Pros & Cons of NOT working for first one year of R2I

[SFO2MAA]

Hi OP, I can understand your situation. Here's my input / advise.

1. Get a tutor. First few weeks, you teach your daughter in his/her presence.
2. After the initial weeks, let the tutor teach your daughter and you can observe the style and see how to improve.
3. Once you feel comfortable with the tutor, you may start working. Instead of entirely giving up your career, just a Knowledge Transfer to the tutor should resolve the issue.

Just my 2 cents.[/quote]

looks like a good idea - would like to try upon R2I, honestly. Thank you !!!

[SFO2MAA]

Thanks to each and every one of you for your thoughts / ideas / pointers. I will sleep over these ideas and hopefully will figure-out some thing based on how things would shape up during my R2I. Will keep you posted, after my planned R2I during 2010-11 academic year.

[SFO2MAA]

Pros of NOT working for first one year of R2I [LIST=1]

Great for the family & kids

Could use the time for getting a new degree or certification

Great opportunity to get into a different field of business if there is interest. You never know what you can find out after 3 months of self-introspection. Use this for volunteering into a different industry/role just to get a feel of it.

Can involve in building a home or other settling down routines.

Enjoy life, travel around - basically a 7th inning stretch. You will have time to enjoy your hard earned money while you are in good shape.

Parenthood again if at all it strikes your mind ;)

Social service or volunteering opportunity
[/LIST]Cons of NOT working for first one year of R2I:[LIST=1]

Loss of status in the society, unless you are 'samaj sevak' aka politician or some deep wallet businessman. India is all about distributing business cards in every social occasion to reiterate that you are 'so and so' in 'such and such' a company.

Will have a tough time to climb back to where you left the corporate ladder. People will view you as not so serious about your career, that too in this economy.

Too many relatives & friends trying to drop in. They know you have nothing else to do during the day time. You might be asked for more help than usual.

Difficulty getting loans without employment, if you ever need them.

Loss of social skills, particularly those that keep you 'employable'.

Weight gain most likely.

Kids might get awkward questions from their friends as to why your dad is always at home :emsmile: When my father didn't work during my childhood for a period, I hated it. I used to wait till my mom got home to just get home.. can't recollect exactly why.

Most importantly, unless you consciously make an effort, you might lose your edge in your line of business as your competitors will move ahead with the latest trend. Losing self confidence after a few months, with inevitable comparison to other guys going great guns in career, might make R2I less accomplishing in perception.
[/LIST]Weigh in your options. Glad that you are in a situation where you have these options to factor in![/quote]

Thanks a bunch tejasvee!!! I will have this list as my check list after R2I:emteeth:. I am sure it helps.

[ct2blr]

My experience working in India (IT) after R2I is hell. People here work long hrs and attend calls. Work physically in the office for 8-10 hrs and mentally 24 hrs. IMHO, it is totally not wirth it. If you want to spend quality time with your family, India is not the place. If you want your family to spend quality time with the extended family, then India is the place.[/quote]

Pazham, I agree with you, but it depends on how much enjoy your job/work. From an objective point of view, there's more opportunity but poorer work/life balance in India. How one values these two things determines whether it's "hell" or not.

The times they are a-changin', though. I push many of my colleagues in the U.S. to take calls well outside of their work hours, just to accommodate us here. Let them share the pain. Occasionally, I call them on their cell-phones to ask a question, as long as it's not sleep-time for them. They are actually very nice about this these days. Everybody is being forced to work harder now. So it goes. I don't like these developments, but the days of chilled-out 40-hour workweeks are over, either in India or the U.S.

However, if you want to relax in a semi-anonymous role, there are such things too. It's foolish to do a job-search with that as a stated goal, but once you get into a company, you can probably transition over time.

[pazham]

Pazham, I agree with you, but it depends on how much enjoy your job/work. From an objective point of view, there's more opportunity but poorer work/life balance in India. How one values these two things determines whether it's "hell" or not.

The times they are a-changin', though. I push many of my colleagues in the U.S. to take calls well outside of their work hours, just to accommodate us here. Let them share the pain. Occasionally, I call them on their cell-phones to ask a question, as long as it's not sleep-time for them. They are actually very nice about this these days. Everybody is being forced to work harder now. So it goes. I don't like these developments, but the days of chilled-out 40-hour workweeks are over, either in India or the U.S.

However, if you want to relax in a semi-anonymous role, there are such things too. It's foolish to do a job-search with that as a stated goal, but once you get into a company, you can probably transition over time.[/quote]
Not sure if I agree with you. People in Us may be attending to calls after 5:00, but the quality time they get to spend with the family is much more than in India

[sohu]

It is true that in general Indian working environment does not provide as much family-time as in US. However quality time with family can be had in India if one is ready to compromise on the salary (and the associated 'status') in India.

Just like R2I remains a dream for many, a job that allows more quality time with family also remains a dream for many. But it can be done if one is sure of what s/he wants, and don't care about what others say/think.

[vizagdesi]

But it can be done if one is sure of what s/he wants, and don't care about what others say/think.[/quote]


Not caring about what others say/think about your status is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT in India.

Everybody wants to know about your "background", that is who you are, where you come from and what you do for a living.

I run a free weekly magazine in my hometown. When we go to sell ad space in the magazine, even the dingiest potential customer, who pays a couple of thousand rupees for the ad wants to know about my background even before talking about the magazine. Your background is part and parcel of his decision making process. Same thing applies everywhere. Today I stopped by a new apt construction a few yards from my home. The builder, even before discussing about the apartment, wanted to know what I do for a living.

The response I get will be very different if I say I am an NRI instead of saying that I work for a private company.

I flaunt my NRI/R2I status where required and say that "I work for a private company" to answer just the curiosity questions from strangers.