Describe the next generation of design professionals?

What experiences/advises Indian entrepreneurs / I.T Professionals in their Mid 30s to early 40s would like to share with their younger generation of today?

• I am sixty one year old Indian. In my lifetime I have seen FOUR generations, each distinct  from the other in their outlook and opportunities: 1.The immediate Pre/Post Independence generation with a lot of hopes and idealism. 2.The transitional generation, feeling let down and alienated due to the rampant bureaucratic red tapism,corruption,poverty etc. ( I may say that I belonged to this generation during my youth)  3. The Post Liberalization/  Pre-recession generation, with stars in their eyes and their "sky is the limit"attitude, and finally, 4.The Post Liberalization/ Post Recession generation of today, trying to cope/come to terms with the changing global economic scenario. Now,  my sincere feeling is that the ideas/ experiences of the No 3 generation above will carry a much higher value/ validity for the No 4 generation, rather than the views of the No 1 or No 2 generations. Therefore I very humbly request the entrepreneurs/ I.T Professionals of the No 3 generations to share their experiences/ ideas in this excellently informative and interactive platform of Quora with their younger counterparts of today, for the general enrichment and social good. Thanks. Over to you , Ladies and Gentlemen.

• Answer:

  First up: a correction. Those of us, who entered the professional life, post-liberalisation are not a "pre-recession" generation. We are that fortunate generation that has seen a recession for every decade of our lives. We were born into a recession (1970s oil crisis), saw parents live through another recession (1980s) and then entered the workforce near the tail-end of the BOP crisis (1990s), then saw the late-1990s dot-com bust, and finally the continuing 2008 meltdown. Now that the facts are out of the way, here is some advice to the younger ones: Do not join the IT industry in India. (Don't downvote just yet, read on. Nobody inside the industry says all this because it makes them look like idiots. But this is the reality if you look closely enough.) It accounts for less than 10% of the country's GDP (less than retail and agriculture, and on par with tourism, but you couldn't tell by the disproportionate noise created by the industry), does not innovate (please do not make the argument that going from writing code to picking up phones and labelling it BPO is innovation), has largely very bad work culture (punctuated by long hours and hence low productivity) and has low regard for broader intellectual development. In successfully enticing every civil and mechanical engineer to write lines of code in an airconditioned environment, the industry has successfully helped create a deficit of real engineers in India. The shortage of civil engineers alone is estimated at 0.5 Million a year. Apart from the "founding teams", the industry has not made anyone rich, regardless of ESOP and other tools used to hire people. This is generally true in many entrepreneurial ventures -- which is what nearly all of IT indusry in India is -- but we are all also familiar with how Google and Facebook shared wealth with their early employees. If you want to be an entrepreneur, go for it! It may need you to get out of the comfort zone that parental and overall national prosperity probably kept you in, but you are also therefore better-placed than most preceding generations to take a risk and follow your dreams. But -- look for markets outside India, even though our main attraction to others is that we are a big market. Why? See the Rupee tumbling into the gutter? Wonder why that is? Because we consume and do not create enough! Which last big -- exporting and therefore Forex earning -- entrepreneur can you think of who created something in the last 10-15 years? Not many? Yes, that. You are not alone. Seek mentors, advisors and co-founders. Seek help and advice. Bootstrap and then and only then, raise external money. You will respect your wealth -- and the link between work and wealth -- far more. Always be learning. Mark Twain said he never let school interfere with his education. Nor should you. Including Quora, there are now so many avenues and resources, and ways to reach out to and connect with smart people. Learn, learn, learn. And when you think you are reasonably confident, share that learning. Mentor friends, subordinates, seniors and parents alike. Focus on your health. Yes, I know, I know. Imran Khan wants everyone to have a right to drink. Will he fight equally for everyone to have a right to gym access? No? I didn't think so either. Think for yourself. Your body needs to last 50-60 years (if you are in your 20s). Does it look like it will? If not, make small changes and stick to them. Food, rest, sleep and exercise - small changes (I think you can find plenty of solid advice from , for instance, right here), stick to them. Do something for someone else. Share your fortune, improve someone else's life and you will not only help them but also the nation - one person at a time. Sounds like a lot of advice? It really isn't. Some are big things, some are small things. Pick a small win every day and use that to motivate yourself.