*** 30/3 - 5/4 ***
This post is supposed to be written on April 6, but I had not found the mood to write. The previous week is skipped because I cannot remember what happened back then. So in order to avoid the same thing from happening again, I started writing down important things and thoughts during the week on sticky notes.
Sitting around at home doing nothing productive doesn't feel good. That is one of the reasons I picked up a skill that I have always wanted to learn since I first started engineering course.
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| My first more complex CAD |
I first heard of CAD during my first year in engineering in Taylor's University. My friends in mechanical engineering had a subject which taught them CAD. My next encounter with CAD was during my 3-month internship at MMC-Gamuda, where a senior drafter in my department uses CAD to design and edit floor plans of the Klang Valley MRT project.
To me, CAD has a mysterious and professional feeling. Somehow I have an idea that people who are skilled in CAD are respectful. This feeling led me to pick up the skill while I still have free time, i.e. now.
The third reason for learning it now is that, after applying for engineering jobs, both in Australia and Malaysia, I have found that CAD skill is rather essential and highly sought after. This could be due to the fact that I am not looking solely at E&E jobs anymore; I found myself looking at just about any job that is related to engineering. The CAD skill requirement could have been listed in a mechanical engineer job and not an electrical one.
The reason I looked at a wider range of job is that I have finally decided to work in Australia. I realise that Australia has a significantly different economy and industry than Malaysia or Singapore. In my opinion, Malaysia and Singapore are more geared towards manufacturing and electronics; whereas in Australia, they are focusing more towards mining and agriculture. I realise that in order for me to work in Australia, my first step will be accepting a change in industry.
When I was studying at Taylor's University, I had a vision of working in a semiconductor or electronics factory. There is Intel, Agilent, National Instruments in Penang, WD, Motorola, and Freescale in Selangor, Seagate in Senai and Singapore, to name a few. Ideally, this is the industry I would be working in in the future. The decision to work in Australia completely conflicts this vision. There is hardly any Intel, WD, Motorola, Freescale job in Australia; instead, they have Shell, some mining companies, a few construction, telcos, and even accounting firms like the Big 4. Even if there are jobs from the large semiconductor companies, it will be highly sought after and competitive. Being a foreigner, I stand almost no chance at all. My only hope of working in the country will be under some unknown small companies, doing something unrelated to my degree, like drafting.
That is why I choose to go to Western Australia instead of Victoria, the place where I completed my degree; and the first step in achieving that is to sit for IELTS and get a temporary working visa. So on April 3, I registered for IELTS. The test date is May 10.
People have been telling me how it would be a shame if I let go of this chance to work in a foreign country. I plan to start a new life when I go there, and hopefully achieve the following:
- Become more mature to face the harsh real-life
- Be independent and solve any problem, ideally without any help from anyone
- Have my own place to stay, own money to spend
- Bring my girlfriend to Australia, either for holiday or long-term stay
