Archive for September, 2008
What I’ve learned after 2 years working as a professional
Posted by Jackson Lim in Career on September 19, 2008
Today mark my 2 year anniversary working as a Software Engineer at one of the reputable IT Security Company in the industry, oddly I don’t feel that long at all. Maybe because I keep almost all of my college friends nearby, plus I can’t really tell whether I’ve change my personality much since college because some of my college buddies still able to recognize my immature side. But one thing for sure, my initial assumption on the working life before I graduated is far from reality, at that point of time I thought:
- The requirement is well sorted out and is written clearly on a piece of paper before it is handed to junior level programmer like myself
- People play nice to each other, and will try to work together to get the job done
- Customer knows clearly what they want, all we need to do is deliver the output
Nothing could prepare me for the real thing, after one year in the industry I began to realize why experience counts, why people value those who lasted longer in the industry more then others, and doing your job well is just part of the equation.
You must be able to:
Manage your boss
It took me a full 2 months to realize that my boss is not a knowledge God that knows everything, and I am not hired to be a slave. Part of the reason why my boss hire me is because they saw something in me, they invest on me and hopefully I am able to put something new on the table. Understand that you boss is a human being, they can forget, they might not have all the answers, and your job is to remind them and to provide different possible solutions. One of the biggest mistakes I made is I throw more problem at my boss then providing answers, it should be the other way around. Imagine you are in your boss shoe, usually he or she need to handle different project at once, if everyone just throw a load of crap at your boss face, nothing can get done!
Use your time wisely
It is tempting to use the word “Manage time”, but to me any Software Engineers who claimed they can manage their time either are lying, delusional or they are a cyborg. A real human beings have feelings and preference, if you do something that you love, you tend to do it longer and time pass by quickly. But if you are doing shitty jobs, time tick so slowly you swear the cuckoo clock ran out of battery, at the end you end up procrastinating, how can you possibly manage that? Don’t “Manage” time, instead use your time wisely. Learn to prioritize and accomplish tasked that yield the most results with the least amount of effort.
Handle Expectation
I talked about handling expectation before, so let me just give you brief summary. Your customer have a set of expectation on the result you deliver, your boss has a set of expectation on your performance, even your colleague has expectation on you, how do you manage all of the expectation without stressing yourself out? The key is knowing what you really want to accomplish, each project you handle must have a clear goal and foreseeable results. If you don’t even know what is expected of you, how could you possibly satisfy any expectation?
Deal with office politics
In my personal opinion, the best way to deal with office politics is to be ignorant about it. I know it is tempting to gossip about the girl who sit beside your cubicle, but think about it, what good can you possibly gain if you found out that the girl you went out to lunch with every day is a lesbian? Does it contribute to your productivity? I certainly don’t think so. Socializing with your colleague is important, but you don’t have to join the office politics to do it.
Accept Positive Criticism
I personally value criticism highly because it takes a lot of courage for others to tell me that I suck at what I am doing, maybe it is a culture at my work place, people aren’t fond of commenting other people’s work. If someone is doing something that is below par of what they are capable of, tell them, let them know in order for them to improve upon it. But please deliver it nicely, because criticism is hard to swallow for some people.
Deal with the customer
I heard people say “Customer is always right” for millions of times and I finally understand it the hard way. No matter what is your defends, if you failed to document what the customers wants, and the customer are not satisfied with your end results, you are doomed. Nothing you can say or do that can make it right again, period. The tricky part is, even the customer don’t necessarily know what they want, thats why proper requirement study must be conducted and all the documents must be sign off by the customers first before any product is delivered to them.
I bet you can pick up any personal career books of the shelve and find one or all of the points I wrote above, I gain a lot valuable experience by practicing what I’ve learned, and hopefully it is enough to propel me up to the career ladder.
One day I want to become a CEO of an IT company.
Going backwards: Why jungle lifestyle is better then ours
Posted by Jackson Lim in Ideas on September 12, 2008
During a very hot Friday afternoon, me and my buddies are having our tea break when suddenly the topic of money pops up after a few exchange of headless jokes. He somehow manages to relate our goal of having multiple stream of passive income with sewer rats, sadly I don’t quite remember how he deliver the joke, but his idea of relating money and nature is interesting, and it stuck with me since then.
While I was alone in the thick jungle of Malaysian National Park, his joke suddenly reappear in my head again, although I laugh out loud I felt a little bitter at the end of the trek. I work day and night, stress myself out of my wits for a couple of piece of paper that I can exchange for different kinds of comfort, that I hope will eventually lowered my stress and keep me alive. That cycle goes on and on until I can’t work anymore, and my son or daughter will continue that cycle again. But if I revert back to the jungle life like my ancestor did, all I need to do is to find a couple of fishes, or small animal to keep me alive. I really don’t need fancy television, ipod, or even computers to keep me entertained, I have my family and friends living nearby to pass time.
Nowadays people talked about work life balance, that is not an issue when I stay in the jungle, I almost never leave my family. I don’t have to join a Gym to keep fit, hunting alone can burn lots of calories. I don’t have to get stuck in a traffic jam for hours, maybe I could use some help when my ass got stuck on a tree breach. I don’t have to spent 8 hours a day in the office, instead I’ll be fishing or barbecuing a wild boar. After a few years living in the jungle, I think I’ll have a good idea which mushroom is edible and which is not. I’ll teach my sons or daughters morality and the concept of creation and natural selection in order to let them make up their own minds. I’ll write songs and books or even direct a play for my own amusement.
But in order to maintain the jungle lifestyle I must stay far away from any civilization, there shouldn’t be any tribe living nearby, and there should be constant stream of running fresh waters. I prefer to live at the side of the hills, where the jungle isn’t too thick and the temperature is slightly colder. My house should be made out of wood, mud and rocks in order to withstand the weather, and there should be a watch tower too to hang out and survey the surroundings for dangerous animals and hunters. There will not be any electricity or running water, so I’ll be totally dependent on the vast resources of my natural surrounding. Such peace and quiet, fresh air, fresh cup of water, fresh food, everyday and it is all for free.
Can you imagine if all of world’s human race start to revert back to the jungle lifestyle as well? Money is not relevant anymore, there will be no stress, people will have more time on their hands to spent with their family and friends, or do whatever they really wanted to do, global warming is not an issue any longer, and people can finally live their life to the fullest. Isn’t that a wonderful picture? You can laugh at my ideas, but try and think carefully and seriously, do you think spending more then half of our lifetime working for papers is worth it? If you say no, what other alternative lifestyle that could think of?During a very hot Friday afternoon, me and my buddies are having our tea break when suddenly the topic of money pops up after a few exchange of headless jokes. He somehow manages to relate our goal of having multiple stream of passive income with sewer rats, sadly I don’t quite remember how he deliver the joke, but his idea of relating money and nature is interesting, and it stuck with me since then.
While I was alone in the thick jungle of Malaysian National Park, his joke suddenly reappear in my head again, although I laugh out loud I felt a little bitter at the end of the trek. I work day and night, stress myself out of my wits for a couple of piece of paper that I can exchange for different kinds of comfort, that I hope will eventually lowered my stress and keep me alive. That cycle goes on and on until I can’t work anymore, and my son or daughter will continue that cycle again. But if I revert back to the jungle life like my ancestor did, all I need to do is to find a couple of fishes, or small animal to keep me alive. I really don’t need fancy television, ipod, or even computers to keep me entertained, I have my family and friends living nearby to pass time.
Nowadays people talked about work life balance, that is not an issue when I stay in the jungle, I almost never leave my family. I don’t have to join a Gym to keep fit, hunting alone can burn lots of calories. I don’t have to get stuck in a traffic jam for hours, maybe I could use some help when my ass got stuck on a tree breach. I don’t have to spent 8 hours a day in the office, instead I’ll be fishing or barbecuing a wild boar. After a few years living in the jungle, I think I’ll have a good idea which mushroom is edible and which is not. I’ll teach my sons or daughters morality and the concept of creation and natural selection in order to let them make up their own minds. I’ll write songs and books or even direct a play for my own amusement.
But in order to maintain the jungle lifestyle I must stay far away from any civilization, there shouldn’t be any tribe living nearby, and there should be constant stream of running fresh waters. I prefer to live at the side of the hills, where the jungle isn’t too thick and the temperature is slightly colder. My house should be made out of wood, mud and rocks in order to withstand the weather, and there should be a watch tower too to hang out and survey the surroundings for dangerous animals and hunters. There will not be any electricity or running water, so I’ll be totally dependent on the vast resources of my natural surrounding. Such peace and quiet, fresh air, fresh cup of water, fresh food, everyday and it is all for free.
Can you imagine if all of world’s human race start to revert back to the jungle lifestyle as well? Money is not relevant anymore, there will be no stress, people will have more time on their hands to spent with their family and friends, or do whatever they really wanted to do, global warming is not an issue any longer, and people can finally live their life to the fullest. Isn’t that a wonderful picture? You can laugh at my ideas, but try and think carefully and seriously, do you think spending more then half of our lifetime working for papers is worth it? If you say no, what other alternative lifestyle that could think of?
Story from a coffee addict: Me and my coffee addiction
Posted by Jackson Lim in Emotional Inteligence on September 8, 2008
Before I start I want to point out that what is written here is base on my own personal experience, there is no sound scientific method applied here, all claims are based on my own feelings and experience, so don’t come and point finger at my nostril saying that I am a big fat lier, although I admit that I am over weight but I am not a lier.
I used to be a heavy coffee drinker, I used to drink 3 cups a day without fail. A few months ago Nescafe (with milk) welcomes me to a new day and accompanied me during the night, thanks to my friend I found out that black coffee gives me a better kick, and I can sustain with just 2 cups a day, and that is when I realize the problem. During the trip to Taman Negara 2 weeks ago, I am stuck in a bus for 5 hours without stop, I felt dizzy and out of focus (I ping my mind regularly), stuff just went by my sight and I am amaze at how everything just jumble up right in front of my eye.
My mind float aimlessly and I felt weak, needless to say, I am an addict. Once the bus stop for lunch, the first thing that pop into my head is a can of ice cold Nescafe, I tried to resist it, but after lunch I just walk into a local hypermart, before I knew it I wallop a whole can of Nescafe in a single breath, I never felt so refreshed my whole life. In the bus I think about serious matters regarding my life, I managed to spot some wild life along the way. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
The next day while hiking in Taman Negara, I had a major migraine on the left side of my brain, I knew it is due to my addiction. I didn’t know that it is such a big deal to skip a cup in the morning, before I knew it, it was too late. While hiking I suddenly had running nose, I felt dizzy again and I am out of focus, I push my body harder because I know I can do it, when I reach the top of the summit, all that feeling went away, I managed to fight it, and that horrible beast that cling to my body is gone.
Since then I am fine without drinking, it comes as no surprise that I can sleep better and earlier at night, and I wake up earlier too. Because of my new sleeping habits, I am more positive and I am more able to organize my e-mails and task. Like domino effect, all my task are better organized, I am less stressed and I felt happier. Coincidence? Maybe. But there is one area in my life that didn’t improve, in fact it is degrading pretty badly, my focus.
It took more effort to sustain long period of concentration on what I am doing then before, for example while I am writing about my journey to Taman Negara my mind swift to other unrelated things easily, and it happened 2 days straight. Although scientist are still debating between themselves whether caffeinated drinks have any Psychological affect on human beings, I definitely feel the aftermath.
So like what the wise man said, do everything in moderation. Now I drink just one cup of hot coffee in the morning, and that is it. I gain a boost in focus, but I’ll have lower chance in getting a heart disease, now the hard part is to resist another cup of freshly brewed coffee.
ah.. temptation.