People were asking in comments, how I handled 2008 recession?
I have had video chats with students on zoom
they are all asking for solutions
People watched my videos and asked such things in comments, and some others asked me the same thing over emails
do you really want to know the truth? How I handled 2008 recession?
Why do you want me to expose myself?
I must tell you the truth, I failed.
I did an internship in 2008 at BNSF railroad company in Fort Worth, TX
There were 104 interns and among those, I was the one to get the best intern award
all other interns were hired for full time positions
They said we will hire only if you have a green card or citizenship
I was very saddened when they did not hire me
and I had to go to job market again and look for jobs
The entire semester I kept trying for jobs
I tried some means other than online applications
I got some success but eventually everything failed
I had four job offers
one after the other, I cleared interviews, and got jobs, and then lost all those opportunities
I am forgetting the names of companies. I think one was Hewitt Associates, and some others. It has been 12 years since.
Sometime in October/November 2008, Georgia Tech hosted a job fair
While people were losing jobs, a job fair was organized
of course, students crowded the job fair
I decided to go check it out
There was a huge hall outside which security personnel were sitting
I gave my Georgia State student ID
they swiped my card but my name did not print, they checked the card and saw that it was not Ga Tech card, the only card that was acceptable
I was thinking, because I am Georgia State student, I should not get a job?
When I was leaving and going towards the bus stop
I noticed a sticker with a student's name on the ground
Some student had come out of the job fair and disposed his sticker there
I was so desperate at the time. So I had an idea
I put that sticker on my chest and entered the job fair
Now that I was able to enter the hall, I gave my CVs to all companies, I got an interview, got an offer from them too
which was later rescinded
and then there were no more job fairs, and I wondered what to do now
I knew that some companies were posting openings on Ga Tech's internal system
naturally all students were applying for every single open position
Then companies used to hold sessions in the evenings for students
Then Ga Tech's internal placement system started having issues
Some companies were not able to post positions there
Such companies started accepting paper printed CVs
Every evening I started going to Ga Tech campus
to see for what companies the system was not working
I gave my paper printed CVs
these companies said, we are unable to proceed with job offers now
by that time I graduated and it was January 2009
After graduation you have only 90 days to find a position
if you don't get a job in 90 days
after applying for 100s of jobs in January, I got one interview in February in Atlanta
The company called me for an interview at 11 AM
I did not have a car, and it took me 3 hours to reach there
I had a light cereal at 8 AM and left
1 hour bus ride to train station
had to change two trains to reach the station closest to that company
and it was 15  minutes walk from train station to the company office
I was dressed in a suit
and the temperature was -17 degree celcius
The wind and chill was unbearable
I did not have winter jacket with me, I was in a suit
I cannot forget how cold and painful it was
I reached at 10:45 AM
but they did not interview me at 11. They gave me a 2 hour long aptitude exam
It was 1 PM and I was very hungry
and I kept waiting to be interviewed
when I asked for food, they said everyone brings their own lunch
and you just wait here
and then health department came for surprise inspection
the entire staff went to attend the inspectors
I was waiting, hungry, started having headaches
they called me at 5:30 PM
and sent me to the CEO office
there was a developer there. He asked him to interview me
developed interviewed me for 30 minutes technical interview which I passed
I remember, CEO was was Victor Vaysman
he asked me about salary
I was desperate, so I asked for $60k, which I think was the minimum salary for H1B visa
he said why should I hire you then?
if I outsource this job to Ukraine, I could get someone to work for $30k instead
why should I pay you $60k then?
I had only had a light cereal at 8 AM
and at 6 in the evening, I left that company to go home
and had to endure that cold chill walk again
somehow reached trained station close to home
I had food finally at 8 PM
I went home with a broken heart
I went into depression for next two weeks, worried what to do without a job
I was lost
I called up Ga Pacific IT division and asked for a part time temporary position
so I could get OPT work permit
thank god they accepted my request
I joined Ga Pacific again, and got OPT
but I knew this won't last long
people were losing jobs, who would hire me?
I was lost
my mother and my cousin Deepak started insisting that I should apply for a PhD program
go for PhD, go for PhD, go for PhD, they kept insisting
Then my uncle sat me
he said if you sit among people who had studied no more than 4th grade, they will talk and behave in a certain way
and if you sit among people who had studied up to but no more than 10th grade, they will talk and behave in a certain way
likewise
PhDs will talk and behave in a certain way
My uncle said, way of talking, behaving, thinking, in every way, you will see high standards
the experience of being among scientists and getting trained to become a scientist
will make you realize how much you can grow when you are among scientists
I like d what I heard
Then I started exploring PhD programs
I did not want to go for PhD in Computer Science
I started exploring the college of business
I looked at CVs of all business professors
to understand their research
and should I go for PhD with them
one professor stood apart, his name was Dr. Arun Rai
I contacted him
professor Rai called me for an interview
I finally understood what my uncle meant when I met Dr. Rai
I was in total awe of the man
I knew I have found my mentor
he informed me that while you are in IT division, a PhD graduate from here now works for sourcing and procurement division
you go meet him
when I met him, he said we have a big project going on
he asked me to quit IT and join his team instead
so I quit IT, joined Sourcing and Procurement
a lot of people started PhD along with me but their goal was to
when the recession mitigates and economy improves
we will apply for jobs, and if we get a job, we will quit PhD
some people quit PhD and joined industry within first 2-3 years
but I was so awestruck by Dr. Rai
that I wanted to be like him
I will complete my PhD and will not quit
I started enjoying scientific research
you are obligated to teach for at least two semesters
only when you pass the teaching class, you are allowed to go teach
I taught Java programming and I really enjoyed teaching
and this is how I avoided peak recession time by going for the PhD program
When I went to job market with a PhD
there were more positions and fewer candidates to fill them
people were getting multiple job offers
I too had three job offers
in San Francisco, in Virginia, and in Ohio
and I went to Ohio
I know I exposed myself but it is what it is
all I can say is that, this is how I handled 2008 recession
