Chennai resident Venkatasamy Vignesh hogged headlines in the Indian media recently, with his usual move of quitting a fancied job as a techie with India’s Infosys to take up a farming job in Japan paying off, earning him double the salary.
Vignesh’s twist with his professional journey happened when joined an institute that trains people in Japanese language and culture before helping them find jobs in that country.
He said he has always been interested in agriculture and the pandemic-induced lockdown gave him a chance to reconnect with his passion when he began to tend to his family’s farms, Moneycontrol reported.
“Soon I realised that it was indeed my calling,” the 27-year old told Moneycontrol.
Though Vignesh’s family was not in favour of him earning a living out of agriculture, he soon enrolled himself in the Chennai-based Nihon Edutech which works in collaboration with the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry to provide skilled training in Japanese language and culture, and also help in placing students in jobs.
Japan’s demand for farmers comes from its ageing population and its younger generation’s disinterest in agriculture.
Within six months, Vignesh flew to Japan to begin his stint as an agricultural worker at a brinjal farm in the country’s Kochi prefecture.
The former software engineer, who used to earn close to $500 a month at Infosys, is now reportedly earning around $1000 after taxes.
“Here, I live in the company’s quarters for free but have to take care of my food requirements,” Vignesh told Moneycontrol over a call from Japan.
The techie-turned agri worker also said his family is now happy with his decision.
“They are okay now knowing that I am making more money than in my last job at Infosys while still working in the agricultural industry. They are also a little proud that I intend to return and share my experiences with them,” he said.
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