My Dream Job

Given the current circumstances I don’t think I’m fit enough to work in the IT world. It’s true I know a few programming languages and it’s also true that I am well aware of all the current technologies and trends but that is just about it. My expertise, as you may call it, is mediocre at best. There are plenty of far more talented programmers, data base administrators, web site developers and network engineers out there. What’s worse, some of them are still unemployed. If they talented people like them could not get a job, then what are the chances that I will?

So, I think it’s probably time to think and possibly venture out of the technology world. Career terms of course. My father did mention something about the financial field. That sounds interesting given the fact that I have been avoiding the finance and accounts since I was 16. But then again, who knows, I may turn out quite a talented financial planner. Besides, there are a lot more vacancies there compared to the IT world.

But what I really should ask myself is what do I like? What would I like to do for a career? The last time I asked myself this question was when I was 12. The answer was a pilot. More specifically, a commercial airline pilot. I was already amazed and awed by the humongous 747s and have yet to get to Disneyland. What better way to get there than go there, without the need to pay for the travel fee (but in turn get paid for doing it) while flying you own plane? It was an awesome plan. It was perfect. That is until my father asked me the same question. I gave the same answer, gleefully. His reply was, “I want you to get a job where you need a university degree for it”. It turned out, I could get to be pilot as early as I hit 17. But I don’t want to be a dumbass. Not as much as my father would either. As cool being a pilot may be, at the same time I don’t want to be known as a guy who only has an education level up until high school.

So, as I sit here, pondering again the question I asked myself 10 years ago, I figured the only thing I’m good at and enjoy doing is this. Writing. Well, nowadays it’s more like typing…composing is more like it. Wait, that sounds like I’m writing a song. Writing. Yup, that’s the word, ‘writing’. Or as I would call it, creating bullshit out of nothing. I’m never a fan of boring factual reports. Once, I put humorous elements inside one of my formal reports I received a less than pleasing comment from my evaluator. That was the last time I dared such a thing. Since then I have been writing my reports with agony and boredom.

I think I would make a pretty good novelist. However, as much I enjoy reading them, the commitment associated with creating a memorable one is quite daunting. A good novelist usually spends 2 to 3 years working on a single novel. In some cases 5 to 7 years. To spend that period of time working on a single topic and theme, once again, I think I’ll bore myself to death.

So, what kind of job that I could display my creativity in writing and constantly changing the themes now and again? My answer is this: a writer who writes articles. A columnist. Be it for a newspaper or a magazine. It will be an awesome job. The best example would be this: Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City a.k.a. Carrie Bradshaw. Actually her job is not really glamourous because the paper that she writes the article for is not really a mainstream daily. It is equivalent of Harian Metro in Malaysia. But, then again, she shops at Dior and Prada and wear Manolo Blahniks at her feet and lives in Manhattan. She also, however, lives in a small apartment and does not own a car. But she still manages to go and dine at trendy restaurants and get invites to A-list parties. But wait, could this be true? I mean, it’s still a TV show and you begin to wonder is the lifestyle could really be possible. Some of us would like to yes even though it means lying to ourselves.

Another debonair example is Richard Gere in Runaway Bride. Top columnist for the New York Times (or was it USA Today?) and everybody read his articles. He was well known and rives a convertible. Suave, I might say. But again, it’s a movie. A fiction. Someone’s screenplay being adopted to the silver screen.

In real life? In Malaysia? What? A columnist for New Straits Times? Geez, even I don’t who write them. Even sometimes the good ones. How about magazines? Female magazines is a complete no-no. What good would it do in hiring a columnist of the opposite sex? So that leaves men magazines in Malaysia. What ? Maskulin? Oh please, no. Too horrific. FHM? It’s not even a magazine. It’s a joke. A proper men’s magazine is something like GQ or Esquire. Or even Maxim. Now that would be awesome. That is supreme. An established columnist for the Esquire or GQ. Whoa…now that would be some pickup line. “I’m a writer for the Esquire. You’ve probably come across it. It’s quite popular”.

But alas, as of now, that dream is still a dream. I think it’s a fantasy. Fantasies are far more fetched than dreams. Almost on the verge of impossible. Berangan namenye. Tp takleh berangan lame sgt. Nnt makan diri. Ghetu~