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My father used to work for ISRO too, from '74 to '97. He started with Satish Dhawan, one of the founders of the Indian space program. They moved at the same tim

by shas3 13y ago

My father used to work for ISRO too, from '74 to '97. He started with Satish Dhawan, one of the founders of the Indian space program. They moved at the same time from IISc. I agree with everything deepGem has to say about ISRO. It is far from the 'third world space program' that many like to romanticize. Few thoughts: - There is a common myth, one about how Indians used bullock carts to test the antennas on a satellite. This, for example, wasn't because they couldn't anechoic chambers, but simply because bullock carts have few metallic parts to interfere with the actual measurements. Image here: https://lh3.ggpht.com/_1UepX3L4zzs/S6Fd5jUwoJI/AAAAAAAAAjU/iwRJkDfAX9E/s400/AppleTransport3.jpg https://lh3.ggpht.com/_1UepX3L4zzs/S6Fd5jUwoJI/AAAAAAAAAjU/i... - Regarding the budget, the predominant political philosophy in India is what Americans would call 'tax-and-spend'. ISRO has essentially a limitless budget to spend on their projects. My father used to travel first class on international trips to meet suppliers in the 1980s and early 1990s. The reason for low-brow tables and ceiling fans is more to do with cultural aspects. In fact, there are many top universities, and old corporations (based on anecdata) in the US where working conditions are 'ghetto' by Apple-Google-Facebook standards. The reason simply is that renovating workplace infrastructure is a pretty significant expense. I can also tell you that there are absolutely no problems with technology infrastructure (including internet speeds) in ISRO. Some of their offices were wired for internet as early as early as 1992. The one downside of working at ISRO, as with any government establishment is the bureaucracy that one has to deal with, and the general reverence for seniority (vs. reverence for pure merit, etc.)

kamaal 13y ago
I wanted to comment on the other comment, but those people were getting abusive and had to stop there. >>My father used to work for ISRO too, from '74 to '97. This is comparing Apples to Oranges. 1974 India had such a dismal technology scene, ISRO would have looked like India's technology paradise back then. What were the opportunities for technology folks then? Trying settling down in Europe or US, if you can't the next best case scenario is work at BHEL, ITI, BEL and ISRO sort of companies. The next alternative was to work at a assembly line, and next is open a small time grocery shop. I see this tone repeatedly mentioned how some one's dad had so much from ISRO at a time when India was in deep clutches of socialism. Technology imports are tightly regulated by license raj system. Any comparison between Government firms and private firms from those times is totally meaningless. Because the very concept of a good career in a non-government firm was non-existent. So its not at all strange that people working in ISRO had a good career, because frankly what exactly was there apart from the government firms. We are talking of times when the Ambassador was the only car in India, a telephone connection used to take years to get, and getting a current account in a bank required police verification. And the term private firm was synonymous with a TATA owned company. By these standards, ISRO is the best career option you could have in those days. There is no way you can compare that with IT companies today. Not with the kind of technology infrastructure, or even working conditions, or the compensation and benefits. The scenario today is the very exact opposite of 1970's.
- s-topper 13y ago
  You're the one who's comparing Apples to Oranges. Nobody here are worried about ISRO salary, perks etc. (they are actually good). No one's comparing ISRO to Google or NASA or SpaceX or whatever. You simply started off with this unnecessary, unwanted posts that aren't even remotely true; hopping from one topic to another without any relevance. Since you don't have any firsthand experience, please stop it since your posts are just a noise around here in this thread. You've difficulty in accepting it and you simply keep hopping from one thing to another. Why are you not trying to get a job at Google and relocate to USA, or buy one of those 80 lakh flats at Bangalore. Don't worry about ISRO. They'll be fine.
  - kamaal 13y ago
    >>Nobody here are worried about ISRO salary, perks etc. (they are actually good). Here? You created your account 19 hours back, just for this thread. What do you know about things 'here'? I didn't even reply to you. I am not sure why a Karma 15 account like yours created 19 hours back(Which is a classic troll account sign, which trolls create to work on a specific thread on a particular day) should be even taken seriously.
    - s-topper 13y ago
      >Here? You created your account 19 hours back, just for this thread. What do you know about things 'here'? http://xkcd.com/386/ http://xkcd.com/386/ :)

by shas3 13y ago

kamaal 13y ago

I wanted to comment on the other comment, but those people were getting abusive and had to stop there. >>My father used to work for ISRO too, from '74 to '97. This is comparing Apples to Oranges. 1974 India had such a dismal technology scene, ISRO would have looked like India's technology paradise back then. What were the opportunities for technology folks then? Trying settling down in Europe or US, if you can't the next best case scenario is work at BHEL, ITI, BEL and ISRO sort of companies. The next alternative was to work at a assembly line, and next is open a small time grocery shop. I see this tone repeatedly mentioned how some one's dad had so much from ISRO at a time when India was in deep clutches of socialism. Technology imports are tightly regulated by license raj system. Any comparison between Government firms and private firms from those times is totally meaningless. Because the very concept of a good career in a non-government firm was non-existent. So its not at all strange that people working in ISRO had a good career, because frankly what exactly was there apart from the government firms. We are talking of times when the Ambassador was the only car in India, a telephone connection used to take years to get, and getting a current account in a bank required police verification. And the term private firm was synonymous with a TATA owned company. By these standards, ISRO is the best career option you could have in those days. There is no way you can compare that with IT companies today. Not with the kind of technology infrastructure, or even working conditions, or the compensation and benefits. The scenario today is the very exact opposite of 1970's.

s-topper 13y ago
You're the one who's comparing Apples to Oranges. Nobody here are worried about ISRO salary, perks etc. (they are actually good). No one's comparing ISRO to Google or NASA or SpaceX or whatever. You simply started off with this unnecessary, unwanted posts that aren't even remotely true; hopping from one topic to another without any relevance. Since you don't have any firsthand experience, please stop it since your posts are just a noise around here in this thread. You've difficulty in accepting it and you simply keep hopping from one thing to another. Why are you not trying to get a job at Google and relocate to USA, or buy one of those 80 lakh flats at Bangalore. Don't worry about ISRO. They'll be fine.
- kamaal 13y ago
  >>Nobody here are worried about ISRO salary, perks etc. (they are actually good). Here? You created your account 19 hours back, just for this thread. What do you know about things 'here'? I didn't even reply to you. I am not sure why a Karma 15 account like yours created 19 hours back(Which is a classic troll account sign, which trolls create to work on a specific thread on a particular day) should be even taken seriously.
  - s-topper 13y ago
    >Here? You created your account 19 hours back, just for this thread. What do you know about things 'here'? http://xkcd.com/386/ http://xkcd.com/386/ :)