r2i forum

Greetings & Dhanyvaad for taking a look at this post...
It turned out longer than i anticipated...so my apologies in advance...

NOTE: I have read earlier posts on being Proff's at IIT's..This is not related to those premier institutes...

This is about an average - little above average human wanting to be part of similar level students...and hopefully turn his and some other kids life around...

Brief Background:
MS in IE..
10 yrs in US..
8 yrs work ex in systems integration - process control.. related to Instrumentation/Electrical engineering...
I-140 done..awaiting my PD to be current...
Married with one awesome son..
tentative R2I...early 2012

I've been wanting to R2I for quite sometime.....
For the past few yrs i've been hearing some amazing salary figures ..12..15..20 lacs per annum...
I was like...WHAAAT ???? beam me up Scotty !!! (i made 3k per month before i left for US)

Tried the usual job hunting websites..to no avail...realized...networking is the only way..
Finally in 08 get an interview at a premier indian company.... let down by questions like..what is u'r fathers caste? We need u'r marksheets from 10th std onwards...In my mind i'm thinking (REALLY !!! after a masters & 8 yrs work ex..u serious ??? ..what about Jr Kg..if i told u i was in top 10..would u give me the job?)

moving on..Dec 09..give some more interviews....sadly the offer is nothing close to the numbers i mention above.....Guess core engineering does not pay as much as IT..no surprise there i guess...it's the same here
Decide it's not worth wrapping everything up here in this economy..hold off a little...so i can atleast sell the house without taking a hit..

But i do take the 1st R2I step...buy an under construction apt...

Sorry..was it too long?? i will come to the education part next..just that..had to share the short story about the 08 interview..

I realized over the past few yrs that i did not care much about the corporate world..the designations..the image..the fancy cars..the big homes..none of that really mattered....did not motivate me to jump jobs for those few extra thousand $$$$..(u thinking i'm lazy..huh!!) before u hack into my account to figure out who i am and beat me up for dissing on the MNC's...i applaud them...they have their place...just that ..it's not for me...

but the problem was..if not all this..then what.????:o
Education abroad ..done
Work ex abroad..done
marriage..done (married my HS..SH)
kid..done..

now what???

I've thought about all the usual routes..save more..do an MBA?
I've been obssessd about education for a long time..the only reason i came here was to see how the advance world does it.....impressive to say the least..

I've always been interested in teaching (not lecturing) ..thought about phd....could further my MS thesis..but not something i really wanted to do...

I'm more keen on working with students rather than doing research..

Another thing that dawned on me...most people r majorly worried about their kids education....every person from the indian subcontinent here..thinks..wants their kid to either go to MIT..Harvard..Stanford...u know the list..
if in India..IIT's..IIM's ..u know that list too...

But the issue i have is..there is a limitation ..all cannot go there..all r not that bright..

Hell...mere mortals like me survived the indian education system and are doing well...there will be more like me in the next generation...
The problem is..i know exactly how crazy..insane..competitive this system is in India..and if i did R2I ..did i really want my kid to face that..
I can tell u some horror stories about lecturer's or lack there of..during my engineering days ( i was made to stand 1.5 hrs on the bench for being 5 min late to the lecture...the girl that came 2 min after me was left scot free.....if u have traveled from Thane to New Bombay in the great ST buses in late 90's u'll understand my frustration)

Sorry..seems like i'm rambling on here....
but the point is..if we all are so obssessed about our kids education....are ready to spend insane amounts of money in india in coaching classes..what stops us from taking the plunge and being educators ourselves..y do we leave it to others and then moan that they r not upto the mark...

Being the Aries that i am ..have struggled with these issues for a looong time...So finally decided that i need to jump and RAM my head into this...

I'm not blind to the challenges...with India's inflation..to R2I and teach the middle level kids won't be easy....i don't need to make huge pots of money..i don't want to start coaching classes that are the size of colleges...But to keep it affordable to the middle class and below there has to be a better way to do things...

If people like us have these challenges...what about the kids from rural areas..where do they go ???

So the challenge now is to figure out a business plan that will help the avg kids without bankrupting their families..hopefully expose them to some bright ideas..and at the same time...won't turn me into a nutcase that thinks he can change the world ......and lead to my kid shaking his head in embarrassment...what if someone wrote in his hand "MERA BAAP YEDA HEH" Dewar style...

The only reason to post these thoughts here is to get some honest feedback from you.......I day dream about working with kids in my native village...... make some sparks in their brain...few of them have the luxury of spending 25 yrs educating themselves....and i guess it holds true for a lot of people even in urban areas...IIT's IIM's are wonderful...but that is not where India learns.....
It's frustrating to here about teachers that beat up kids black and blue .so much so.. that they die....worse, teachers, tutors..physically molesting young adults...

i've seen my cousins...struggle....not study..spend yrs trying to clear their Kt's....good kids..honest kids...messed up due to the system...friends brothers.....eventually they find their space..stabilize....like we did...but if we could give that steady hand...they might stand up straight sooner...

Not doing this for others...I'm human..it's my need....need to be with my kid...work with him...see where it takes him...and in the mean time..if i can take other kids along...that would be heck of a ride...

All sounds good right.....emotional ..the need to light our own bulb..(sorry SRK..stole u'r line here)
But i need to do it without getting electrocuted ...

hitman2012;305893The only reason to post these thoughts here is to get some honest feedback from you.......I day dream about working with kids in my native village...... make some sparks in their brain...few of them have the luxury of spending 25 yrs educating themselves....and i guess it holds true for a lot of people even in urban areas...

Above was the gist that I got from your long post. I think its a noble thought. And you SHOULD do it. When you R2I and start working towards it, you may find a lot of people with same goal, and you should get together with them on this noble endeavor. Just one thought from my side: Keep your family in sync with these plans, and have their needs and expectations taken care of. Otherwise, the frustration resulting from lack of money/resources can easily derail many a noble dreams. In this route, networking is very crucial, as you can't change such huge problems on your own (and you should not expect to). Its easier to think that you can survive without earning dollops of money (when you have money in your pocket), but when actual crunch happens, one might become helpless.

Also think about starting out on this venture as a part-time endeavor. Work in the city during the week, and then spend 2 days in the weekend, teaching kids in the village. That way you will still have an income stream. If your spouse is working, then you might have additional freedom.

My apologies if I didn't understand your question well.

Wishing you the best for your noble cause. Follow your heart and you can survive many obstacles on your path
-Back to Roots

Thank you all for taking the time.
Sid_Earth ..U did get my question.

I agree 100% that i won't be able to change the system. That is not my intention either.
I've seen the kids struggle 1st hand and its just heart wrenching to see them go through it....

Why hand out useless degrees? Training the young in trade schools with some basic business education might serve a better purpose for the middle level. The young guns can hit the ground running.
Plan is to work within the system. Put in some extra effort and hopefully get some students together to make a start.

It's the only thing that i feel passionate enough to make the R2I..At this point its the only thing that gets me pumped. Everything else is secondary.

Here's the tentative plan for now:
1. Get the GC. Hopefully by end of 2011.
2. Convince my current company to let me work from India for few months at a time if not more.Won't be easy. hopefully item 1 will help.
3. If that doesn't work. Quit and find a teaching position in one of Mumbai/Pune colleges. Salaries not great..but it will be a start. If i do make an impression & i can get through to the students..it should give me the 1st stepping stone to my goal.

Points 2/3 should get me started. In the mean time i can start networking and see what turns up.

My hope is that through this forum i might be able to make some contacts and get to know people who are already doing it or might have made an attempt.

Agree with the comment about the family. I'm blessed with a supportive spouse. She plans to work..so that should help too.
It helps that i come from a lower middle class background..Lived most of my life without materialistic objects but made some wonderful friends. Luckily that training has helped now and will do so in the future. Need to train the Kiddo too. Hopefully he will learn by example.

This is a long term plan. It will take years... But the sooner i start ..the sooner i will reach it.

Of course..i could suck as a teacher/mentor and this will all blow up in my face. But at least i tried. I can always join the industry and make a decent living.

hitman2012;305970
Of course..i could suck as a teacher/mentor and this will all blow up in my face. But at least i tried. I can always join the industry and make a decent living.

Hitman; if you want to try it out first, maybe you can take a sabbatical for 6 months or so and join Teach for India and see how you like teaching and being a mentor to kids.

Thanks Mkngtrbl.

That is something i plan to look into once i spend some time in India.

I am from Mumbai, so please count me in.
I am flexible with my work timings and would like to help.

Good luck hitman2012

Nice to see somebody from my neck of the woods thinking about R2I. Kudos on your noble intentions!

@ Mumbai_2009
Will definitely get in touch once i get something going.
If you come across something along the same lines. Do FWD the info..

We would be r2i-ing soon to Mumbai. Count us (both me and my wife) in for this noble cause. We have the same thought process as you do.