I've just given up continuing to do my final year project. I know, I've already submitted my thesis, but the project was incomplete - and I don't kinda feel good leaving things like that.
Well anywho, tonight I've decided enough is enough. I have approximately one week left before I join the workforce and I might as well make the best of it. It is only now that I feel truly free from the long run that is the "undergraduate years".
It's been a good run.
5 years. 5 long years? or 5 short years? Well right now it feels short I guess. It's like sometimes you can still remember those early foundation years, how you first met your friends, the societies your in..
I admit, I'll be missing those moments. Moments of freedom. Moments of knowing your actions wont have dire consequences..such carefree life. When all that matters is studying and hanging out with friends - owh, and in my case maintaining a healthy relationship with my ayang.
Sure, there were ups..and there were also downs. And I'm happy I made the most of the opportunity given, or at least try to. Doesn't matter, no regrets there. Much has been learned along the way. And who could forget being in SIFE UNITEN, the cheers, the frustration, the politics, the fun, the joy, the satisfaction, the best society I've ever joined in my entire life. It's tough, but rewarding nonetheless.
Love them friends I made along the journey. Some good, some bad - but they are mostly good. Learn the art of choosing a friend. Befriend all, but stick close to only some. No matter what others may say, friends DO in fact influence you in one way or another. So be wise. Know what you wanna be and pick a friend that can influence you in that manner.
So this is it I guess.
Farewell UNITEN - it's been awesome.
Pedot, Pi'e, Padil, and MeIt's 3:15am. I am blogging because right now I'm just sooooooo sick and tired of editing my thesis. It sucks! Really!
My eyes are going kelabu already..I think I might be hitting the pillows anytime soon.
Gotta send the thesis to get it binded tomorrow. Maybe the day after that. Dang..i'm in some deep shit if you gotta ask..
Warghh!!!!
How I wish I can kage-bunshin myself and get this thing done faster..
Dear Muhammad Hafidz,
Thank you for attending the recent interview for the post of ABAP cadet.
Due to the high number of applications, you have not been selected on this occasion. We wish you luck in your career search.
Kind regards,
*****
One less thing to ponder upon then. Hahaha..touche~
Its 10:10pm. Feel kinda tired actually. The after effect of the interview today no doubt.
The interview session was held from 10am - 4-ish pm at TPM. There was a logic test(which was more like a programming test - I thought a logic test was supposed to be like an IQ-like test..oh well..) , a presentation, and a one-to-one interview.
I really messed up at the presentation part. I guess i'm never gud at giving impromptu talk like that. Was given a picture of the London bridge to talk about for 2-3 min. I ended talking for like 30 sec. Yeah..go figure.
Later there was this one-to-one interview which felt more like a one-to-three interview. Basic questions though..nothing I can't talk my way out of. So felt kinda gud la in the end. Hahaha.
The pictures above are the guys for the second group to go to the so called "one-to-one" interview. Each was interviewed for like 10-15 min. I finally got called up at 4pm. Everybody has gone back already. Lucky buggers..
All in all though, it was a lesson in humility and gud learning experience. Humility because I needed to be reminded of what I lack from other candidates. I still need to work hard on my impromptu presentation-giving skills and technical skills.
Other than that, it was nice to get to know the other candidates as well - they weren't all fresh graduates mind you, some of them has even worked for 4 years in the ERP business. Some competition huh?
Even the title itself is quite amusing. I just got the news off Nuraina Samad's blog. And later read the article by Associated Press. Here's an excerpt
Abdul Rahman Dahlan, secretary general of the United Malays National Organization party's youth wing, said all those vying for national youth posts must have blogs to introduce themselves and their programs ahead of party elections in December.
Click here for the real article.
Okay..so now they think they're IT savvy. Great. They have a hard task ahead of them to start convincing others about what they're blogging of course. I mean - they're politicking on the Net. That in itself show others about their blog content. Some credibility..bahh.
Others set up blogs to voice out, to express in their deepest sincerity - the thing that surrounds them, that they find troubling - that of which need fixing.
These people however set up blogs because they lost in an election. I mean..really..how much more pathetic can you get.
After this perhaps we're gonna see UMNO setting up their own IT dept. Then later all the advertising space in hotmail and yahoo are gonna point to these blogs. Well..ok..it might be a bit boombastic - but I don't think we'd all expect BN to put all those ads on the NET back in the last GE did we?
But I guess in some ways it is perhaps gud, at least they got a platform where they can sell themselves. Should they have something to sell of course - and whether it is sell-able.
Me? I just wanna see problems get solved, and things get done. If you can't produce - then don't bother asking for my vote.
If you're an avid fan of my blog, you'll notice there was this one time I mentioned something about a Swedish master thesis concluding that Malays are rather a slow and lazy bunch.
Here with I share with you the conclusion of that research.
For those interested in reading the whole thing, you can get it here.
It really is interesting to see what others think of you as a race and as a nation. Different angles, different perspective.
Jangan melatah. "Ubah cara hidup" .
Job hunting is fun! Up until the part you have to make a decision that is. I mean which path you choose now determines how you lead your life in 2-3 years to come. And in my opinion..there's no turning back. Yeah sure..one can say, "but there's always a way back..", but to me..time is too precious too be spent in such a measly manner. Planning, is of the utmost importance.
So I have decided. I want to be in the telco industry. And I want to work in an English-speaking environment. I want to work in a non-malay majority company. So I guess that rules out GLCs. Why would I want that? I guess I just want to try out new things I suppose. Be out of my comfort zone. See what makes me tick.
It has to be an MNC. I hate jobs that requires you to wait and just monitor stuff around. Like pakcik guard kat bawah tu. I don't think I can work like him. I don't think that I'd be able to maintain consciousness in the way that he does it. I can't do nothing for hours! I have to do something..anything that is constructive..or destructive..wateverla, as long as I can keep my mind occupied. I remember being at the Comptel interview and was given a written test to finish off while waiting for my interviewer to arrive. I arrived kinda early because I was afraid of getting lost on the way there. Newho, cutting things short, I finished the paper, and was left all alone in the meeting room. Boy was I restless. Didn't know what to do..what to expect. And the last thing that I should do then was doze off and fall asleep. But thats the thing - its really hard not to!
Anyway, back to the original topic. Since I can't stand those waiting thingies I guess network monitoring is out for me too. And since most of the networking-based MNC are looking for those type of people..then I guess it's bye bye networking field. There aren't many foreign based system integrator in this country, most are local. Too bad. I would love to be a system integrator..if not for the measly pay and the saturated market of CCNA certificate holders out there.
So that basically leaves me with RF and programming. I like RF, but I think I dig programming better.
Programming+telco industry = Comptel.
Axon Solutions just called in yesterday inviting me over for a group interview at their place next week. I wonder whether I should go or not. The market and forums are buzzing with SAP right now that I'm at times feel uncomfortable with the amount of competition that I'll be facing (should I head in that direction of course). SAP is a huge thing no doubt. All the big hot shot companies uses them. But should go for the popular and uncertain path, or head toward the niche and straight forward path? SAP has many modules..one can specialise in all sorts of things. SAP, is a product - one that is going against Oracle's PeopleSoft and Siebel. So should PeopleSoft or Siebel one day prove to be a better solution than SAP - than you can expect a huge exodus of SAP programmers. And lets not be naive - there are a lot of SAP consultants out there! Everyone seems to want to be an SAP consultant! It's the IN thing right now.
So why the fuck am I not going goo goo gaa gaa over Axon's offer?
1. I like telco. I think that's the thing that I'd want to devote myself learning. Yeah sure I'm a programmer. But working in the telco industry, you have to know what ur selling. You have to know ur thing. Imagine selling a product but you urself have no idea of the bigger picture - like what your product is in the whole big picture of telco industry, why is it important etc. Only by knowing all the this can you actually improve your work and perhaps add on to the product. And since telco is an industry that keeps on changing, I don't think I'll ever get bored of doing it.
2. I believe that an SAP consultant leads a more hectic life than a programmer in the telco software industry. Why? Hurm..I'm not really sure about that. It's an unproven fact. Currently my opinion is just based on a single persons advice from Lowyat.net. So dont take my word for it, find out for yourself.
3. I personally think that the market has already too much SAP programmer. So why join the wagon? Find a more spacious one I'd say!
In the end, my experience of job hunting is just that - mine alone. My decision was made - by examining the many possibilities of things I want to have in my life. Hectic life? Family time? Basic salary? Benefits? Work interest? Environment? All those things had to be taken into account when deciding a path to follow.
Conclusion, SAP (+) can get lots of cash quick, (-) really demanding work..really. Work at Comptel (+) less busy than being in SAP line, (+) telco industry, (-) slower road to riches.
Dalam hidup ni, ape yang sebenarnya yang kita nak cari, kekayaan atau kebahagiaan? Adakah kekayaan akan membawa kebahagiaan? Atau just kesenangan? Dan kesenangan itu, adakah ia membahagiakan? Kaji balik, adakah kita bahagia dengan kesenangan, atau pun berada dalam suasana kasih sayang?
Tuhan akan kasi ape yang kita nak kalau kita berusaha. Just make sure we are working towards the right thing.
Alas..for all the BS I write in here, it's all just a plan - an untested and hopeful plan. Kata Fred Durst, "Life is a lesson, we'll learn it when we're through". Can't deny that now can we.
The following are a direct copy of a blog. I think it makes for gud reading, and have decided to just cut and paste it in my blog. Credit to the original author. The real article is available here.Here's the picture of the original book, and its translation.
"6 prerequisites of learning are :
brainy, strong desire, poverty[1], inspiring teacher, long span of time, foreign land."
In the Malay-Jawi copy of the text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim Tariqat at-Ta’allum, in the very beginning, one’s attention would immediately be drawn to the quotation above. The quote has been invariably associated with Sayyidina Ali, Imam as-Shafi’i, and Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, but regardless of who said what, it nicely forewarns the reader what the text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim is all about – learning and the proper way to learn.
The text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim was written a a famous scholar Imam al-Zarnuji, (of whom we know, by reading the text, had travelled widely across the known Muslim world - at least covering the Central Asian and the Middle East). Its Malay translation, Pelita Penuntut, was done by a scholar Muhammad Shafi’i bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Rangkul, of Lenggeh, Fathani (Southern Thailand). The translation is printed in Jawi script and costs a dirt cheap RM2.00 at Kota Bharu, and around RM4.00 at Kuala Kangsar.
Cheap, small, and printed on yellow papers – all signs of a cheap, insignificant publication if you are living in the West. The English proverb ‘not all that glitters is gold’ (bukan semua yang lawa, cantik dan nampak mahal itu mempunyai nilai) in this case is very much applicable, because ‘some don’t’. There are many proverbs abound in the Malay language to illustrate similar points. ‘Air yang tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya’ could also mean not to overlook something which at first glimpse looks insignificant. Remember the Malay’s mother of truth: ‘hanya jauhari mengenal manikam’, that is ‘only the knowledgable one truly knows.’
The text Pelita Penuntut is an indispensable text for students studying at Malay madrasah. In many madrasah, this text, (together with the Ummu al-Barahin and Faridat al-Faraid for Aqidah, Ajrumiyyah for nahwu, Tasrif for saraf, Munyiatul Mushalli, just to name a few examples) has been made compulsory (although this is never in black-and-white) to be completed before a student move up to other texts.
The text has been translated into English early this century by Gustave E. von Grunebaum, an Austrian-born Orientalist. It is not very clear whether von Grunebaum who passed away in 1972 ever became a Muslim, although there has been suggestion that he did converted to Islam at the end of his life. Perhaps a reader who has access to the publication I have suggested above could enlighten us all, please.
The English translation has recently been published by Starlatch Press (and sold by Alhambra Production, among others), with the title Instruction of the Student, [2] with a foreword by Syeikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, a prominent American Muslim scholar of Greek parentage. It is a very good translation, easy to read and very fluid. In one of my readings, I completed the text in one sitting while travelling on the KTM Komuter from Sentul to UPM Serdang, thanks partly to the one hour hold-up at Sentral Kuala Lumpur station.
Unfortunately, the English translation has not been totally faithful to the original work by the Imam. Comparison made between the English translation and the Malay translation, and with an Arabic copy of the text (or rather its commentary with the text on the side area – hamisy), confirmed that several omissions amounting to several paragraphs have been sliced out. Although this has not destroyed the message and content of the text, these omissions are regrettable (deplorable may be a little bit harsh) especially when readers are not warned of them. Beside, a few historical and adab points e.g. that Imam Abu Hanifah was the first to write on a rectangular, A4-size paper and hence started the tradition of writing text in that size, would be lost to modern-day readers especially those who have no access to traditional, teacher-to-student, mouth-to-ear method of learning.
I have too much respect to the people at Alhambra involved in its publication to send a complain mail, but I do hope a much proper translation copy (e.g. with annotation at where the excision has taken place, if not the reinstalment of the excised parts) in the English would be made available.
———————————————-
Notes:
[1]. the word ‘faqir’ or poor has a different meaning to Muslim well-trained in tasawwuf. It does not simply means destitution but means the poverty of the heart of everything except Allah. A related word is zuhud which many people always believe to mean no desire for worldly materials and often translated into not wearing nice, proper garments. The actual meaning of zuhud is to hold the world in one’s hand and not in one’s heart. Observe, and ponder carefully the word ‘holding’.
[2]. For the purpose of completion, how about reading the Role of a Teacher?
It is right now 3:03pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.
I've just finished my oral presentation for my Final Year Project. In truth I should be sleeping right now. Felt so tired and sleepy at BW just now. Anyway, I'm just glad that I've finally got it over with. Next comes finishing the thesis. But that can wait. So far I've already managed to conjure up 60++ pages..and haven't even started Chapter 4 yet.
These past few days was a real head-spinner for me. Ever since Accenture called me for a potential interview - I was put into a real soul-searching mode. What the heck do I want to do with my life? Be a programmer? Networker? RF Engineer?
Be all that you can be. That's what I wanna do actually. Be all that I can be. For those of you who don't already know - thats the tagline for the US army. The US Army put out such cool ads to get their people to join the army..I wonder why our army lack that enthusiasm~
During my journey in search of the best job out there for me, several people have played crucial part in influencing my decision. I really went all out I guess, asked a whole bunch of people, browsed into so many forums. ITTutor, Lowyat, Putera..all of them. I find ITTutor and Lowyat to be very useful indeed.
On being RF Engineer
Optimization engineer itu dah stage advance RF engineer. Bukan senang nak capai tahap tu sebab u kena tahu semua asas RF. But nothing impossible kalau ada usaha. Ada cellworks, ENC, Elabram are companies yg focus to telecommunication. Multinational company so u have opportunities to work overseas. Bukan setakat optimization saja yg ada, you can start as procurement engineer or rf engineer, telecommunication engineer and etc.- Zeti Akma Rhazali, Signal and Systems lecturer, Uniten
On being a consultant - Accenture
generally the working culture in ACN is very stressful due to the nature of project-based work, and its basically the same for consulting. i used to be in a telco-based project where almost everyone leaves work only at 9-10pm practically every day.- Lowyat.net
however they do practise the motto 'work hard, play hard'.. when they let their hair loose they really are a crazy lot, and in certain ways i do miss their social activities smile.gif also, it is a great career springboard as the exposure and experience gained is very valuable. RM5k in 5 years is definitely np... basic pay for consultants are alredi around RM5k+. hope this helps!
During my time circa 97-99 the pay is the best hence its the blooming of .COM industry and trend. Internet was just exploded, e-commerce was the 'IN' thing and moreover even the big recession during at that time, the industry (IT) was not expected.- Lowyat.net
u will might started as an Analyst and after a few project might get promoted into Consultant. With a hard work it is an easy ladder I must say. The pay during 90's era I guess is the best but yet I've heard after the big taiko of accenture' Mr. Larry Gan' resigned, the pay is not that good for a junior. Bear in mind during my time they are know as Andersen Consulting.
The environment is the best. Not much of a politic, office scandal or wtv. Ppl are friendly.
The interview session might b varied. Phone interview, 1st interview with project manager and final interview with one of the partner. Well..for a tips they need someone with good and fluent english, presentable with professional corporate attire and goreng as much as u can wtv u knw even if u dont know.
On being at Comptel
I do heard about Comptel, their employee benefits is quite good in malaysia market. Travel to Spore is around RM350 per day. consider very good in the industry.. even some big company like Huawei or Ericsson only give RM150-RM200 per day.- Lowyat.net
in term of prospect, OSS and BSS is really the trend on making more money in telco line, but COMPTEL is more on telco software and application. if you were to quit telco line, you still can go into oil and gas, banking, etc..
OK la tu bro.. orang lain ramai tak dapat kerja u belum habis grad dah confirm with a job.- ITTutor.net
Yang penting you perform well -- about the 1 year contract tu biasa jek.. nowadays lots of company buat macam tu.. 1 year is a short period believe me.. just learn as much as you can jgn fokus sangat tang programming get the whole solution about billing, integration etc.
Focus to become a consultant say in 5 years!
Salam Hafidz,- ITTutor.net
COMPTEL is a Finnish company well established selalu partner with my company Nokia -- saya pun pernah kerja dengan their people indeed I have few friends yang pernah kerja dengan this company (saya pun pernah interview with them back in 2001!). One of them until now still thinking of nak balik kerja dengan Comptel and I assumed they have a good working environment.. nanti saya suruh dia email hafidz smile.gif
They sell mediation box -- mediation ni intermediate antara network devices such as MSC in GSM (MSC handle calls in GSM) dan billing centre.
MSC contohnya sends out CDR (flat raw files) to mediation box ni and they comptel box process (add customized tags etc) fwd to billing center.
So your work will revolve around this write scripts converts the cdr (sebab tu kena skill expect etc!) before forwarding to billing center.
Kena understand customer's requirement dan make the changes on the cdr.
Comptel MY support APAC rasanya so you might be travelling support other telcos.. good prospect ni.. then you'll deal with multivendor Nokia , Ericsson, Alcatel etc.. OK la as fresh graduates I assuem you will learn a lot.
Comptel is a good MNC company , insyaallah stable. Tu la rezeki kita Allah sahaja yang tau , companies not purely looked at your tech skill other values pun dia consider like your attitude . Some people they are brilliant tapi attitude problem can't work in a team -- in telco you deal a lot with other people boxes kalau Comptel ni their product is mediation device - sit between SGSN,GGSN/MSC/etc and billing center. SGSN/GGSN produced cdr from multivendors (multiple complexities!) and your box will customized the output to fit operator's billing requirement (postpaid,prepaid, hot billing etc)- ITTutor.net
Good exposure , I bet they will send your everywhere after this around APAC as Comptel here is the regional HQ for APAC.
Lama2 dah expert nanti boleh jadi freelance billing consultant -- siapa tau.
Decision making is hard! For a person who thinks he can be all that he can be - it surely is.
