Walking in the desert for 1.5 miles in 35 mph winds… Don’t try this at home.

After Friday prayer, I wanted to try walking back to the office for a change. Okay, actually that’s not what happened — Almy brought the car to town and I didn’t have any ride :).

During that arduous journey (I’m exaggerating, of course), I had to hold on to my hat and bag, made sure no sand went into my eyes and met with a jogger who was wearing a T-shirt and shorts (He said, ‘Hi, how’s it going?’). And I thought I was crazy… While I was walking, I thought that it was fun and wondered what other people in the world were doing at that time. I was also reminded about a conversation I had with some friends a while ago regarding Google — the number one company for employees based on Fortune magazine. Workers over there have beanbags, relaxation rooms, free snacks, a nice fitness center etc. Would I trade my job for theirs? Depends.. on whether I would enjoy the work itself. Then my mind wandered to people who are less fortunate than me. They don’t have the luxury to think about what career they would enjoy the most. I know that a lot of people in third world countries would be happy to just get a steady income, regardless of the job.

I then wondered about my career search, and how many potential job leads I’ve turned down.. I wondered again for the umpteenth time.. am I too full of myself, thinking that I can easily jump to another industry, start from zero and have a steady income for my family? What if I fail this transition? Am I not ‘walking against the wind’, kind of like this desert walk of mine?

As I entered my office, my friend said that I should’ve given him a call to hitch a ride. But I guess I really wanted to do something different that day to freshen up my mind — I think the wind helped me there. I’m hoping my job hop will do the same.

Tau

I did a self-assessment the other day.. to find out where my job interests really lie. The surprising thing, that I never really thought about before, is that the answer has two parts:

• What industry would I like to work in?
• What type of work in the past have I really enjoyed?

The answer to the first question for me is, I would like to work in an industry that’s cutting edge and would make a huge impact on the world– solar energy, fuel cells, advanced medical instruments etc. (this list isn’t all inclusive)

The answer to the second question is that I enjoy making processes more efficient. Which include manufacturing type jobs. This is a trait I had since college — I try to work smarter not harder (Btw, emphasis on ‘try’). Huh.. I don’t think I’ve ever dreamt of working in a factory. Besides, I’m an EE, not an IE, there are times when I like to engineer the product, not the processes.

So the trick is finding this sweet spot –  get a job that fits the industry, and the experience.

We’ll see what will happen in a few months…

Tau