Some Research On My Name.
Ajoy Singha

There is always a risk associated with my name. Whenever I pronounce my name for someone who needs to write it down, there is 60% chance of my full name being misspelled. My name is 'Ajoy Kumar Singha'. Of these three words Kumar is often the only correctly spelled one.

I spent my childhood in a bengali dominated area. The pronounce the word 'ajay - commonly written version of my name' as 'o-joy'. So when I wrote my name in primary school they modified it to 'Ajoy'.

Similarly with my surname 'singha'. When you write this spelling in Bengali or Manipuri, the pronunciation is 'sing-ho'- lion in Bengali. 'Singha' is not a popular surname in rest of the India except in southern Assam. So when you say your sure name is 'singha', they write either 'sinha'- popularised by Shatrughan Sinha or 'singhal' - extra L to suite what they have heard so far.

Here is some of the problems I faced due to my incorrectly spelled name: :-)

1. ICICI Bank sent me a gold credit card with incorrect surname 'Sinha' although I had submitted my passport copy, PAN card and salary slip with the application.

2. An MBBS doctor spelled my name as 'Ajay Sinha' in his prescriptions, all test reports and medicine bills. I had a big fight with my medical insurance company when I wanted to reimburse the cost.

3. I donated Blood during my college days. I was awarded with a donor's card with 'Ajay Singha' written on it
.....list goes on.

A friend of mine sent me a list of names with meanings of each name. I did not find my name 'Ajoy' in that list. That inspired me to do some research on my name. The easiest way was to do some Google search. Here is what I found out.

1. Google web-search with 'Ajoy' returned the following : Results 1 - 10 of about 345,000 for Ajoy. (0.19 seconds)

2. The same search when I clicked 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button directs to http://www.ajoy.com.au/

3. According to register.com information, ajoy.com, ajoy.net are already registered domains. ajoy.info is still available.

4. Google Image-search with 'Ajoy' returned : Results 1 - 20 of about 6,060 for Ajoy. (0.09 seconds). All size image with moderate sate search on.

5. Google web-search with 'Ajoy Kumar Singha' without double quotes returned the following :Results 1 - 10 of about 743 for Ajoy Kumar Singha. (0.21 seconds)

6. Google web-search with 'Ajoy Kumar Singha' with double quotes returned the following :Results 1 - 8 of 8 for "Ajoy Kumar Singha". (0.26 seconds). All this results were related to my blog, my comments on other blogs, my profile on wikipedia, my engineering college website guest book entry.

7. I did the same search with the pages from India option. I got the following result : Your search - "Ajoy Kumar Singha" - did not match any documents.

8. I tried 'define:Ajoy' (finding the definition of Ajoy) on Google search did not give any result either.

9. While doing all this I found out one river in West Bengal (India) called 'Ajoy'. I did a Google Map search for the same but could not locate it.

10. Finally I surfed http://babynames.indobase.com/indian-boys.php and found out the meaning of 'Ajoy', which says the meaning is 'Joyful'.

Here is one image search result from http://spiritnetwork.com/ajoy/titleajoy.gifajoy/titleajoy.gif








So next time you want to use my name for writing, pronouncing, please do it properly.
................
I wasted few hours for writing and you wasted few minutes for reading this post. If you want to do the same time wasting activity, please go ahead, do a same type of research with your name. And send the material, link or e-photocopy to aksingha@gmail.com I would be happy to waste some of my minutes for you.


Labels: 5 comments |
To Mohit and etc who want to join Software Testing !
Ajoy Singha

Mohit wrote this in one of the orkut communities.

"Hi Friend,
Actually I am working in a call centre in technical support Division. Work is related to maintenance. I passed out with electronics from an REC in 2003. But looking the family conditions I have to join whatever got that time. with a bond on 2 years. Now I managed to setup my family and want to come in real field. I come to know from my friends about software testing , which an emerging field and easy to get into.I also have done Software testing course of 2 months from xxx training institute.
In my present field there is not so growth, and moreover I have to work as a technician.
There are not vacancies for fresher or they prefer 2006/07 pass outs.Dear friend can you advise me? Should I apply as a fresher or with showing 2 years of experience in software testing? In this case , will company investigate my past?
I have not made my resume yet. Please advise me. I have taken the firm decision to change my field. Looking for a job at Delhi.
Thanks again."

..... And there are so many Mohits in today's IT industry, specially in software testing. People think software testing as a launch pad to IT industry, easy, and not requiring hardcore technical, coding, system knowledge etc. It is not. Software testing is not an easy job. It requires skills to find defects in software, ability to think beyond the obvious, think in different ways. Doing a 2 months theoretical course is not enough to become a software tester. Developers write codes, testers find defects. It is similar to students writing paper and professor checking them. Testers are the guardians of the product. They are responsible for software's quality. It is well said that "testers do not make software, they make them better."

So here are some advice for Mohit and etc:

1. Yes it is very easy to use software testing as launch pad to IT industry, but it is equally difficult to keep flying if you do not have the real skill. It is very easy to clear interview, but equally tough to do the real work.

2. If you show 2 years (fake) experience, most of the companies will do a background check. If you are caught, you are black listed.

3. Doing a course in software testing is good. But do not assume that the training provider will get you a job. It all depends on your skill. Do not listen to fake promises by training institutes.

4. Learn skills that are required to be a tester. Talk to the experienced people who are in the same profession. Keep your eyes, ears open. Learn about the new technologies. Prepare for ISTQB exam. If you can, do this certification.

5. Enhance your reasoning ability. Try to think every possible thing in different ways. If you are a fresher, download some beta version software and test it. Compare your results with other fellows testing the beta software. If you find some bugs, mention them in your resume.

6. Be honest. Say that you are a fresher in software testing. But mention that you have work experience (Call center technical support in Mohit's case). Prepare a valid reason why you want to join IT industry. Don't say growth opportunity. Show your passion for software testing.

7. You will eventually become a technician if you do not have skills. To achieve growth (in any industry), you have to be proactive, prove your skill and perform better than the team. This is same in IT industry as well as in BPOs.

At the end, anyone who is hard working, smart working, skilled and honest will lift the cup. Prepare yourself. Don't be knocked down by your past. You have a war in future to be won. All the best Mohit.
Labels: 3 comments |