Hello dear friends, if you are reading this blog post maybe you are looking for an internship or want to know how it feels to intern with a government organization like NHAI.
I was in the final year of the Civil Engineering degree course and my college had signed an MoU recently with NHAI under a new government scheme to send 15 students for an internship, but only 10 students applied and opted in for this internship
The majority of the students were hesitant and afraid to come out of their comfort zone to work at a remote site in harsh working conditions.
Me and my friend were willing to take on this challenge and his home was close to this site so I thought we'll have a great time during the internship as we could rest in his home or at least get some respite from the harsh heat of March-April.
But at last, my best friend canceled his plan and decided not to go for this internship. Furthermore, this internship was also our final year project which made it an "Internship cum Final year Project".
At this point, I was in two minds whether I should go for it or not. But my project guide encouraged and motivated me to do it. So, finally, I decided to try it as it was only for 2 months and I would gain some valuable skills and some site experience.
Initially, all 10 of us were excited to start the internship. We were expecting that:
- We would develop good communication skills.
- Network with senior engineers, site engineers, QC Engineers, Design Engineers, etc., and boost our career prospects.
- Learn industry-relevant skills like Quality Control, Site Supervision, Surveying, Planning, Designing, Estimation and Billing.
- Expecting that this internship will eventually convert into a full-time job or at worst get a job through our network elsewhere.
Now, fast forward to Day 1 - As the project site was located 15-20 km away from the city I had to change 2 buses and those living in the hostel or PG near the college (as most were outsiders in our college).
But, there was no one available on site, we called our professor who was coordinating for the same and additionally also we had one of our college seniors from 2018 batch working as site engineer there.
We finally, got to know that it was a Holiday on that day and were told to come the next day.
Since we had bought the tiffins with us we planned to go to a nearby picnic spot called Bhoothnath mountain, where we trekked for 20 mins, had great fun, and enjoyed having our tiffins sharing with each other the scenic views from the hill-top.
Day-2:
We arrived at 9 am the HR came afterward and he had some list where each one of us was divided in a group of 4 and assigned our sites at different chainages. So out of 4 groups, 3 will be on the site and the remaining 1 group will be in the office.
I was on-site. so to go to the site we had 3 options to travel:
- Bulero - which was for Resident Engineers and other white collar job holders to travel around.
- Tipper - a huge truck that carries construction material.
- Transit Mixer - a truck that mixes concrete while traveling.
- Camper van - a hybrid of Car+truck, this was used to carry surveying and testing equipment. Also, labors sometimes.
We used to wait for at least half an hour to get a seat in any of these vehicles and even if we get some space we had to travel in the cabin of Tipper, Transit Mixer (TM) or had to stand at the back of Camper van.
I have even traveled sitting on top of Tipper.
In the scorching heat of summer of March, when the heat is at its peak, we had to stand for 4-5 hours. At the same time we had our college senior on the same site who used to stand all day. On interacting with him I got to know that he has got various health issues like back pain, tanned skin, respiratory issues, and irritation in eyes due to dust.
So, there were 2 of our seniors deputed on 2 different chainages. Here is what their profile looked like:
Graduate Engineer Trainee, Ashoka Buildcon
Roles and Responsibilities:
To do site supervision, manage skilled and unskilled labor, billing, estimation, and perform quality control tests on the highway surface.
Joining Salary: Rs. 12,000 per month
Perks:
Accommodation
Phone Bill Reimbursement
Free Transportation from room to site
Free Breakfast and Lunch on-site
Work Timings: 9:00 am (punch in time) to 7:00 pm - for a typical workday
Concreting Work Timings: 7: 00 am to 6:00 am (whole night)
After completing 1 year their salaries were revised to Rs. 15,000 per month and the subsequent year they reached Rs. 17,000 per year.
On the other hand, those working office jobs were making more money and the work culture, work-life balance was far better. Below are the details of the same:
Office Work Profiles: Billing Engineer, RMC Plant Engineer, QC Engineer, Planning Engineer.
Salary: Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000 per month
Work Timings: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
The more experience you have more you earn!
Perks:
Accommodation
Phone Bill Reimbursement
Free Transportation from room to site
Free Breakfast and Lunch in site office
But people working in site office and also on site are not good. They abuse each other, there are fights happening each day, HR dosen't look like one - he looked more like rowdy to me.
Bascially, work culture is pathetic and work environment is even worse. You have cement dust every where, noise pollution, air pollution, extreme heat (unless theere is an AC in the office), stressful environment which will impact your mental health.
Experiencing all this I decided whatever might happen but I will never go for a site job or work under a contractor in any way. Ashoka buildcon where we were working was assigned a 30 km stretch, next 50 kms were assigned to another contracting company called Dilip Buildcon.
There it was even worse we heard that contractor has not got payment from the govt. so the work is stopped. People working there have not got salary for moths together, many have left the company and joined else where.
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