Brain-drain, AusIMM, Gliese 815 c

I just got back from AusIMM's Industry Night. AusIMM stands for Australian institute for mining and metallurgy; Basically a professional organisation catering to the professional development of mining professionals, i.e. Geologist, Engineers and Surveyors.

So what about it? Well, free entry. And lots of goodies, like soccerballs, pens and t-shirts. And also, the chance to talk to industry representatives and to mingle with other like-minded students (Trust me, not many people would want to do mining as a career, even with its lucrative salary and benefits)

One thing I noticed from talking to the reps, and listening to other people's questions, is that in this field, competition is really, really tough. I overheard this one guy asking why he hasn't got a response for his grad program application.

He graduated 2 years ago.

Anyway, I'm not going to develop this into a 'bitch-about-my-life' rant. But I just want to say that this is the sort of thing that got me worried.

It sure does made me think: "Why didn't I accept that mechanical engineering offer at RMIT?". Hmm. As if it's going to make a difference, but at least people know what mech eng is.

- Hey, check this out. The Geneva Observatory in Switzerland discovered a planet that has earth-like characteristics. Well, sort of. It's 1.5 the size of our planet, and much heavier than Earth. And it has a constantly lit side, and a constantly dim side on the other side of the planet. So, dark side, and bright side. The darker side of the planet is cold, really cold. The one facing the sun is steaming hot. As in Venus-like hot. There's an in-between zone though, and it is suggested (from assumption that there's water vapor in the atmosphere) that this middle-side is habitable. Fancy. And oh, the best thing is, it's only 10 light years away from Earth, which is 'only' twice as far as Earth to Alpha Centauri. So should we go there or what?

Not until someone invent a bloody warp gate, that is. Or a cyrostatic chamber. Or a cosmic radiation proof shielding for spaceships. Or when we can get all the nuclear weapons (some 60 thousands of them) in the world, and make engines out of them. We couldn't even put humans on Mars yet. Schmeh.

That aside, I think we should shoot Paris Hilton to Mars. As an experiment. She wouldn't be missed at all anyway. And Avenged Sevenfold. And Atreyu.

- A Russian mineral exploration company recently discovered an aluminium field at Papua New Guinea. It makes ya think that we should've invade that country a long time ago. =P
So anyway, foreign mining companies have been digging holes everywhere in Indo for the last .. uh, I don't know, 5 decades now. Or more. Well, if you count Dutch colonialism as 'foreign mining companies', then yes, they've been there for quite some time now. The biggest gold deposit in the world is in the Jayawijaya mountain ranges, West Papua (that's Irian for most of you; Somehow Oz's don't like it when I say 'Irian' or 'Timor Timur') . My point was, a lot of goodies in Indo, but we trust the handlings to the foreign companies. I guess that's how it is in a country with a small number of skilled workforce. I'm not saying that Indonesians don't have skilled workers, but the smart ones usually don't want to work in Indo. No wonder we're starting to see brain drain from Indo to countries such as Australia and the US. There just ain't enough place for us to work at.

What the hell was I rambling about again? Ah can't remember. I'm going to log off now, my noodle's getting cold and it's not so warm outside either.

Putra

Playlist: DragonForce, Converge

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Vac work, bright (city) lights, Economic Hitman

Halright. As I am writing this sentence, I realise(d) that it's now 10.45 in the evening. I finished my dinner at around 9.30, and I was planning to start writing my blog entry. But then I got sidetracked when I remembered that I have to finish my resume.

Although it's maybe too early to sign up for vacation work (held in summer time, usually from late November until February), some companies have 'opened the gates' for penultimate and final year students. Most of these are big companies that have a 2 or more tiered selection method - 2 interviews, a month after application closing date and a second one a few months after that.

I myself am applying for a vacation work program in ExxonMobil.

If that's not working out, I have plan B: a guaranteed vac work for an international mining company or, an offshore survey work. I worked with the latter last summer. Both of these companies are located in Indonesia.

Plan C: Play Medieval2TotalWar all summer long. Fancy.

My ego-raising statements aside, I do have some un-egoistical things to talk about for this entry (well, maybe not that un-egoistical, I mean, people are ego monsters. Hungry, ego monsters)

- I have this bad habit. I like to read when I'm eating. My parents would constantly egg me for this, but I think lately they've given up. Anyway, since I was able to read.. and that was a long time ago, I assure you, I've been reading in the dinner table. It started from Doraemon to magazines and novels. I like reading novels. Mostly I read non-fiction.

So I was eating my dinner, right, and I was just finishing up on a little book called "Confession of an Economic Hitman". This is probably one of those books that everyone must have read by now.

Like the Da Vinci Code. Yawn.

Confession is a great book. The first few chapters are about all the glamor and success stories in being an economic hitman. It will make you want to be an EHM. I mean, it certainly had that effect on me. Subliminally, it was like: "Go join MAIN, Putra. Be an EHM. Muahahaha". The rest of the book puts everything into perspective, i.e. how EHM are letting major corporations screw developing countries (e.g Indonesia).

You'll think that by this time, I would've gone pariah and started hating EHMs for their evil ways. And, you know, start being anti-corporate, and start wearing t-shirts that proclaim my hatred against the G8 and the leaders of Military Industrial Complex. Or whatever.

But no. I think I'd like it being an EHM. Maybe it's because this is coming from a student who will do anything to get an extra few bucks to pay off his new digicam. Or maybe because I'm greedy. Or maybe everyone is greedy. Maybe we were born as greedy, evil..babies. Hmm.

Ok, think of it this way: Say, I am an anti free trade activist (I'm not). I organise huge rallies, and I am in the process of writing a book on why free trade is bad. One night, I woke up with cold, cold sweat, and my hippie-wife asked me a question: "Is everything fine?". "Yes, dear. Everything's fine", I said. Little does she know that I can't, I can't, wait until my book is published. Because I need the money to feed my family. 2 months later, my book is released to high acclaim. So I started writing again, to get more money. Why am I doing this? Even though my viewpoints conflict directly with the concepts of consumerism and capitalism and all those Cs, I still want to earn extra money.

Everyone was born a consumer.

Back to topic: Yes, I want to be an EHM. Slightly out of topic, if anyone ask me what my dream job is, I would say: "Kayak Pak Harto". I am one twisted fuck. Kiss my ring. Muahaha.

- I borrowed Tommy's tripod so I can capture better low-light image. I took these photos (and the one at the start of the entry) at the Yarra.
















As you can see, I like Ferris wheels. And bright, bright lights. Man, tripod rules. It so owned holding a camera with your hand, even though it's 10 degrees outside and you're struggling to hold it steady for more than 5 seconds. Hell, I am so getting a tripod (for myself, I have to give this back eventually)

So anyway, I gotta go. Thanks for reading.

Btw, guys (and when I said 'guys', I mean 'males'), check this out. Just watch any of her vlogs. Rawr.

Putra

Playlist: John Mayer, Living Color, DragonForce

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Combined degree, Facebook + Youtube links

It's been a while since I wrote one of those horribly long, pretentious, droning wall of text that I'd call a 'blog entry'. Well, here are a couple of reasons that I think justifies my absence:

- Most of my classes are until 6 in the evening.
- My free times are better spent on watching porn, playing video games and eating cookies. Nah, jokes. I would rather spend my 5+ hours after Uni cooking my dinner (conventional wisdom states that if you don't eat, you will die. That's a pity) and actually, eating it. Surprises. I also have this thing for a videogame called Medieval 2 Total War. Which is a blast to play. And oh, I do my assignments. Occasionally. If I'm in the mood. Which is never.

So I noticed that I've actually been writing entries into my blog during weekdays. Is it my subconscious mind? Was I possesed when I decided that I would rather spend 1+ hour writing an entry rather than studying? Then I realized that I have this need, this urge, this primal addiction to write incoherent, rambling, text in a blog that everyone can read. Yet this blog is as empty as an upclass bookstore in Jakarta during weekdays. Which is pretty empty.

Maybe people are discouraged by the massive wall of text that forms the bulk of my blog. Or maybe there isn't enough sexually suggestive things. What will happen if I insert a photo of me flashing my.. I don't know, chest?

That would be uncool. Me with my one pack. Ugh.

My doubtful masculinity aside (Nah, jokes. I'm as manly as Steven Seagal. It is true), I do have some things to write in this entry.

- As described in the description of The Author (at the top of this page), I go to Melb Uni for.. Uni. This is my 3rd year. I'm doing Geomatic Engineering and Science as a combined degree. I'd usually say *clears throat* "I'm doing double" - It makes non-Melb Uni people go "Ooooh Ahhh" when I said that. But it's common for Melb Uni students to, how do I say this.. to add an extra bacon or cheese to their sub. Or upsize their McMeal. Or go Large on their Zinger combo. Adding another degree as a 'minor' into your 'major' is common in Melb.

Why? Well, think of it this way. Here's an example, although I may sound ignorant, but at least you'll get the idea. You graduate with a degree in Commerce, majoring in Finance and Accounting. You get a job at a bank. Then the economy downturned, and you got sacked. So you applied for another job at a financial consultancy. They liked the fact that you are an H1 student at Melb. But they didn't like that you are only specialized in Finance and that you can't do a particular statistical modeling; a requirement for analysts. You got the job, but you wouldn't get too far ahead of everyone else, because you couldn't look at your work from a different perspective. A perspective that only a combined degree of Commerce and Mathematics can do, for example.

Another example: Boeing is hiring engineers for their 2009 graduate program. 2 candidates: One has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, and the other one has a B.MechEng and a Bachelor of Science in Physics. This looks like an easy choice.

Although students will want to specialize in something, and not generalize in a particular field, there's nothing wrong with specialising in two fields instead of one. It is said that being a generalist will do harm for your future career. I.e. a specialist is always going to be in high demand, because they are the only ones who can do their work properly.

I do think that it all comes down to how you want to live your life. Do you want to go to uni, graduate, get a job and start a family? Or do you want to go to uni, graduate, do masters, then find a job? I know this is a trite statement, but there's nothing straight about life.

A generalist will usually need to go to a graduate school to choose a specialty. A specialist can find a job as soon as they graduate, but they will be stuck in a niche unless they are really good at what they do and can excel to get to the top. But let's face it, when you're specialising in one thing, chances are, thousands more are doing the same thing. Yes, it's called competition.

And how do you rise above the competition? Do a double, or do a generalist course, and prove to your future employer that you are jack of all trades and are a quick learner. Well, something like that.

So what should YOU do? Most of the people I know are from Indo, so they'll probably go back home after graduation. In Indo, you just point your Degree at the recruiter. It is said that a degree certificate coming from an overseas Uni can hypnotize an HR officer..

But I'm planning to stay here, so this is something that I actually have to think about. Hence, my transfer to a combined, *coughs* double degree. Halright!

- I joined Facebook last night. Facebook. I was doing some research on the marketing strategies of social networking sites, and the Wiki article on Facebook was tempting me to join. So after shaking hands with the devil, I browsed and browsed the 'Melbourne Uni 2009' network *cough*was looking for this girl*cough* . I found a couple of 'standard-myspace' profiles. You know, with the girl on girl action and photos of drunken incidents.

I was divided between exclaiming: "*gasp!*So indecent!", "*smirks*Awesome.." and "Poor, just poor quality. I've seen better"

I ended up closing the page while shaking my head in dismay over the state of indecency of girls in present day Australia.

..

Nah, jokes. I couldn't get away from that profile. It has a perv-guy magnet.

Dammit.

- Speaking of social networking and blogging sites, I have joined these: Friendster, circle99, Myspace, Flixter, Facebook, Xanga, Blogger, Hi5

I'm so cool.

- Anyway, my daily, if not bidaily, youtube links.

Tony, a 25 year old Backstreet Boys Groupie. He collects BSB merch and other .. BSB related stuff.

Cutiemish: iDrool. She makes video blogs. Cute. 1.4 million channel views. She's not a myspace-whore. Ok, Nuff said. Guys, watch, watch. =P

And lastly, here's a guy covering John Mayer's Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. He's actually alright. And here's a clip of JM playing the same song.

Alrighty, I'm off.
Putra

Playlist: DragonForce, DCFC

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Geoma..something. I don't know, whatever.

Gw besok ada tes Spatial Analysis jam 4 sore. So far, gw udh belajar 1.5 chapter. I guess procrastination is a wonderful thing. Actually, yeah, it is. Soalnya gw tau bgt kalo besok jam 3 sore gw bakalan panik and started cramming everything into my head. Kemarin2 ini gw jd tau vocabulary baru, kyknya bahasa Hokkien, yg artinya "belajar mati2an sehari sebelum ujian". Apparently, gw lebih parah dari orang2 lain yg punya sense of urgency. Gw bayangin temen2 Geomatics gw yg lagi baca lecture notes sambil garuk2 kepala. Dan maksud gw garuk2 kepala, itu literally. Lecture notes yang isinya shorthand semua = every student's nightmare.
Gw pergi ke semua lecture pelajaran ini, but nothing's stopping me from spacing out every 2 minutes. Itu selalu terjadi di jam pertama, tapi gak di jam kedua. Sebenernya bagus sih kalo inti lecturenya tuh di jam yg kedua. Iya gak sih? Jadi jam pertama tuh examples2 biar students pada bangun, terus jam kedua teori2. Menurut gw sih logis bgt, dan considering ini pelajaran Geomatics, examplenya tuh banyak, kyk Google Earth ama whereis.com
Tapi gimana ya, gw rasa lecture structure di faculty gw tuh terlalu rigid. So much for being 'the best university in Australia'. Truth be told, I don't really like the teaching at Geomatics. It's just.. balls. Contentnya ada, dan bisa bikin lu kenyang, tapi pembawaannya tuh selalu gak menarik. Kalau kebetulan dapet lecturer yg bagus, belajarnya tuh jadi enak, dan students jadi mau dateng ke lecture. Tapi sekarang, karena kita udah third year, udah jadi kewajiban untuk dateng ke semua lecture. Kayaknya gak ada yg bisa bikin gw 'mau' belajar.
Case in hand, gw rasa yg bagus tuh pelajaran earth science gw. Tutorialnya enak and helpful. Terus satu lagi, pelajaran Management 101. Itu first year subject buat anak2 commerce, jadinya gak terlalu susah dan masih interesting.
By the way, gw ada teori. Pelajaran2 first year yg introductory (yg course codenya 101 - anak mel u pasti tau) pasti selalu menarik dan seru.

Perangkap tikus. Gw kasih contoh, pelajaran geomatics pertama gw, Geomatic Science, itu interesting bgt. Setiap minggu ada prac yg berbeda, trus lecturenya juga ganti2. Jadi topiknya tuh beragam. Terus ada guest speakers juga dari industry. All in all, jadinya captivating dan menarik untuk dipelajari.

Fast forward beberapa bulan kemudian, pelajaran kedua geomatics: Surveying 1. Masih seru, konsep2nya menarik, kerjaan lapangannya gampang dan bener2 seru abis (men! bikin peta 3d lapangan football! kurang keren apa coba?). Terus di pelajaran ini, juga ada field camp, 5 hari di ujung dunia. My first brush with carlton draught.

Fast forward to next semester, land law. Nah, in gw udh mulai "what the hell?". Kenapa gw mesti belajar hukum pertanahan australi kalo gw:
1) mau balik ke indo or;
2) ga mau kerja jadi licensed surveyor (gajinya kecil bgt brur.. gak worth it)

Semester kemudian, pelajaran2 gw udh mulai ngawur: e.g. Ecology (compulsory subject, wtf)
Dan gak hanya itu, gw ada pelajaran yg namanya surveying 2. Ini subject bullshit abis men. Konsepnya sih seru, tapi gini:
1) lecturer gw yg mark prac reportsnya.
2) lecturer gw lebih mentingin layout ama format report dari isi reportnya sendiri.
3) lecturer gw gak suka ngeliat angka2 (sedangkan sebagian besar kerjaan surveying itu adalah mengolah data, dimana lu HARUS ngitung angka2 yg menyeramkan dalam jumlah yg gak masuk akal)

Untungnya, gw bisa dapet 88 (itu high distinction, fyi. w00t). Itu juga karena gw handal bgt pas exam. Wajar lah ya. Gw tau average nilai gw tuh lumayan rendah karena prac reports gw. So i studied my ass of, didnt wanna fail the subject.

Anyway, back to what I was saying, kalo menurut gw, first semester tuh yg paling seru.. lama2 jadi lebih banyak bullshit. Lu jadi lebih specialised. Lu jadi gak ngerti hal2 di luar course lu. Lama2 lu ngerasa bego. And this is how university put people in niches. That's one of the reason why I transferred to a combined degree. I don't want to be a surveyor all my life. I could rant about this all night long..

I have to go pickup my laundry.

Signing off,
Putra

current playlist: He is Legend, Mae, The Mars Volta

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