A very subsidized lunch is served daily on the roof of the building.
On Monday I’m a little confused as to where to go and what to do. The guys I work with are happy to help. So is everyone and perhaps that’s the problem. Everything that is available to eat is placed on my tray, except for something they refer to as pickle. I have been warned not to eat it lest smoke come out of my ears due to sheer spiciness (thanks JP). Read the rest of this entry ?
I arrived in India 24 hours ago. The travel time to get here was 23 hours. I slept for no more than 2 hours in 10-20 minute intervals on the plane. Read the rest of this entry ?
Here’s Ben at the Greater Rochester International Airport, on his way to Chennai, via Washington D.C. and London… Read the rest of this entry ?
I will be traveling to Chennai, India leaving the evening of May 20th and returning the evening of June 3rd. I will be flying a total of 9,363 miles. There will be two layovers each way, in Washington D.C. and in London. The flight to Chennai will take 23 hours. The flight from Chennai will take 27 hours.
Next on my list is to apply for a business visa, and get a bunch of shots for diseases that I have never heard of before.
Ben’s passport arrived on Saturday!! Today he’s working on getting dates approved so that he can apply for his VISA. This involves checking his team members’ vacation schedules, checking on the availability of the corporate apartment in Chennai, and getting flights that are cheap enough that the company will reimburse the total amount…
We’re all aware of why jobs going to India upsets people. Allow me to present a different perspective: The jobs are going to India and we can’t stop it. I work as a computer progammer. When I write a program for my company, it is so that someone else in our company has less work to do. Now, I have never been able to reduce work so quickly that people get laid off, but the principle is the same. Furthermore, if I could write a program that could replace someone at my company, I would do it without hesitation. It’s my job.
My brother once said that one of the business processes he was replacing by a program required someone who had a full time job of copying and pasting text. This person’s job was replaced by a computer. If your job can be replaced by a computer, it’s time to get a new job.
If companies do not hire people like me to reduce labor requirements, then other companies who do will quickly overtake them and the entire company will go under, leaving everyone looking for new jobs. Likewise, companies have a responsibility to send jobs to India. If they didn’t, their companies would go under, and if we made it illegal, then Indian companies would start dominating the international market. American companies would face massive layoffs due to the vast amount of international business that American companies do. If someone halfway around the world can do your job for one-fourth of the price, it’s time to get a new job.
Next on Steinbox.com: My upcoming Trip to India
