Handed in my letter today ...

Some of you might have seen it coming. I have been unhappy with my job for a while now, and I have taken my little steps to move away.

I thought it would have taken longer, but I finally got myself a job offer I like. The job will probably make me just as busy, and it would still eat into a lot of my own time. However, the $$$ is better, at least in line with what I believe to be fair value for my skillset and experience. But that wasn't the only factor. Heck, it wasn't even my primary consideration.

I currently work with very nice people around me (add brownie points). But it's a lot of very hard work (minus brownie points), a lot of weekend work (minus brownie points), very independant (add and then minus some brownie points) but ultimately, it doesn't pay well at all (minus MANY brownie points).

I have told my bosses that I believe I'm at least 30% underpaid by market standards, but of course, the company HR feels insulted when I say that. For a few years now, I believe I have been trapped in a glass ceiling. And I had a feeling that I wasn't quite someone my company knew what to do with.

Moz is ambitious. I really want to go places. I really want to push my own limits and see where I can end up in. I've worked very hard, and I believe I have put in my pound of flesh into the job. And all for what I consider an unfair pay deal. And I never met my own expectations on what I should be doing and my ambitions for myself.

So finally, today, I decided to hand in my resignation. When I saw the offer from the other company, I was relieved (not surprised) that they offered me a package that is around 60% better. Maybe that's what I'm worth. At least I feel better just seeing that figure.

But what really struck me was that during my interviews with my employer-to-be, I was set the right expectations. There was no grandiose goals. There isn't any fancy talk. There's a lot of hard work. There's plenty to learn. They'll be plenty of people to work with. But as a team, we'll face it and do it all together. I really like that.

My main gripes in my current job is that I've never done any work I can be proud of in Malaysia, that people don't understand what my strengths and capabilities are, and I've always been a lone ranger. I've done work I'm proud of in Singapore, Thailand, India and Phillipines. People there ask for me by name. But not a single soul knows me here.

I miss that feeling of working in a team. I miss the face time I get with my customers. I miss the adrenalin rush in some project works.

I don't mind the hard work - there is probably not many options for a person like me but to work hard and maximize my talents and time on earth.

If someone from my company is snooping around and finds this blog, here's what I have to say:

I really like the people I worked with.
I really appreciate the opportunities I had.
I didn't like that I was treated a bit like a substitute.
I didn't like that I was living out of a suitcase and felt a little like a refugee sometimes.
I didn't like that we cut costs at the expense of employee happiness.
I'm not sure what to make of the many times when I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and asked to swim or sink. It was painful - I struggled a lot. But it was useful - I learnt how to swim - fast.
I really wish success to all. And I mean it.
I really hope my time here could be longer, but time and tide waits for no man.

Wish me luck.