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Friday, April 11, 200810:25 PM
Oh sweet net.. How i have missed you!
The last week has been a bit of a torture of me when i had no internet. Amazing how one can think up of many things to do online once there is no net. I wanted to wikipedia all sorts of movies and shows. And of all times, the net had to go off when i had to do the powerpoint slides for my animal behaviour presentation! I literally went raving mad when i discovered that the net died on me just when i had finished the slides and wanted to send it to the other members in my team. It was 4 a.m. and i seriously wanted to throw the computer to the repair shop where the big bad maintenance dudes would open her up and look at her naughty bits! Anyways! Animal Behaviour presentation was..... dare i say it? stupid. For the project, we had to observe any animal for 3 - 5 hours and report on its behaviour. So, we brought Dash (my dog), Febbie (Sherlin's dog) and luemas (my cousin's dog) together to see how they would react to one another. We were mighty pleased with the result. Febbie was predicted to be the alpha male (which took Sherlin by surprise). Dash? fell asleep during the interaction. -_- lol! i do wonder... they say dogs ressemble their owners over time so now i can't help wondering whether i am as boh chap as dash! Everytime Febbie lunged at Dash and tried to bite him, Dash didn't even blink an eye... He was like "eh? No food?" .. But don't mess with Dash when it comes to food! With just a whiff of the beef jerky, placid dash turned so aggressive!! Anyways, for the presentation's Q & A session, the 6 teaching assistants starting shooting all sorts of rubbish question tt at one point i didn't wanna answer any of their questions. Sherlin got so mad... I never heard her utter so many f-words before. This is the exchange tt got her hopping mad! Some stupid grad student: I noticed that the owners were around the dogs to control their behaviour during the fights. Sherlin: Yes, we didn't want things to get bloody. some dumb teaching assistant: but things are bloody in the wild what *insert a moment of incredulous silence where all 4 of us mentally pictured ourselves beating her with a dog paddle* Asilah: but they are... domesticated Like, hello? Who on earth is gonna pay for Dash's vet bill when Febbie makes mincemeat out of him (cause let's face it, Dash ain't gonna win Febbie in a fight!) ? And i will end up with a traumatised dog.. just so tt i could do a school project. And it was clear from the start that we were talking about domesticated dogs! Gosh... some people just take stupidity to a whole new level. Recently, Guo An asked us whether any of us would be leaving the industry once we graduated. When i said that i would be leaving it, he gave me a short interview to do. Since Alvinna posted her replies up, i guess i'll just post some of mine here. Question: Understanding the course, to a large extent, cater to the manpower needs in construction industry/ sector (though not limited to it), so during your course of study, have the thought of quitting this industry (i.e working something unrelated to course of study) came across your mind? (If so, when was that?)Tell me the reasons behind… thanks Yes. Every single day of the couse. LOL! Just kidding. Since I didn’t really have the intention to join the industry, i looked upon the school course as a way to enrich my way of thinking, learn more about the world (thru electives), broaden my horizons etc. To me, university, always and has been, a way where I could expand my learning horizons. So, during the uni course, I didn’t really specifically think about whether I should really quit the industry. It was more of fleeting thoughts like “I have to do this for life?”. You could also say that, deep down, I knew I was not suited for the industry when I found that I was more interested in and doing better in electives or courses which had nothing to do with the construction industry (for eg. Human resource, geography) Did internship further confirm your intention? if so, how? Yes. I joined the internship program with the intention of checking out whether I could work in the construction industry. Alas! It just confirmed that my personality just clashes with what the industry requires. I was horrified when I saw and heard how they can loudly berate the sub contractors (I worked in a Main contractor’s office) for hours. Every time they scolded one, I would be demoralized for the rest of the day. Also, I saw the QS department and was very disheartened. Some of them had worked for years, doing the same thing over and over again, and yet, not having the faintest idea about the whole picture ( as in they concentrated only on the one element they were doing). Very few advanced to the next level, reinforcing my belief that there may be few career opportunities for a women in the construction industry. Gender Bias The course does reinforce that the construction industry should look at the overseas market. However, not many of these countries are as receptive to female construction players (Case in example: Saudi Arabia). In Singapore, few women become project managers. Most are often in the QS section. Unsure about my skills Perhaps due to my intention of leaving the industry, I never was able to do well in construction-related courses. I am not sure whether I can contribute much to a company who expects a NUS grad with a certain degree of knowledge. I have heard from friends who have started working that joining as a full-time staff is different from being an intern. The company expects more. Hence, i hesitate to join a company in which I might let it down by not fulfilling their expectations. Profile of Construction Industry’s workers It is my personal belief that the people who cannot succeed elsewhere due to their low EQ can excel well in the construction industry. This seems to be the only industry in which one can encounter many people who do not censor their thoughts before blurting it out. While others may argue that one will inevitably encounter many of such people in real life, I did an internship in an unrelated sector (banking) before we entered our internship program and it was a pretty good experience. I did encounter some unpleasant people there but it was not as bad as the extent and the quantity I encountered in the construction industry. Needless to say, it was a rude shock to hear and witness many people being downright insensitive and rude in the construction industry. Personality differences You may be hearing the phrase “Personality clashes with the industry” quite often. Perhaps I can better explain what I mean by that. As explained, the industry does require one to be thick skinned in order to withstand the insensitivity, the scoldings and the environment. It took me a day to get over some scoldings (and they weren’t even directed at me!) and my productivity level just dropped every time that happened. Besides, I do want a challenging job in which I look forward to going to everyday. I do not mind staying back for overtime as long as there is something new to do. Something new also means being able to increase my learning curve. Being stuck in one project means measuring the same thing over and over again. Everyday, one is faced with diagrams and numbers. (Like I said, very few advance to dealing with the law aspect). There is also the danger of falling into the trap where I’m too focused on my job to understand the big picture and learn more. Also, one should be able to communicate with people from all walks of life. Communication can be improved if one can speak dialect ( as some sub contractors can speak more fluently in dialect). I cannot speak dialect and may not be able to find common ground with them, which leads to inability to build up a rapport and might even lead to strained relationships with them. Hence, I feel that while the construction industry is an enriching one, one needs to have the necessary character qualities before one can excel in it. If one does excel (which I’m very sure my friends, especially Guo An will), the rewards will be tremendous. Alas! I am not suited for it and would have to trot elsewhere to find another industry. Sigh. I do feel sad that after 4 years, i'm still not suitable for the construction industry. Going to find a job in another industry is going to be really difficult and i have to start from scratch. But the upside is wondering what i'll become... just like being a kid all over again! When i was young, i wanted to be a) a vet (shot to death when i realised i had to put my hand up their butts) b) reporter ( shot to death because i need to go to a poly course for it) c) in drama ( shot to death because singapore's drama scene is meh) d) an air stewardess.. which girl hasn't dreamt of this (shot to death because well.. you know) Sigh. I do hate growing up. |
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