After putting a rigorous effort for fetching an IT job in the campus placement, we all wait for that million dollar smile that comes on our parent's faces on getting the good news. Then a month or two goes by in rejoicing the eternal happiness of fetching a job offer until we realize the semesters are again knocking on the door. Some students get placed in the 7th semester while some get placed at the last semester or even in the off campus drives. Now it's a known fact that Infosys Ltd. invests a huge amount of money on our training and development to make one ready for the industry with it's ever increasing demands. So the ones who select Infosys are extremely happy with their career decision and eagerly wait for their appointment letters.
Finally the D-day comes when we receive that long wanted letter in our mailbox. Immediately we start packing and book for trains and flights to Bangalore. By this time, parents are seen with mixed feelings. For them, it is like bidding goodbye to the bride after her marriage. Anyways, after a lot of family drama and a heavy heart, it's finally time to see the world on your own.
The ones who take a bus from Bangalore to Mysore will agree that the route is quite appealing. Both the mountains and especially the climate will steal your hearts. But, that's not the chief attraction. Once you reach Gate 2, both you and your parents will be allowed to enter after the verification of the offer letter. Your luggage would be scanned and you would be boarded on to bus. In the mean time, your parents will wait in Fiesta Food Court. Once your bus starts, in a minute or two, you will be taken in front of the majestic GEC-2. It is a jaw dropping scenario.
Now you will be given a small session on what are the documents needed for the soon to follow induction process. You will also be provided your room keys and a temporary ID card till the time your smart cards are not issued. A very important point - no matter what happens, you should always be found with your ID card, otherwise you will be welcomed by the guards with their flute like whistles and sent back to your room. The bus will now take you to your respective ECCs (Employee Care Center). Aristotle said - "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work". It is now time to visualize how Infosys follows this:
A five star rooms awaits you will almost all facilities possible: TV, beds, sofas, tables, chairs, tea-maker, drawers, cupboards, electronic lockers, night study lamps, A-class bathroom, daily room service etc. You will also be provided tea bag, coffee sachets, sugar, milk powder etc. In a nutshell, Infosys will give you all luxuries in return for your hard work. After taking a glance of your room, you keep your luggage and ride a cycle for Fiesta to meet your parents and describe your experience till then. It is then time for them to leave. This is a heart breaking moment for many employees. Few parents take a lodge and stay for a few more days till the induction process is over.
Next day is most probably your first working day. You will be all dressed in formals (for many it would be the first time). You will rush to your nearby food courts (mostly Oasis, renowned for breakfast), finish your meal and go to Multiplex. It is here where your induction process and formal Infosys life finally starts. Once you are seated, and it finally starts, get ready for the most exciting phase of your life - 'dozing'. Yes, I literally mean it. This induction process will introduce you with the various big shots of the company and the countless company policies. You will be instructed how to fill all your forms. It is a long 3 day process. Finally on the third day, you would be given your education building, room and seat details.
In between you will get lunch breaks, when you will go out with your college mates/friends to the nearest food court (Magna). In the evening, while coming back, you can visit Loyal World at the RC (Recreation Center). It has almost everything needed on a day to day basis. In these initial days, you will get to choose your salary banks which is relatively short and smooth process. By this time, you would have already figured out which Food Courts are famous for which type of food. Sort out your dinner plans accordingly. Punctuality is something which you will get to learn here if not already learnt earlier. This will be needed both in classrooms and food courts. Why in food courts? Just be late on a day and you will learn life lessons when you will see the menu board almost empty.
Your classes will be in GEC 1 & GEC 2. As usual the classrooms are great. You will take your seats as assigned and be ready for your FP(Foundation Program). The ILP is a great source of learning. Its materials are just superb having animations, videos, funny examples etc. A little bit of dedication and you can score great if not good in your FAs (at least in Generic Training). You can find more details of the examination structure here. Stream training is a bit more tough and requires more focus to maintain grades.
But, apart from this there are a lot of activities to be involved in:
The above images are just a handful of options to choose from. On the weekends, you can go for movies in the Multiplex (you will have to be in the long queue before that). Other than that, there are a lot of places to visit in Mysore over the weekends. Do not miss the buffet at The Floating Restaurant. During the training period obviously one gets lesser salary compared to after training, but it is just enough to manage and enjoy Infy Life. Occasionally you will have DJ nights and if you are lucky enough, the date might just merge with one of your FA day. It then becomes a perfect stress reliever after your exams no matter however your exam has been.
Once Generic training is over, then comes a gap of few days before your Stream training starts. You can't leave the campus during the morning even though you don't have classes. But who cares when one has so many places inside the campus to hang out with friends? By this time you must have made a lot of friends. Few of them might need to travel to another DC from Mysore for pursuing their Stream training. But they get a chance to visit a new DC. You will accompany them to their buses with their luggage and bid them good bye.
Stream Training is quite challenging. It's tough to score good marks and you might be even surprised to see the huge difference between your generic and stream training marks. But don't worry and keep up the good work. Remember, its ultimately the concepts you build that will pay you off in the future. You might have to stay back after classes and complete assignments or for further studying. Your weekend outings might be replaced by weekend studies in GECs (though not necessarily). You might feel other stream colleagues are enjoying their life more than you because their syllabus is easier. It's just a matter of perspective and let it not bother you. You will be eagerly waiting for your last FA to end so that your days of enjoyment finally resume.
And finally, that day will come. Your Stream Training will be over and you will be free from this fetching marks competition. Suddenly you will find all your friends waiting for their joining dates in their choice of DCs. Some will get a chance to join industry as soon as the training gets over, while most of them will have to wait. Some will get the chance to join a project in Mysore itself, while others will have to leave their friends and join a new DC. A very few set of students undergo a process called re-skilling. The company feels that the technology taught to these trainees is having less demand at that time and so why not teach them something that is the current industry need.
The ones who are to leave the Mysore campus will have to return their room keys and in exchange they are given something that every fresher in Mysore considers "Alladdin's chirag"- The Black Tag. To the ones who are unaware of this concept, a color tag differentiates the trainees from the working employees (black tags). You will feel very proud and will recall the sleepless nights you might have undergone to finally earn it. Now it's yours, officially. The buses are already waiting for you near Gate 2. This time when you swipe your card and step outside, you will clearly note a difference in the attitude and body language of the security towards you. Do you know why? Its because of the color of your tag.
Its ultimately time to leave your second home which sheltered you for about six months, gave you numerous friends, memories and opportunities. Once you load your luggage, you will hug your friends. You might even want to shed a few tears for the unavoidable parting that's going to happen now. For the last time you wil take a look at the dome of GEC 2 visible from there. As the bus leaves the gate, you wish adieu to your Paradise!
[Note: You can come back to Mysore DC anytime in future and relive your memories again.]
Next day is most probably your first working day. You will be all dressed in formals (for many it would be the first time). You will rush to your nearby food courts (mostly Oasis, renowned for breakfast), finish your meal and go to Multiplex. It is here where your induction process and formal Infosys life finally starts. Once you are seated, and it finally starts, get ready for the most exciting phase of your life - 'dozing'. Yes, I literally mean it. This induction process will introduce you with the various big shots of the company and the countless company policies. You will be instructed how to fill all your forms. It is a long 3 day process. Finally on the third day, you would be given your education building, room and seat details.
In between you will get lunch breaks, when you will go out with your college mates/friends to the nearest food court (Magna). In the evening, while coming back, you can visit Loyal World at the RC (Recreation Center). It has almost everything needed on a day to day basis. In these initial days, you will get to choose your salary banks which is relatively short and smooth process. By this time, you would have already figured out which Food Courts are famous for which type of food. Sort out your dinner plans accordingly. Punctuality is something which you will get to learn here if not already learnt earlier. This will be needed both in classrooms and food courts. Why in food courts? Just be late on a day and you will learn life lessons when you will see the menu board almost empty.
Your classes will be in GEC 1 & GEC 2. As usual the classrooms are great. You will take your seats as assigned and be ready for your FP(Foundation Program). The ILP is a great source of learning. Its materials are just superb having animations, videos, funny examples etc. A little bit of dedication and you can score great if not good in your FAs (at least in Generic Training). You can find more details of the examination structure here. Stream training is a bit more tough and requires more focus to maintain grades.
But, apart from this there are a lot of activities to be involved in:
The above images are just a handful of options to choose from. On the weekends, you can go for movies in the Multiplex (you will have to be in the long queue before that). Other than that, there are a lot of places to visit in Mysore over the weekends. Do not miss the buffet at The Floating Restaurant. During the training period obviously one gets lesser salary compared to after training, but it is just enough to manage and enjoy Infy Life. Occasionally you will have DJ nights and if you are lucky enough, the date might just merge with one of your FA day. It then becomes a perfect stress reliever after your exams no matter however your exam has been.
Once Generic training is over, then comes a gap of few days before your Stream training starts. You can't leave the campus during the morning even though you don't have classes. But who cares when one has so many places inside the campus to hang out with friends? By this time you must have made a lot of friends. Few of them might need to travel to another DC from Mysore for pursuing their Stream training. But they get a chance to visit a new DC. You will accompany them to their buses with their luggage and bid them good bye.
Stream Training is quite challenging. It's tough to score good marks and you might be even surprised to see the huge difference between your generic and stream training marks. But don't worry and keep up the good work. Remember, its ultimately the concepts you build that will pay you off in the future. You might have to stay back after classes and complete assignments or for further studying. Your weekend outings might be replaced by weekend studies in GECs (though not necessarily). You might feel other stream colleagues are enjoying their life more than you because their syllabus is easier. It's just a matter of perspective and let it not bother you. You will be eagerly waiting for your last FA to end so that your days of enjoyment finally resume.
And finally, that day will come. Your Stream Training will be over and you will be free from this fetching marks competition. Suddenly you will find all your friends waiting for their joining dates in their choice of DCs. Some will get a chance to join industry as soon as the training gets over, while most of them will have to wait. Some will get the chance to join a project in Mysore itself, while others will have to leave their friends and join a new DC. A very few set of students undergo a process called re-skilling. The company feels that the technology taught to these trainees is having less demand at that time and so why not teach them something that is the current industry need.
The ones who are to leave the Mysore campus will have to return their room keys and in exchange they are given something that every fresher in Mysore considers "Alladdin's chirag"- The Black Tag. To the ones who are unaware of this concept, a color tag differentiates the trainees from the working employees (black tags). You will feel very proud and will recall the sleepless nights you might have undergone to finally earn it. Now it's yours, officially. The buses are already waiting for you near Gate 2. This time when you swipe your card and step outside, you will clearly note a difference in the attitude and body language of the security towards you. Do you know why? Its because of the color of your tag.
Its ultimately time to leave your second home which sheltered you for about six months, gave you numerous friends, memories and opportunities. Once you load your luggage, you will hug your friends. You might even want to shed a few tears for the unavoidable parting that's going to happen now. For the last time you wil take a look at the dome of GEC 2 visible from there. As the bus leaves the gate, you wish adieu to your Paradise!
[Note: You can come back to Mysore DC anytime in future and relive your memories again.]
