That's right, you read correctly. I am currently working and living in KL. But I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. The whole story actually started directly after my final exam in Swinburne, Advanced Digital Signal Processing, which was on the 29th of November 2007. Hmm, I remember the date so clearly, probably bcoz it was really a significant day in my life, since it would most likely be the final exam in my school life! Plus for personal reasons too.
I came out from the exam hall to find out that I'd received several phone calls from an unknown KL number. I figured it was from one of the many companies that I'd applied to. I actually started applying for jobs 1 or 2 weeks earlier and there were quite a few, so I had no idea which company it was. I called back to find that it was Sony! They were asking me to go for an interview for either the post of
Design Engineer or
Engineer under the Management Trainee Program on the following Wednesday, to which I said I had to confirm since I needed to fly there. So finally I did go and there were 5 other ppl to be interviewed. But first we had to take 3 tests which I initially worried about till I called up to ask. The first was an IQ test which sad to say, I only managed to answer 15 out of 25 in the given 20 minutes. Luckily I finished both the Maths and English tests.
After lunch, I went for the interview with another guy, where there were 3 interviewers, 2 of whom were Japanese guys and a local lady. Halfway through the interview, we were given a C programming test with 2 questions. 1st was to write the result of the program and 2nd to correct the coding. I ended up correcting and changing almost the whole code and I still have no idea whether it worked! So i pretty much thought I'd screwed things up for my very 1st job interview. I did ok for the rest of the interview I think, but heck since the Design Engineer post was purely programming, I thought sure no chance. So after the interview, I took a taxi to KLCC to walk around while waiting for my uncle to get off from work so he could send me to LCCT for my flight home. Who knows, I received a phone call from Sony then, asking me to come back next Tuesday for a 2nd job interview. What the heck, another trip! By then I was considering whether I should go back for the interview, since it would mean another plane trip and did I really want a programming job?
Tuesday rolled around to find me in KL once again and taking a taxi to Sony in Bangi, which is about 45 mins away from Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (near 1 Utama) where my uncle stays. BUt this 2nd interview was pretty much a waste of my time! It was still the same 2 Japanese guys and they pretty much repeated the same questions for me n the previous guy from the 1st interview. I was like, I spent RM500+ to fly here and get asked the same questions? I should have just turned the job down. But heck, at that time, I didn't have any other offers though my parents kept telling me there was no need to rush n I should b patient. And it was Sony, a big multi-national company. But still, I was hesitant to accept because it was so far away, and it was programming!
Anyway, this turned out to be only the 1st of quite a few offers. After that, I got an interview with GES in Johor. Initially it was supposed to b directly after the Sony 2nd interview but it was just too rushed. So I flew from Kuching to Johor on the 16th of Dec just for the interview on the 17th for the post of
Project Engineer. The guy brought me around the factory where they make point-of-sale computers and told me what I had to do. Basically I would be making sure the process line is going smoothly, that the product is ok from start to end, which means that it's more of a project management type of job which I liked. And after the interview, I was supposed to meet the big boss but since he was in a meeting, the interviewer just showed him my resume and explained about it. Well...I got the job. I guess partly coz he did ask if I had any other offers and I told him about Sony. However, the problem with this job was that it's in Johor and my family doesn't think it's too safe for me. Besides that, the pay was lower than that of Sony, though I would enjoy the job better.
After a long delay at Johor Airport where I reached Kuching at around 1am, I still couldn't relax. I flew back to KL on the evening of the 18th of Dec for yet another round of job interviews! I guess I shouldn't have been worried so fast then. I had a session for
Maxis Graduate Trainee Program on the 19th, an interview for
Solutions Manager post with Alcatel on the 21st (though it was a public holiday!) and another with Industronics on the 26th.
Up till now, the Maxis job was the best in terms of benefits and pay. After including allowances and etc, you could get up to RM4k++, and they expect u to be a manager after 5 yrs! Anyway, the session was a whole day. In the morning, we had written tests, starting with IQ, English comprehension, and something like maths/english. We also had to write a short essay on 'Where/how I see myself in 10 years?'. The afternoon session was group dynamics where we were given this Tinker Toys 'sculpture' and 1 of us could observe it for 1 minute b4 returning to the team to describe to them how to build it. I ended up going to observe it the most since they said I could remember the most. :P for once I can remember stuff huh? But I guess I may have come across a bit too arrogant and strong/stubborn as I didn't make it through, and some others who I thought were pretty good but not as 'outspoken' as me got through the 2nd round. Anyway, all of them had better results and came from more famous unis than I did. I only got into the 1st round due to my uncle's connections :P. But yea, a lot of them thought I got through. Ouch, adding salt to my wound unintentionally, coz I really wanted this job, which was 1 year training first.
The next job interview was then with Alcatel-Lucent for the post of
Solutions Manager. Sounds fancy huh? Well..the successful candidates would end up working in Melbourne for at least 2 yrs! It was a public holiday but I still went for the interview, coz it should seem that I'm keen enough on the job ;) They were pretty impressed by my FYP (thanks guys!) and they said the only problem they could see with me was my lack of work experience. But hey, they never stated the minimum experience in their job advertisement so I just tried my luck. Henry said I was so daring when he saw the advert and the job title. Lol but who knew that they would actually call me? I was also keen on the job coz it would be in Melbourne (good opportunity) and the post itself. I'm pretty sure the pay would have been pretty good.
Because of the last job interview on the 26th, I had to stay back in KL for Christmas. Luckily I'd only booked a one-way ticket initially since I was worried that there would be calls for 2nd interviews and etc. Unfortunately, the uncle I usually stay with was going for a family trip to Perth for Christmas. So I moved to yet another uncle's house, but this time in Shah Alam. It was a pretty quiet Christmas but I did catch up on a lot of Archie comics which was pretty ok too. HOwever, the Industronics interview for the post of
Project Engineer was pretty much a waste of my time. The interview only lasted like 20 minutes and the guy didn't seem very friendly/interested. Needless to say I felt pretty disappointed after the interview for several reasons. Firstly, I HATE failing at things and I kinda felt that I didn't really impress the guy though I tried my best. Mayb it was just how he looked. Anyway, secondly, I was pretty upset that I missed spending Christmas in Kuching for such a crappy interview. But what the heck, it was a good experience also la.
And so, it was back to Kuching for a well deserved break. After all, I'd been flying all over the place for pretty much the whole month after final exams and didn't really have a holiday. Sure, you can say that I went shopping in KL and had some fun with Siaw Hui and Chyi Yeou. But seriously, all that travelling, interviews and tests were pretty tiring. Now the issue was, whether or not to accept the Sony job. It was much easier to turn down the Johor job just because of the location and the pay. Plus the fact that they wanted to bond me for 2 yrs. I talked it over with many ppl and there were pretty much 2 opinions. 1st, wait for a job that I really really want and would enjoy. After all, I'd only been 'jobless' for less than a month. 2nd opinion, just take it, don't need to be so picky about ur 1st job! And these opinions were from ppl whose advice I really valued and I myself was pretty stuck in between for awhile. I felt really frustrated at this point but in the end, I just thought, fine I'd take it up since probation is only 3 mths and at least I can use that to finish my IBT to graduate from Swinburne.
There I was, packing and mentally prepared to go work in KL for Sony (which would start on the 4th of Jan) when I received 2 more phone calls. One was from Megasteel in Banting, Selangor for an interview for the post of
Project Executive on the 2nd of Jan, and one from PHilips in Petaling Jaya for the post of
Lighting APplications Engineer on the 3rd of Jan. Talk about cutting it close. In the end, I decided to only fly to KL on the 2nd of Jan, thus turning down the Megasteel job as it was in Banting. I was already having issues with working for Sony in Bangi (which is almost the same area), what more to say a smaller company in Banting. I just thought, ok, I'll go for the Philips interview and see how it goes since Sony only requires 1 week's notice.
That interview in my mind, kinda started off badly. Firstly, I got into a self-car accident on the 2nd of Jan, just few hours before I flew off from KL. So yes, I left a final big impact on Kuching before leaving. Lol. Then on the way to the interview on the 3rd, I had a tummyache, causing me to rush to the toilet upon entering the building. Got to the PHilips office slightly late which made me even more nervous as I'd NEVER been late for interviews. Luckily they weren't ready for me yet so still ok. For once, it was 2 ladies interviewing me and yeah, I really wanted to my best for this job, since it was based in Petaling Jaya which would be so much more convenient for me. Plus, it wasn't a programming job and it was a multi-national company too! I did mention about the Sony offer and they asked how much I was offered. I shouldn't have been so honest looking back :P
After the interview, I went home to change b4 heading off to 1 Utama to pick up some toiletries that I couldn't bring to KL due to lack of space. I was already 6kg over the baggage limit! And later that afternoon, I got a call from Philips. They were offering me the job!! Simply because they thought I was suitable and they didn't want the hassle of taking me away from Sony after starting work there. They were offering me the same pay with some other benefits but yeah, I was just happy to be able to work closer to where I was staying and not having a long commute everyday that I didn't really mind the same pay. Lol. Boy, did my whole family breathe a huge sigh of relief after I told them. HOwever, I kind of had to lie to Sony about starting later since I hadn't seen the official offer letter. After that I emailed them saying that I couldn't accept for personal reasons. This was the 2nd rejection email taht I had to do, and I guess I've been blacklisted by both GES and Sony. Lol.
In my 1st week at Philips, I actually received another call for an interview with Terradyne for the position of
Customer Production Support Engineer (what a mouthful!) but I straightaway told the guy that I just got a job. He was really nice and congratulated me on it too. Lol! But yeah I supposed I was pretty lucky, getting a job so fast, receiving many job offers/interviews and mostly from the bigger companies. On the other hand, I did apply to many companies and didn't receive any responses either. So my success rate was pretty much at most, 20%. OUt of the 50+ companies, I had 9 companies who were interested. I went for interviews with 6 of the companies, as I didn't go for Megasteel, got rejected by Taiyo Yuden due to not being a graduate yet, and turned down Terradyne. If you want to compare me to Henry, who was jobless for 1 whole semester, in a way, I may seem more successful. He had more time so he applied to even more companies that I did, and I think he went for more interviews. He even had all-expenses paid trips just to go interview. I think he had about the same number of job offers too. But yea, if u consider the time factor, we're both pretty lucky. And even luckier is Mike, coz he landed the job on his one and only job that he applied for. I guess it was mostly because the company was especially interested in Swinburne grads through Dr. Dennis. I know a lot of my classmates are complaining about the lack of offers in Kuching, but tat's the whole point. Kuching is pretty small, so there are limited options. Which is why we took the chance and applied out of Kuching.
A big part of me just wanted to leave all the stress and issues in Kuching, and finish my studies ASAP. Now looking back, I do miss the times I had in Kuching, with my friends and family. And part of me regrets getting a job so fast coz I'll be working for most of my life, I should have taken 3 months off or something! But I know I would have gotten bored and worried about getting a job during the months off too. Anyway, in case you're wondering what a
Lighting Applications Engineer does, here's the info from the job advert itself:
- Responsible to prepare lighting design solutions that comply with local/international standards and incorporate them into Powerpoint/CAD drawings/Perspective View etc-Support sales team in presentations on technical aspects of lighting- Requirements:1. Degree in Electrical/Electronic with minimum 2 years relevant experience2. Good knowledge and skills in AutoCAD, Photoshop and other lighting softwareHahha..sad to say, I don really have such good skills with those software and no 2 years relevant experience. But hey, I guess they saw that I was willing to learn. And yes, I'm learning a lot and I'm pretty happy with the job. I mean, I wasn't that good an engineering student back in uni so I'm glad that it's kinda a fresh start for me. The company's giving a lot of opportunities for me to learn with all the training etc. My supervisor who interviewed me, is also very supportive and letting me try new things. Anyway, what I mostly do is that we're given plans of rooms/buildings/structures to light up. We would then put in the lights (either suggested by the client or ourselves) and calculate the lighting level and uniformity. The lighting level and uniformity need to be of certain values so tat the environment is safe and comfortable for users u see.
I started doing lighting designs at the end of my 1st week and until now I'm still learning. Sometimes it's challenging and a bit like programming when one single point is giving you problems and you need to play aroudn with the factors just to fix it. And I guess I joined at the correct time since the company is going through some positive changes and there are lots of trainings scheduled over the next few months for us. Currently there are only 3 of us doing the designing so sometimes work tends to pile up, which is why I usually try to get my stuff done ASAP. Everyone is pretty nice and they're all treating me well. There's also a fair bit of travelling. In my 1st month alone, I got to go to Johor to observe the intra quality competition and Ipoh for a hockey stadium project. In Johor, we stayed at Pulai Springs Resort, where all I had to do was watch them present their ideas, eat all the meals (ppl said I eat a lot, which isn't really true!), laze around, go for the massage arranged by the company, jacuzzi (1st time for jacuzzi and massage!). One of the highlights was the final lunch at Qing Palace Restaurant, the in-house Chinese restaurant. It's been voted one of Malaysia's Best Restaurants for the past 8 years, and the food was definitely some of the best I've eaten.
The facade of the hotel we stayed in
One of the 3 pools they have, pretty nice
With Ally and Huey HueyBut one bad thing about working in KL is that the air is pretty bad and I could see all my pimples coming out. There's also the transportation issue, coz though my uncle drops me off in the morning, getting back home is an issue. I take the LRT from the Asia Jaya station just outside my office building to Kelana Jaya station where I usually have to wait from 15-45 mins for the U89 bus. The bus stops at 1 Utama where I then have to wait for the U82 bus back to the condo. BUt most times, walking would definitely be much faster! 15-20 mins on foot, compared to the usually 30-45min wait for the bus. Another thing I feel is that time passes by really really quickly! Because of all the projects, its kinda like I don't have enuff time at work to complete it all. Though my working hours are from 7.45am-4.30pm, I usually leave around 5.30pm. Then travelling time takes up almost 2 hrs, bathe, dinner etc, I'll only be free around 9pm. But ever since we all started working, we usually sleep around 11-12 every night. Last time we used to sleep after 12 and still feel ok the next day. Now, tat's pretty impossible. My God, we're getting old.
Another issue is that I don't really have any friends in KL! Currently my kaki is Burger, and that's usually on the weekends occasionally. I kinda feel that its hard to make friends outside of work. So currently I feel a bit lonely at times, compared to CY and Henry who have lots of friends in their process line. Yea, ppl at work are pretty friendly but it's not like you can ask them out for activities outside of work. Most of them already have families, etc. And yea, I'd like to find friends outside of work, but no real opportunities. I was thinking of looking to join a bowling club or book/reading or movie club, but there doesn't seem to be any such club for ppl my age. But heck, for now I feel like this probably bcoz work is still ok. Looking at my calender for the next few mths, I'm feeling bit worried though. There's lots of activities/trips planned till April and I even have my 1st assignment to complete by the 1st of April! So yea, perhaps its better to wait till May and see how things go.
Other than that, I'm slowly settling into the KL work and social life thing. THere seems to be something to do/going on every week for the company and each weekend, there's usually some program going on at 1 Utama, friend in town and etc. So yea, can't complain too much. After all, there's much more to do in KL than in KUching too. Obviously, you can never run away from shopping. Despite my control, I usually end up buying something, but after much consideration of coz! The main thing is, I miss my family, friends and the fatty bum bum cat! hahaha..but absence makes the heart grow fonder...and I miss u all so very much! Hugs and Kisses!
The Fatty Bum Bum doing his Puss-in-Boots look, acting all innocent(when he's not!) & cute
