Posted by Vinod (136.182.2.222) on July 11, 2005 at 11:53:48:

 In Reply to: Thanks! some more questions

Posted by sarada on July 09, 2005 at 06:01:42:

 Hello Sarada,

Unfortunately, I do not know anyone working in a software firm in India who does part time. But, you should really not go by that observation because my engineering contacts who are in India are very few. With the current technology boom in India, I am not suprised that the companies have this drive to deliver fast and that translates to long hours - but that does not mean that you, personally, have to grin(or frown) and bear it! With 12-14 hours days, you are not going to be very productive anyway. Unfortunate that the companies do not see that!

If a switch in jobs is something you are considering, prepare yourself for that change. Make sure that flexible hours or atleast reasonable working hours are among the important factors that you look for. I have a thought that may or may not work for you. Have you considered teaching? If you were teaching computer science or programming at a high school or college, you know for sure that you will have many holidays and a summer vacation and all. You may not make as much as a software engineer, but you will get precious time to do what you really want to do!

If dance is something that you are passionate about, you absolutely have to do something towards making it happen. You do not want to regret NOT having had the chance to dance - at the same time, you do not want to regret the decision. So, try not to make an abrupt change. Ease into it over a period of a few months or even a year. Try to get into a position that allows flexible hours and combine that with taking dance classes as you work and in another year or so, if you feel that you will be a better dancer and person if you chucked the alternate career altogether, then very well do so. But that decision should be based on experience rather than a passionate dream.

I cannot stress the importance of support at home enough. Dance is very demanding- time, energy, attention and finances will all be resources that need to be used a lot. You will need your partner to be very supportive, understanding and forgiving for there will be times when he might feel neglected because you are spending so much time on dance. You want to make sure that he understands that and expects that and it does not come as a surprise. Living with an involved artist is not exactly easy if the partner is not an artist or passionate about something in life. Give enough allowances for that aspect also.

Good luck!