k_tectonic
This bpost is yet another free-flow historical review. Don’t aim for completeness. If I come up with one unique item it would be a gem. Let’s focus on higher_ground, related to carefree and my layers of protections and provisions, but I’m deliberately vague about higher_ground. Lower ground is 被动, defensive, struggling,,,
initial Trigger event: I recall my chat with Sonny Lim, and also my recent reconnect sessions with ex-colleagues of Catcha/Zed/NewSilkRoute.
Also Look at Partha or Rajesh. I don’t know where they are today, but the peak of our career is behind us. I feel that since Zed some of them didn’t move any higher beyond inflation. (Exception: Rajesh was promoted to team lead in the same team.) As I described to Grandpa, by default I would have followed similar paths. In reality, I’m on higher ground because of WSt. Mine is NOT a common career path, more like an exception to prove the rule.
| Out of, say, a 2002 cohort of 100 male IT professional in SG, I guess 24 would leave technology sectors by now (around age 50), 25 would remain in tech, but hands-off (i.e. zero source code) including support/mgmt [Raymond,], and about half would remain hands-on, perhaps senior roles like XA.S. Nowadays, young guys gravitate towards web2.0 shops more than finDev, but I think less than 2% of my cohort are hands-on in top web2.0 shops.
Due to SG being a regional sales center, a significant subset would be client-facing [consulting, pre-sales, proj mgmt], and the hands-on subset would be smaller accordingly. In terms of pff, I’m on higher ground (exclub) among the “hands-on” subset (superset of the SWE subset), but I have no insight outside that subset. I would say a broader comparison across my cohort would be statistically more meaningful if feasible, but actually not feasible given my lack of data, so I will primarily focus on the hands-on subset. |
Q: why am I more carefree, on higher ground than those guys? There must be a few things my family did right since then. Let’s pin them down as precisely as we can .. the more specific the better. Let’s focus on deeper, less obvious reasons. Even a small pinhole observation could lead to big insights.
- My bold venture to U.S. and WallSt .. life-changing journey that those ex-colleagues didn’t have.
- career longevity -> quiet_confidence about family cash flow. My dev career is likely to run to 60’s, unheard-of outside WSt.
- tsn? .. Thanks to my exploration (similar to “job dating”) I learned what jobs suit me better. Am more confident about my directions.
- over the decades, coding test has become widespread. I happen to have some competence and a long-term hobby. Together they raise me to higher ground. Am not the strongest.
- math and abstract thinking .. rigorous training since primary school… hugely important to high-end interviews. Am far from the strongest.
- [20] wellness habits .. invisible effect except BMI and belly; frq of sickness; frq (I didn’t say “duration”) and absorbency of workout; insomnia; cardio;
- .. diet control .. while 90% of my peers opt to resign (surrender) to the fate of BMI decline, I took the bull by the horns. Am not the most successful.
- —- minor or obvious factors, or factors less relevant to higher_ground_than_peers.
- thrifty and hardworking wife .. Not sure about some of their spouses, but I think mine is a rare gift from God.
- my kids did put in effort .. piano, diet, tuition, homework. Not sure about their kids.
- grand parents .. healthy, and financially self-reliant. Not sure about their parents.
- [20] continually improving English? Crucial to my U.S. adventure. Note speaking was my key weakness.
- .. Toast Masters?
- .. Eng expressive writing in recoll (no blog software then)
- SG citizenship .. a rising foundation (of my high ground), but largely invisible. The same foundation is shared with most of the cohort.
- UChicago credential .. fairly visible. It gave me higher ground in terms of insider insight into branded colleges. This credential is rare among my peers.
- [20] books .. book ownership practices. Library immersion. Stealth-overtake over10Y explains why it matters
- [20] economizing habit .. for money and time. Economizing is the essence of long-term planning + everyday execution.
- [20] burn rate control .. cumulative effect! Note 1) portfolio and 2) nonwork income … (as factors) are overrated.
- appreciation of my HDB home + Beijing home
- [20] IV + delivery skills .. IV is part of job-hunting which includes trec
- [20 = personal habit, skill,, over 20Y ]
Q: Are there someone on higher ground than me in some area, someone I can learn from? How about in anger mgmt, parenting, healthy habits?