Navigating Challenges as a Non-Indian in a Predominantly Indian Team

Hello everyone,

I recently joined one of the credit rating agencies as a contractor at the beginning of the month. It’s been an interesting experience so far, and I wanted to share my observations and get your thoughts.

I am the only non-Indian in a team of 13 engineers. From what I’ve seen, it’s quite rare to find non-Indians in the organization as a whole—maybe 10% at most.

From day one, I noticed that onboarding and training were minimal. On my third day, I was assigned a ticket and had to figure out the enterprise application on my own without proper knowledge transfer. Despite the steep learning curve, I managed to commit code in my first week. While working, I noticed areas where the application could be improved and documented my observations, hoping to bring them up with the team.

However, I haven’t had a chance to meet my direct manager yet. Instead, I’ve been guided by a few team members who act as supervisors. During a discussion with one of them, I shared my observations and offered ideas for improvement, explaining that I wanted to use my expertise to contribute meaningfully. Unfortunately, I was told to focus on completing tasks in the current codebase and not to spend time thinking about improvements. The feedback felt dismissive, as if innovation or optimization wasn’t a priority.

Adding to the challenges, I’ve been informed that my timesheet for the last two weeks of the year won’t be approved, so I won’t be working until after the New Year. However, a few team members (all Indian) will remain working, as they’re deemed self-sufficient and don’t require supervision.

While I respect everyone’s background, I can’t help but feel a sense of exclusion in this environment. It’s been challenging to integrate into the team and feel valued. Has anyone else faced similar experiences? How did you handle it?

I’m curious to hear your thoughts, especially from those who’ve worked in diverse teams or faced challenges in new roles.