Lobsters for Lunch

Got a call from my good ol friend to hop in for lunch at his home... Had 2 varieties of Lobsters. Feels fishy now....:-)

Mid Career Crisis...

Hello Blog. It has been a long time again, since I blogged my mind out. Technical know hows have improved drastically. I have installed new XP, backed up entire data prior to that and when the new XP came it, I did not lose even one single document or data.

Its exciting when we think what is happening in the world around us. When I re installed the new XP as well as got the latest Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and a host of other stuffs, I could not believe that computing is getting advanced by the minute. The high light was the Office 2010 which I downloaded as a free stuff for 6 months. Whenever we click an Office document, the files required for the operation is streamed...WOW...which means that I NO longer need to have the heavier files installed in my PC. This is what I call as Cloud Computing. The operating systems from Google will or is being developed in a similar fashion is what I hear. What ever be it, as mentioned earlier, the times ahead are going to be really exciting.

But its not the same when it comes to my career. I am confused, I am lost. This is exact situation that I had feared 9 years back when I took my first assignment. I am feeling chocked doing what ever I am doing. I am trying to fight the system to make my voice heard. And I find that I am reaching no where in my career. I needed to get to the bottom of this matter at the earliest and that's exactly what I was doing over last few hours.

The crisis is, what I realised, is mainly because, unlike the puter which got fresh doses of updates, I didn't update myself. I am a pro when it comes to hobby part of things but not when it comes to my career. Do I have a Masters degree? No! Have I initiated any steps towards Career Development? No! Does my employer train me to take up more tasks? No! The No List is endless. Working in the Middle east has its own advantages. You get pretty good time to spend with your family, you get fresh air and water, and of course to a certain extent, based on your company, you may end up with some extra money.

But where is your Career going to end up? Most of companies in Middle east are into trading. Import at X value and sell it at Y. Simple Maths. And when you end up with a profile of Y selling, you will be redundant in your career. So what needs to be done? I have certainly found out where I am lacking. The steps which I need to take and for the benefit of all those of you who are yet to or are just at the beginning of your career, are:

1. Keep yourself updated.


2. Get trained


3. Learn more things, or might as well do a Masters or the next higher level of education


4. Love your job and learn as much as you can from it.


5. Most important- Look out for better opportunities every 5 years. If you stick to a job for more than 5 years and you find you are still in the lower strings of the organisation, look for a better opportunity NOW. This is one mistake that I feel I have made!!!

So, let me try to implement the 5 things that I feel need for my correction. Hope fully Blog, you might get a share of the news. If I don't come back in a weeks time, be assured I am onto something. Until then take care! Cheers..

(Image Courtesy: Its the advertisment for Monster.com job portal. I am yet to find someone who could provide me the rights for this upload. In the event this image is a violation, I shall be glad to have it removed)