ord2pnq: my R2I (Pune) diary

[ord2pnq]

Folks,

The following is the summary of my R2I story to Pune - technically, I would not still call my move to Pune as R2I yet, (I will be in Pune for one year, return to the Western Hemisphere for a couple of years, and then re-return)for the following reason:

I got my master's/worked in the US for about 6 years, and was all set to head back to school for my MBA in Sept. 2008 (either in the US or Canada). I was planning to R2I post-MBA. However, when I visited India in mid-Jan 2008, I interviewed with a real estate PM firm on the last day of my visit, received a decent job offer, and one month later, I have started working in Pune. I arrived on a Sunday, started work on a Monday. So I am still kind of jet-lagged:P

I basically moved for two reasons- first and foremost, my parents. Secondly, I wanted to gain some Indian work experience prior to MBA. A position in Pune, where my parents live, was too good to resist.

In the timeline below, Feb. 12th is "Day zero" - when I interviewed.

Part One- The Move:

Day zero- interview at 11 AM, job offer two hours later over the phone. They were willing to offer 2 L more than what I had in mind.

Day one- early AM - at Mumbai airport. En route to Chicago. 42 hours later, thanks to the usual Air India shenanigans, arrive in Chicago.

Day three - leave for Canada to visit B-School. Return to Chicago 72 hours later.

Day seven- Feb. 19th - first day at work in Chicago, tired, incoherent, blurt out to the boss that I might be leaving soon.

Day ten- call up company in India- scream at them for NOT sending the formal offer letter.

Day twelve- receive the offer letter, do not like the salary breakdown. Renegotiate relocation.

Day fourteen- Feb. 26th - receive revised offer letter.

Day sixteen- sign offer letter, scan & email it, give 2 weeks; notice at Chicago.

Day eighteen- Shocked! What have I done???

Day twenty - start listing stuff on Craigslist. Car not yet sold.

Day twenty two - coughing starts.

Day twenty four - March 7 -fever decides to give company to the coughing. Last day at company in Chicago.

Day twenty five- Sister in town, helps with packing. I Was planning to take four bags and ship one box. The new numbers: Five bags and eight boxes. I hate Ikea and their ilk.

Day twenty seven- Ship boxes one through six, courtesy USPS. Car still not sold. Today is day # 10 since I listed the car on Sulekha, Craigslist and eknazar.com. One week before my job starts in Pune.

Day twenty eight- More boxes shipped. Shortlisted dealers to sell car to. Dinner with a dear friend, too much wine.

Day twenty nine- March 12th - Wake up with an upset stomatch, ship one more box, sell car, ship one more box, friend drops me off to the airport. Off to Canada.

Day thirty- Arrive in Canada, complete my Canadian PR stuff, visit cousin. Forget to mail the checks, Netflix DVDs, tax paperwork.

Day thirty one- March 14th- Leave for Mumbai via Newark. Have to check in one carry on (Air India, I hate you, new employer, thank you for the relocation money!)

Day thirty two/thirty three- March 15th midnight/March 16th early AM- arrive in Mumbai, one checked in bag damaged, stuff okay. Reach Pune at 5 AM. Sleep for the entire day. Meet cousins/uncles in the night. Pacify parents upon returning home late in the night.

Day Thirty Four- March 17th- start working in Pune. The procedures at the new company are strange- I have to submit four photographs! They will do direct deposit of pay ONLY in HSBC. Today is the last day to do paperwork. They need info. like parents' DOB? My fitness cert. is also needed. Why did they send a half-baked checklist to me if they expect me to be prepared with 50,000 pieces of paperwork on day one?
The work site is 1 hr away from Kothrud (at Hadapsar). Rickshaw one way costs Rs. 120. This is going to be challenging till the day I get a car.

In summary, the move went pretty well, but for a few hiccups. More on those later.

[ampendse]

ord2pnq

First of all Congrats for your move to india and good luck over there.

btw what is your field of work? are you a non-IT person?

[virgo_mc]

ord2pnq

Congrats man!! you did it. I am so jealous. I am kind of in the same boat. Although I started my MBA and waiting to finish to R2I. I am alos thinking of R2Iing to Pune. Want to start my own biotech lab in Pune. Not being a Maharashtrian kind of scares me about settling in Pune, although wife is from Pune. Visited Pune during jan 08, lovely place, nice weather. I really liked the drive to Hinjewadi....no traffic when I went so that helped

[ILuvHyd]

Great summary. Looking forward to more details.

[ord2pnq]

Thanks for the comments:

ampendse,
I am a civil engineer by background and I stayed true to my profession... I worked with a general contractor (retail construction) in the US; now I am with a Real Estate PM consultancy.

virgo_mc,
Do not be alarmed/feel intimidated by Pune. In fact, I would suggest you visit Pune NOW if you can (I know with B-school that is not possible). Lovely weather, eh? You will have your fais share of the lovely Pune summer .....
j/k(it was 22 deg. F when I left Chicago last week, it is close to 100 deg F right now.)

ILuvHyd,
More details? Like the car purchase saga? Or the misplacing checks worth $15K? Or the psychological impact on both me and my parents now that I am living with them after eight years?

Sure, will post more shortly :-)

[ILuvHyd]

ILuvHyd,
More details? Like the car purchase saga? Or the misplacing checks worth $15K? Or the psychological impact on both me and my parents now that I am living with them after eight years?

Sure, will post more shortly :-)[/quote]
Anything you feel like sharing would help :)

[MadMax]

You seem to have the right attitude/outlook. Have fun!

[ampendse]

Thanks for the comments:

ampendse,
I am a civil engineer by background and I stayed true to my profession... I worked with a general contractor (retail construction) in the US; now I am with a Real Estate PM consultancy.


ord2pnq

That is really great to know. I am an civil engineer too by education/ profession. I am with a engineering consulting firm here in US (currently involved in Business development and marketing).

It was really nice to hear about R2I from a Non-IT person for a change.

I also wish to R2I to pune (its my hometown). Everything is already set over there in pune. The only missing piece is JOB. Will be starting my job hunt soon. any pointers as to how to go about it?


any suggestions will be a great help

[ord2pnq]

ampendse,

aha! Another civil engineer ... always willing to be of help to fello civvies.. :-)

Not sure what type of consulting firm you work for, but I know many of the ENR top 300 design firm have started establishing offices in Pune. MWH is one of them: they have an office in Shivajinagar.
look up their site (mwhglobal dot com) for Pune address.

Neilsoft is a design firm that I am dealing with at my job here. They might have some openings. Not sure how good they are though! (they seem to have an office in Chicago and also in Michigan??)

Btw: Do you have your EIT/PE yet or are you planning to get it? I was all set to take my PE Exam on April 11, 2008 before i moved back- I might take it next year. With some of the US based firms, it might be a great selling point...

[ampendse]

orf2pnq

Thanks a lot for the tips