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)

Snow fall in Austria to Mountain Dew in Oman...

I am back after a short visit to Austria and Germany. It was the ski season in Austria and since I was in Tirol province, where Ski was the main business, I had a nice time watching at the snow covered Alpen peaks with hundreds of skiers busy with their skis. 

The travel was even fun. Lie flat seats took me to Vienna with 19 inch screens to entertain me. It was awesome watching a movie just the way I would have done if I were to be at home. One noticeable thing was the movie most of the passengers were viewing. It was Slumdog Millionaire. Yes, I had my 66 year old Austrian co-passenger watch the movie with subtitles. And there were 10 others of various nationalities watching the same. Being Indian myself I was feeling good that an India based movie has attracted the attention of so many. But the images in the movie also made me mature enough to answer people who asked me..Is the slum scenes real in India. Yes was my answer and also I added that India is a diversified nation with poverty at one end and Big IT companies on the other. But the society is so well woven that the rich and the poor co exist. 

But most of Indians have found the reference slum"DOG" to be offensive. Not me though. It is just a reference on the worse situations that the character in THE MOVIE faced and how he utilized those difficulties to be a winner. The name reference is fine and in fact makes us wonder what is there in the movie, before we even see it. But for the others who really wanted to make an issue, well the name is a sitting duck. 

Anyway I am back and after the Millionaire and the Alps, I was drawn to the reality on prices when I landed in Oman. And that is " MOUNTAIN DEW" prices have gone up by 50 PERCENT. For God Sake WHY???

With summer round the corner, I am sure the American giant Pepsi has decided to make some more money from the market and maybe make up for the global losses it might incur due to recession. But 50 percent?? Its too much. The prices of the commodities are falling and the ingredients are just plain water and some additives. Fuel prices are low in Oman!! And Mountain Dew is locally made. Why did they have to do it. When car distributors increased prices by 15 percent, the residents decided not to purchase. So this 50 percent rise...wassup people? :) :)

Well this is one big blog. Let me stop for the time and take a nap. The travel has taken a little toll on me and added to it the Mountain Dew price ...Ummmm...!!!