Manufacturing v/s Software

I started working for a manufacturing firm & have worked in companies like Greaves, Intervalve,Forbes Marshall . I spent around 8 yrs in the industry . The longest stint for me
being with Forbes for 6 yrs....no dont misunderstand..not the Forbes which lists out the fortune 500 companies or even Eureka Forbes. Forbes Marshall is an engineering company with a 100 to 110 crores turnover in Pune. These 8 yrs I have slogged & found that the jobs I have handled were pretty challenging. It would be either getting a work piece in time from the vendor or it could be just struggling to match a component in the aasembly line( I not being in assembly line however I being resposible for the component bought) .Along with me is the vendor who I am continously blasting at for the component not made to specification ...and loads of other tensions like cost reduction,six sigma to name a few. I used to get frustrated that I am not being paid for what I am doing but at the end of day I used to be satisfied that I have done something worthwhile. I always used to return home dead tired after I have walked the entire shop floor countless times . Even after returning home I used to get a call from my boss that a part was missing ( My mistake ..I must not have even planned for it ...:( ) .There were days when I have gone out at night & stayed back the whole night in the company to manufacture a missing part which is required since the assembly has to be shipped the next day...:) .All said & done each day
used be exciting & I used to wait for it to take on the challenge . However I used be very cool & I never used to show it on my face ,although I was pretty disturbed inside .My boss Sanjeev used to scream at me "How can you be so cool " .Since he was very short tempered ..:) ..He must have cooled down after I left..:) .
At home I used to vent out my frustration ,with my wife being in software & she sharing how things were in software industry , I felt I should be there. I always to keep abreast with the latest happenings in business . I knew I would not be able to code however the ERP buzz had
hit me before it hit the market in the late 90's. I was keen to get into this . However never could . Finally I managed to ...ahhh.. land into SAP( Number 1 ERP package) ..it was like a dream come true for me !! After 3 years in the industry & worked with top notch Indian & MNC software companies ,I sometimes wonder how the software industry runs. Are the software companies really making money ?...yes , it is defintely.But am i satisfied ...its a big NO as of now. As far as money yes ,it does really pay well. But as far as work is concerned it is not . Is it the Project Manager to blame or myself I still need to figure out .It is exactly the reverse of I used to feel during my manufacturing days. Nine hrs continously in front of the box..sorry it was a box in my earlier company ..today I use a thin sleek desktop ...feeling shit cold in an AC hall.. !! Work I have handled is all in bits in pieces ,there is nothing I feel that I own . Worked on so called implementation projects but really did not map a single business process in the last project I worked ..at the end of day ...not satisfied .When will India focus on developing products..like i-Flex for its Flex-cube & Finacle for Infy & yes one more which I know Ramco for its ERP package which is in the doldrums now . Well am i drifting away from the topic... Support projects in ERP are nothing but a little better than a call centre job. What I really intend here is what value have I added to the client or myself .Am I really adding value ? I must be adding value right ...not sure really ! or is it too early to comment ...maybe 3 yrs is not much time..for people calculating it is 11 yrs of total work ex .....anyways I have started blogging now...:)

Chill