Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Geek In Action

Firms that practice 13 months salary

Geek In Action — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:50:40 +0800

Hello there.

As per title, firms that practice 13 months salary usually got any additional bonus on top of this 13th month bonus?

In the offer letter it is stated that: Employers are entitled to a performance bonus of up to 1 month bla bla bla at the sole discretion of bla bla...

Your feedbacks are most welcome, thank you.

Leaving Your GF for Someone Else

Geek In Action — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:00:09 +0800

Cut the fancy stories and the happenings that happened in between, the main point as the following:

1. John has been dating Mary for almost 4 years now.

2. John is contemplating to break up with Mary and go for Hanna.

3. John would hold on to Mary, if he is not able to get Hanna.

4. If John succeeds to get Hanna, he is willing to risk it and leave Mary for Hanna.

Okay folks, the questions here are:

1. Does this make John an a-hole?

2. Is this selfish?

3. It probably is, but im sure some of us here have been in the same shoes - and who dares to say love isnt selfish?

Please advice

Specialization in Engineering

Geek In Action — Sun, 30 May 2010 02:39:41 +0800

Good day folks,

First and foremost thanks for dropping by to view this thread, your comments and feedback are highly appreciated.

To begin with, I am from Civil & Structural background therefore some of my examples / points of discussion are from the Civil / Construction point of view.

In my line of work, there are two broad categories:

1. General Contractor / Consultant

These contractors / consultants normally deal with general structures i.e. bridges, high rise, commercial development etc.

2. Specialist(s)

As the name suggests, these firms are specialists who offer specific products / solution to a specific problem i.e. ground improvement specialists, retaining structures specialists, geosynthetic products etc.

In general contractor / consultant firms, the knowledge and experience gained is broad as the scope is huge and there are lots to handle. Meaning to say that one must know at least a little of everything.

On the other hand, working in a specialist firm requires specific knowledge and skill set that applies ONLY to their scope of work. Meaning to say that if the firm is doing ground improvement works, that's all the exposure one will get.

Now, in terms of transferable skills - general contractor / consultant stands a higher chance to switch jobs (within the same industry) as the required skill set is about the same. On the other hand, every specialist requires a different skill set / knowledge hence almost none of your skills are transferable aka zero experience which leads to difficulties in switching jobs (unless join competitor).

Normally, people will go for General Contractor / Consultant to gain some experience then move onto a specialization of their choice. Therefore they will have some basic knowledge in everything else AND in depth knowledge in the specialization of their choice.

With that said, the question I would like to post is that:

Is it advisable to join a specialist upon graduation - meaning almost zero knowledge about everything else

The reason for the question is that; assuming that after 2-3 years working in a specialist firm - if one does not do well i.e. lost of interest, colleagues or bosses problem etc. it will be almost too late for a job switch as switching jobs might be difficult as other firms might not be able to match one's current salary due to no transferable skills.

Therefore is it a safer choice to join contractor / consultant rather than a specialist?

Please advice.

How to deal with difficult boss(es)

Geek In Action — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:06:43 +0800

Scenario:

1. Boss asks, "Have you finished XYZ which i asked you to do?"
2. My response, "Sorry boss no i havent and i believe that you did not tell me to do (XYZ)"
3. Boss replies, "Eh cmon i thought i told you last week! You must remember what i told you!"

Question:

1. How do you deal with a boss like this? Its basically your words against his and he's holding strong although you are 110% sure he did not tell you to do the mentioned task.
2. What is the (most) effective method(s) that solve this problem that have the least adverse impact on your image etc?
3. Should i be worried that this will somewhat affect my career advancement in the firm as the boss thinks im lazy/noob in executing my tasks, even though he did not give the instruction.

Note:
1. I believe talking to the boss does not help becos he is standing strong on his ground that he made no mistakes.

Thanks in advance

Unable to access C drive with double click

Geek In Action — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:53:36 +0800

Dear all,

I am unable to access my C drive via double click. Even "Right click" > "Open" does not work.

Only through "Right click" >"Explore" i can access the drive.

I have tried running typing "attrib -r -h -s autorun.inf" in the command prompt but "File not found" was returned.

I have also tried searching for "mountpoints2" in "regedit" and deleting the files inside but it does not work as well.

Please advice

Thanks in advance

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Additional info:

I have C and E drive in my pc. Both also running on Windows XP. Currently booting on C drive.

Previously I can't access both the drive via double click. After running "attrib -r -h -s autorun.inf" in the command prompt and deleting the "autorun.inf" file i can access E drive with double click

already. But still cant access C drive.

Attempt to resign but counter-offered

Geek In Action — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:17:16 +0800

Scenario:

1. John works in Firm X and attempts to quit to join Firm Y

2. Firm X counter-offered a better offer than Firm Y

3. John stays in Firm X due to better offer

Question:

1. Will this leave a bad impression to John as he attempted to leave Firm X and considered other offers?

2. Will this slow John's growth in Firm X in the future as he may deemed as un-loyal?

Please share thank you all

Which job should I choose?

Geek In Action — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:34:08 +0800

Company A

Type: Consulting Engineers (Civil)

Size: Small

Starting salary: RM 2400 (basic, no allowance)

Position: Civil & Structural Engineer

Pros:

1. In a small firm, the individual must know everything from A to Z, from design stage to project implementation, liase with authority etc. Basically can learn a lot.

2. The individual is eligible to sit for the Professional Interview (PI) to obtain Professional Engineer (PE) title.

3. No office politics, everyone is nice to one another. The boss is nice as well (dont ask me how i know lol).

4. Higher starting salary and generous boss.

Company B

Type: Contractor (Civil - Soil/Slope)

Size: Medium-Large

Starting salary: RM 2000 (basic) + RM 275 (allowance)

Position: Management Trainee

Pros:

1. Overseas placement opportunity - more exposure (international)

2. Career advancement opportunity - got space to "climb" up the ladder

Cons:

1. Very specialized product - meaning that Company B designs and manufactures their own product and offers the client their services. It is not as general as conventional Civil and Structural design works where you have to know everything top to bottom. So kinda worry that the experience cannot be utilized else where.

Note:

1. The Management Trainee Program is a 2 Years Program. The ultimate goal of the program is to prepare the individual for overseas placement. If the candidate is able to perform and proved worthy, he/she will be placed overseas for foreign assignments in Year 3.

2. Two Years Management Trainee Program = 1 year technical design + 1 year site (project implementation)

3. Company B is a medium sized contractor which is doing relatively well, they are expanding and aiming to be a listed company in years to come.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And now, ladies and gentlemen can I hear it from you guys which would be a wiser choice and the reasons please.

Thank you all for your time.

Career Path for Civil Engineers

Geek In Action — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:30:43 +0800

Dear Experts,

First and foremost, a very warm welcome and a big thank you to those of you who have taken time to visit this thread and left your comments.

I have recently graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering and is currently job hunting.

As you may have already known, a fresh Civil graduate can basically join one of the following lines:

1. Consultant

2. Construction

3. Sales

While I have heard various comments from various ppl, I would love to hear from you guys which line is the best to start with.

I should also mention that, ultimately my career objective is to move into a Managerial Position.

Currently I have offers from Consultants, Contractor and also in Sales.

So which do you think have better career prospects?

Pros and cons. Any thoughts?

*Thank you in advance