Current IT skills in high demand include software development, web development, networking, and other technical roles. The global IT industry is growing rapidly, especially in India where the IT sector generates billions in revenue and employs millions of people. Technical skills like programming, databases, and software engineering are in high demand. However, employers also value soft skills like problem solving, communication, and teamwork. To be successful, one needs both strong technical abilities and soft skills. Puzzles, logic games, and stories from works like the Panchatantra and Mahabharata can help develop the critical thinking and reasoning skills valued by employers.

1. Current IT Skills in Demand
Dr. Pavanaja U. B.
CEO, Vishva Kannada Softech
www.vishvakannada.com
www.pavanaja.com
pavanaja@vishvakannada.com
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2. Before we begin
Please put your cell phones to sleep

3. It’s a
Global
Economy
The Future Information Technology Workforce | 3 Copyright © 2007 Boeing. All rights reserved.

4. Global IT scenario
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5. Global IT scenario
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6. India: The Knowledge-based Civilization
• World’s first knowledge-based civilization since the Vedic
times, 5000 years back
• Veda = Knowledge
• Vast knowledge heritage through the centuries
• First universities (Takshashila, Nalanda) were borne here
• Invention of zero, decimal system, and early advances in
language, mathematics, astronomy, etc. credited to India.
• Richest country of the world till the 11th century
• In the 20th century, India was termed as a rich country where
poor people live

7. Indian IT Scenario
• IT- BPO sector estimated revenues of USD 88.1billion in 2011
• IT software & services about USD 76.1 billion
• Employment –about 2.5 million
• Indirect job creation –about 8.3 million
• Contribution to GDP -6.4% from 1.2% in 1998
• Exports -26% of total exports from less than 4% in 1998
• Export revenues (including Hardware) estimated to reach USD
59.4 billion in FY2011
• Domestic revenues (including Hardware) of about USD 28.8
billion
• By 2015, Indian IT-BPO sector can generate revenues of USD
130 billion
(source – NASSCOM)

8. ITeS/BPO
• A form of outsourced service which has emerged due
to involvement of IT in various fields such as banking
and finance, telecommunications, insurance, etc.
• Mostly back-office processing outsourced to India
• Call-centre operations
• No need of high technical skills
• Any graduate, PUC or Diploma will do
• 24x7 working conditions

9. Information Technology
• The
study, design, development, implementation, suppor
t or management of computer-based information
systems, particularly software applications and
computer hardware
• Jobs for technically qualified only
• BE, BTech, MTech, MCA,
Also MSc(CS), BSc(CS), BCA

10. IT job opportunities
• Software development
• Web development
• IT Professional (includes Networking specialist)
• Graphics/Multimedia/Creative
• CAD/CAM
• DB Analyst, DB Architect, Datawarehousing, Datamining
• Game development
• Software Testing & Quality Assurance
• Embedded development
• ERP
• Internationalization/Localization
• Security specialist
• Technical writing & Documentation specialist
• Help desk & Technical support

11. Top 10 Programming Languages 2010
• Java (J2EE, JSP, EJB, J2ME, …)
• C# (ASP.NET)
• C/C++ (also Embedded)
• JavaScript (with CSS & HTML) & AJAX
• Visual Basic (ASP.NET)
• PHP
• Objective C
• Perl
• Python
• Ruby

12. Position Position Programming Ratings Delta
Top 20 Programming Languages 2012
Jan 2012 Jan 2011 Language Jan 2012 Jan 2011
1 1 Java 17.479% -0.29%
2 2 C 16.976% +1.15%
3 6 C# 8.781% +2.55%
4 3 C++ 8.063% -0.72%
5 8 Objective-C 6.919% +3.91%
6 4 PHP 5.710% -2.13%
7 7 (Visual) Basic 4.531% -1.34%
8 5 Python 3.218% -3.05%
9 9 Perl 2.773% -0.08%
10 11 JavaScript 2.322% +0.73%
Delphi/Object
11 12 1.576% +0.29%
Pascal
12 10 Ruby 1.441% -0.34%
13 13 Lisp 1.111% +0.00%
14 14 Pascal 0.798% -0.12%
15 17 Transact-SQL 0.772% +0.01%
16 24 PL/SQL 0.709% +0.15%
17 20 Ada 0.634% -0.05%
18 39 Logo 0.632% +0.29%
19 25 R 0.609% +0.07%
20 21 Lua 0.559% -0.08% 12

13. Top 10 Qualities Employers Want
• Honesty / Integrity
• Analytical Skills
• Strong Work Ethic
• Motivation / Initiative
• Communication Skills (Verbal and Written)
• Interpersonal Skills (relate well to others)
• Teamwork Skills (work well with others)
• Flexibility / Adaptability
• Computer Skills
• Detail Oriented

14. What it takes to be a great
programmer?
• An engineering degree with high percentage like BE
(CS), Btech (CS), MCA, MTech, MSc (CS),.. ?
• A great score in any degree mentioned above?
• A great communication skill?

15. Landing an IT job
• Certificates alone can’t get the job
• Knowledge is important
• How to apply the knowledge and solve a problem is
the key to get a job
• Learning ability –learn from problems faced and take
the solutions to new problems
• Industry does not need walking encyclopedias
• Industry wants problem solvers

16. To become a software pro…
Should possess these -
• Logical reasoning ability
• Numerical ability
• Imaginative mind
• Interest in problem-solving
• Interest in keeping oneself updated about new
technology
• Communication skills, written and oral, is a plus point

17. Aptitude
• Bill Gates:
– IQ is all that matters
– I could teach a smart person anything
• Lewis M Terman:
– Definition of intelligence -the ability to reason abstractly
– Intelligence is not knowledge of facts but the ability to manipulate
concepts
• A company will be only as creative and innovative as
the people it hires
• Golden rule: hire for aptitude & attitude and train on
skills

18. Aptitude questions
• Logical Reasoning
• Analytical Skills
• Maths Numerical

19. Sample numerical questions
1. In a class composed of x girls and y boys what part
of the class is composed of girls?
A. y/(x + y) B. x/xy C. x/(x + y) D. y/xy
2. If a person drives at average speed of 40kmph from
A to B and at average speed of 60kmph from B to
A, what is the total average speed for the trip?
A. 50 B. 100 C. 48 D. 24

20. Sample Logical Reasoning and
Analytical Skills Question
1. Pick one symbol from the options to continue the sequence
A B C D E
2. A is the widow of B. B & C were the only children of E. C is
unmarried and is a doctor. D is the granddaughter of E and
studies science. How is D related to A?
A. Aunt B. Daughter D. Sister D. Sister-in-law

21. Importance of Puzzles
• Bill Gates is known to be fond of puzzles
• Microsoft, Google, ThoughtWorks and many companies
hire people who solve puzzles
• Solving puzzles help in improving logical reasoning and
analytical skills
• Books are there in market based on these puzzles

22. Sample Puzzles -1
1. You have 9 balls which look alike in color, shape and size.
Out of them 8 are equal in weight also but one is heavier.
You have been given a balance but no weights. How will
you find out the heavier ball in two weighings?
2. Why are the manhole lids are in circular shape?
3. You have mugs of 3 liter and 5 liter capacity. There is a big
bucket with water. How can you measure exactly 4 liter of
water?

23. Sample Puzzles -2
4. There are 5 jars filled with pills. All pills are supposed to be
of 10 gm weight. The jars are numbered 1, 2, ..5. One of
them has pills of 9 gm. You are given an electronic
balance. By using the balance only once, you have to find
out the contaminated jar.
5. You have an employee who has to be paid by 1” long gold
bar as salary for every day. You have a gold bar of 7” long
with 1” markings. You are allowed to make just 2 cuts in
the bar. You have to settle the salary every day. How do
you achieve this?

24. Sample Puzzles -3
6. Three persons are standing in a straight line. You have 3
red hats and 2 black hats. You put one hat on each
person’s head at random and put the remaining hats away.
No one has seen the colors of those hats. You first ask the
last person what is color of the hat on his head. He says he
can't know. Then you ask the same question to the person
in the middle. He also says he can’t. The you ask the same
question to the person who is in the beginning. He gives
the correct answer . What was the color of hat on his
head?

25. Books one can read
How Would You Move Mount Fuji?
Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle
By William Poundstone
Puzzles For Programmers And Pros
By Dennis E. Shasha
How to Solve It by Computer
By R. G. Dromey
Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs
By Niklaus Wirth

26. Program & Efficient Program
• Finding GCD of 2 numbers-
Algorithm-1 Algorithm-2
function gcd(a, b) function gcd(a, b)
if a = 0 while b ≠ 0
return b t := b
while b ≠ 0 b := a mod b
if a > b a := t
a := a − b return a
else
b := b − a
return a
Which is faster?

27. Panchatantra
• Stories for children
– Converting fools to wise by telling thought provoking stories
• Five main sections-
– Mitra-bheda: The Separation of Friends (The Lion and the Bull)
– Mitra-lābha or Mitra-samprāpti: The Gaining of Friends (The
Dove, Crow, Mouse, Tortoise and Deer)
– Kākolūkīyam: Of Crows and Owls (War and Peace)
– Labdhapraṇāśam: Loss Of Gains (The Monkey and the Crocodile)
– Aparīkṣitakārakaṃ: Ill-Considered Action / Rash deeds (The Brahman
and the Mongoose)
• Contains principles of nīti - the wise conduct of life
• Complete knowhow to logic as well as moral science
to everyone

28. Mahabharata
• Indians are deep rooted in Mahabharata
• Mahabharata contains essence of life
• Everything need to live a good life is there in
Mahabharata
• Mahabharata contains Gita
• Mahabharata and Gita have lessons on
teamwork, leadership, management, etc.
• Most important for software professionals –
– Mahabharata is full of logic

29. Examples of Logic in Mahabharata
• Stories in adiparva like Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada
• War between Sudhanva and Arjuna –the 2 oaths and
Krishna’s dilemma
• Draupadi’s question
• How Damayanti identifies real Nala
…..many more

30. FAQ
• What makes a student employable?
– Thinking & Learning ability
• Do communication and team skills put students from
rural colleges at a disadvantage?
– No
• Does high percentage in college exam leads to getting
job?
– No. Scoring well in the aptitude test is most important
• Can certifications like Microsoft, CCNA, Java get jobs?
– Not necessarily, but they will increase the possibility

31. Lifelong learning
• You are the owner of your career
• A new college graduate starting their first job has just
begun to learn
• If you do not learn and grow you will be left behind
• Job security does not exist
• Employability security exists for people who have the
skills and knowledge that are in demand

32. Conclusions
• To be a great programmer
– one must have good logical reasoning and analytical skills
• To achieve these
– Solve puzzles
– Read Mahabharata
– Play Chess

33. Questions?

34. Contact
Dr. Pavanaja U. B.
pavanaja@vishvakannada.com
www.pavanaja.com
www.vishvakannada.com
www.linkedin.com/in/pavanaja
www.twitter.com/pavanaja
www.facebook.com/pavanaja
ganakindi.blogspot.com
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35. Thank you
Gracias
Merci Danke
Σε ευχαριστώ 谢谢您
ありがとうございました