This is what I’ve been going through for the past 11 months!
So I pursued my bachelors in computer science with (3.4/4 GPA) and was honoured with 7th rank in my batch.
Post this, I’ve got an opportunity to work at a billion dollar service based IT company. They offered $8,400 per annum package along with a 5 year bond agreement stating that they would employ me as well as sponsor my masters education from a well recognised university. The classes will be conducted only on weekends and from Mon to Fri, I will be working for them.
Initially I wasn’t pleased cause the masters degree which they were sponsoring would take 5 years to complete( as it was conducted only during the weekend ) which is why they had kept the bond amount for 5 years but I was later convinced as I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to gain experience in cooperate field as well as learn for master’s without opting for a student loan or any help from my parents.
In the bond agreement, it was mentioned that if I break the bond during my first year of masters then I have to pay around $4,000( as the company is paying for my tuition fee) and the bond amount will be reduced by $500 as I move from 1st year to 5th year.
Also during the tenure, I’ll be working for 9.5 hrs a day and in different shift timings (depending on the project)
This may sound extreme to you!
But for the sake of learning and scaling up my skills and that too at a well known multinational company in India, I decided to join this company.
After receiving an initial training, I joined the team and was excited but was immediately taken aback when I came to know from my project manager that what I’ll be doing is going to be completely non technical work and involves basically providing service desk support, managing customer incident tickets, monitoring user issues and preparing reports in excel sheet. I was speechless but later thought of giving this a shot cause I didn’t knew about this role and work exposure and felt that I could try and see if this actually works for me.
It wasn’t late enough to realise that this role is a disaster. The work was tedious and I was also getting more and more tasks as the day goes by and ultimately was getting paid just around $700. I informed my manager to change my project and he declined the request and said that I need to complete at-least 24 months before requesting a project change.
So long story short:
I was fucking trapped and didn’t knew what to do. I somehow pulled on with this role and later got stressed out. I was treated badly by some of the seniors and they handed over their work to me on several occasions as well. I felt alone and struggled daily. Eventually I mentioned to my HR that I’ll be leaving the company due to personal reasons and I can’t afford the bond amount. My HR responded back with no compassion at all and stated that I can leave but I need to pay the dues as per the agreement.
So I left the job after 11 months of working like hell and broke the bond agreement.
It’s been 3 months since I’ve left and ever since then, each month I’ll be receiving mails from the company to complete their final settlement of $4000 dollars.
Obviously I don’t have that much to pay.
I’m not sure what the fuck I should do to get out of this situation. I’m completely depressed!
So that’s how it’s been for me..I now feel like I’m not worthy for anything..I sometimes cry out loud in my bed and even wonder why I woke up from sleep..I wish I never woke up!
Please note:
I’ve mentioned the amount in dollars for better understanding. The amount is quite equivalent if you look from a $ perspective.
I’m currently unemployed and planning to study masters somehow by taking a student loan.
(Also I haven’t figured out the way to pay the dues for my bond settlement yet)
Please pardon me if there’s any grammatical mistake. It’s hard to express in text what I’ve been going through….