20.9.12

Plan B.....

In a span of two days, two incidents occured to me which enlightens me of having a plan B in my career. No worries, these are not bad things that happened to me but rather it stimulates my mind to be aware of uncertainties in working life, which contributes income to us and family. It's nothing new to have a plan B but rather, due to the busyness in work, we hardly think about it. Somehow, this leds me to recall some of my friends who took part-time courses in other skill enriching programs as well as involved in part-time work to learn a new skill and gain new insight.

I was interviewing some candidates for a junior position where a 50+ who has experience in working at a higher management level attended one of  my interviews. He has vast experiences in  both technical and management skills and I was shocked to see someone of his calibre here. He should have gone for management position at least. However, due to the tough job market and competitive environment, he has to make ends meet.



Before that, I was in a cab chatting with the driver who was a retired engineer. He enjoyed driving and drove to earn some pocket money and work for short hours. Then, he will go home to enjoy his leisure times. I told him I envy him that he no longer have worries about financial commitments while I still got a long way to go before my kids grown up. We discussed about doing part-time job to supplement my income and learn a new skill. He even asked me to get a taxi license just in case something bad happened to my current job. :)

Sometimes it's not easy to continue doing the same work in the same line as you grow older and uncertainties are inevitable. Maybe it's wise to check out and spend some time on learning  other skillsets while continue to enjoy our current career. Sales, property agents, teaching, writing, consultancy and etc..... there are endless possibilities? It's up to us to find out!

Have a good weekend!

6 comments:

  1. true..but let yourself enjoy your present job first..

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  2. Oh? I thought you went to eat at that expensive place in KL _ Plan B!

    I know many people in KL have two jobs to make ends meet. I went to a place, saw lots of taxis in the car park but none on the road. I asked the security gurad and he said all those taxis belong to the officers working in the building - they have to work at night and in their free time to make ends meet.

    I guess the standard of living in small towns like Sibu is lower and even with a meagre salary we can get by quite comfortably well - just avoid spending lavishly and we would not need to go moonlighting.

    Cut your cloak according to your cloth - I know many young people in the cities will just swipe their cards...and they end up getting deeper and deeper in the shithole they're in.

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    Replies
    1. Stp - problem is big cities have lots of temptations to spend money compare to smaller towns. The living expenses like housing accommodations also expensive compare to small towns.

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  3. Hmm, if things allow, its good to learn new skillset...

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  4. Wenn - yes, enjoy present job while enjoy checking out other skills.

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