Cost Cutting or Cost Balancing

Scenario -1.

I joined IT industry in the year 2001 as a Testing Engineer in one of the middle size US Company. My salary was INR …. and I was satisfied with it. Besides my salary, I have other facilities also like free lunch, anytime pick and drop facility, 5 days working, Medical insurance etc.

Gradually I started rising in my carrier and currently my salary is INR …. with no free lunch, no free pick and drop facility.

Scenario - 2.

One of my friends started his professional carrier in non-IT industry in the same year 2001. His salary was half of the salary that I was drawing at that time with no free lunch, no pick and drop facility and 6 days working. And still after 7+ years, his salary is half the salary of mine.

These two scenarios are same in some ways and totally different in other ways. How? Let me explain.

IT industry started rising everywhere in the world with a great Bang. Great salaries, ultimate facilities, comfortable infrastructure, and lots and lots of things. But whatever goes up in the sky will have to come back to earth. This is a real fact and same thing happened with the IT industry also.

IT industry has started controlling their expenditure. Beside IT, almost all the industries have not provided any add on facilities (like free lunch, free cab) from starting. But IT guys are used to of it. As far as salary is concern, we all know the gap in between the IT industry and other industry.

I was attending a session in a seminar where I came to know the view points of the non-IT guys about us. They simply said that

"an IT guy started his carrier with a salary that is of a non-IT person having around 7-8 years of experience. All the IT professionals have 5 days a week and non-IT guys work for 6 days a week. As far as other facilities are concern, IT industry is far better than the non-IT."

I was surprised to see the muscles of their faces (non-IT guys) full of tensions and jealous when they were discussing this.

From that day onwards, I am thinking that we, as an IT guys, are never satisfied with our salary and perks. And if our companies try to reduce the expenditures on us, like paid lunch, no free cab, we always said that there is a cost cutting in IT. Recently, my cousin sister, who is also in IT industry, came to my house and said that Cost Cutting is going on everywhere in IT.

Now the question is “Is this a cost cutting or a Cost balancing?”

-- Sanat Sharma