give life a chance. Start helping others and oneself.
Know that you are not alone. Tell your ego to rest when it starts thinking the negative. My friends big mansion, BMW and Spa is not alone life. There are much better things that you can enjoy in life.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

America losing identity

I am so confused at what this country is turning into? Or was it always like this? I dont think so.
If you hear the name of the country India you think Hinduism as the religion. Gulf, Islam and America, Christians.
Except the USA, all other countries are what we imagine it to be . If you go to India, India is mostly the land of temples and their Gods. Gulf, strictly Islamic. I am not saying these countries dont have other religion, they do. But you can generalise these country to be the religion that they portray to the outside. They show no shame in using the name of their Gods in any function. They dont mind others using their Gods too unless its to do with converting the people. These countries respect other caste.
Now lets talk about America.
when someone speaks of America, what comes into you mind? Oh that Christian Clothless land. No offence! But other countries think this! When comparing India and gulf where women have to blanket themselves even in 200 degrees is awful. But the Christian land! You have to come here to know the reality. At my work I have my bible just like my cell phone, my baby s picture etc. People are like she is crazy. One day I was so tired at work, I was sitting at my desk and murmoured " Oh Jesus Christ" , Someone went and complaint " this girl uses Jesus s name!" but if anyone screams " Fuck you" everyone would laugh and enjoy.
They dont have an identity. Many dont believe in God. Many think they are scientific creation. They want to remove the saying "In God We trust".
People!, this country is losing it.
You should see the condition here. We have everything;car, house, food, everything you can imagine but no peace.
I used to think this land loves God no matter what religion you may belong. Unfortunately that s not the truth. They dont. If anyone says God! , they are "black listed".
I am surprised at the speed the country is moving to recession. The number of divorces, number of kids ready to be adopted, murder etc.
Your base is you God (no matter what religion you belong to). Leave them that believe they are scientific development or something. I am talking about the ordinary people. God is the base stone to our life. We have to go back to him. And know his existence. Its not very tough. Its easy to know this. Once you know your root all these problem will go away.
Its not a shame to say that you believe in God. Its not a shame to have peace in your life.
I am writing this on seeing a news "Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver his invocation may lead to another controversy". Rick Warren is an evangelical pastor. So if he does use the name of Jesus Christ in the prayer that will offend the others. WHAT!
If I go to anyother country, they will use their God's name no matter what other religion may exist in the land. But this land which other outside think to be a christian land, who had leaders that trusted in God does not want to use the name
"Jesus Christ".
Lets leave Jesus Christ, even the word God they will try to erase from the dictionary.
where this is going to lead NO ONE CAN TELL but I believe ITS NOT GOING TO LEAD TO A SAFE ROAD for sure.
Note: I respect all religion. No offense intended to any God' s and belief.