Leaving Depot Road
Well, something unusual happened today. I got to speak to two former colleagues. To make it even more interesting, both spoke on their career plan.
The first was a scholarship award winner who did both his bachelor and postgrad overseas. In the eyes of the HR recruitment, he would be deemed as an ideal poster boy having done his education in Europe (mind you, it was in two countries) and now had risen reasonably high, surpassing his fellow peers after a tenure of less than five years. For his case, he had moved from my former department to another, and was considering another move. We had a long chat as he was keen to know what traits would "outside empolyers" see in us. I told him honestly that our skills are not really well sought after. Perhaps other stat boards, the big company @ Jalan Boon Lay, marketing/sales jobs or other small setups who are keen to bite on the pie in this specialised industry. So, you see there are not many. The other option was to join the research arm at the hill, but future development from there would be limited, as one could likely find a second career in the A*Star institutes, local universities. They could be too highly paid for jobs which require engineering, but not scientic knowledge (note : I deem there is a difference between science and engineering). The last option is to branch into other skills like what my friend SBC did. He took a MBA programme, as well as a significant pay-cut and branched into a different area. I admired his guts, and remember what he always said to us. You must know what you want to do in life.
Having said that, the second friend had really demonstrated this philiosphy. She finally decided to leave her current job for a while (or maybe for good :P). I have heard her grumbling for so long, and it was really pleased to learn that she has finally decided to do so. The organisation would lose a dedicated staff member. Their loss, but not hers. I wish her well, and hope she would find her destiny. Hopefully, she would not have to wait too long.
When I left that nice and cosy place, it was not without regrets. The friends (Note: I dun call them colleagues) are nice and trustworthy. The only drawback was the long hours, and the endless buttering from all walks of the pple in green, and sometimes blue. Sooner or later, if I can tahan and become immune, it would be too difficult to leave the comfort zone to move elsewhere (except for the big company). Thankfully, my current employer saw my value and offered a job which would allow me to expand my technical knowledge at almost no pay-cut. I jumped on it. Though this job did not turn out to be too fantastic (nevertheless a decent one), it had opened a door for me, and I am now exposed to another field. So my point is, dun hole up in that tall tower. If you dun see yourself there forever, it is better to step out before the weeds grow so long that you are all tied up in the Osim chair.
The first was a scholarship award winner who did both his bachelor and postgrad overseas. In the eyes of the HR recruitment, he would be deemed as an ideal poster boy having done his education in Europe (mind you, it was in two countries) and now had risen reasonably high, surpassing his fellow peers after a tenure of less than five years. For his case, he had moved from my former department to another, and was considering another move. We had a long chat as he was keen to know what traits would "outside empolyers" see in us. I told him honestly that our skills are not really well sought after. Perhaps other stat boards, the big company @ Jalan Boon Lay, marketing/sales jobs or other small setups who are keen to bite on the pie in this specialised industry. So, you see there are not many. The other option was to join the research arm at the hill, but future development from there would be limited, as one could likely find a second career in the A*Star institutes, local universities. They could be too highly paid for jobs which require engineering, but not scientic knowledge (note : I deem there is a difference between science and engineering). The last option is to branch into other skills like what my friend SBC did. He took a MBA programme, as well as a significant pay-cut and branched into a different area. I admired his guts, and remember what he always said to us. You must know what you want to do in life.
Having said that, the second friend had really demonstrated this philiosphy. She finally decided to leave her current job for a while (or maybe for good :P). I have heard her grumbling for so long, and it was really pleased to learn that she has finally decided to do so. The organisation would lose a dedicated staff member. Their loss, but not hers. I wish her well, and hope she would find her destiny. Hopefully, she would not have to wait too long.
When I left that nice and cosy place, it was not without regrets. The friends (Note: I dun call them colleagues) are nice and trustworthy. The only drawback was the long hours, and the endless buttering from all walks of the pple in green, and sometimes blue. Sooner or later, if I can tahan and become immune, it would be too difficult to leave the comfort zone to move elsewhere (except for the big company). Thankfully, my current employer saw my value and offered a job which would allow me to expand my technical knowledge at almost no pay-cut. I jumped on it. Though this job did not turn out to be too fantastic (nevertheless a decent one), it had opened a door for me, and I am now exposed to another field. So my point is, dun hole up in that tall tower. If you dun see yourself there forever, it is better to step out before the weeds grow so long that you are all tied up in the Osim chair.
posted by kokweng @ 12:54 AM
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