Time Vs. Money

I have recently come across some people who are wasting a lot of time and saving a little money.

I come across students who are selected in Campus recruitment by the end of first semester in 4th year of engineering, i.e. like October of the year. But some of them fail to learn anything until next year. I feel that is a lot of time and opportunity lost. That is a one full year without learning anything that will help for many years to come. Especially they are totally free after May and many have absolutely nothing to do. That is like a few months in your life gone begging.

The explanation some of them give for this non-learning phase is that they don't know when they will get call from company. So they don't want to learn anything and simply wait for call. So what they are doing is - saving a few thousand rupees and wasting a lot of minutes. Remember time is always costlier than money.

I would suggest you take chance and start learning. Even if you have to leave it in the middle due to call from company, that learning will hugely benefit you. Moreover there are chances that you complete the course before call from company and you must know it helps you a lot. I am very sure you will be proud of yourself when you learn something new. I read somewhere - when you are feeling low, learn. It makes you feel better. I believe in that.

But what if he/she loses by not learning anything for months??? - A great opportunity to learn and go ahead of others in this competitive world.

Well accepted you saved a few rupees. But don't forget in this bargain you lost glorious opportunity.

All I suggest is to learn because learning is so important in our field. You might get outdated in as less as 3 years time. I read an interesting insight that says you can be a lifelong employee if you are ready to be a lifelong learner .

Most of the students who fall in this category of non-learners are not having any financial constraints. They already spent a few lakhs on their Bachelors or Masters. We all know, a simple degree is not enough to excel in your field. All those who excelled, learnt a lot more than what was taught in college. Some didn't have any great degrees to their credit but they did what mattered even more - learning. Many legends like Bill gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell fall in this category. No way I am suggesting degrees are useless. All I am suggesting is to add more to what you learnt in college.

Some students feel when companies train them why to worry about it now. In this context, I would like to remind those the following:

Only a few big companies train and thousands of small companies expect you to be ready-made.
Even when big companies train, they train at a speed where without basics; you might find it difficult to cope with that. Apart from that, why do you forgo the opportunity to learn and become a master instead of struggling to learn basics?
What are you doing sitting home? Does what you do right now add anything to your career and skills?? If not then why not change it?
Companies always love employees who know more. I know students who are far ahead of others in training programs provided by companies and got the roles of their choice, as they are much better than others in their training programs. Interestingly some of these are from NON-IT branches, but due to their grit and interest they are better than their counterparts in IT branches.
Last but not the least, there are situations where the companies ask those who do not clear the training program to leave.

Well, I don't suggest any training program or training institute. All I suggest is learning. Choose what suits you. There are lots of opportunities to learn. We live in a wonderful age, where resources are in abundance.

But don't forget technology of distraction is outpacing technology of concentration. So, it is easy to be lost in distractions unless you have enough self-motivation.

Learn in a systematic way. Don't try to run without learning how to walk. Invest on fundamentals.

Programming is common skill whether you want to be web application developer, mobile app developer or a programmer using more advanced techniques like Machine Learning etc.

I can't, by any chance, assume a student who struggles to write a program with simple loop in C language, would somehow manage to write quality programs in Java. So invest on fundamentals. Fill your knowledge gaps. You know yourself better than anybody else. Be honest in assessing your skills. Under evaluation is better than over evaluation.

If you feel your calling is not programming instead something else then follow that. It doesn't matter. This is age of opportunities. Choose what you want and take baby steps.

Remember in most of the cases it will cost you more for not doing than doing it . So think about NOT what it will cost you to do course. But what it will cost you if you don't. Sometimes healing disease might cost you far less than not healing it (it could take your life also). Similarly not learning might cost you your Job and a lot of other things that depend on your job.

It doesn't matter what your degree is. What matters is your current knowledge. So believe in your mastery and not history. Your 10th standard and intermediate and engineering scores are history. Only your current knowledge matters and only it can lead to mastery.

Choose your area of interest and invest on learning. Remember time is the most important resource. When it comes to money vs. time, always choose time. If you have opportunity to save time by spending money, do so.

All training programs I attended and online courses I took taught me more than what I know before and saved me a lot of time. It enabled me to go further in that technology instead of getting stuck with basics.

With all my experience and knowledge and with huge respect to you, I urge you to make the most of your time and get edge over others. In the age of globalization, your job is never secured unless you acquire enough skills and continually improve them.

I read a simple message that says - Nothing works until you work . I can't add anything more to that.