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R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:23 am
by deshiNo1
Hi Folks,
After R2I and working for sometime in India, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot live with the work culture here (non-IT company). I have thought of changing companies and trying out something else. But that too does not sound too appealing because it means moving far from my hometown. Presently I do not work in my native place. I am in Mumbai which is about 4-5 hrs drive from my native. My preference is that I want to live in a place that gives me the opportunity to go see my family (parents, siblings) on a weekend without much hassles. Of course they also visit us quite often. So being in Mumbai has helped me earn a decent living and served my primary purpose of R2I - being closer to family.
During all this time my professional life has suffered. I am neither doing work that is challenging nor am I making exhorbitant amount of money. This thought has been bothering me too much. At times I am feeling that it is better to R2A. I am quite confident that R2A will give me a better work culture and more job satisfaction. However, the offers I am getting are not too exciting. I am geting just about 10% higher (in $) than when I left US. But the dollar has depreciated about 20%. In rupee terms the salary I am being offered now is lower than what I was making earlier when I was in US.
So I really have 2 dilemmas (??):
1) Should I prioritize my professional life over everything else at this point? Being an emotional person, I know this is going to have some effect on me.
2) Financially does it make sense to make this drastic change all over again?
I am seeking inputs from members to help my thinking and make a decision. I am going in circles and not able to think clearly about this. I may not have given all the info to make an informed/intelligent decision. So queries are welcome and I will give as much info as I can. Family (wife, kids, parents, siblings) are all very supportive of whatever I do. So I dont see any issues there.
TIA
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:43 pm
by dhanu
Do whatever gives your more satisfaction and more fun.
After R2Iing, I am now of the opinion that LII or LIA doesn't matter. It is R2I or R2A that matters. Satisfaction level after 4 - 5 yrs of LIA and LII is same. So no matter where you move to, you will drop down to the same satisfaction level after 4-5 yrs. So if you feel unsatisfied, boring, etc. in India, by all means, move back to US. Life is too short to sit around unsatisfied. In fact, if you move back to US, you might appreciate US life better because you've tasted LII.
Regarding proff. life, to me, this is where you spend most of your day (9-10 hrs) and if you are unsatisfied there, that's not acceptable. This affects everything else. If you do not have any pressing issues such as sick/old parents whom you have to look after etc. then giving priority to work life is fine. But ultimately, you have to determine whether satisfaction generated from the job is more than satisfaction received by being closer to family. This is what actually causes the net satisfaction level to come back to the same level after some years!!!
Regarding finance, I guess you are the best judge of how much money you want to spend on R2A. Since you will be making/saving more money in US (as compared to what you are saving in India now and not as compared to what you were making in US before you R2Ied.), you can determine the break even point in terms of number of yrs you need to live in US to cover it. I think it should not be more than a year. Forget about what you were making in US earlier...that's history...do you remember what you were making in the dot com era???
Drastic Change - Think of it as just a change....by calling it drastic, you are psychologically getting too pressured. It's not a big deal. Actually, moving to US is probably N times easier than moving to India!
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:52 pm
by deshiNo1
Hanu, thanks for your perspective.
But ultimately, you have to determine whether satisfaction generated from the job is more than satisfaction received by being closer to family.
You are asolutely right here. At the time of R2I, being closer to family was more important. Now job satisfaction is more important, I might have underestimated it before R2I.
Actually, moving to US is probably N times easier than moving to India!
Fortunately or unfortunately, R2I was far easier for us than R2A. When we had decided to R2I, there was never the slightest of doubts about our decision. When leaving the Indian shores for the first time too, there were no second thought. But this R2A thing is turning out to be tougher than we thought.
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:24 pm
by dhanu
deshiNo1;50431
Actually, moving to US is probably N times easier than moving to India!
Fortunately or unfortunately, R2I was far easier for us than R2A. When we had decided to R2I, there was never the slightest of doubts about our decision. When leaving the Indian shores for the first time too, there were no second thought. But this R2A thing is turning out to be tougher than we thought.[/quote]
I see. Yes, emotionally it might be tougher. I was talking logistically. After looking at tons of posts asking about shipping, address change, milk, diapers, bottled water, car, house etc :D
Also, if you are finding it emotionally tougher to R2A, that might point to something. It might be because at some level you still want to be in India. May be the pull of job satisfaction in US is not yet enough :)
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:53 pm
by deshiNo1
It might be because at some level you still want to be in India.
Most certainly!! I wouldn't leave if I found a job even half-decent in professionalism in a company that puts performance and merit ahead of everything else. Sorry to say, havent found one in non-IT. Sometimes I feel that I might be a misfit in the corporate world where some things have to be compromised and I am finding it hard to do so.
Logisitcs and the likes are not my problem. When we R2Ied we just carried 3-4 bags back home and we will do the same if we were to R2A.
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:35 pm
by DosaiLvr
Good eliciting by Hanu.
______________________
OP,
If you are sure that you are not going to find any job that would fit your needs in terms of professionalism/job culture etc. and if you have a fair chance of doing so in the US, go for it.
No point in being "stuck" in a undesireable situation when there's no need to. You've mentioned that you don't have any pressure or complusion from any one or any quarters to LII, so that should make it easy for you to decide.
--DL
Identifying the problem is half the solution
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:52 pm
by moreqa
One option is that you could R2A and see if you like it and then bring your family... especially useful if kids are in school.
If you don't mind telling what kind of job you are doing, some members may be able to offer more suggestions about alternatives in India.
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:24 pm
by layman
deshiNo1;50419
However, the offers I am getting are not too exciting. I am geting just about 10% higher (in $) than when I left US. But the dollar has depreciated about 20%. In rupee terms the salary I am being offered now is lower than what I was making earlier when I was in US.
[/quote]
The US pay scales is not adjusted according to the Re/$ conversion rate. Nobody's salary is going up just because dollar got depreciated. 10% hike is reasonable hike in US standards. OP does not have good opinion of the work in India. Shouldn't OP be happy if an US company is willing to hire him/her with 10% hike after working in that work environment? BTW, how long did you work in India?
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:44 pm
by DoctorJ
layman;5047010% hike is reasonable hike in US standards. OP does not have good opinion of the work in India.
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BTW, how long did you work in India?[/quote]
Well, 10% increase may not be reasonable after 10 years of added work experience....say for instance an individual got out of school and took up a non-IT job in 1995 and worked for about 2 years before R2I. Is it fair to assume that s/he did not make much money at that time??? Now 10% increase over say 60K is 66K - which is hardly anything these days.
On the other hand, a 10% increase over say 100K over a one or two year period is quite reasonable. Reading OP, I get a feeling that this is not the case (I might be wrong in assuming so...).
So, it would be better if OP had made it a bit more clear...
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Often we mislead ourselves by assuming things which might not be completely right. -DJ :cool:
R2A dilemma
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:58 pm
by Desi_by_Nature
DeshiNo1,
I feel you should try to find work with a company in India that has good work culture. That is my biggest worry too. Infact i started a thread to get input from R2Iers on what companies they percieve to have a good work culture in India. - but nobody responded and it died down.
I have a feeling that US/Europe based MNCs are more likely to have better work culture than Indian based MNCs like Wipro, HCL etc. - but who knows? I wish i knew more about this, and I wish people talk more about this here.
Fortunately you are in Mumbai - which is supposed to have the best work culture in all of India. At least that was the perception even before all this IT/BPO boom happened in India. Not sure what it is like now. In other places it gets worse.
If nothing works out for me after I R2I, i'm probably gonna start my own consulting practice or something.