What I Did Not Learn At IIT: Transitioning from Campus to Workplace by Rajeev Agarwal is well worth reading. Whatever your current level is, especially in the Software Industry, this book will teach you something that you will find useful and help you achieve greater success.
I must say it is a very good book and should be recommended reading for everyone working in the Software Industry.
What makes this book stand out, is that it is written by an Indian Entrepreneur with extensive industry experience, and an engineering degree from one of the best IIT institutions. IIT is the dream destination for every math student who wants to go into engineering. Now the CEO of MAQ Software (http://www.maqsoftware.com/Profile), he writes about how he got to where he is today after graduating from IIT as a Mechanical Engineering. He touched on many of the issues that we face while operating from India. He writes about many of the practices he follows within his company of over 400 employees. His writing is very good and clearly expresses his message in a way that most readers should understand.
Using examples from his own life, he covers many topics including:
– Taking ownership of yourself to focus on achieving excellence instead of finding problems in system you are/were a part of.
– Planning leave in advance, and how sudden unplanned leave affects work and deliveries.
– How arriving late on Monday because you went to your home town over the weekend affects work planning.
– The importance of coming to the office on time.
– Listening to and following the career advice of your superiors.
– Whatever you are doing needs to be done with full dedication, no matter what the work is, because every project will give you experience which can come in handy in the future.
– Read books, it will help you identify and achieve your goals.
– Do not give into peer pressure, plan your own life according to you.
– He emphasizes sticking with same company and enhancing your skill set to better serve your employer and gain good experience, and the benefits of doing so.
– How to behave in your workplace.
– How to behave around your peers.
– The importance of dressing up at work.
– The importance of exercise and staying fit.
– How your diet can affect your productivity.
He also includes a quick checklist at the end of each chapter that is really good and can help you achieve positive outcomes for every day/week/month/year.
Keep Learning.
