Life of a Software Engineer in his own words

It is 8.00 AM on a Sunny Monday. With half-open eyes, I slide my hand on the bed to search for the phone that I vaguely remember putting under the pillow before going to sleep. After moments of fanatic hand movements, I end up getting hold of my warm friend, who is blinking red, begging for a recharge. Noticing it’s 8.00 AM with my hazy vision suddenly makes my heart jump a beat when I remember having a team meeting scheduled at 9.30 AM.

               With the frustrating feeling that the weekend got over so soon, I go through a magical routine that gets me ready for work within half an hour. After getting dressed, the first thing I put on after getting dressed is the essential thing in my work life: the “ID CARD,” a card with a chip with boldly written software engineer, and a childhood photo that makes me feel younger. I manage to shove something down my throat in the name of breakfast and then begin the battle of motorcars, buses, and bikes on the dusty streets of my city.

Daily Routine of a Software Engineer

               I reach the office by 9.30 on my bike with hair looking like a wig, having endured the pressure of my helmet coupled with sweat causing a partial flood. No kidding! I rush to the conference room and find other software engineers busy with their fingers typing away like there is no tomorrow on their beloved smartphones.

I then start hearing profound words like the deadline, client, requirements, bottlenecks, delivery, documentation, testing, etc. Half of the words I do not entirely understand but pretend to do so by nodding my head. When I try asking a senior software engineer, the answer often is a smirk, a wavy hand gesture, or a go search in the company portal (which I have no idea where to find).

               One hour of technical and business bombardment and then comes to the most feared Q&A session where there is always somebody to call your name and ask you questions specifically. I sheepishly reply and finally get out for a cup of powdered stuff mixed with water called coffee/tea labeled with fancy names like latte, mochaccino, cappuccino, chococcino, and whatnot.

               I cannot help but notice a beautiful woman walking past me, forgetting that my coffee is getting cold. I curse myself for my inferiority complex caused by a receding hairline and a bulging tummy, thanks to tons of coffee, fast food, and the occasional smoke. I finally end up having that terrible-tasting coffee anyway. I return to my desk to switch on my Office Computer and pray that my day goes well without any critical error or tickets.

               On the other hand, Social media has ruined my peace of mind just like all other software engineers. The smartphone starts crying with notifications from Facebook, WhatsApp, and the never-ending list of social media where some of my friends are holidaying, gambling, dancing, farting, and what not!

I start cursing my life because my graduation degree is NOT related to the work I do and because I have been dancing to the tunes of my management, still expecting them to send me onsite. Nosy relatives say, “You must be earning good money and have a great life.” You cannot blame them either because all they see is swanky offices, team lunches in star hotels, high profile English words on phone conversations, free coffee, and good clothes.

Ah Well! Who am I, you ask? I am a software engineer, and I am an expert in writing emails. I live with the never-ending thought that I shall live in peace someday!

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