Is there any creativity in you Job?

[Abdul Kader]

Hi ,

With my past experience and knowledge shared with my friends I strongly believe most of people (includes me) in the Indian companies are doing the same repetitive task as a machine.

I really feel that if I am going to change my job, most probability I may reach the same repetitive task again. So I am looking for some companies who have more creative challenges and fun to work with them.

Please advice if you know any companies which are passion about what they do.

[arulk pillai]

[company name removed] is pretty good. People who work there seem to like it being there.
[ March 26, 2008: Message edited by: Ben Souther ]

[Abha Ram]

Originally posted by arulk pillai:
[company name removed] is pretty good. People who work there seem to like it being there.

I second that; have heard similar reputation.
[ March 26, 2008: Message edited by: Ben Souther ]

[Ilja Preuss]

How could you not want to work for this company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALWHCUNU8Nw

[Ben Souther]

Please see http://www.coderanch.com/t/31504/Jobs/careers/Guidelines-Job-Discussion
before posting any more company names to this thread.

Thanks
-Ben

[Arjun Shastry]

Originally posted by Ilja Preuss:
How could you not want to work for this company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALWHCUNU8Nw

Thats really nice place to work.Check their Indian office where somebody is having bicycle ride at workplace.Contrast to this,I am put up at a place where people carefully check your color of the tie/trouser and whisper in cafeteria!!

[Ulf Dittmer]

Check their Indian office where somebody is having bicycle ride at workplace.

That would be extremely annoying in a real office, like someone playing foosball in the office next door. But luckily this is just a promotional video.

[Alaa Nassef]

Originally posted by Ulf Dittmer:

That would be extremely annoying in a real office, like someone playing foosball in the office next door. But luckily this is just a promotional video.

Yeah. My company promotes itself primarily by how good life is at it, but we keep getting mails on keeping the noise level down. We do have a great working environment with LOTS of activities, but a person shouldn't disrupt his colleagues in a professional environment.

[Abdul Kader]

Google and Thoughtworks are companies where the work cultures is unique and more casuals... The way they execute the projects are more Quality when compared with other companies.

I really really attached with the way the thoughtworks executes it projects using Test driven development.

Guys is there any company in which focus on the test driven developments ...

please let me know

[Ulf Dittmer]

Originally posted by Abdul Kader:
Google and Thoughtworks are companies where the work cultures is unique and more casuals... The way they execute the projects are more Quality when compared with other companies.

What are you inferring this from? Each company has their own culture. Lots of companies have a casual style. Lots of companies produce quality software. In these regards, I don't think there's much special about these two that couldn't be replicated elsewhere.

[Ramaswamy Srinivasan]

Originally posted by Ulf Dittmer:

What are you inferring this from? Each company has their own culture. Lots of companies have a casual style. Lots of companies produce quality software. In these regards, I don't think there's much special about these two that couldn't be replicated elsewhere.

Absolutely!!! I agree with Ulf.

The "code of conduct" may vary from company to company. It is how they perceive it. I also aligns with which sector of the industry you serve.

Creativity has nothing to do with the work culture. There is creativity in companies where a formal business suite is a maondatory.

IMHO, we are deviating from the topic!

[Ben Souther]

Originally posted by Ramaswamy Srinivasan:
IMHO, we are deviating from the topic!

Agreed.
This a good question that should be able to generate plenty of discussion without breaking our policy on naming specific companies.

[Marc Peabody]

Originally posted by Sheeba Gandhi:
With my past experience and knowledge shared with my friends I strongly believe most of people (includes me) in the Indian companies are doing the same repetitive task as a machine.

If you're a programmer you should have the least repetitive job on the planet!

Our entire jobs are based on recognizing repetitive processes and molding them into algorithms a computer can understand and process. Every algorithm we write is unique, because there's no value in duplicating a previous solution.

[Abdul Kader]

I do agree with 'Marc', as per my knowledge most of people in India are doing the same job over and over again. this is most in support projects.

I believe there are 80% project in India are support projects.I was previously in a support projects, where most of the time i have upload some files to the FTP server and make then to parse by the System.

I asked to my customer to automate this , she told me that this can done manually ... in that scenario what i have to do,project req is also important right.

How this can be avoided. any thoughts ? :roll:

[Tim Holloway]

Basically, if you want originality and creativity, you're either going to have to find an employer that does such things or you're going to have to do it yourself. Unfortunately, there's a lot of money to be made in code grinding, so contracting services - especially offshore ones - don't have much use for creativity.

Software is a perennial management headache. Because it is designed for mindless automated devices, the executive tier thinks that it, too, should be a mindless automated process, which can be commoditised and done by interchangeable workers just like on a factory assembly line. The problem is, once we get a given software process down to something that can be done without intelligence, we can turn that process over to a machine and there will be another creative challenge ready to be solved (at least for the foreseeable future). Software isn't like bog rolls where there's an advantage to turning out identical copies forever - it's more like custom-made furniture. While the overall shape may be familiar, the details are what give it its value.

We've been fighting this battle since before I started working in the business. Unlike architecture, people can't tell a flimsy model from an industrial-grade webapp. Unlike medicine, no one seems to understand that the fact that a Boy Scout can bandage a cut is not the same as thinking he can do a liver transplant. If anyone can finally get this message across, I'm nominating them for a Nobel Prize.

In the mean time, probably the best way to do creative in a non-creative world is to find some time and resources to make your own creativity.
[ March 28, 2008: Message edited by: Tim Holloway ]

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Originally posted by Abdul Kader:
I was previously in a support projects, where most of the time i have upload some files to the FTP server and make then to parse by the System.

That sounds like something you could automate. What if you wrote a script to FTP the files? This could be done as part of your task and gradually expand to do more. If I get my task done, what's the difference if I do it manually 100 times or write a program and use the free time to create more value for the company?

Process automation is often a good candidate for this type of thing because you control it. Even if you are the only one who ever uses it, you get your tasks done faster and become more productive. Once people see your productivity, your tools might expand. Quality is a similar area. If you can put in place processes to increase your quality, this also creates more value.

[Abdul Kader]

thanks Jeanne