A few interesting events have transpired since I last updated my blog. Sincere and deep apologies to the readers out there whom I've kept in the dark these past three months. I've been going through a bit of a rough patch, but things are starting to seem a lot more positive now.
First and foremost - some news that most friends and family would already know. My recent post "Ten Signs Your Job is in Danger" couldn't have been more timely. On September 20th, just nine days after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, I found myself caught in that wrong place/wrong time phenomenon called retrenchment. My innings was over after four years and nineteen days with Com Tech / Dimension Data. I received a cheque equivalent to about six months pay (after tax), and was supervised as I packed my desk and left the building. Not the farewell that I would have planned, but a harsh realisation of reality. Fortunately I was not alone - 144 employees were slashed off the payroll in a single day, including several of my friends and close colleagues.
Now the dilemma. My career plan had been to work for Com Tech for around five years, then head to the States to do my MBA, most probably commencing in the fall of 2003. Should I find another IT company to work for in Australia for a year or two, and continue with my US MBA plans, or consider the Australian MBA market for a degree starting as soon as possible. The economy was (and still is) pretty dismal, the employment market is far from brilliant. I would be unlikely to find a job as enjoyable and financially rewarding as the deal I had with Com Tech.
I spoke extensively with friends and family about the issue, and for a while started pursuing both options, applying for jobs and working on applications for Melbourne Business School and the AGSM. I flew to Sydney in October to get my MBA referee reports completed and meet up with some of my former colleagues. During my time in Sydney, I had a revelation - my retrenchment was not a setback, it was an opportunity - I could accelerate my career change ambitions, start the MBA almost straight away (the top Australian schools start their MBA programs in January), and re-emerge in a new profession as the economy was recovering in 2003.
I completed applications to both Melbourne Business School (located in Carlton, Melbourne) and the Australian Graduate School of Management (at my undergraduate UNSW campus in Kensington, Sydney), a grueling process in itself, that I'll hopefully write about sometime soon. While waiting for my application results, I fulfilled some of my travel bug ambitions, taking in Bali, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hong Kong. Upon return to Melbourne in late November, I was honoured with the news of been accepted to both schools.
Final result - I'm signed up to start my MBA full-time at Melbourne Business School in January!
In light of this change in direction in my life, I've renamed my blog to "Doing the Melbourne thing." I haven't made firm plans for how the blog will be structured in the coming months, but I would like to keep the focus on things MBA-related. I'll try to convey the Melbourne Business School experience to you, and let you in on some of the quirky and interesting details of the program. It's a tough program - I'll be doing 20 subjects in just 16 months with very few little time for travel or outside activities, but I'm certain that it's the right thing for me to do at this stage in my life, and that it'll be an incredibly rewarding experience.
It's great to be back!
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