I can't speak for others but I chose Ruby/ Rails over Python/ Django, because the Rails community seemed bigger and much more active. This may not be necessarily true of course, but I took a look at Ruby and liked what I saw, so much that I never looked back :)
There will also be hospitals that have a higher rate. That said, the number is relevant as medical tourists tend to go to hospitals like this doctor's not the bad hospitals.
The main point is that you can get a better chance of living at a much cheaper rate.
That seems absurdly low. I stay in Chennai and typical taxi rates run upwards of 18Rs per KM (approx 0.48US$ per mile). I agree there is a considerable difference in the cost of living, but what you likely paid the guy was a tip for the entire week. Even assuming the car, gas etc. was paid by your company, the amount still seems low for a driver's fee for a week. My dad's driver makes 11,000INR a month.
94,000 Rupees is a lot of money in India but it is not so huge either. A small local doctor in a city will make around that money in a month.
(ps: If you actually had a guy driving you for 25$ in Chennai, do pass me his number. I will happily use him.)
All I know is what was on the hotel bill (Westin). It's possible that they had negotiated a rate with the service. I did tip, based on the guideline I was told, about 50 rupees per day.
"Me : I am not sure whether I can generalize."
That was the clearest, most rational thought in the entire post and it is unfortunate that you did not pay heed to it.
1. These guys have worked pretty hard and/or are pretty damned smart which was the reason they got in there in the first place. The placement opportunities reflect exactly that and that is a pretty strong incentive for them not to launch their own startup.
2. Getting some working experience is a very good thing because their jobs offer them great exposure and experience, a pretty strong network of people and a clearer picture of what they are up against. While jumping off a cliff might be very brave and fashionable thing to do, it might not always be the smartest.
The startup ecosystem sucks in India and is nothing compared to the US (I leave room for the grass is greener effect - I don't think that is the case here). Funding is hard to come by and most business don't like dealing with startups. When the odds are that badly stacked against you, a broader network of people helps enormously.
3. A good %age are gasp actually interested in their engineering courses (IITM particularly has a healthy number & tradition) and pursue further studies abroad. A few of them go on to start their own companies in the US and others contribute to startups there.
4. When I see the word solution, I expect to actually see a solution - not read why you think it is an inherent quality.
5. Never use statements like "X group never does it". It takes away whatever miniscule credibility the article has. Some obvious examples of IITians doing startups: Flipkart, Rabi Kisku entertainment (Rabi Kisku and Siddharth Nuni are about to release their movie Software Hardware kya yaaroon) and several several more. You just have to look.
6. Startups are not for everyone. Hardworking and smart alone doesn't cut it and it is not a bad thing that not all these guys are doing it. Doesn't mean they are wasting their life away.
Disclaimer: I was one of those Vetti 5 pointers at IITM, who took a 2.75l job in 2006 ago and I am running my own bootstrapped startup with my batchmate since 2011. If my startup fails (at my last stand), I don't think I will do a bootstrapped startup in India ever again and that has very little to do with the size of my cojones.
I thank you for making me realize that this post sounds offensive. I didn't mean it that way. I ll update the post with my apologies.
I would like to clear few things here.
[1] This is not a post against IITians or anybody for that matter.
[2] I wrote this post out of concern and in search of a solution that will change the startup scene here in India. It sounds over-ambitious but I want to be a part of such a revolution, however little I contribute.
[3] This article concerns only to related people. I hope I have conveyed that at least
"Of course, there are really pleasant opportunities available that one need not look at entrepreneurship as the only possible work. But my only worry is that people with real motivation also get lost in this place."
[4] I didn't mean it, when I told "IIT guys will never do it". I sincerely apologize again.
No CS degree (B.Tech in Biotechnology). My very first job (in 2005) was as the System Administrator of my college, which was normally filled by CS undergrads. They had this supposed unbreakable new faculty portal and several CS profs and students had vouched for its security. Fortunately for me, the outgoing admin had not heard of SQL Injection and I basically showed that you could break into the system. I became the admin, which helped me land a programming (SAP, IT Services) job and 4+ years later I started my own mobile apps startup.
I had pretty good growth when I was working for the big firms, so it did not affect me there. However, after starting up, I find that I really wish that I had some formal education in CS. It bothers me that I might be coming up with really inferior solutions to certain common problems. But my hands are a little full right now. Some day, perhaps.
