Last night, I slept peacefully! Whew!! The documentation is finally over! Today was a much more important day! We had our PAT exam, a presentation on “Why TCS?”, a lecture on “Information Security”, a presentation on DOs and DON’Ts in the office and finally our posting and stream allocation! 🙂
It was another longggggg day from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm!! Today, I actually came to know that PAT exam doesn’t determine anything 😀 Your stream allocation is random and your posting preference depends on the availability!! I got Bangalore even though it was my second preference!! PAT was important before. Now it is just an exam. Still, you shouldn’t neglect studying before ILP because it can be tough to those who are unaware of the subjects being taught.
Anyway, PAT doesn’t prove anything…that’s a relief! 😀
ABOUT PAT: Just a technical pre-diagnostics test to know how much technically strong you are. You don’t need to answer everything religiously or study industriously the night before. Just relax!
We were shown to one of the labs where we were given individual systems, login id and password. Don’t try to cheat or discuss as you’ll be disqualified! :O
We got to know about the importance of information security today!! 😀 It’s all about how you can protect top secret information from attackers by following security policies and most of all, as an employee of the company, keep your client’s and organization’s information, a confidential matter! That means, put a tape on your mouth even if your best friend asks you about it! 😛 It could risk you your job and it could risk the company billions of dollars and the trust of the client! 🙂 Okay, I don’t intend on giving a class on it!! 😀
After that, we were taken through all the rules to be followed in the office! You get free tea and coffee 😀 just don’t chew gum, crowd near the canteen, throw stuff here and there, take photographs and most of all, don’t chew gums! 😐 Every moment, I get to realize that this is my job and not college!!
I got JAVA as my stream and I am quite happy about it! 😀 It’s just that the second shift from 2pm-9pm is a bit odd but you gotta be flexible! 😛
We got our schedules for the next day and my shift starts from tomorrow! That means, full learning starts from day 3!! 😀
NOTE- All the information shared here are personal experiences! It is just a way to mentally prepare my future ILP friends and not to share confidential organizational information!
Zim's Life in TCS Trivandrum! 
hey r u sure leggings are allowed??is dupatta compulsory?r patialas allowed???thnx in adv
Nylon leggings are not allowed!! But, you can wear 100% cotton leggings, salwar pyajama cloth!! Dupatta is not compulsory and patialas are allowed!!
what about stretchable cotton leggings? 😛
Only cotton churidar pants 🙂 no stretchable/nylon during ILP.
thank u…i was very confused….do youll celebrate any special days der?
no..but fortunately, we did celebrate some weekends here 🙂 on our own…no special festivals where you get holidays!!
hey is sleevless kurtas allowed??? i mean which are pretty descent 🙂
yes, decent stuff are allowed 🙂
hey accidentally i found your blog 🙂 worth reading it!!! i am placed in tcs in sept 2011. Now i am in 8th semester. I feel you are right person to approach…. I am very tensed about my ILP… but now quite relieved after reading all the stuff here… i am a CS student , but i am at all confident about my knowledge in basics, so i will go through all subjects that you’ve mentioned here… now i am excited… i’ll be back here soon… thank uuuuuuuu! have fun 🙂
Thank you for visiting and for leaving your comments! 😀 I think you wanted to know about Aspire! I have a separate post on Aspire. You’ll get a mail right after you get your ILP joining date. Whatever subjects I’ve mentioned here will also be mentioned in the Aspire portal and you have to get prepared for your ILP by studying those! And relax! ILP is fun! 😀 You can read about the Aspire post here: https://zimslifeintcs.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/ilp-aspire/ 🙂
thanks for your reply! waiting for your next post 🙂 have nice time 🙂
can u tell us about PAT exam in some more detail i.e. how were the question and what all stuff should we go through for PAT
PAT Exam is held on the 2nd or 3rd day of your ILP! As I’ve already mentioned in my ASPIRE post, https://zimslifeintcs.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/ilp-aspire/, the type of questions in the exam are from various topics from JAVA, PHP, SQL, HTML-CSS, Javascript, UNIX, Software Engineering etc. There are about 40 questions, objective type. You’ll be given a username and a password to log in into the system and attempt the test. You have to listen carefully to the instructions as clicking on exit will totally cancel the test. The type of questions are easy and basic but it all depends on your preparation! 😀 In the end, there’s nothing to get serious about PAT coz it’s just for fun! 😛
i have got my joining date as 17 sept but i have not got the aspire dat till now what should i do??
i have ur full blog n must say u write very lively n while reading all those things happening just around me!! n also how should i shop for ILP??
If you haven’t received the ASPIRE mail even a week after you received your Joining Date, write a mail to ilp.aspire@tcs.com telling them your problem and mentioning your CT/DT number and Date of Joining (DOJ). Before you get a reply, you can still prepare for the PAT exam by knowing what you have to study. You can read my ASPIRE post to know more!! And as for what you have to shop, go through my SOME BASIC ETIQUETTE AND GROOMING!! post. I hope you find all that is needed! 😛
Nice blog…
I’m joining tcs in July’12 @ Hyd.. it was indeed useful to read ur post & also ur replies to queries ppl have asked 🙂 Now, where are u working??
Thank you for checking out my blog! 🙂 I am currently in TCS only…I have written this blog during my ILP and thought that my experiences could help others out! 🙂
so you get to know about your permanent location on the second or third day of ILP itself ? 🙂
Yes 🙂
IS THERE ANY CHANCE TO CHANGE OUR LOCATION?
no..you can talk to your supervisor in ILP. They’ll ask you to find a swap partner. If that doesn’t help, you have to talk to the location’s RMG. If that too doesn’t help, you need to provide medical docs or get a swap partner or get a project in the target location. If you fail to do all these, you’ll have to wait for 2 years.
how will i find a swap partner ? will they arrange anything ? 🙂
no..you’ll have to find one yourself..
your blog is really nice.could you please tell on which subj is the pat test taken..thanks
Please read my post on ILP Aspire! https://zimslifeintcs.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/ilp-aspire/
i am a non cs … and nt very confident tat i’ll manage to remember anything of aspire wen i join march 18… will it be tough to survive the ilp ???
Oh I’ve seen many non-CS people survive! A suggestion— take coaching, tuition, help, but don’t neglect Aspire! It’ll prepare you at least 50% if you follow it sincerely!
Stretchable cotton leggings means, it is purely cotton not nylon, but somewhat stretchable and it can hold your leg perfectly like gathering pant. Will I be allowed to wear that? please let me know!!! I’m dying to know!!!
Stretchable leggings are not allowed in many ILP locations like Trivandrum, Chennai, Hyderabad…you can wear stretchable leggings after ILP when you join your posting location but during ILP, try to stick to kurtis, salwars, patialas, cotton churidars. Kurtis should be knee-length. It may have some embroidery on it, but make sure it’s not as bright as a wedding wear. On the last day of ILP, you may wear heavy embroidery as there are photo sessions and all. On Fridays, you can wear jeans, collared T-shirts and sports shoes. Try to avoid too much of heels and platforms. Wear simple sandals with a small heel. After ILP, you may wear stretchable leggings, platforms, simple t-shirts on fridays etc etc. 😀
hi i am a eee student nd i got selected for tcs in campus placements…i dont have good knowledge about programming languages…so how do i prepare for PAT??? could u pls tell me if i should learn some software courses…pls help me
Just go for a course on ASPIRE subjects and take ASPIRE seriously.
is it right though in top 20 will have an opportunity to choose location for posting
for that how should be prepare
I have no idea regarding that. In my time, they had said that top scorers will get first preference and I didn’t get my first preference! :X :X