I was chatting with a taxi driver who once worked for a Power Generation company as an electrician. It was the unfavourable economy that had caused him to be retrenched. He initially thought of going back to the electrical industry but felt that at his age it would be better to go for career change. He joked that after all he was tired of removing other people's shorts!
We chatted a bit more and he advised me to think carefully of my career progression. We both agreed that the upcoming generation would face different conditions and it would be too idealistic to think that you can work for the same company for more than 5 years. The new generation must continually update themselves and be prepared to move around when required. Perhaps it is the influence of the global economy.
I remembered that when I was young, my mother wanted me to be a doctor just like many other hopeful mothers out there. As I grew up, I realised there are many types of doctors. I guess I am not really cut out to be a surgeon as I cannot imagine facing gory stuff everyday. I thought maybe I could be an optometrist just to please my mother. I could wear the nice white clinical coat and check people's eyes. Then I would put a sign outside my office saying, "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."
My ex-classmate who had the similar ambitions told me he would rather to be a gynaecologist. From the wry grin on his face, I knew I didn't want to know the reasons for such a preference. He then told me the sign he would put outside his office would be: "Dr. Singh (MBBS), at your cervix."
He proceeded to ask me which profession knew their stuff well? Since we were talking about doctors I naturally assumed that was the answer. But I was wrong, it is the taxidermist.
5 comments:
To be honest, unless you've found the company of your dreams, I for one wouldn't be too keen about staying at a company for more than 5 years. The place where i work at now, I know that some people have been there since they left high school. I find that a little disturbing. One little company is enough for you? Do they really encompass all that you ever desire 'for the rest of your life'?
Where's your ambition people? Don't you want to go out and see what else is out there for you? One company cannot be the be-all and end-all...
That is such a positive thinking from you, Enigmatic Butterfly! Hope that it inspires others =)
Unlike our fathers' generation where people worked in the same company for donkey years, the upcoming generation will be faced with a different economy, a different scenario.
Unlike previous emphasis on seniority, companies nowadays adopt a more performance dependant approach. Welcome to generation of "hire and fire"! =P
you seem surprised that i can voice positive comments. I'm not all depression and angst y'know.. *wicked grin*
from what i understand of corporate companies however, it seems that lots of people don't usually have lots of 'sticking power' anyhow. Isn't there some rule where if you stay with a company for 5 years + you get an extra bonus for company loyalty?
Actually many of my friends may not agree with what is said... that is why i was glad that you have such a positive mindset.
i think most companies are scrapping the company "loyalty" concept, and many companies do not practise pension schemes any more. The incentive is to perform and not to outlast. ;P
fair enough. i also see your point about the performance over loyalty. there are good sides to hiring and firing though. it makes for progression. as good as loyalty is, it's not always nice to stay in one mind-set. companies, business performance etc can only improve with change. if that means you have to hire new people and fire others, then them's the breaks.
i think with the changing of jobs thing though - the main thing is your own mind-set. if you're confident enough of your abilities, you should realise that there are many opportunities out there for you to take, as long as you're willing to look outside the job or even industry that you're in. my own current job is a very small niche market in some ways. but that doesn't necessarily mean that i have to stay in this same niche market with the various companies involved. the skills i use, and the things i learn about the industry in general can be bent to other jobs and industries.
sometimes you just have to realise that the path to success isn't always straight and narrow. sidestep by all means, and take divergent paths. at the end of the day either they take you back to where you want to go (leading to a more enriching learning exprience), or you end elsewhere (which isn't always necessarily a bad thing).
Post a Comment