3 Years later… Time for reflection
2 August 2004, I moved from the private sector to the public sector. Having tried one full year in an accounting firm, I strongly believed that I was not suited for an accounting job in the private sector. So, I transited into the public sector. It promised better prospects and much better pay for me. With a stroke of luck, I was given a major project to handle.
The project involved a lot of co-ordination work and interviews with ground staff which set a very good foundation for me in understanding the operations of my new employee. Well, I even got good reviews from my bosses and it I got promoted within a short span of 1 and a half years to a managerial position. Yes, the entire process has been an eye opener for me. I was never so involved in my work for the initial two years. I was presented with so many opportunities. Financially, I was really doing quite well, otherwise I would not have been able to achieve a lot of things that I currently have.
Well, the turning point was when I got onto the managerial position. I began to assess the significance and impact of my work to the entire department. I really felt that there are no real significance at all. Resource Accounts was never really a concern for the management. Professionally, the preparation of Resource Accounts does not require me to really tap into the accounting knowledge that I was trained with. The project that I did when I first joined also died a natural death. There are many other things that I do, but most of it are really just…. paper exercise.
I began to question myself if the skills that I have learned here will
have any use elsewhere. I did have a discussion with my bosses on this concern but the reply was always the same. There are already people in the places where I can learn more useful skills. One of the bosses even suggested rotation but I knew all along that it would never come. Thus, what else can I do. I had to seek out opportunities for myself.
Thus, here I am today. Waiting for my posting to my new work place next week. It has been a wonderful journey here for the initial 2 years. The last year was a time of reflection and it changed the perception of my work in my current job. I chose to move on, in the hope for a better prospect and usable skills. Like in my previous posting, good or bad, it’s hard to say. I would allow myself to look back. Not to wish that I should not have moved on if things don’t turn out well in my new job. It’s to assess myself if I have progressed between then and now. Give myself 2 years, and I will let you know then.
Lastly, thank you (my current job) for all the opportunities that was
given to me. There are good things that I would bring along with me to my new place. I hoped that I leave this place with something memorable for each and everyone of you to remember. Thank you.
