Today, my company informed my team that a change is needed. The management folks intend to move us from one department to another department – from Java technology to Microsoft technology. This is because there’s no project in the pipeline for the Java team but there are few big projects for the Microsoft team. Thus the management team asked us if we are willing to switch over.

This kind of situation is pretty n

Anyone wants to change to this job?

ormal nowadays since most companies no longer hire you for a specific skill ONLY. They want you to be as flexible as possible or in other words, provide as much value as possible to the company. So if you are willing to switch and remain flexible, the management team aka bosses can be sure that they can rely on you whenever there’s a shortage of headcount in other projects. This way, the company can reduce the expenses needed to hire someone new – and of course, get the most out of the people they’ve hired.

But let’s forget about the company for now…let’s talk about the individuals. What kind of answer do you think you will give, if you were in such a situation? Is it a good or bad thing if you are in such a situation?

Well, just like everything else, there are pros and cons. In my opinion, asking you to change department is much better than a salary cut or a retrenchment. Also, you get to learn something new (most of the case, trainings will be provided) and this new skill might become more valuable than your previous skills.

But that’s just how I think. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you want to achieve from the current job. Here are few factors to consider.

• Do you love your current company and are planning to stay longer in the company?
• Will there be a pay cut if you switch? If yes, how significant is it?
• Will trainings be provided?
• Are there any other projects in the pipeline for your current role?
• Can you find a better job out there?
• What’s your goal and objectives for doing whatever you are doing now? Start your own business? Be a consultant?
• Do you prefer to be a specialist (harder to find job but with higher pay) or a generalist (easier to find job but with lower pay)?
• If you choose not to switch and prefer to sit idling around….is your boss okay with that?

In fact, there are a lot to consider but all of the questions drill down to 2 main things – will your financial condition get affected and what is your plan for the future?

For example, people like myself would not mind switching since what I want to learn is the domain knowledge/operation and not just the technical side of things. I am the type of people who don’t like to get tied down or limited by a single thing. It’s just too risky that way….and too boring. Furthermore, my ultimate dream is to start my own business which does not really require me to know that specific skill. Because…well…an entrepreneur (a poor one especially) has to know EVERYTHING, not just a singe skill.

But enough about myself. What about you? If you were in such a situation, will you be willing to change? Do you mind letting go the years of experience you’ve obtained previously?

p/s… most bosses love employees who are worth more than they have been hired for. For example, it would be better if an employee knows multiple skills since the bosses can easily place him/her in any project to “fill in the gap”. Such employee is a valuable asset to the company (and they are not as expensive as the specialist).

I’m finally back after 1 week of absence (or more?). Hope you guys have enjoyed your Chinese New Year celebration as much as I did. I’ve had a great time except for …erm…losing money in the famous CNY “sports”.

Anyway, I’ve some good n bad news for you all.

The good news first.

• I’m back! Okay, I’ve said that already.
• I’ll resume blogging from Monday onwards.
• The number of RSS subscribers of this blog have achieved 20 mark for the first time! Yeah yeah, I know it’s a small number but it’s quite a record for this blog. If you haven’t subscribe to this blog’s RSS, you can do so HERE.

and the bad news….

• I will not be blogging actively during the next 2 weeks as I’ll still be rushing my project. I was rushing the project during CNY as well. I’ll still try my best to blog as much as possible, but work comes first and the project does need my help (which is actually a good news since I’m not a liability).
• I lost quite most of my “ang pow” money to those “sports” during CNY. LOL. Well, not all of the money anyway…not the big ones. Lesson of the day – Alvin should not be greedy in this “cow” year. =_=

Besides the good and bad news about my life, there are some observations I’ve made during CNY period which I want to share with you all. See, this blog is not all about me.

• The economy is really bad, even in Malaysia. A lot of factories are closing down, and many more are retrenching workers.
  

  More people are getting married this year...even though it's recession period

• In fact, I do believe Malaysia will be very badly hit by recession and the signs will become obvious in May or June 2009.
• Crime rate is going up because those foreigners are the first to be retrenched. And when they’re desperate, where can they turn to?
• Dengue cases are on the rise in Malaysia. So kill all the mosquitoes you see and check if your house have any stagnant water. Do it weekly or 3 times a week, if possible.
• A lot of people are getting married this year! Be prepared for lots of red bombs.
• I expect to see a lot of sales and promotions as businesses try to improve consumer spending. So if you are looking to buy some stuff, try to be patient and choose only the best deals. Sales will not be something rare this year.
• Besides sales & promotions, I also expect to see more options for consumers since businesses will be competing with each others to get the bigger piece of the market – price war…technology war…etc.
• The food & beverages business is affected by the recession as well. More people are eating @ home, and they are switching to vege n chicken diet…less seafood. My father’s friend who sells fresh seafood complained to us the other day that business is really becoming from bad to worse.
• Cosmetics business is going to get more popular…since I noticed that more young girls in my hometown (which is quite a small place) are using make-ups nowadays, as compared to few years ago.

Hmm can’t think of anything now. I think I better sleep. Seriously lacking sleep. =_=

Last but not least, thanks for all those who visited and commented on this blog while I was away.

As some of you know, I’m a big fan of motivational books or non-fiction books. I feel that by reading such books, I can learn a lot and improve myself as a person. But lately, I start to realize that there’s 1 similarity in every motivational books. There are only success stories about how successful people managed to achieve their dreams and ambitions. Their WAYS and methods to become successful.

People tend to focus on the success (the one with glass casing) and neglect the mistake...but that's not actually the right thing to do. By the way, the guy is not me.

Well, not that there’s any problem with such content.

The thing I’m wondering about is that why isn’t there a motivational book which focuses on mistakes and mistakes only? Maybe there ARE such books but they are surely not that popular. Hmm, I thought learning about the mistakes made by others is actually more important than learning about how successful people become successful? After all, the ways to success can be quite different from one individual to another, but the mistakes to be avoided can be quite similar.

Furthermore, making mistakes do make us learn more so that we won’t repeat them. If that’s the case, isn’t it nice to know what kind of mistakes have been made by others in the past, so that we will try to avoid them or at least know what to do when we’re faced with them?

Unfortunately, this is not what most people want to know. People love to read about successful stories and idolize these successful individuals. The thought of Warren Buffett making some silly mistakes just doesn’t materialize in their mind. But is that true that Warren Buffett does not make silly mistakes? No. Everyone does at some points in their life. It’s just that others do not want to focus on the mistakes.

Besides that, it’s also because motivational books are meant to represent hopes. By reading these books, I do hope that I can be like these great and successful people. That’s why I need to read how they succeed which is something positive, and not how they could’ve failed due to their silly mitakes. That’s just too demotivating to read!

Demotivating it might…but they are still very useful in my humble opinion.

Hmm…maybe someone should come out with a series of books about mistakes and mistakes only. It’ll be nice to see the mistakes made by Steve Jobs, rather than how he became successful.

The other day, my sister told me about her ex-colleague (who is same age with me) called Prad (yeap, he’s Brad Pitt’s brother. =_= not his real name of course). Prad has been an IT guy for at least 4 or 5 years now but recently, he told my sister that he’s getting tired of IT. He wanted to give up on IT and pursue his passion in drawing (not his real passion actually…just trying to cover up his identity). And my sister was quite worried for him and told me that one should always think about money first, because it’s still very important.

Lost and don't know where to go?

To a certain extent, I have to agree with both Prad and my sister. I’ve walked down this path before and I know how it feels. Honestly speaking, when you’ve lost interest in the things you do, you will start to feel that your life is becoming meaningless especially when you are pushing yourselves to work, just to earn enough money to survive. But sadly, that is how this world is. Some people can actually give up everything to pursue their passions and dreams, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The question is “Are you willing to take that risk?”

For me, I wouldn’t do that, even though my interest is still drawing, comics, animation, etc. Why? Because it’s too risky especially when the world is undergoing a global recession. Furthermore, I have knowledge in IT which I don’t think I should waste it. What I’m planning to do this year is to keep my day job and also to work extra hours to pursue my dreams – combining what I like most (activities which require creativity) and what I know most (IT).

Okay, let’s cut the crap about me and my evil plan to conquer the world. Here’s my advice to those who are facing such situation including our friend Prad.

• Don’t quit your day job because it’s too risky. If you are going to go into something new, you will have to start from zero. Do you have the means to survive?
• Are you sure your passion will remain your passion after making it a full time job? Grass may seem greener on the other side but it’s actually not that green. That’s why you should try it during your free time or as a part time job, and see if you really like it. Don’t take the jump until you’re sure you’ll like it.
• Getting bored with your current job might not mean that you hate your current industry. Example, if you are bored with IT, that does not mean you’ve lost all love for it. Try find things which will trigger your interest again and also try to mix around with people who will help boost your self confidence. Being confident with your own skills will help a lot in deciding whether you like or dislike your job.
• Also, if you do feel that your job has no objectives and meaningless, it could be something to do with your company and the way your company manages people. A company without direction will not be able to keep the employees motivated. Everyone needs a reason to work hard and to be productive…and money is not really a good motivator – it is good, but there are others which are much more efficient.
• Think for yourselves and don’t be influenced by others especially those who have not walked down that path. If you’re surrounded by negative people or people who only know how to talk, you must think of a way to ignore their words and to motivate yourselves. Your boredom and demotivation might be caused by them, not by your lack of interest in your job.
• If you know someone who has walked down that path before, then seek their advice but don’t get overly influenced by them. Treat their advices/opinions as guidelines, not instructions. After all, what turns out okay for me might not be okay for you.

After all the points above, if you are still thinking of making a big change like jumping into a brand new industry, then by all means go ahead. Just make sure you plan ahead properly and do it without regret. I do believe that at the end of the day, all the dots will connect with each others. After all, things do happen for a reason.

And remember that, you can ask other people for opinions but in the end, you are the one controlling your own destiny. You have the final call.

Good luck and hope it helps.

Time flies and we’re already in the middle of January 2009. Things have been going so far so good for me…though a little busy particularly at work. Well, that doesn’t stop me from coming up with a lot of plans for 2009 since I’ve promised myself to make 2009 a much better year than 2008 (which I didn’t accomplish much).

One of my 2009 plans - keep fit !

Here are some of my plans for 2009:

1. Have an emergency fund (I don’t have one yet ).
2. Improves my financial net worth by 5% to 10% (the higher the better of course).
3. Spend more time with my family members and be a good son and brother.
4. Stay healthy and fit by going to the gym more regularly (which I’ve failed due to the project urgency =_=).
5. Start developing some useful IT products and share them with other people.
6. Contribute more to charity such as blood donation.
7. Earn more from online. Currently not earning much =_=.
8. Improve my creative skills – drawing, designing, creative writing, etc.
9. Learn more about other investment types in Malaysia.
10. Have an idea (or more) on the type of business I plan to start in a few years time.
11. Read more and more non-fiction books!

As you can see, some of those plans are pretty challenging but I don’t see them as impossible. In 2008, I’ve set some ridiculously difficult goals and ended up not achieving any of them. This year, I’m more realistic and I do believe all the above can be achieved. Just need to be more hardworking.

Actually, I intend to write my predictions for 2009 but….I ended up writing too much!! So I’m going to put it into another separate post.