Aah...finally. The day has come when I actually had to face the realities of a working man's life.
Last Friday was my first day at work - at Comptel. I had to wake up at 6:30am to avoid the jam at Batu Tiga - arrived around 7:30am - only to be told that the actual work hour starts at 9:00am. Great~
It was an OK first day I guess. I mean it is my first job after all - hence there's nothing much I can compare the experience with.
At least I was given something to do. Read a manual.
Human can focus on such a thing for only so long. After a couple of hours my brain has already been filled up and I was like reading the same page over and over again.
Next week should be fun I suppose. Got some induction thing coming. Looking forward to it.
In other news - I got a new "pasu" for my cactus plant. I wanted to get a better "pasu", you know a clear glass-type instead of this one. But the last time I check the price tag was like RM20 - so I'm like..OK..maybe later after my first paycheck or something.
There'll be a new movie coming up - Hancock. Starring Will Smith - it tells about the life of a Superman-like superhero but with a severe attitude problem. Really enjoyed watching the trailer and I expect this to be a hit at he cinemas. Can't wait for it to come on the big screen!
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.
"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.
Two days has passed since the General Election.
Rata-rata umum mahukan Paklah untuk meletakkan jawatan secepat mungkin. Sekiranya kita imbas kembali GE tahun 1969, yakni kali terakhir BN (parti perikatan) gagal menang 2/3 undi - presiden BN dan UMNO ketika itu, Tun Abdul Rahman - meletakkan jawatannya. Namun lain pula dengan PM kita yang sorang ni. Maybe somehow he thinks he deserves to still be in the seat.
And on comes the choir. Kepala-kepala menteri yang lain bingkas bangun memberikan their endless support kepada Paklah. Seperti mana mereka memberikan endless support kepada pimpinan terdahulu I suppose. I guess you can call them, the support group. Like Alcoholics Anonymous I suppose.
Anyways, concerning the opposition winning the 5 states, keyakinan rakyat umumnya masih ditahap tunggu dan lihat. Maklumlah, bende baru. Era baru. Its not something that all of us even myself am accustomed to.
Nice experience though. What a kick I got out of seeing the BN lose that bad.
Some of my friends who's from the upper states like Penang n Kedah are actually terrifed that DAP are winning big. It's like the end of the world for them. It's like the chinese will be hunting them down later on in the future.
I cant argue with him on that, perhaps his experience living there has thought him that much. But what I can argue is - why? Why do chinese, or rather non-Malays in general view us in that certain way? Mungkin sebab sempadan yang da selama ni kot?..btol x?
I mean, kite sniri yang asyik menangguhkan pemansuhan DEB - yang terang2 memberikan kita kelebihan, dan terang2 menidakkan mereka utk memiliki keperluan2 asas seperti pinjaman wang, pelajaran etc2. So can they really be blamed?
How long are we going to be afraid? How long are we going to still live in our comfort zone and biarkan luka ni terus menjadi nanah?
HINDRAF? DAP ekstremism? Well it's all cause and effect. We started it - they now have responded. Its interesting to note that in 2006 there was this master thesis conducted in Sweden, about Malaysia culture in general. In that report they've interviewed several of Swedish companies that have set up offices in Malaysia. One interesting fact that I'd like share here is that all of them view Malays as lazy and slow. As a Malay though..I guess in a way we deserve that don't we. Damn.
"UBAH CARA HIDUP"
the time is now 4:07am and i will go to bed very soon.
8/3/08 marks a date to be remembered in the history of our beloved country as the ruling party finally loses their 2/3 majority.
i am not gonna write long however since i'm dizzy and tired waiting for the final official result as shown in the star's website. also constantly pressing reload at lowyat's forum and hear what people all over the nation has to say.
75 seats..finally. more to come i believe. for now i guess i can sleep peacefully knowing that BN wont screw us Malaysians up our asses as easily they'd done before.
change is good i suppose. creates competitiveness - and i wish it's for the better.
encountered some priceless quotes too.
pak lah: "dah kalah...kalah lah.."
nik aziz (on his thought about tv3) :"Ini channel untuk tonton Doraemon dan Power Rangers jer."
damm lawak la this fella.
nite.
alhamdulillah, interview saya tempoh hari bjalan lancar. saya pegi interview dgn Comptel, telco software pnye company. keje programming.
after 2 stages of interview, they sent me an offer just now via email. maybe next week saya akan kesana tuk amek letter and wat ape yg patut.
pada saya, diorang ni lebih berminat kpd soft skill dari knowledge yg saya ada time tu. i mean diorang pnye written exam sket je yg saya mampu buat (die tanya pasal C, perl, java n ksh -- saya tau C jek..itu pun sket2..lain saya tinggal blank je). so mase interview mmg kne tekankanla sgale soft skill yg kite ade - n provide bukti skali in terms of ape bende yg kite dah buat yg membuktikan kite ade soft skill tu.
my thanks to all the tutorian out there yg contribute to this forum. forum ni (n several others) mmg da byk tlg saya in terms of finding out all the opportunities out there, teknik2 jwb interview, siap ade provide soalan ape lagi ptt tanye time inteview! mmg bes!
- excerpt from my post at ittutor.net
just got back from my 2nd stage interview at Comptel
at first I had to do a written test (again) - but of course, with different sets of questions in them. basically the questions tests you on your knowledge on C, Perl, Java and Ksh shell (Unix). You'd have to provide outputs given a program or rewrite the program or even write a new program given a certain inputs and outputs.
the next part involves me talking to a project leader/manager of sorts. she's from the support team. so bacically she asks me stuff like "tell me about urself" and " what type of person do you see urself? troubleshooter or implementer?". later on she explains what the company does in details. the rest were more like a discussion session. thts how i felt neway. the one question tht really cracked me up was "will you apply to another company should we offer you the job next week?" i went on laughing and replied "hahaha..now thats a tough one.."
and that it for today's interview experience.
hopefully i'll get the offer letter next week.
I just went for 2 interviews yesterday.
1.Comptel
2.Axon
Comptel
=====
First off you'd have to do a basic written test. They test you on languages such as Java, C, Perl and Unix knowledge. I only managed to answer a few questions in C and UNIX. The rest are i left as blanks.
Then comes the interview. I first sat down with a chinese lady. I think she has a technical background. She doesn't ask any hard and weird stuff (like the ones i had with SHELL), just basic questions like tell me about the course you're taking, more towards trying to find out what you're really into and finding out how your attitude is. So it's more less a personality+interest match. If you can sell yourself well, you'll be taken to the 2nd interview - in which you'll meet a finnish guy from management level. He'll give a talk about what the company does, and asks questions to find out whether you're really into programming or not. If you can demonstrate that you're really enthusiastic about learning new stuff and can basically be independent about it - I think he'll be interested to take you in. The basic salary range is 2000-3000. I don't know whether it's in USD or RM however.
Alhamdulillah, I got an offer to meet with one of their project leader - probably sometime next week to see whether I would really want to work with them or not.
Axon
====
The interview session I had was at the booth down at the career fair. It wasn't really a formal session, but nonetheless I had to sell my name to them sometime or later to convince them that I can contribute to their company. Newho, the interviewer asks basic question like, tell me about yourself. Using what you've said, she'll come up with the next question to see if can meet their criteria or not. One of them is your ability to work at various sites. Then after she's done, another lady chips in - she's more technical in nature, luckily I wasn't asked any SAP or programming based question - else I'd be quite f:)cked up if you know what I mean. She asks you about what you know about the company, and later what you know about SAP. Their salary range is above average according to them, and the period of training is six months.
Went for the Satyam interview today.
The test was OK i think. Not that easy, not that hard. Nevertheless um not that quite confident on passing the test.
Neway, there were 2 sets of questions. Each set has 15 questions. All are multiple choice types.The first set consists of questions to test your english skills. It's more or less similar to your SPM level paper.
The second tests your math knowledge. SPM level-onli, no differential equation or tht sorts of things. There's also some IQ tests in there.
p/s: I'm soooo disappointed that Accenture won't be doing their interviews at all this week.
29/1/2008
hey there,
it's been quite awhile since i wrote here. i just got off reading a newspaper just now - the Star to be exact, it was an issue a couple days back. anyway, what compelled me to write down my thoughts today was concerning the article that i've just read in there.
it's about UMNO. it's about felda. it's about UMNO giving money and continuing their support for felda. well...it's not like i have anything against the people of felda or anything - heck i dun think i even know those guys...hey wait..i do know those guys (Felda keratong 1 to Felda keratong 5..haha..them SIFE projects really brings back memories..)
newho, um not against them. it's just that um disappointed that the government had to fork out cash to send their children (of the Felda pioneers) to workshops and programs to learn skills and what not in order for them to help them get jobs in the future. i mean don't get me wrong, but wouldnt it be better if they (the children of Felda) have the initiative themselves to make better use of themselves - like the parents did? i mean from what i read on the papers, it seems like the kids are just a couple of spoiled brats who would forever be dependent on the government to help them - and in turn they'll be providing the gov (more like the ruling party) the votes for the incoming election. :| . don't get me started on the election. it's bad enuf all the articles i see on the papers are biased and stuff - gets me mad everytime i read them. (same goes to harakah too - don't think im picking sides here, im ever so neutral...) what i would give for a piece of neutrality and fairness in journalism in this country.
but thats not the focus of my post today. what i want to emphasis here is the lack of fighting spirit in these young malays (Felda children). some of them are even offered training to be aircraft engineers - WTF? (an aircraft engineer can earn up to RM 7k if they work with Air Asia, how cool is tht?)
i guess it's all about ensuring the Malay folks not getting left behind-lah kan. it really sickens me to see that the only way for us Malays to succeed is by having other Malays already up front pulling us at the back. its like us Malays are forever destined to be lazy and unspirited that the only way for us to get rich in this country is by having some political advantage over the other races.
i mean no wonder other races in this country seem to hate us. with all the biased-ness and unfair treatment i guess we kinda deserve it. at least the young ones would think like tht-lah. the older, more seasoned veterans knew that the peace and harmony tht we held dear today are due to the sacrifices of yester-year people and altho some things like the ketuanan melayu doesnt make sense now, it did back then. Malays will be Malays and though some Malays have already changed their way of thinking and live differently (in a more constructive manner that is), some still choose to live in a laid back way and depend on the government to bail them out.
To my frens of different colours - i hope that you guys can be patient while the rest of us adapt and change our paradigm in life. i hope that we will keep this unity - through its thick and thin. i guess what um trying to say is, Malays do need YOUR help and support. for without them, they will be no MALAYSIA. we might not be rich like singapore, but we have land and water in abundance. we may not be as big as indonesia, but we can be proud of our economic stability and harmony throughout the year.
MALAYSIA is not solely for Malays. that is a fact that has to be accepted whether one likes it or not, for i can't see a Malay leading this country alone without the other two checking and balancing the equation.
i long to see a Malaysia where the people in bandar lives like the folks in kampung. i long to see when the election time comes by - the topic that will be debated is off environment, development, and the betterment of the community, not giving people a reminder of past contributions and scaring them of racial disunity. i long for unbiasedness in journalism and media.
i hope i could see them before i end up rolling in my grave someday.
i am a romantic. and i hope you are one too.
And no, it's not a war on terrorism.
It's not even a war in fact. More like the exam week that I'd be havin in 2 days time.
For what it's worth, I have been studying for them in the past...well yesterday. I know it's not much but I guess it's a start at least.
Data Comm's on Saturday.
Engineering Economics on Wednesday.
Optoelectronics on Thursday
Applied Telecommunications on Sunday
And I still haven't taken my exam slip yet. Gotta remember to do it tomorrow. Or else somebody gonna feel like a jack ass the day after that.
I have been thinking quite hard about my future lately. I mean in terms of what to do after I graduate from this place. I mean, I could work with TIME i suppose. But that would mean breaking the contract with YTN and that means I'd have to pay them back a hefty amount of cash. Just when I thought I'd wanna save up some to get married. :P
So what does that leave me up with? Probably the best option IS to work with TNB. And hopefully I'd get a good placement in their ICT department. Demmit I don't wanna have to work in a place I don't like!!
So far my carry marks are OK I guess. Hopefully I can do just as well on the finals.
Insya Allah.
I LOVE NEW YORK~~
Well that statement is quite subjective actually. By loving New York I meant I loved the fact that I could mencarut at all the new yorkers and do it with a straight and smily face, n they'd think im just a frenly bloke tryin to say hello.
I don't however love NY for the smell of piss in their subway. At least Malaysian don't do that. Not to my knowledge I suppose. We don't do it at the subways at least. We rather like to do it along the walkway from KTM KL to the Pos Malaysia main building, if you know what i mean. Haha..
Newho, I rather much enjoyed the trip I had. Makes all the hard work I did over the week before all the worthwhile. 3 papers. 1 report. 1 assignment. Zul Saadon. 5 days to get it done. The experience i got from NY = priceless.
I seem to be really enjoying myself all the while there. Playing backpacker/amateur photographer. Hahaha! But really - I had so much fun! Perhaps I was in need of a break. I guess now I know why some people likes to travel a lot. I can relate to that.
The trip began with a trip to New Haven - went to Pn K's old place, Yale University. Nothing much is brewing there. Got to see some parade though. Columbus Day parade to be more precise. Don't know what they're suppose to celebrating about though. Don't care much really. At least I got to take some nice pics off of them. Or at least I'd like to think I got some nice pics off of them. But hey, how can you not like a visit to the YALE. Well, maybe not if you're not a geek like me. I mean, it's YALE!! It's not you're typical average university we're talking about here. Or maybe um just exaggerating a wee bit too much. Fine. Sue me.
I guess I wont be doing much of writing down much what I had been doing there in here. It gets kinda lame after awhile. And I'd rather be tellin you upfront what it feels like rather then typing it down. For those interested, see my album. And no, its not available online. Only a select few has them photos - you could see me, or them, to view those pics. (for those of who has my NY albums, you must admit you gotta feel a bit special having them photos rite?..hehe..i know, i love u guys too..group hug..:) )
I miss being there. Not to say that I wana stay there forever, but I miss the sense of adventure I had while being there. Carrying a backpack. Got a map on the back of my jeans. Passport strapped on the chest. Camera's up and running. Somehow it felt gud. Hahaha. I guess it was my little adventure. Exploring Manhattan - gone up and down the subways, fast walking through chinatown, little italy, soho...pity i didnt make it to harlem, queens and bronx. fuckin far away. lots a miles, not enuf time. But for a guy whose main objective is to attend the SIFE WC, I think I did pretty gud covering the distance I did.
Speaking of the WC, the United States won. I guess I really couldn't blame them. I mean if they were helping Darfur, could you really like not expect them to win? They were helping the friggin Darfur people!!. Fuck. How the hell can you top that? Perhaps you can go to Myanmar and help them monks. Or curb global warming. I dunno guys..but at times during their final presentation I kinda felt like they were way out of our league. But then again, who's to say what's what. Gotta take a closer look on how the marks were given thats for sure.
But enuf about SIFE. I'd rather my thoughts about SIFE and all the politics be kept to a minimal exposure. You know ever since I got the president title last year I've been quite a secretive mutha*** with what I think of things and shit. I don't like enjoy it, but it's not like I gotta choice. For me, since I can't sweetmouth my way around people, I better shut the hell up. Better people me see me stupid then know im stupid I guess. I dunno. I just like to play it safe. For the time being.
Old habits die hard. I guess even when im no longer president, I still find it quite hard to write stuff down openly as I did before. Must be the chinese blood in me I suppose. Always trying to act mysterious and be secretive ALL THE TIME. Haha. Paranoid.
New York. New York. Im quite an innocent guy actually. A naive type of person. Usually - almost all the time, I try to see the best in people. Still do in fact. Which was why I was pretty shocked to see the guy sitting beside me drinking wine while in flight to NY. Or seeing people clubbin in a..inappropriate manner. But then again what appropriate-ness do you expect to see in clubs? And what the hell was I doin in a club? (hahaha..you can blame teenage curiosity for that, wink! wink!) I guess what i'm trying to convey here - is that I'm quite new to this stuff. I mean to the REALITY of things in the so called adulthood. Malays can fuck, can drink, can do whatever the hell they want if they so chooses. Big deal. I guess that is the reality that I have to deal with. You know it's one thing to see those vices on TV, and it's another seeing them in live action. Haven't seen people fuck in front of me though.
What the fuck.
You know sometimes I can't imagine what Malaysians would be like in the next 5-10 years or so. Would we be like go back to the 70s? Or would behave more Islamically? I sure hope it's the latter. Sure would make parenting a whole lot easier. Easier on the wallet. Easier on the headache. Easier on the conscience. Just...easier on a lot of stuff.
Now I sound like my dad. Hmm..maybe I should be married right now already.
Yeah right.
So it has been what, like 2 months now since sife was practically my life. Since then i've been like distancing myself from it and all that is related to it. Not a nice thing to do, i know - especially if you're the president. Some might call it selfish even. I guess I can't object to that I suppose. But I guess the way I see it, in life there's priorities. One need to be able to differentiate between what one wants, and needs. And I guess at the moment, I need to study. I need more time to be able to study in the manner of my own choosing. I guess last semester really taught me a lot in terms of pressure management - to the extent that I dont think I want to sit in that position again. It's been hectic. It's like walking down a thorny path. Or maybe I'm just exaggerating stuff up. Hahaha.. Guess at times I don't think I have it in me to lead people. At least not yet anyway. No zero to hero for me. I think.
Life after SIFE is good. Not saying that all is bad while I was with SIFE. I did learnt a lot while I was there. It's all a matter of looking at things from a perspective. From different angles. I mean if people hadn't been scolding me throughtout the year, how the hell would I know that I actually don't make a great leader? Yep - no one would've known. At least now I know where I lack and maybe later if i feel like it i could change. As if I want to. Hahahaha...i'm such a stubborn person.
SIFE IS LIFE
STRIVE FOR SIFE
BUT DONT MAKE SIFE YOUR WIFE
- Lord Vader
The guy will be leaving in october if i'm not mistaken. He will be missed.
In other news, me and my pals went to PD this mid break. Spent like 3 days, 2 nights, and approximately RM100 there. On the first day we went to Melaka, saw the A Famosa fort, later went to Umbai to have ikan bakar. Nice place.
....Somehow i've lost my enthusiastic-ness in writing this blog right now. Demmit. Maybe I'll continue later when i feel like it. If there's such a time i suppose..
Ah-ha. by the way. I've suffered quite a sunburn from the trip. Now my face is like a scaly snake. Say it few more times!!! Scaly snakes scaly snakes scaly snakes..hahah
Later.
Yeaakk...thats right. Um back! After having long gone abandoning this blogging thing. Well, it was..with a reason after all. Coz you can't be the president and opening ur trap all at the same time can ya?
Maybe some people, but not moi. Nah-ah. I'll save the SIFE stuff for laters..after the finals perhaps. Lots of juicy stuff too! Hahaha..
Anyways right now I'm in my final week of industry training. I'm gonna miss it a lot. it was a helluva time, learned lots of new and interesting stuff, been to a few sites here and there, travelled hundreds of kilometres - damn nice experience. Got paid doing the stuff you like - BONUS!!. I even managed to get my INTRO CCNA cert during the weekends - DOUBLE BONUS!!!. If only i could fetch that ICND cert too..well..i guess tht'll be asking too much now would it.
Tomorrow i'll be going back to Kolej Komuniti Selayang to settle a score with the webserver. Pissing me off la that sharepoint thing. Aishh~.
Yeah..i know..i know...it's a pretty short blog considering the time i've been gone. I'll make it up later, after the SIFE National. Till then,
Assalamualaikum.
