What is India's biggest export to the US?

[nakatago]

IIT Bombay (like most other IITs) has a very bad gender mix, (like 10 women for every 400 guys?) so more often than not most IITB guys were classified as "despos"... atleast while they were studying there (No offence @ milieu but you know what I mean)

You just described the majority of all engineering and technical study programs in the world. Nothing to do with ability, it's just it's usually guys who are into tech stuff.

Of course, if more women go into tech, the nerds and the geeks of the world will rejoice.

@IM: the practice of "accent neutralization" stems from the popular belief that people are more comfortable with a familiar face...or in this case, voice.

"Hello, Mid-American Novelties..."

[Strong Eagle]

I stopped watching the clip after 30 seconds when she said "IIT may be the most important university you've never heard of." IIT was already well known 15 years ago in this part of the world.

Reminds me of the TV series Outsourced, with the A team and B team Indian call centre operators. IIT grads are the big-time real world A team.

Nowadays when I call IT helplines, I'm relieved to hear an Indian voice on the line. It always means my problem will be solved quickly and usually on the first attempt, unlike many clueless helpline staff elsewhere in the world. And these aren't even the elite IIT grads, just the average IT savvy ones.

Why would an IIT grad work in a call center when they know they can work in a high-prestige R&D center or financial institution? Our former R&D HR manager here mentioned that he doesn't bother scouting for IIT grads because they're "high-flyers" (his words). And this manager is Indian himself. No offense to call-center employees.

And BTW, call center agents in the Philippines actually undergo accent training to mask their true location. I'm pretty sure a similar practice happens in India.

PS: Outsourced FTW!

A lot of call centers are moving out of India due to increasing and unpredictable costs. Also moving because staff are willing to jump for a few more dollars per month, creating very high turnover percentages.

I've done a number of call center implementations for managed services. I've yet to see accent training... this is not something you can change in 3 or 4 weeks. Instead, applicants are screened for 'acceptable' accents and approach.

Maybe they do this in non managed services applications but it usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to bring an agent with IT experience up to speed in tools, processes, and bespoke software.

Finding good Japanese and Korean agents outside of their respective countries is particularly difficult... it's not only the accented language, it is the mannerisms and deference that also count... things that non Japanese/Koreans are usually not aware of.

I have seen Philippine data centers with big screen TV's on the wall, tuned in to major sports events in the US... part of the script and patter was to include references to sports scores.

PS: Many in the US cringe when they hear an Indian accented voice... the early attempts at Indian outsourcing were not particularly successful, and like the old adage of 'cheap, inferior Chinese manufacturing', this one continues to stick in spite of improvements.

[Wind In My Hair]

Why would an IIT grad work in a call center when they know they can work in a high-prestige R&D center or financial institution? Our former R&D HR manager here mentioned that he doesn't bother scouting for IIT grads because they're "high-flyers" (his words). And this manager is Indian himself. No offense to call-center employees.

And BTW, call center agents in the Philippines actually undergo accent training to mask their true location. I'm pretty sure a similar practice happens in India.

PS: Outsourced FTW!

My point was that even non-IIT IT professionals are highly competent, let alone IIT grads. The level of IT expertise in India in general is amazing.

Accent training? Not very effective if I can tell within one sentence whether they are Indian or Filipino.

[nakatago]

Why would an IIT grad work in a call center when they know they can work in a high-prestige R&D center or financial institution? Our former R&D HR manager here mentioned that he doesn't bother scouting for IIT grads because they're "high-flyers" (his words). And this manager is Indian himself. No offense to call-center employees.

And BTW, call center agents in the Philippines actually undergo accent training to mask their true location. I'm pretty sure a similar practice happens in India.

PS: Outsourced FTW!

My point was that even non-IIT IT professionals are highly competent, let alone IIT grads. The level of IT expertise in India in general is amazing.

Accent training? Not very effective if I can tell within one sentence whether they are Indian or Filipino.

This is what I know from friends who work in call centers back home. How effective it is is another story. Not all call center agents get the training, to affirm what SE said. Maybe the "big companies" have the training (shrug).

I wonder if any IIT grads directly setup their own call centers?

EDIT: Hoho, I tried looking for blogs by call center agents and I found out there's an indie movie about call center agents called "My Fake American Accent." How...amusing.

[Wind In My Hair]

Hoho, I tried looking for blogs by call center agents and I found out there's an indie movie about call center agents called "My Fake American Accent." How...amusing.

Some radio DJs here have fake American accents too. How... painful.

[Eau2011]

Hoho, I tried looking for blogs by call center agents and I found out there's an indie movie about call center agents called "My Fake American Accent." How...amusing.

Some radio DJs here have fake American accents too. How... painful.

Does Denise Keller speak with fake American accent?

[nakatago]

Accents, huh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw6RgIf6epQ

[okdone]

Oh. Is that where all the hype about IITians is coming from? You didn't hear about the Common Aptitude Test for entrance into IIMs. 300 thousand+ people attempt it of which 10,000 get call, around 1400 get selected. Its easier to crack GMAT(Verbal may b easy in CAT, but GMAT have a easier Quantitative section.) But for many Indians education is un-affordably expensive abroad compared to India.

Moreover, IIM Ahmedabad was ranked 11th in the world (http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... kings-2011). MBAs from IIM (and definitely ISB-Indian School of Business) are the best of the lot. They are the highest paid and most respected. Search the profiles of majority of Indian leaders they will sure have some co-relation to IIMs.

[nakatago]

sure thing, buddy.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Well, at least he's got himself convinced.

[okdone]

Well, at least he's got himself convinced.

Well SMS, I obviously expected it from you. However, facts are there for you to accept or bury your head in the sand. Facts will still be there. Search the net to verify what I've posted.

Employers are looking for IITians but what IITians are looking at? Most of them get head hunted else each of Engineer has a dream of becoming a techno-Manager. B.Tech from IIT and MBA from IIM is a dream profile. However, people cannot even afford the preparation and degrees from these institutes. But yes, educational loans are there for rescue (Its easier to get a loan for IIMs than IITs.)

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/profess ... 41-7353599
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/career-di ... ba-us.html
(And yes even toughest to crack of these is IAS which is cream of the cream the most prestigious profile in India.)
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYQSEkHdHI0]

[nakatago]

cool story, bro.

[okdone]

Nakatago, yeah buddy, story of the guy in that video is really very inspiring. His parents sold all their land, everything for him to prepare for IAS. He didn't had enough money for 3 meals, he survived on single cheap meal a day but persisted towards his dream and achieved the most prestigious profile every Indian dreams of. There are many of such unsung stories in India.

Well yet, I can almost predict SMS's response.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Aside from my agreeing with Nak? What kind of response were you expecting? Fall down on my knees in supplication? Seriously, about the only think I could say is you ought to actually follow the third item in your signature.

[Expat_guy]

I have interviewed and also worked with some of the non-IIT guys from banglore, that was in US, and found them highly talented and intelligent.

My opinion is, take any population, about 2 to 3% will be really intelligent, advantage with India is there will be about qarter to half a million such guys every year who are eager to leave India given the first opportunity. Added advantage is their fairly good english knowledge.