Joyee to the world

Refat Reza Joyee, 23, from Bangladesh sent an application to Microsoft in Beijing believing that her chances of getting the job were slim to none. About to finish her Information Technology course at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Joyee decided to go out on a limb and submit her resume via the Microsoft webpage.

A few weeks later, when the application had long since slipped her mind, Joyee received a phone call from Microsoft requesting an interview.

Her initial excitement was swiftly dampened at her parents' reaction to her taking a trip to the Middle Kingdom.

They didn't want her to move to China because it was much too far from home and they were not sure the country was safe.

"I had to convince them that it was just one small thing, that I was just going for the interview and that I wasn't even going to take the job," she says, breaking into a sly smile. "But that was just to convince them."

She arrived at the interview with a nonchalant demeanor, less concerned than the others that filled the waiting room about getting the job.

But after five hours of interviews, Joyee's joy had faded into fatigue.

"At my fifth interview I was thinking 'just let me go, I don't want this job'. My brain was bleeding out," she recalls.

But in the end her persistence paid off.

Shortly after returning to Bangladesh she received a call from Microsoft offering her a post in Beijing as a software engineer.

All that remained was for her to convince her parents that moving to China was the right choice.

Joyee is one of the growing numbers of Bangladeshi IT graduates heading off towards the horizon in search of employment.

She says the reason why so many students seek work abroad is because Bangladesh does not offer the big corporate jobs that are available overseas.

"We do not have the proper infrastructure to get into these companies in the first place. Remember, I got in accidentally; I just dropped my resume in the website. It's very rare to have been called like that," she says.

Among Information Technology students in Southeast Asian countries, those in India and Pakistan often have an easier time getting into larger companies because both countries have a well-established IT repertoire.

This gives employers like Microsoft incentive to increase recruitment efforts in those areas.

Bangladesh receives few recruiters such as those visiting college campuses, Joyee says.

Fayez Islam, 28, also from Bangladesh, believes that were Bangladesh to be provided with the proper channels, it could be a source of the world's best IT human resources.

"Academically speaking, there are lots of good people and good resources from Bangladesh and I don't think they have been used in a proper way," he says.

Islam managed to land his job at Hewlett-Packard after a friend set him up with an informal interview with one of the company's higher-ups. After six years, he is now a project manager for HP's Global Delivery IT Operations.

One explanation for the amount of solid academics streaming out of Bangladesh is the high-quality, low-cost education offered at government universities, Islam says.

The cost for one year at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, one of Bangladesh's most prominent IT universities, is 1,000 Taka or roughly 100 yuan.

For her four years of education, Joyee says she paid a total of around 400 yuan or $60.

Students attending private universities end up paying several times that amount.

But the affordability of government schools has made enrolment in them fiercely competitive. Many students jostling for limited places means that only the best get in and graduate.

The reputation for quality earned by Bangladesh's government universities has given students a leg-up when competing for jobs on the global market.

Were it not for the degree she received at BUET, Joyee says she may never have gotten the Microsoft callback and been able to come to China.

Since arriving in China nine months ago, Joyee has received a different style of education.

She comes from a Muslim country whose views on women and independence are much more conservative.

Women in Bangladesh are never expected to travel alone in their own country and are usually accompanied by a servant or family member.

"We don't have the concept of going out on our own. Even when we are 18, we are living with our parents. They pay the bills, provide the food and the housing," she says.

So when Joyee decided to not only move out of her house, but out of the country, it took many of her friends and family by surprise.

She says the one question she is always asked by her friends who are not accustomed to the independent lifestyle is how she is surviving such independence.

"I tell them that independence has its own price. This is probably the first time I am totally on my own and totally independent, I am not expecting anything from anyone, and no one expects anything from me," she says.

Her independence has allowed her to branch out and explore China and so far, what she has found has been much to her satisfaction.

Joyee says she is really surprised at how developed the city of Beijing truly is.

For her, the best part of the development is the public transportation.

In Dhaka, her home city and the capital of Bangladesh, many people still use rickshaws because they are cheaper than taxis and a subway station is not available.

It reminds her of how Beijing may have been 10 years ago, and gives hope that one day Bangladesh may experience the vast economic growth that China has seen.

"The food in China, while it was not to my taste at first, is beginning to grow on me, much like the city of Beijing itself," she says.

"Once you come you kind of feel stuck, you don't want to move out very soon," she says.

With two tickets to Olympic Beach volleyball and Judo, she will at least be sticking around for the Olympics.

While Joyee says she is excited about the events, she is most excited about the people who will arrive.

"I am a painter, an artist, and I love color. I think the Olympics will bring color to this country, a lot of nationalities and a lot of people," she says.

(China Daily 06/06/2008 page19)