Mr. Urvish Mahida is an experienced Technical Lead who moved to the USA in order to continue his education and begin his professional journey. Amid a thriving career, he decided to move back to India in order to be closer to his roots and family.
Our team was interested in getting to know him better, understanding his path, and getting feedback on his experience working with GTX.
Read on for a glimpse into Urvish’s journey.
Could you give us a brief about yourself?
After spending 2 years in Amdocs in Pune as a software engineer, I decided to explore the field in more depth. This was why I decided to make the move to the USA to pursue a Master’s degree at Arizona State University. Post that, I landed a job at Qualcomm in Silicon Valley- an absolutely fascinating place for software professionals. I spent 9 years working there.
Throughout my career, I’ve gained the experience of working in large-scale firms as well as small to medium-scale organizations and even startups, primarily focusing on infrastructure development and distributed systems.
What motivated you to move to the USA to pursue further education? How did you adjust to the change?
It was just because I felt the opportunity was great, and the entire process started when I accepted the MS course at ASU. It was a great learning experience, and it was where I was introduced to all the concepts that I needed to build my career later on.
The work culture in the US is overwhelming for sure, and that required some adjusting to. However, there’s always a drive within people to learn and grow further. Silicon Valley offers people many knowledge-sharing opportunities. There were quite a few Tech Summits that were organized by companies like AWS, Google, Cassandra, etc. People connected over a pizza and beer to share ideas and showcase projects.
When do you think you started considering a move back to India?
It was motivated by personal reasons and a strong desire to be close to my family and the place where I had spent my childhood and grew up in. I lived in the USA for around 10 years, and had visited home roughly 12 times- gives you an idea about how homesick I felt!
What finally made you decide to “take the plunge”?
I was already feeling a tug in my heart because of how much I missed home. COVID-19 was the real eye-opener and brought about an opportunity to unwind and weigh my priorities. I got a chance to reflect on how I was feeling- I realized moving closer to my parents and family would give me all the joy that I was missing at the moment. I decided to pack my bags and return- and didn’t feel any pangs of regret. On the contrary, it was exciting for me to use my experience and knowledge to innovate in the Indian software space. It took about 3-4 months of concrete execution before I could officially shift back.
What aspects did you need to consider and sort out before the shift?
I hadn’t yet purchased a home in the USA, so it was relatively easy from that aspect. The most important factor was the professional aspect as I had been working in that culture for a long time. The culture is different, people’s approach to executing projects differs as well as the general nature of the work.
There were also certain social situations to work through, however, I honestly had nothing to worry about that. It’s much better back home!
What were your efforts toward finding the perfect opportunity in India? What were you seeking?
I was seeking an opportunity in companies that were involved in a new-age field like Fintech.
I reached out to a few friends and fellow alumni from my undergrad. I participated in career fairs and reached out to a few recruiters. While they were helpful, they were usually recruiting for specific companies, which limited my options. The job fairs were perhaps not well-organized as there was slippage from the employer’s end.
How did you get in touch with Global Talent Exchange (GTX) and how was your experience different as compared to the others?
I was made aware of GTX through an email and got to know about a virtual career fair “Billion Dreams” that they organize. I found incredible value in it.
The most impressive aspect of the GTX team was their continuous effort to stay in touch and connect candidates to the right people and opportunities. It was a very organized process, and I appreciated the single portal that has been built to look for jobs. They’ve continued to grow in terms of the companies that they work with- which is great.
If you could convey any message to the NRIs reading this, what would you say about India and the opportunity landscape?
I would certainly tell them that India is now the 3rd largest startup economy in the world. The Government, people, and industries back home are fixated on building a $5 Trillion economy. This is exactly the time to shift back and take advantage of the plenty of opportunities that are up for grabs. India is going to massively change in just 7-8 years.
In particular, roles in distributed systems, scaling solutions, immersion data centers, and chip manufacturing would be great for skilled NRI techies. The Fintech, Blockchain-based tech, AI, and Quantum Computing fields are also booming.
Would you recommend Global Talent Exchange to other NRIs that are looking to return to India?
Yes, I would! GTX now has a much larger network of companies that they work with, giving NRI job-searchers plenty of options which speeds up the decision-making process and paves the way for a smooth transition.
Seeking a job change or moving back to India, but don’t know where to begin?
GTX can help.
Log on to www.globaltalex.com or write to us at techrec@globaltalex.com for more information.
