How I Survived 8 Years in IT | Reality of IT Jobs

Summary

Rishabh Mishra reflects on lessons from eight years working in IT across different companies, projects, teams, and countries. He says career growth comes not only from working hard, but also from choosing the right work, making results visible, building strong working relationships, and maintaining a life beyond your job.

1. Hard work matters—but so does showing its impact

Working hard is only part of the equation. Explain what your work achieved and communicate those results through team updates, email, or other appropriate channels.

For example, Rishabh says analysis he did for a campaign informed later decisions and helped double its return on ad spend. Documenting and sharing results makes your contribution easier for others to recognize.

2. Don’t automatically say yes to everything

Taking on extra work can demonstrate initiative, but it can also undermine your core responsibilities if you accept too much. When a new urgent task arrives:

• Ask for the task to be assigned or clearly documented.
• Review it and estimate how long it will take.
• Give your manager or stakeholders a realistic timeline.
• Discuss how it fits alongside your existing priorities.
• Accept extra work when you can do so without jeopardizing your commitments.

The goal is not to refuse everything, but to make considered commitments.

3. Small initiatives can have major effects

A large project is not the only way to make a meaningful contribution. Rishabh describes automating a weekly report that used to take about eight hours. He and a colleague used Python to handle steps such as collecting and cleaning data, updating a dashboard, preparing a presentation, and emailing it. The process then took only a few minutes.

He says the improvement earned recognition and became a strong example in later job interviews.

Lesson: Look for recurring, inefficient tasks where a focused improvement could save time or improve results.

4. Focus effort on what matters most

Not every task, detail, or ticket has equal importance. Rishabh recalls spending hours polishing minor formatting while neglecting the main purpose of the work. He connects this to the Pareto principle: a relatively small share of effort can produce most of the results.

To judge where to focus:

• Identify the task’s end stakeholder and who will use the result.
• Consider the business impact of the work.
• Spend effort in proportion to its importance and consequences.
• Avoid overinvesting in details that do not materially affect the outcome.

5. Promotion is not based on performance alone

Hard work and technical ability do not automatically lead to promotion. Rishabh recommends making contributions visible and keeping a record of them throughout the year. Track the initiatives you took, the results they produced, and the responsibilities you handled. That evidence can support appraisal discussions and help a manager explain your readiness for advancement.

Promotions may also depend on whether you demonstrate ownership, reliability, communication, leadership, client management, and business impact.

6. Your manager can strongly influence your career

A manager assigns and reviews work, helps determine opportunities, and communicates how your performance is viewed. Rishabh advises maintaining a professional relationship rather than assuming managers are adversaries.

Practical suggestions include:

• Keep your manager informed with regular, concise progress updates.
• Raise problems or misalignment privately and ask for clear guidance.
• Make expectations and timelines explicit.
• Avoid personal conflict and workplace gossip.
• Build a good professional network; trusted colleagues and managers may create future opportunities.

Rishabh also shares positive examples of managers who supported his development and encouraged his work. He notes that a poor fit or micromanagement can limit initiative, so communication is important.

7. Your company is only one part of your career

A job can contribute to your growth, but it is not your whole career. Rishabh describes moving from mechanical engineering into digital marketing and later data science. He encourages people to keep developing their own skills, stay aware of changes in their industry, and maintain work–life balance rather than organizing their entire lives around one employer.

8. Your job title is not your identity

Rishabh says people should have interests and a sense of self outside their occupation. A job can provide a livelihood, but it does not define a person’s entire life. He contrasts introductions focused solely on a job title with people who also describe their hobbies and interests. Keeping an identity beyond work may help prevent becoming excessively absorbed in the job.

Overall takeaways

• Pair hard work with measurable impact, and communicate that impact.
• Document achievements and deliver on the responsibilities you accept.
• Prioritize work according to its business value.
• Build constructive relationships and a strong professional network.
• Invest in your own skills and life—not only in a company, team, or product.
• Don’t sacrifice your entire life for one employer.

Speakers and sources featured

• Rishabh Mishra — the sole speaker and narrator, sharing lessons from his own career.
• People mentioned in his anecdotes, but not heard speaking: colleague Ritwik and manager Rajdeep, along with other unnamed managers and coworkers.