About Me

I have done a lot of things in my life and have also worked in many different jobs to make a living and to experience life. This blog is just some of my musings, sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational, sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes simple but all the time, it's just me.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Pointy Haired Bosses and such...


I seriously think that Scott Adams or Dilbert or some Scott Adams spy is working in the company I work in.

I joined this place in Sep 2007 and while I am all for rapid changes and movement and progression, I have physically changed roles 3 times in 4 years and now time again to change again.

In Sep 2007, I started as a PM and quite liked it, or else I would not have left my previous companies.

I had a friend who rightfully used to tell people off when they said their previous company was better. "Wah, your previous company so good, why did you leave? Either you were fired or you were lousy," he would ask them with a quizzical look which often left the other party flabbergasted.

But that is true, why would you go to your new job and keep comparing to your old one? Many people do that. But why do they leave in the 1st place.

In mid 2008, I was moved to a Programme Manager role in which I truly thrived and performed well for the next 1.5 years before another change came into play in end of 2009.

So, in 2010, I was yet in another role, as a Service Manager. A role that did not quite suite me plus it is always difficult when you have a mediocre supervisor. The excellent coaching I had in the last 2.5 years just poofed and disappeared and we were all running about in this newly set up department like chickens without a head.

Nevertheless, I did the best and even took on additional things. Despite all these, efforts were nought and many wasted.

I sincerely feel I have wasted 2 years in my career, I learned things yes, but I am stuck.

So, since I am stuck, do I make a career change or do I make a job change.

There is a big difference there that many do not realise nor accept. I have, in this lifetime, since I started working in 1991, had 8.5 companies that I worked for but seriously only 3 career changes that were drastic enough. (0.5 because I worked as a contract while being full time employed - one of those deals)

A career change, to me is a change that is drastic enough that it is totally something else from what you have been doing. For me, the changes were from being a journalist (2 companies) to a manufacturing supervisor (2 companies) to Information Technology (4.5 companies).

I have been in IT proper since 2000, but started in dabbling in 1998. That is nearly 14 years in one field and in all honesty, I do not know if I am ready to move on. I have been a project manager, a program manager, a technical manager, a requirements analyst, a business systems consultant, a business development manager and a service manager - one fancy title after another.

However, in all honesty, sometimes I feel a need to change. Maybe not just yet, but maybe next 3-5 years.

I came across this article that I shared on my Facebook and I really like it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holly-robinson/quitting-your-job_b_1211880.html

Jobs are like college courses. Each one you take teaches you a set of new skills and offers a fresh perspective on life. They aren't meant to be permanent, most of them. They are only stepping stones.

In my daughter's case, the barista job led her to have enough free hours to do what she really loves: draw comics. She's thinking about publishing her comics online. In her free time, she also happened to stop by a new gourmet cupcake store, where she chatted with the enthusiastic owner and was hired to decorate cupcakes and work the counter. Again, it's not much money, but combined with the coffee place, it's enough for her to scrape by. Meanwhile, she has moved out of Oakland and into an affordable room in a house near the beach in Santa Cruz. She's happily experimenting with cupcake flavors and thinking about helping this new business owner with social media and marketing. She is learning something new every day. Life is good.

When you quit a job, any job, it can be terrifying. But it's also exhilarating, as you open yourself to new possibilities. So go ahead. Take the risk. Quit that job, if you hate it. You might surprise yourself.

Perhaps one day you will walk into a nice chic restaurant somewhere in KL and do not be surprised if you see me as the chef cooking up your meal. Be sure to have dessert cause that surely would have been made by my wifey.

Take care and be well.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life is about trade...

You trade you life span for that amount of ringgit and time.. paid by the company...

If you are in business.. then the amount of ringgit and time is paid by customers....

No difference at all... and if you move to another job the same thing applies...

But it is the knack to make the most out of the situation that you are in that counts to your own personal happiness..

DECIDE what makes you happy in your current situation and enjoy the benefits... Heaven or hell is what you make of it... Nobody but yourself create heaven or hell.

Bri said...

i am actually considering leaving my job right now, so it is curious that i stumbled upon your post, your blog!

i think if you are seriously unhappy in your job, you should find another one. face it, at the end of the day, we spend most of our time at work. some of us spend more time at work than we do sleeping - now, isn't that sad? but i digress. work is a big part of your life; there's no point in being completely miserable.