How I prepared for my Placements

ChotaNarad is really achieving its targets in some sense that now users themselves provide us with valuable information which helps the students at large. Here I'm posting a few posts from one of the users. It really is a useful document to strategize the preparation for the placements. Here it goes..

" I just happened to see this site and found it a really nice initiative. Going through the entire phase and working in the corporate world today I understand the challenges which one has to face during our placement preparation. Although there are many sites to help you fetch placement papers, a concept like this is unique.
The site will not only provide paper pattern and company information but also help you in making your career choice. So I would like to congratulate the founders of Chotanarad. Good job yaar! Having said that even I have a story to share. No, no it is no fairy tale. It is my story. It is about how I made to a got a placement.
I am a B.E. from NSIT. I have pursued my engineering in Computer Science. I started my preparation for placements from my sixth semester.
In the sixth semester When I was in my sixth semester I had started preparing for my placements. I was not very clear about how to go about it. I was a hosteller. My roomie(room mate) was in the fourth year and I studied from her books.
I started with the MCQ book of Yashwant Kanetkar. The one on C. Simultaneously I started reading C by Ritchie. This book proved to be really helpful. It helped me not only in clearing my concepts but also in my interviews. Many questions were asked directly from it.
Since we used to go to college in the morning and come back by afternoon we only had evenings to prepare. Then we had to do one or the other college assignment. Though there were days when I used to bunk some classes, most of the time I was left with only evenings and nights to study.
There were many distractions in hostel and so it was difficult to utilize the time very efficiently. But whatever little time I had I gave it to my preparations. Also I had set some targets for myself. I started my preparations in January, completed two MCQ books on C by February mid. So you can imagine how leisurely I was doing it.
Then I started with Ritchie and MCQs on pointers. As I mentioned before also I found Ritchie very helpful especially the chapter on Pointers.
I know some people find Ritchie a difficult book. But my concepts of C were pretty clear and so I did not find it a difficult book. You can use any other book to work on your basics and then do this book if you find it difficult to start with. I had finished the two books by mid April. In the meantime I was also working on building my aptitude. For this I referred to Shakuntla Devi’s puzzles.
We used to build our word power in groups. Things are always easy and interesting when one mixes fun with learning. Also we made it a point to read newspapers daily. I got busy with my end semesters and my practicals in May so I could not devote anytime to my placement preparation... "

Read the full post at ..
http://chotanarad.com/threadview.aspx?subcatid=35&catid=14&Threadid=474&createdby=787&flag=1

Product based Company vs Services company

It is a common notion among the freshers and also among some of the people in the industry to consider services company as completely devoid of innovation and thriving solely on labor arbitrage. I was myself guilty of similar thinking for a long time.

However, after the little experience I have in the industry and watching both Services and product development side by side, I have realized that both have their own unique challenges and it is not at all fair to put services companies on a lower pedestal than product companies.

Firstly, there aren't really any true product companies. No company can simply build and sell products without providing services around them. Microsoft - the epitome of software product development - has a very large fraction of its work force providing support and associated services around its products. Apple, IBM, Sun - you name it - all develop products and provide services around them. If anything - many of these companies (notably IBM) have realized that services is a much more profitable business to be in. IBM Global Services is probably world's largest software services company.
Secondly, unlike common perception, services companies constantly innovate to remain competitive. The innovation may be in the form of better processes, better hiring strategies, or in developing complex technical solutions for their clients. It is true that many large software services companies do routine incremental maintenance work for systems that were architected elsewhere. However, that is true for large product companies as well which need to invest majority of their resources in maintaining and updating previous versions of their products. If anything, a services company has better chances of doing interesting work in varied technologies as against a product company which is likely to be tied to a single platform and a single product. For a services company, every client and every project is an opportunity to pick up a new technology. The portfolio and technical breadth of services companies is undeniably greater than those of product companies.
The greatest advantage of working in a services company is that you learn to listen very carefully to what your customers are saying. On the shoulders of its clients, a services company gets an opportunity to look closely at varied business models, ship varied products and learn from mistakes and successes of others.

The product company on the other hand the product based company has its own systems in place and is more of ‘content’ than ‘presentation’.
Let me elaborate a bit. A product company is not necessarily great because it innovates. What makes a (good) product company truly stand out is its ability to place its bets on building something in a way that nobody else has, and then giving it all the company's got. Product companies invest in R&D, they take chances, and in their DNA is the ability to know “what” to build without somebody telling them to. The what is a very key element.
The technical challenges and innovation will be similar but a services company does not own the intellectual property and also does not take the responsibility of the success of the idea. This responsibility makes a product company special because it makes long term revenue for the company. (And explains the swelling packages offered to the employees!)
Which one’s for you. You decide yourself..
Product companies are about innovation, service companies are about understanding, listening to clients and addressing the solution within deadlines. The processing of listening to the market is the common aspect of both. However, the kinds of people required for these roles are fundamentally different. Think consulting firm, and you can imagine the big B school MBAs in client relationship roles. There is a lot more emphasis on soft skills, on formal processes, less emphasis on precision or sustainability, less time for innovation, less thought on the code line and more on getting to a solution that works in time. Product companies require more creative people, but their social skills might not be as good. Again this is an observation and not a rule of thumb.

Narad Vachan:
A product company uses its people to create intellectual property.
A services company rents its people out so others can create intellectual property.
A product company takes a $20/hour Java programmer and uses her skills to create a $20 million product.
A services company takes a $20/hour Java programmer and rents him out for $25/hour.

Starting with a start-up?

Every now and then you hear of a certain startup company visiting the campus and the compensations are huge to say the least. Anything which will tempt the best of the lots.
But if you're trying to choose whether to pick the tried and tested dream company of your’s or brave the waters of a start-up, it's crucial to consider the entire landscape of compensation and career growth.

Start with salary.
Once upon a time, you could expect to work at a start-up for a pittance -- if you got paid at all. Most senior managers and founders lived in their parents' garages while building a company into a real business.
The billions of dollars in venture capital being poured into start-ups has changed all that, giving many start-ups enough cash to pay competitive salaries. However, always remember the mysterious gap between the CTC and the in-hand salary. You certainly wouldn’t like to have an in-hand salary of 19k per month and a 4.8 lpa CTC. So get your facts clear first.

Consider the hours you'll be expected to work.
The defining characteristic of a start-up is working long hours. In the first few years of a start-up's life, it's not uncommon to work 12-hour days, seven days a week.
If you're working double the hours that you would work anywhere else for the same salary, you've effectively taken a 50-percent pay cut. And the time that you spend working could very well have been used for other things.
It's hard to measure the opportunity cost of giving up all your free time. Maybe you would have spent it on the couch, but then again, maybe you would have taken a class or written that novel. Those with families have to consider the toll work will take on their personal lives.

What other opportunities does the start-up offer?
Although the lure of riches is compelling for many people, there are some other reasons to work for a start-up that don't involve dollar signs.
For example, in most start-ups, people are given greater responsibility than they would have in a more established company. For many, having start-up experience is another step on the career ladder. So that what you can learn in an year you might not be able to learn in 5 years working in an established giant.


Are you ready for it?
The work load and the responsibility put in are enormous. Considering your first job, are you ready for it coming straight out from the colleges where the only responsibility was hosting the cultural fest. Or you think you need proper training and stuff to get prepared for the big bad corporate world. ‘Coz that’s not going to happen there. Work from day 1.

How many shares of stock will you get from a start-up?
Just because stock is being offered doesn't mean your dreams of becoming Bill Gates are almost fulfilled. Look at the details of the entire process. Companies have a lot of flexibility in how they offer their stock to employees. Find out how much you'll have to invest to make use of your options.

How long until they vest?
It's crucial to bear in mind how long you'll have to stick around to own all your shares. This typically takes four years or even longer. A start-up is not exactly a get-rich-quick scheme.

What if the company is sold?
Many start-ups make attractive acquisitions -- in fact, some are founded in hopes that they'll be acquired by one of the giants, such as Amazon.com or Yahoo.
But what about you, your shares, and your job? Many people who are attracted by the excitement of working for a start-up don't want to work for one of the giants. If your company is bought before you fully vest, you may have to work for a company you don't especially like or have to give up some of your stock.

So go for it for the challenger inside you and the challenges it offers. After all it's always your belief in yourself more than your belief in the company.