Ahoy! Where am I going? Date:   Monday , December 12, 2005 Career paths in India are poised to achieve world-class competitiveness. With India emerging as a global R&D hub and support center for IT, the challenges of the next business cycle will demand a new set of skills from the career seekers. It has brought the technology and business skills to the crossroads: It raises various key issues such as what is right for you? Is the Indian techie really ready to pace up with the changing landscape? In today’s business scenario, whether one is in a job or looking for something new, it is vital that one thinks proactively about their career to create the opportunities that will be the most rewarding. It is imperative to be alert, make right decisions, stay connected with one’s personal and professional network, and be ready to make the right move at the right time. In India IT professionals are hungry to know about career options that would make them successful. To bridge the gap of industry expectation and career aspiration, we have organized unique career workshops that provides a great learning and networking platform for the experienced IT talent. Several IT professionals have benefited from these workshops. They have had the opportunity to learn about career paths from various experts external to their own organizations. Though our workshops are pretty well received by professionals and the industry we see a lack of information available to the mass. In an effort to fill the gap want set out to disseminate career-related ideas and opitions to the larger portion of the tech community in India. With this aim, we launch India’s first career magazine for IT professionals—The Smart Techie. Our charter is to update our readers on the latest developments in technology and how these developments will impact their careers. The magazine aims to capture insights from the experiences of senior IT professionals, experts from across the globe, and provide tips to help shape the career of technical professionals. Each one of us is striving for success in our career. Only when each individual succeeds, will we advance as a developed country. As we move along in our career, there is a lot to learn from our peers. In the first of the series, we would like to spread the spirit of innovation. We have profiled top 10 innovators in India. We hope their work will inspire others to develop a passion for innovation. This being the inaugural issue let me tell a little about me. After graduating with an electronics and communications engineering degree, my passion for writing lured me to journalism. Years in this field I have developed a deep appreciation for the tech professionals in India and how given the right information they excel under any circumstance. We seek your active participation in making this magazine a great success. We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences. We look forward to your feedback or suggestions. With your valuable input, we would like to cover new developments in information and technology that could impact your career. Please feel free to write to me by mail, drop me a mail or call me. All of us at The Smart Techie wish you the very best of the season. We appreciate your time and look forward to your response as we strive to bring you the best that could make a difference in your career. Pradeep Shankar editor@thesmarttechie.com