India, May 8 -- The Bengaluru-based 45-year-old engineer did not want to be named. So, let's just call him Vikram. He first joined Wipro in 2004, straight out of an engineering college in Nagpur. He was familiar with Java then. He moved to the 'cloud' because that is what it took to stay relevant. Then it was time to go 'agile'. He changed jobs all the time. And each time, he negotiated a better salary. Each time, he believed the implicit contract held: keep learning, stay employable.

Last month, the project he was on wound down. His bench period ends in six weeks.

He is not looking for sympathy. He is looking for an answer to a question nobody seems willing to answer: what exactly am I supposed to learn next? It is the right question. ...