First Post of 2011: New Year's Resolutions and a Career Beyond Rakuten?
As a new year opens up a new page for this blog (its 7th month in existence), it is time for me to continue reflecting on the potential direction my life will take for the next twelve months and look ahead to what may (and may not) happen in the next 365 days. The continued doubts about the correctness of where I am going with life aside, the calm (or put it in a better way, boring) few days of this 5-day break has really given me the time to rethink the possibilities and limitations facing me right now, without excess ideals or pessimism.
To be honest, one year really is a long time. Given my love of traveling, come to think of it, I have not had a year since junior year of high school (5 years ago) that I actually stayed in one country for an entire year. The mental and structural freedom I get from these travels, especially foreign ones, often act as the energy and fuel for me to continue productive work with decent level of motivation. And with utter fear I have to say that fr 2011, I might have to plan my life based on the assumption that such an "energy and fuel" may not come at any time.
But do not doubt that I have not tried my best to reverse that grim possibility...already (one day into the year). In fact, I have been spending a sizable portion of the 5-day break on looking at the possibilities of my switching to another country by means of a job or grad school. Yes, I do understand that leaving a job just after three months is much more detrimental than it will ever be of any help, but considering that my opportunities out there, especially when pertaining to grad school, require a long lead time (up to a year) for their completions, starting a little search now may not be a bad idea.
And searched I have. I am primarily moving in two directions at the moment. First, a general lookup for grad schools that in which I might become more interested and qualified over time. Right now, the leading candidates are Oxford and Cambridge in England, largely because I would like to go to a leading university, UK (where I have never been), and where the principle language of instruction is English (thus exclude schools in Japan, HK, etc...not that I really wanted to go to those even though they are cheaper in terms of tuition).
With regard to what I will study, the direction has largely shifted from MBA or economics-related fields to a more political and international relations-related one. To be honest, if my three months at Rakuten has taught anything, it is that manipulating data for analysis may require strong skills and a clear mind, but in terms of seeing and understanding different parts of the world, it is definitely not the most suitable employment out there. Data analysis (as well as entire concept of business research) is just too same everywhere to help a person become multicultural.
So that international relations focus on my potential future studies is highly related to my second option, a direct switching of employment from Rakuten. To satisfy my craving for understanding the world, I need to get to as many places as possible, including many not safe and stable enough for business. The most convenient way to do so would be to become part of a governmental or intergovernmental organization with extensive global operations and maintenance of physical branch offices.
Candidates include the familiar ones like the UN, the Dept of State Foreign Services, the CIA, among others. Many such choices are now available to me because of my switching to US citizenship before I left for China for summer. But at the same time, I do realize that these organization do require security clearance of a very high level, something I will have hard time obtaining since all my family members still retain Chinese citizenship. Like all things, I do not know what can happen if I do not actually apply.
OK, finally, based on all that, here is my simple New Year's Resolution. That is, to do everything I was told to do with complete diligence, dedication, motivation, and efficiency. The time to move on from Rakuten is not yet ready (at least in 2011), but the prospect of my always looking for something greater and higher than a life of salary-manhood at Rakuten is that very factor which will push me to keep up my spirit amidst lack of freedom and personal travels.
To be honest, one year really is a long time. Given my love of traveling, come to think of it, I have not had a year since junior year of high school (5 years ago) that I actually stayed in one country for an entire year. The mental and structural freedom I get from these travels, especially foreign ones, often act as the energy and fuel for me to continue productive work with decent level of motivation. And with utter fear I have to say that fr 2011, I might have to plan my life based on the assumption that such an "energy and fuel" may not come at any time.
But do not doubt that I have not tried my best to reverse that grim possibility...already (one day into the year). In fact, I have been spending a sizable portion of the 5-day break on looking at the possibilities of my switching to another country by means of a job or grad school. Yes, I do understand that leaving a job just after three months is much more detrimental than it will ever be of any help, but considering that my opportunities out there, especially when pertaining to grad school, require a long lead time (up to a year) for their completions, starting a little search now may not be a bad idea.
And searched I have. I am primarily moving in two directions at the moment. First, a general lookup for grad schools that in which I might become more interested and qualified over time. Right now, the leading candidates are Oxford and Cambridge in England, largely because I would like to go to a leading university, UK (where I have never been), and where the principle language of instruction is English (thus exclude schools in Japan, HK, etc...not that I really wanted to go to those even though they are cheaper in terms of tuition).
With regard to what I will study, the direction has largely shifted from MBA or economics-related fields to a more political and international relations-related one. To be honest, if my three months at Rakuten has taught anything, it is that manipulating data for analysis may require strong skills and a clear mind, but in terms of seeing and understanding different parts of the world, it is definitely not the most suitable employment out there. Data analysis (as well as entire concept of business research) is just too same everywhere to help a person become multicultural.
So that international relations focus on my potential future studies is highly related to my second option, a direct switching of employment from Rakuten. To satisfy my craving for understanding the world, I need to get to as many places as possible, including many not safe and stable enough for business. The most convenient way to do so would be to become part of a governmental or intergovernmental organization with extensive global operations and maintenance of physical branch offices.
Candidates include the familiar ones like the UN, the Dept of State Foreign Services, the CIA, among others. Many such choices are now available to me because of my switching to US citizenship before I left for China for summer. But at the same time, I do realize that these organization do require security clearance of a very high level, something I will have hard time obtaining since all my family members still retain Chinese citizenship. Like all things, I do not know what can happen if I do not actually apply.
OK, finally, based on all that, here is my simple New Year's Resolution. That is, to do everything I was told to do with complete diligence, dedication, motivation, and efficiency. The time to move on from Rakuten is not yet ready (at least in 2011), but the prospect of my always looking for something greater and higher than a life of salary-manhood at Rakuten is that very factor which will push me to keep up my spirit amidst lack of freedom and personal travels.
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