September 25th, 2009 §
This article on BusinessWeek inspired me to write this post.
I started my first permanent job 7 years ago, just when the dot-com bust happened. I find it strange that I’m beginning a new phase of my career now, just a year after the recession. I’ll have to say that I’ve become acquainted with recessionary careers, so much that I see opportunities rather than challenges.
Are you Normal? Shame on You.
When recessions happen, everyone wants to stay put. Almost nobody wants to make crazy career changes. Those who don’t have jobs want stable jobs as fast as they can. But because there are so many people reacting in this way, it’s hard for companies to accomodate all these needs, so it becomes really competitive and everyone gets really twitchy and nervous and unhappy about their situation – just sitting and waiting for the recession to pass. This sucks, and nobody wants that.
The people who benefit the most from this predicament are folks who work for almost nothing and have the energy to innovate a dead thing to life. That was me in 2002, when I had absolutely no clue what my market rate was and was just willing to work for a company that would allow me to do stuff I thought was cool.
Motivation + Blindness = 200% Increase in Productivity
I entered a team of engineers who were so conservative that they had to put me on projects where I was working by myself in order to keep the peace in the office. I can’t remember how many things I initiated in order to improve workflows and software implementation, and I basically left the company because no one understood what in the world I was talking about anymore.
The funny thing is, half of the innovative practices I had put in place, I learnt on the job. It wasn’t that I brought in knowledge from my previous work experience – I’d just graduated from college. A lot of the other engineers could have trumped me at any time if they had spent time doing the research, but they didn’t.
I did it because I loved it – I loved making stuff better. I wasn’t even thinking about bills and recessions and all that crap. Worrying about stuff doesn’t get you anywhere.
Taking Chances are Underrated, You Should Try It Sometime
Obviously, my next company hired me because of all this cool new stuff I picked up and implemented (pioneered, as they say) – simply because no one gave a hoot about doing it and I did (which is also why you shouldn’t aim for the best companies because there’s less to improve). This could only happen because of recession, when everyone was so scared to lose their jobs, they didn’t want to do anything crazy.
Last year when the recession came, instead of focusing 100% of my time in my studies like most others did, I sacrificed some of my time in the week to work for a startup company. A lot of students were afraid of failing, which would have led to a lower chance at getting a job during a recession, etc.
I’m glad I worked part-time while studying. I initially applied on Gumtree as a front-end web developer (hardly a glamorous job site), and by the time I had finished my course my boss turned me into the CTO because I was practically the most “technical” person in the team (granted, there were only 3 of us).
And yes, I absolutely love my job.
Recessions are a Great Place to Make Things Happen
Of course, there are things you need to avoid in a recession. I’m nowhere near a 6-figure salary. And I’m still living in a shoebox with my wife. But I am absolutely confident it doesn’t get worse from here. A recession is a good place to start for folks who are just dying to make things happen.
Wait, it’s not just good – it’s great.
July 23rd, 2008 §
Today, I officially announced my resignation to my colleagues at our weekly team meeting. Resignations don’t take me by surprise, because people come and go all the time. What surprises me more is how people react differently to departures.
My first resignation was extremely low-key. I didn’t tell anyone short of one or two people, until the very last day. One person in particular got offended that I didn’t tell her I was leaving. She saw it as indifference, and that she was a nobody to me, although we got along OK at work. I told her that she didn’t get singled out, since I told almost no one about it, but I also apologized for any ill feelings. The rest didn’t care that much.
My second resignation took place in light of a downsizing exercise of the startup company I was working for. Although the company prepared new roles for us at an affiliated company, I wasn’t the only person leaving. But when I told my boss about it, he was concerned and asked me a lot of questions. The others were mostly silent. But everyone understood and supported my transition.
Resignations are about managing relationships
I don’t think I’ve ever burned a bridge before in my life, but I’ve dealt with all sorts of reactions and people change their views as time goes by.
I still have many of my ex-colleagues on facebook and on IM, and we talk occasionally. Most people get over the fact that a job is still a job. It’s not like Bobby running away from home.
This time though, I took more effort to manage my personal and professional relationships about my resignation.
Tell your managers ahead of time
Firstly, the moment I made the decision to leave, I told my line manager and my CEO about it, months ahead in advance. I know this doesn’t play well with everyone, but I’ve always managed the relationships with my line manager and my CEO to be able to do this. I feel it’s only important to take responsibility for the company’s needs and its people. This is because most HR departments are mostly a function of finance.
I was a senior member in the team, so losing me would mean a gap in the leadership and technical lead area. Still, they didn’t counter offer me anything, but I did get friendly support on my decision.
This is what it’s like to manage your own career, which is how it’s like in most companies
You’re expected to make your own choices, and unless a specific culture or policy has been put in place, communicated, and encouraged, it’s a norm for people to make up their minds to just get their work done, go home, come back the next day to do the same thing.
Prioritize your relationships accordingly
Secondly, the sequence of which I informed people of my resignation was based on my relationship with them. This depended on their authority, how close I was to the person, and on circumstances. Bosses and managers came first. People who were close to me came next. Next were people who worked with me on a project that had a stake in my work. After that came the rest of the team, and then the whole world (which is why I’m writing now).
Some say it’s politics. Some say it’s being nice. I just think it’s important.
Invest in people
I didn’t do this for my first job because I was a noob, but relationships will become more important than a resumes as years pass. Even LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye says this.
Thirdly, I told people why I was leaving. I’ve been accepted to pursue a Masters in HCI in the UK. There are many good reasons for me to do this, so when people asked, I told them. This was okay because I wasn’t going to a competitor firm, and it made sense.
People want the comfort of understanding that their decisions are sound
Almost everyone I spoke to understood my conviction and supported my decision to leave. They also clarified their own positions and didn’t feel threatened by my departure.
No employee should be afraid to leave a job for the right reasons. If it’s well-managed, it can be beneficial and amicable. You just need the right perspective and some effort.
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June 16th, 2008 §
The Malaysian IT workforce is facing a lot of problems now than it used to. No doubt, there are tons of jobs available, but for low-scale jobs like software development and tech support. The types of jobs available now hasn’t changed much over the last few years, and I doubt it will look any different over the next 5.
The reason is because IT in Malaysia is still fairly new, and hasn’t gained widespread adoption. At the same time, India and China are really big markets now, because of innovation and a vibrant mix of local and foreign players.
Our IT graduates are focussed mainly on development, not research. We’re way behind in terms of software – mainly because there’s too much emphasis on theory, instead of customers. My base observation is that companies typically use sales and project management staff to deal with customers, so a lot of programmers have zero to little idea of how to develop customer-centric software.
Anyway, I digress. If you’re in Malaysia and you’re doing software development, it is unlikely that your salary will hit RM7k for 6 years’ worth of slavery. This is true whether or not you’re a good programmer. (If you’re the exception, you can thank your lucky stars)
If you’re a project manager, 6 years’ worth of slavery might earn you RM6k and above. But then, I assume the work to be firefighting, especially when your software developers are paid peanuts.
Software developers are like the bottom of the food chain. There’s no glamour, no glory – and it’s crowded.
Just so you don’t think I’m crazy, I’m posting my interview with a recruitment agent from an established Malaysian recruitment company (ok, they *used* to advertise on the rear end of taxis/cabs). Her job involves hiring local IT grads for Malaysian companies, and she’s been doing that for the past 3 years.
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LW: What’s the average starting pay for a IT fresh grad now?
Agent: Average start is around RM1700-1800. But you do have candidates who are good, getting upto Rm2-3K for a Fresh Grad role as well… but that’s the highest and rare statistic
LW: rare as in …. 5%?
Agent: yup maybe around there… maybe even less
LW: what about [people with] 2 years experience?
Agent: Average IT person would be [earning] around RM2500? Rm2500-Rm3000 depending.
LW: what are the exceptions? RM4k?
Agent: possibly yes, but usually with 2 years, it shld be around Rm3500. [It] can go up to Rm2.5 – RM3.5k.
LW: okay, [what about] 4 years?
Agent: depends what area they are in. What area of IT. 4 years in the SAME Line without switching (e.g. programming for 4 yrs) would be around RM4K-6K, usually 6K on the high side… that’s for people who’ve moved into project management. So around Rm4-5k. Yeah, around Rm4-5K+ odd
LW: 6 years?
Agent: 6 years – you must ask me in what line. 6 years programming? 6 yrs in system support? A bit too general of a question. 6 years… in all technical? Or 6 years with some managerial experience?
LW: 6 yrs software development
Agent: all software development – about… Rm5-6++ as a programmer…. I’d say around Rm5k++, Rm6K onwards would be for a Project Manager etc.
LW: how much does a software developer earn in India, typically?
Agent: Don’t know about that. Don’t know Indian rates.
LW: If you had children, would you encourage them to do IT? [ed: Sorry, I had to do this. :P ]
Agent: Yes if that’s their passion.. but they’d really have to be different from the rest of the people out there… because there are too many people with IT degrees… the ones are gonna make it are the ones who can stand out in terms of skills, competence, and their ability to think differently, and that includes championing good ideas and having the initiative.
LW: Has the IT job outlook improved over the years, or declined?
Agent: Outlook for employers or employees?
LW: Both.
Agent: hmm, for employers, it’s declined a little… It’s getting harder to find the right people nowadays with a good fit in terms of the technical skills and the soft skills desired. Not enough good people in the market, and attracting them to the organization is also another challenge as employees are getting smarter and more demanding.
LW: So, it’s looking better for employees now, than in the past?
Agent: I think there’s a disparity between what people want out of their careers in IT and what companies here can give them. And as a result of this, people become mercenaries for the higher paying job. The roles of companies for IT in general, aren’t exactly very mind-blowing, even for managerial positions…
So while companies are trying to ’sell’ the organization and the job, trying to attract job seekers… it’s not really working so well because the average job seeker actually wants more than just a support role… or more than just an implementor role
LW: So what do employees really want out of the job these days? If it’s more than support and implementation?
Agent: aside from more money for rising living costs… i’m not really sure, but i think it’s got to do with a whole new level of a job per se… more interesting projects, not the run-of-the-mill support roles, or an outsourcing center…. maybe new projects involving innovation from scratch.. that’s designed/planned for here… something that people feel a sense of belonging.
The roles/projects we have here are implementation… people don’t identify with that.They never created the work…. they have no sense of belonging… and when that happens, you take less pride in what you do.
Hence you move around jobs quicker, if that makes sense.
LW: It makes a lot of sense. Do you forsee this scenario to change over the next few years? Malaysia is right in the middle of cheap-software-dev talent pool.
Agent: No, not in the next few years. Maybe in 10 years?
LW: That’s a long time, considering that software moves so fast.
Agent: Haha, there isn’t much sign of change happening for the big companies. No sign of creation of projects by Malaysians, written by Malaysians… Don’t know if it’s because Malaysians have yet to initiate such efforts in the first place, or is it a result of a lack of opportunities to display their abilities. Chicken or egg situation.
LW: Thanks for your time. If you had one advice for local IT grads out there, what would it be?
Agent: My advice would be to strive to be different – in terms of ideas, work approach….and to ensure they get solid technical experience to back them up.
LW: Sounds good. Thanks again!
[Interview date: Monday, June 16, 2008, 1pm]
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June 9th, 2008 §
After graduating with my BSc in Computer Engineering, I took my 10 month experience as an undergraduate research assistant in Java to a local telecoms solutions provider. I looked my interviewer in the eye, and told her not to look at me as a fresh grad.
I don’t know if I got the job on that basis, but I did – so they put me on stretchers for the first few weeks, and got me hacking at a poorly written Java re-write of an equally poorly written ASP web application. I fumed at the mess, which led me to stuff like Apache Struts and n-tier architecture, MVC and all that stuff.
My boss decided then to throw me into the deep end of the pool and send me to Singapore to build a webapp on my own, with only the interface requirements provided. Fine, I thought. Let’s do it in ASP.NET (never touched it in my life).
I bought a book from Microsoft Press, sat down and implemented the first MVC app the company had ever produced without even knowing it. Plus, I never had a complaint from the client, either. So it was either really bad or really good.
Like all budding Malaysian engineers, I waited out to see if the company would reward me. I got a measly RM200 on my confirmation, and a subsequent increase of RM80 and RM100 during the yearly probation cycles. And to think that they pay the sales guys so much more than the engineers, no wonder this country is not going anywhere.
Maybe I’m wrong to think that companies should reward their pioneers. But they don’t. Most companies pay for employees to kowtow, because at the end of the day it’s the management who calls the shots. Here are some examples of kowtowism:
Overtime – a great way to show that you’re working your butt off, because the boss comes into the office at 12am too. Who cares if you’re not making real progress? Seat warming is where it counts.
Seniority – “I have 10 years of software experience and you don’t.” Get real.
Complicated code – Solve a problem fast by using tutorials and cut and paste. Easy.
Tunnel Vision - “yes I’ve fixed that problem”. But you’ve caused a few dozen more in the process.
Certifications and new programming languages – .NET exploded on the scene at the time. Anyone doing C# was worshiped at my office. I couldn’t care less.
At the end of the day, no matter how much I’ll rant, it doesn’t make a difference. Companies have already decided beforehand how much salary they will pay software engineers. There’s not a big difference in the scale vs. skill. This is what makes it so unnerving. Even more so are companies who are using software to make money.
But I regress. Software engineers need more than programming skills to survive. There’s no point in complaining otherwise.
