Taking the plunge
I’ve been working close to 8 years now and it started even before I finished uni. My first fulltime job was at APIIT itself in the R&D department, which was newly formed at that time. The government was disbursing funds to educational institutions at the start of the MSC. Yup, the old relic that was supposed to propel Malaysia towards vision 2020. It turned out to be lots of hype though and is now on a more quiet approach. That first job paid peanuts but was a little higher than the average but the boss sucked. I lasted there 9 months before wanting to start my own company and search engine.
Not wanting all the drive in me to go to waste I even called a meeting to discuss that business proposition and had some web UI templates ready. Well it was the start of the dotcom so everyone including me wanted to hop on. I knew nothing and the idea eventually just died down. Then I started freelance multimedia jobs that earned me quite a hefty sum. Not even knowing how to program in macromedia flash, I learnt everything from scratch and made a fully functional bus kiosk for DBKL. Never saw its implementation though. The bosses at that time sucked.
Then it came to the golden age. As some of my close friends can attest to, the partying in the office at Leisure commerce square, flexible work hours, a very nice boss… too nice in fact now that I think of it. Enzo and I worked there flexi hour going in at 4pm in the evening, working till around 10ish before heading down to the defunct Bali discotheque. We got smart then and started buying bottles to the office and getting our inside man Joe to get ice cubes and mixers. I remember the ladies dancing on the window sill and us shouting at the people downstairs. Golden.
It was then I had an offer to a telco company that dealt in voice solutions. I had lots of fun there. Made friends which are still friends till today. The pay was better there as was the working environment. Unfortunately the events of 9/11 caused a chain reaction and our main investor pulled out. A few months later we found out that our EPF and taxes had not been paid for about half a year or so and the co. was going broke so they decided to hold back our paychecks. Still we lived like kings. Paid a half month’s salary every two months lets you really enjoy life… I mean McDonalds don’t accept credit cards do they? So we had lunch many a time at Dusit thai in Sunway, or at the nasi kandar place with standard portions at RM5 with iced water. Haha the hell we went through but in hindsight it taught us a valuable lesson. Management will squeeze you. The boss sucked.
Then came an opportunity to work with a global ERP company. The environment was like nothing I’ve come across. Working in a multinational was and still is an experience. I learnt a lot and spent the most number of years working there. But it had drained me physically and mentally. The repetition killed my interest somewhat but nevertheless all the knowledge gained is priceless. When an offer came to me for this current company I jumped at it. The offered rate was much higher; even higher than I had asked for and I’ve been here for about half the time with the ERP company. It has been good but with no room for growth. Recent organizational changes have put ineptness at the helm and the lack of foresight got the entire department into a firefighting mode.
All of these years working, there has never once been a break for me. The final year for my degree was completed in 9 months… what was an 18 month course and during high school I worked the year-end holiday season selling computers. So I’ve just grown weary. Jaded. Dragging myself out of bed day after day is a chore. I know it’s in me but all I need is a step back to take a deep breath and enjoy the view. For the time being the passion is gone, the drive is weak and motivation low. So having considered my available options, I will be handing in my resignation tomorrow to continue my studies fulltime. I’ve already completed one module part-time and the credits are transferable. I have to admit my lifestyle will change as I’ll be living a students lifestyle, but a change of pace is all I need (I think). It won’t be easy completing a masters course but I’ll make sure I see it through.
Wish me luck.
Technorati Tags: 2006, Life, Unklebus, Work, Studies
Not wanting all the drive in me to go to waste I even called a meeting to discuss that business proposition and had some web UI templates ready. Well it was the start of the dotcom so everyone including me wanted to hop on. I knew nothing and the idea eventually just died down. Then I started freelance multimedia jobs that earned me quite a hefty sum. Not even knowing how to program in macromedia flash, I learnt everything from scratch and made a fully functional bus kiosk for DBKL. Never saw its implementation though. The bosses at that time sucked.
Then it came to the golden age. As some of my close friends can attest to, the partying in the office at Leisure commerce square, flexible work hours, a very nice boss… too nice in fact now that I think of it. Enzo and I worked there flexi hour going in at 4pm in the evening, working till around 10ish before heading down to the defunct Bali discotheque. We got smart then and started buying bottles to the office and getting our inside man Joe to get ice cubes and mixers. I remember the ladies dancing on the window sill and us shouting at the people downstairs. Golden.
It was then I had an offer to a telco company that dealt in voice solutions. I had lots of fun there. Made friends which are still friends till today. The pay was better there as was the working environment. Unfortunately the events of 9/11 caused a chain reaction and our main investor pulled out. A few months later we found out that our EPF and taxes had not been paid for about half a year or so and the co. was going broke so they decided to hold back our paychecks. Still we lived like kings. Paid a half month’s salary every two months lets you really enjoy life… I mean McDonalds don’t accept credit cards do they? So we had lunch many a time at Dusit thai in Sunway, or at the nasi kandar place with standard portions at RM5 with iced water. Haha the hell we went through but in hindsight it taught us a valuable lesson. Management will squeeze you. The boss sucked.
Then came an opportunity to work with a global ERP company. The environment was like nothing I’ve come across. Working in a multinational was and still is an experience. I learnt a lot and spent the most number of years working there. But it had drained me physically and mentally. The repetition killed my interest somewhat but nevertheless all the knowledge gained is priceless. When an offer came to me for this current company I jumped at it. The offered rate was much higher; even higher than I had asked for and I’ve been here for about half the time with the ERP company. It has been good but with no room for growth. Recent organizational changes have put ineptness at the helm and the lack of foresight got the entire department into a firefighting mode.
All of these years working, there has never once been a break for me. The final year for my degree was completed in 9 months… what was an 18 month course and during high school I worked the year-end holiday season selling computers. So I’ve just grown weary. Jaded. Dragging myself out of bed day after day is a chore. I know it’s in me but all I need is a step back to take a deep breath and enjoy the view. For the time being the passion is gone, the drive is weak and motivation low. So having considered my available options, I will be handing in my resignation tomorrow to continue my studies fulltime. I’ve already completed one module part-time and the credits are transferable. I have to admit my lifestyle will change as I’ll be living a students lifestyle, but a change of pace is all I need (I think). It won’t be easy completing a masters course but I’ll make sure I see it through.
Wish me luck.
Technorati Tags: 2006, Life, Unklebus, Work, Studies