Working life.

Recently, I've been working as an intern at my dad's company, and I've picked up some tips about the work life in Malaysia. Here's a few of them:

1. Work hours. Although official work hours are from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, it's considered normal to work from 8 am until 6.30 pm...and sometimes even later, if you haven't finished your work. I think it's ok to leave at 6 if you're done by then, but apparantly you can only leave at 5.30 pm if you're sick, or if it's an emergency...

2.  Team player. The place I'm working at has a pretty small work force, only 7 people. It's really important that everyone gets along, cause these people's jobs are really stressful. You have to be a team player, or else life is really bad. There's this one person in my work place who's, well, not really on good terms with everyone else due to some differences. Things are really ackward and tense when this person is around, and it makes working difficult...which leads to my next point:

3. Office politics. I really really really REALLY hate office politics. Those who were in high school with me probably still remember the great Prefect Politics Scandal that rocked the whole school. I think everyone, from the teachers to the gangster kids, knew about it, and after going through that whole mess, I lost whatever miniscule interest I had in being a prefect, and I no longer pursued being a prefect with as much zeal as I did before. The same applies in the work place as well. The moment people start bitching and taking sides, that's when working starts to suck. Especially if you have to work with the person everyone loves to hate. Which, also leads to my next point:

4. Don't gossip! Please, do not do this. I don't know about any other fields, but if you're working in investment, do NOT speak bad about a person, even if you're going to resign. It's astonishing how many people one person will know outside the company. It isn't surprising that a piece of slander can come back to bite you in the ass, even if you switch companies. For all you know, that person may decide it's time for a job change, and ends up with you again. Or even worse, if this person knows your new boss. Owch.

5. Job changing. Traditionalist like my dad are pretty picky about this, but from what I've gathered it's normal to switch jobs every three to five years if you're not happy about your situation. Jumping ship for better pay, or better bonuses, or even for better office environment is pretty normal. Just don't do it too often, or else no one will hire a fickle one like yourself. There are even some bosses who refuse to hire anyone who switches too often. I know my dad's minimum is 5 years per job, and he's been in the same company for 20+ years!

6. Steep learning curve. Uni does not prepare you for the real world. Half the things you learn in uni is probably not going to be used. And instead, you're going to have to pick up dozens of new terms and facts in order to survive your first week. There's a steep learning curve, and sometimes there's not even anyone out there to guide you as people are just too busy to help you out. Nobody gets hired at the office I'm working at unless they have experience prior before applying, simply because things are moving so fast that no one can take time out to help a greenhorn. As an intern, I'm exempted, but even now I can see that I'm a huge liability to the whole office, because I have to keep asking them to show me how to do things.

There are just a few things I picked up, and they just made me realise how much I love studying. Screw independence and all that, I'm just glad that I have time to still hang out with my friends, play the PS3 and practise piano.

Masters, anyone?