The B.I.O.T.E Diaries: Going to California

The recent past has seen a fair amount of change. Well, it all just had to be so. December was the time I would earn my degree, and all my thoughts would need to be directed more at the short-term (what is my next move, and what do I plan to do with my life?) and less at the immediate term (who am I going to stooge a dinner off tonight?). After a billion job applications, ideas about ditching this US business, and thoughts about staying in school, I've moved to California to start a job of some sort. It's not what I would ideally like to be doing, but such is the state of the economy that finding employment anywhere is as about as easy as locating a creek in the Kalahari, and certainly as essential for a graduating student.

There was minor heartbreak along the way. In the midst of these trying times I actually managed to secure a job in Bangalore; but it wasn't just any job, it was a dream job, a job far removed from whatever I'd done academically till now, unexpected and out of the blue. For a variety of reasons, mostly dictated by monetary concerns and cold logic, I ended up turning it down. As for how I felt about the whole deal, it was something like this; imagine the girl of your dreams, the special someone you let slip by an age ago, is suddenly back in your life. You're stuck in a listless marriage and would love a clean break. But something is holding you back, and you're unable to take the brave decision and execute it whole-heartedly. And so, you let go.

The consolation here is, career choices are not as complicated as relationships, so I'm carrying on in the hope that the dream might yet be realised somewhere down the line. For the time being, I continue to rack my brains and try to find out the best use of my Master's Degree. In a sense, the Indian IT and Tech sector fallout as a result of the recession almost seems like a good thing, when I think of people like myself back home. It might encourage those kinds, the ones with some creative instincts but no particular academic fixations, to look at other avenues instead of putting all their cerebral eggs into the Technical basket. Then again maybe not, 2001 happened and very few at the time seemed inclined to skip the beaten track. But again, the bucking has to start somewhere right? Maybe when I have enough money..

Another good thing about the recession is that it's given everyone out here a common topic for discussion. You can sympathise with someone who's lost his job, empathise with someone who's looking for one, laugh collectively when someone quotes the latest economy-joke, and relate depressing tales of layoffs and paycuts when you're surrounded by boring company and don't have a stiff drink to come to your rescue. The economy has been pretty hard on students, too. I was on the threshold of continuing my stay in Austin as a PhD student, and when I bid adieu I also handed over a coveted Teaching Assistant position to a friend, which for him was solid gold; and there were hundreds of others waiting to pounce on the same. It's become near-impossible to find work on campus of late.

But that was Austin. I wonder what lies ahead in this new place. Apart from Arnold Schwarenegger and the Kings, Sacramento doesn't seem to be an especially renowned city. My next few entries will feature ramblings from the Californian capital, and my experiences adapting to this new environment.

In case you're wondering about the acronym in the title, that's Blame It On The Economy.

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