Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by sparda

How to get paid more (for freshies)

sparda — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 19:20:15 +0800

Hi guys, I'm going to give a very quick, no-BS guide of how to maximize your earnings during the early stages of your career. I can't give any guide on later stages because I have not reached it yet myself, anyway so here's what I know:

As a disclaimer, I'd like to say that if you are going for your passion or desire to serve humanity then I respect and commend you, but this guide may not quite apply to you. It's for materialistic people like me.

1. Preparation. To land a good job out of college, there are two key points:
a) You should have a decent command of English
b) Your GPA should be reasonably high (think 3.5 out of 4 and above)

I'd argue that getting a 2.8 in engineering is significantly more difficult than getting a 3.5 in business, but the latter is much better for getting jobs as a fresh grad. So if you know you aren't great at math, don't let idiot family members push you into studying engineering. Yes engineering is intellectually tougher but do you think the HR people (who most likely did not study engineering themselves) will care? If you are smart then by all means do it.

2. First job. You must pick a field with a reasonable prospect of making decent money. Examples are:

IT
Finance
Engineering (some branches)
Medicine (go be a specialist)
Law (not totally sure of this one nowadays)

Examples of fields where you are not so likely to earn a lot of money are:

Office Admin
Teaching
Academia
Most things which have a lofty goal e.g. nonprofits etc

You must also try your best to squeeze into an MNC, as the starting pay will usually be higher and it looks better on your resume when you want to jump. Sure some people will tell you that in a small company you can learn a lot bla bla bla but from what I see in the actual world is that joining a large and renowned company is MUCH BETTER ON AVERAGE FOR CAREER GROWTH.

3. Job hopping. You should not keep job hopping but neither should you stay in the same job all the way. Ideally change once every 2-3 years or so (unless you are on the fast track in your company). The best time for jumping is after you get a promotion because then the increase in pay when you jump is made on a higher base.

If your boss is underpaying you but keeps promising you various things to get you to stay instead of just increasing your pay then just find a better paying job - it's retarded to stay.

4. Be friendly to people and build your network. As you go up more and more opportunities will come from people you know rather than job postings. You should also maintain your Linkedin and be friendly to recruiters etc.

5. Learn how to present well and speak up. If you do a good job but present it poorly it's no use too - the key thing is that you should look professional and make your boss look good too.

Basically that's about it, if I can think of more points I'll add them. Good luck everyone!

Standard angpao amount for weddings

sparda — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 00:54:59 +0800

Hi guys, I've been blessed (some might say plagued) with a large number of wedding invites recently, so I'm trying to figure out what's the market price of angpao nowadays. Please weigh in with your opinions.

I don't want to be too stingy neither would I like to go bankrupt...

Cheapest laptop possible for Dota 2

sparda — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 15:55:09 +0800

Hi guys, I want to ask a question.

I used to play Dota 2 with my work laptop but now that I changed jobs, my new work laptop is too sucky to play it. So I think I need a new personal laptop.

What's the cheapest laptop that can play Dota 2 without the heroes looking like they are surfing on land?

Dress to impress?

sparda — Wed, 13 May 2015 23:15:09 +0800

I'm working in the consulting arm of one of the big 4, usually I just wear slacks and a dress shirt. Lately I've noticed that my project manager and the partner above him tend to wear suits quite often though. So I'm thinking should I buy a suit? Would doing so make me look like a vigorous go-getter or a pretentious retard?

If anyone is in a similar professional line please give me some feedback. I've been working for about 5 years now.

Can I get sleeping pills without a prescription

sparda — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 03:46:57 +0800

Lately I have a lot of trouble sleeping so I'm taking Valium. Is it possible to get it or other such pills without a prescription? Trouble is if I see the doc he won;t give that much.

SAP Certification usefulness

sparda — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:26:27 +0800

Ok guys wanna ask your opinion.

I've been working at a SAP consulting company for a few years now, so now there is a chance to take certification.

I wanna ask:

1. Does the certification actually make a difference, given that I already have a few years of SAP implementation
experience?
2. Is the exam very hard to pass?

you can't move your head

sparda — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:11:30 +0800

Scientists have just found that it is not possible to move your head back and forth while your mouth is open. This is due to the same set of muscles being used for the two movements.

Why people call us strawberry generation

sparda — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:14:55 +0800

So older people like to call our generation the strawberry generation (means one squeeze and its crushed - lazy and cannot take pressure). Personally I don't think this is true as I see plenty of people my age work DAMN HARD.

I think the reason why people think we are bad is like this:

Now, many people of our gen say that the current songs on radio are bad and we have talentless singers (I'm looking at you Justin Bieber!) But frankly, there were a ton of bad songs in the nineties too, it's just that we only remember the good ones now. Basically we are taking the best ones of yesterday and comparing them to the average ones of today. Of course last time win lah like that.

You take this analogy and apply it to the workplace. Who is calling us young ones strawberries? Obviously the middle-aged bosses and managers of today. But why are they bosses and managers in the first place? Obviously because they were the tough/smart/hardworking ones of their generation right? I'm sure their generation had strawberries too (my dad told me many hilarious stories about the goof-offs of his day), but they have been squashed already and are now janitors and in no position to lecture the young generation about being lazy.

SO f*** yeah older people please think back at the useless people of your generation before you paint all the young ones with a broad brush. I know some people my age are calling those born in the nineties even lazier already - also please think back of the useless ones of our generation who are still failing subjects in college due to playing too much DOTA.

Why is there a stigma against being desperate

sparda — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:00:44 +0800

As per topic. If someone is trying to look very hard for a job because he or she has no job, we don't consider the person desperate right?

Replace "job" with "partner" then suddenly many negative comments come. Don't understand really.

the old man and the scorpion

sparda — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:35:14 +0800

An old man saw a scorpion fall into water, so he decided to save it. but once he touched the scorpion, it stung his finger. he tried again, with the same outcome. again and again he tried, till his finger was swollen to twice its normal size. he then changed to another finger and continued. a passerby asked him "it keeps stinging you, why keep trying?" the old man looked at both his swollen fingers and said quietly to himself "i think this should satisfy my wife"

closed

sparda — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 00:14:25 +0800

closed

have a problem

sparda — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 23:51:52 +0800

I have this friend who was close with me since high school. She is beautiful, gentle and was one of the best students in class. Tons of guys fell for her but none managed to capture her heart. There was even this one time where one fellow sent 99 roses to our class then waited for her to come out after school so he could sing a love song to her... but that is neither here or there.

After we graduated, she met a guy who worked at the same cafe as she did. He was not particularly good-looking or rich, she told me, but he had an air of mystery about him that made her curious. One day he sent her back as her mom wasn't free to pick her, so she asked him why did he always look thoughtful, and smile so rarely. He revealed to her that he was not close with his family as his parents were drug addicts and always asked for money from him, giving him much to worry about. Her gentle heart felt a sharp pain at hearing such sadness, so she began to care about him. Day by day they drew closer, and soon they were together.

In the beginning, I was happy for her. But after awhile her smiles started to turn into tears, as she said they argued often. One day she called me, crying, saying that he had lost his temper and struck her. When I met her, she had a red mark across her face. I wanted to look for the guy to teach him a lesson, but she stopped me, saying she loved him no matter what he had done. I was speechless.

Later on, he began demanding money from her. It turned out that he was a drug addict too. Nevertheless, she stood by his side, refusing to go to college. "I want to earn more money to help him," she told me.

Last night, she called me. She had took a pregnancy test and it had came out positive, but when she told him, he said callously "who knows what other guys you have been seeing" and told her to get an abortion. She tried to call him again, but he refused to answer.

"Could you use your number to call him?" she implored of me. Reluctantly, I agreed, yet when I rang he did not pick up as well. In the end, I sent him a message saying that she really did love him, and could he reconsider his decision.

A reply came, "I don't care about her anymore, I have another girl that treats me better. Tell her to go away." I handed the message to her, lost for words. When she read it, I saw her heart break before my eyes. The soul vanished from her eyes, and she threw my phone in an parabolic arc which ended at a wall.

So now my phone's screen is cracked... I want to ask, where can I get a new Samsung S2 screen? No shops near my place ler.

Ideal physique measurements

sparda — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 19:42:39 +0800

This calculator shows what your ideal measurements should be for men, according to the aesthetic standards of ancient Greece.

http://www.fitness.com/tools/greek_proportions/

Input your wrist size to get all your proportions.

I'll start with mine: my wrist is 6.5 inches so I get:

Chest Size: 42.3
Forearm Size: 12.3
Waist Size: 29.6
Thigh Size: 22.4
Hip Size: 35.9
Calf Size: 14.4
Biceps Size: 15.2
Neck Size: 15.6

Actual measurements:

Chest Size: 39
Forearm Size: 11.5
Waist Size: 32.5
Thigh Size: 22
Hip Size: 35.5
Calf Size: 14.5
Biceps Size: 12.8
Neck Size: 15

Looks like my legs and hips are spot on, waist a lil big, chest and arms need to buff up a lil bit. You guys can try.

Dating older girls

sparda — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 04:09:07 +0800

Ok so somehow I've started to develop this crush on my colleague... she just looked normal on first sight but somehow after a while she starts to grow on me dunno why, I have always believed in love at first sight but not this time.

Unfortunately she is two years older than me. Now I had this ex-gf whom I really loved and had plans to marry, she was one year older than me and she dumped me, I think partly because she felt I was childish, which I do not deny completely. This has left a scar on my heart forever so now I am very wary of liking older girls, lest I get dumped again. I'm a very fragile person emotionally and do not appreciate getting dumped, although I am a veteran of many battles the wounds of war still cut deep.

So, to my great dismay, I now keep thinking of this aforementioned colleague. She is a very nice person, when I asked for people to have lunch in a whatsapp group she came to have lunch with me and bought me an apple pie, so yea. However I have a premonition that my liking for her will end in doom one way or another. Therefore I wish to ask of you:

A. Would you accept a guy younger than you if you were a girl?
B. How do I stop liking someone?

Note: this post was written partly under the influence of blueberry vodka so I will correct it in the morning.

absinthe

sparda — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 20:53:14 +0800

so i had absinthe in publika, it's not bad with the fire and ice mix etc but i feel that it's not really the 70% alcohol real deal (judging from the level of drunkenness it induces in me). anyone know where to get the real thing?

i want 70%

If you have to choose one to eat

sparda — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:01:07 +0800

So my friends and I were discussing various geli foods over dinner justnow, and we came up with the above list. I wanna ask my kopitiam brothers, which would you choose if you had no choice (someone is pointing a gun at you and you have to eat one).

does dota make you ruder?

sparda — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 12:15:15 +0800

well a couple days back i was playing starcraft 2 then the other guy used some early rush and beat me. after the game he actually messaged me and said sorry for using cheap tactics, he was a bit short of time.

then i played dota and back to what i was familiar with scolding scolding scolding each other lar. to be fair i also scold.

so i'm wondering, does dota trigger the "rude gene" in people or not...

I think career is overrated

sparda — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:18:22 +0800

Ok so I see a lot of dating advice that goes this way:

Guy is studying - "Work hard on your studies first! Next time you earn money sure plenty of girls come!"

Guy is working - "Focus on your career first! Next time you earn large sums of money sure plenty of girls come!"

However when I actually observe the dating scene, I don't really see that a good career really pulls that many girls, unless its out-of-this-world level of good, e.g. a celebrity or something. As for normal professional success, well, I still see many guys around 30 who have decent careers but lack female attention.

My suspicion is that this "focus on career and girls will naturally come" advise worked in the previous generation where girls had no careers of their own to speak of, and so had to depend on men to provide, so men with decent means of making money would naturally get female attention. In our current society I really really doubt this advice works as well as before.

Eng ed/Chi ed crossover dating

sparda — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:04:18 +0800

Ok this is not a thread to discuss the respective merits of English or Chinese education in dating.

What I wanna say is that from my observation, there tend to be more couples in which the guy is English ed and the girl is Chinese ed, while the other way around (guy Chinese ed girl English ed) is less common.

Do you people notice the same tendency?

What do you do with your wallet, phone etc

sparda — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:39:42 +0800

Ok I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this or not but there is no better forum into which it should go.

Basically I put my handphone, wallet and car keys into my side pockets. This makes my (work) pants look a bit baggy on the sides, and I feel that it doesn't look nice from an aesthetic point of view. Now, I'm not a girl so I don't have a handbag to put them in.

I'd like to hear how you guys deal with this if you feel the same way.