Today, 21st September 2008...
It's exactly a week since I last started my new job in Ipoh, and it sure feels like time is crawling again. Not alike previously when I was still on my vacation mood where time flies like nobody's business.
Anyway...
The company I'm currently working, let's just call it A. A is a large private limited company in Malaysia and is operational around the whole country. But this centre in Ipoh is mainly a call center, in which customers who experience any problems with the products A is selling will call up the hotline and we people from the call center will pick up their calls. Well, nothing fancy, my post here is as a Customer Service Officer. Absolutely NO relation to IT or the field of my degree's course whatsoever. And the bl**dy main thing I'll be doing here is picking up phones in a much highly pressured environment, bound by lots of crazy restrictions.
What the heck?
I'm sure most of you who are reading this would ask me what the heck am I taking this job in the 1st place. Is it because of the salary? Is it because A is a large and popular company? Is it because I had some experience in Customer Service previously during my temporary jobs? Is it because in Ipoh, it's freaking tough to look for an IT job with a decent pay?
All I can say is.....all the questions mentioned above is true, EXCEPT for the 1st question which relates to the offered salary. For your information, my current salary is lower than my previous job's salary at PJ. Initially, I didn't mind much about the lower salary as I thought that everything (food, room rent, transportation, etc.) is much cheaper in Ipoh than in KL.
I was WRONG.
Just SO WRONG.
Overall, yes, stuffs in Ipoh are indeed cheaper than KL / PJ, but it's just not as significant as expected. It's like some 'mega-sale-pricing-in-PJ' which is happening in Ipoh. In other words, the salary I'm earning now is just barely enough for me to pay my room rent, buy loads of instant noodles and biscuits, fill up my motorbike petrol and my rarely used car, and maybe go for some food court delicacies once a week with my gf.
OMG.
Enough with the money matters. What matters most for now is my decision. My decision to continue working here for the rest of my time I'm here in Ipoh. Frankly speaking, this A company I'm working for now is a very prospectful company with loads of chances to get promoted and earning extra incentives & all. What bothers me much is the job. THE job of picking up calls from A's customers, who seems to be neverending and some of it baseless. Although I've been here for barely a week and still undergoing training (as I will not be involved in their operations until I complete my training by beginning of next month), I feel that the things and knowledge I've earned during my university days will be hidden down the drain as long as I'm still here, picking up calls! Gosh, I'm so confused, but if you're asking me whether am I still determined to continue working in Ipoh, with much confidence, I'll reply you with a strong YES. I still haven't prove to my family and friends that working in Ipoh is NOT impossible and I can earn my own living here.
Another thing that bothers me is the number of job opportunities in Ipoh. Yes, I know that job opportunities here are not as many as in KL / PJ, but I'm still determined to look for my dream job over here. Although my current job is giving me lots of pressure (not forgetting the 'indirect' pressure from my gf's mother), all I can say is other stuffs are doing well over here, and I can say that I enjoy living here! The place I'm staying now, in Ipoh Garden, is such a nice and quiet place. Not forgetting the convenience of the close distance to Jusco and Tesco hypermarket, gf's house, petrol station, and even my workplace. For online purposes, I can save a lot by going over to the drive-thru McD's near the highway and utilizing their free WiFi, all thanks to my McD's Coke cup which I kept recycling over & over again to avoid repetitive cost of buying one everytime I need to online, heh.
There will be a walk-in interview for another company, S, next Saturday, for the position of IT / MIS Executive, and I'm determined to try out my luck for this one. Hopefully this one will work out well.
For now, I will just need to bear the pressure.
Fight on, LYJ.
It's exactly a week since I last started my new job in Ipoh, and it sure feels like time is crawling again. Not alike previously when I was still on my vacation mood where time flies like nobody's business.
Anyway...
The company I'm currently working, let's just call it A. A is a large private limited company in Malaysia and is operational around the whole country. But this centre in Ipoh is mainly a call center, in which customers who experience any problems with the products A is selling will call up the hotline and we people from the call center will pick up their calls. Well, nothing fancy, my post here is as a Customer Service Officer. Absolutely NO relation to IT or the field of my degree's course whatsoever. And the bl**dy main thing I'll be doing here is picking up phones in a much highly pressured environment, bound by lots of crazy restrictions.
What the heck?
I'm sure most of you who are reading this would ask me what the heck am I taking this job in the 1st place. Is it because of the salary? Is it because A is a large and popular company? Is it because I had some experience in Customer Service previously during my temporary jobs? Is it because in Ipoh, it's freaking tough to look for an IT job with a decent pay?
All I can say is.....all the questions mentioned above is true, EXCEPT for the 1st question which relates to the offered salary. For your information, my current salary is lower than my previous job's salary at PJ. Initially, I didn't mind much about the lower salary as I thought that everything (food, room rent, transportation, etc.) is much cheaper in Ipoh than in KL.
I was WRONG.
Just SO WRONG.
Overall, yes, stuffs in Ipoh are indeed cheaper than KL / PJ, but it's just not as significant as expected. It's like some 'mega-sale-pricing-in-PJ' which is happening in Ipoh. In other words, the salary I'm earning now is just barely enough for me to pay my room rent, buy loads of instant noodles and biscuits, fill up my motorbike petrol and my rarely used car, and maybe go for some food court delicacies once a week with my gf.
OMG.
Enough with the money matters. What matters most for now is my decision. My decision to continue working here for the rest of my time I'm here in Ipoh. Frankly speaking, this A company I'm working for now is a very prospectful company with loads of chances to get promoted and earning extra incentives & all. What bothers me much is the job. THE job of picking up calls from A's customers, who seems to be neverending and some of it baseless. Although I've been here for barely a week and still undergoing training (as I will not be involved in their operations until I complete my training by beginning of next month), I feel that the things and knowledge I've earned during my university days will be hidden down the drain as long as I'm still here, picking up calls! Gosh, I'm so confused, but if you're asking me whether am I still determined to continue working in Ipoh, with much confidence, I'll reply you with a strong YES. I still haven't prove to my family and friends that working in Ipoh is NOT impossible and I can earn my own living here.
Another thing that bothers me is the number of job opportunities in Ipoh. Yes, I know that job opportunities here are not as many as in KL / PJ, but I'm still determined to look for my dream job over here. Although my current job is giving me lots of pressure (not forgetting the 'indirect' pressure from my gf's mother), all I can say is other stuffs are doing well over here, and I can say that I enjoy living here! The place I'm staying now, in Ipoh Garden, is such a nice and quiet place. Not forgetting the convenience of the close distance to Jusco and Tesco hypermarket, gf's house, petrol station, and even my workplace. For online purposes, I can save a lot by going over to the drive-thru McD's near the highway and utilizing their free WiFi, all thanks to my McD's Coke cup which I kept recycling over & over again to avoid repetitive cost of buying one everytime I need to online, heh.
There will be a walk-in interview for another company, S, next Saturday, for the position of IT / MIS Executive, and I'm determined to try out my luck for this one. Hopefully this one will work out well.
For now, I will just need to bear the pressure.
Fight on, LYJ.
1 comment:
If you have decided to continue working in company A, I would suggest that you take every phone-answering opportunity to learn something new.
To learn trouble-shooting.
To learn giving detailed instructions.
To learn to communicate with people.
To learn to tolerate impossible customers.
These are the skills that you don't learn in school. And these are the skills that can get you far.
All the best to you :D
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