Mouwaa,
I wasn't aware that 24 was displayed on my age. I must've clicked the wrong year or something. Well, whether that is true or not isn't the main point. As for the apartment location, we may have different viewpoints. I personally wouldn't mind Tsing Yi, for example.
For the job hopping, yes, I have done a lot of that. That is the reason why I don't want others to do the same thing. It's just not worth it. Job hopping from one industry to another until your resume is all scribbled is just not worth it. Luckily I managed to get back into my original field.
One thing I mentioned in my previous post was that you should only look at 3 things in the job. Whether you CAN do the job, WANT to do the job, and whether you're SUITED for the environment. You don't need to have all 3 in order to like the job. Having 2 out of 3 is already a pass. So you don't have to love the job in order to feel happy at work, as long as you can do it and feel like you belong in that environment (and colleagues).
As for the salary, working hours, working conditions, recognition, career path, etc. All those things, when combined to a single value, are pretty much the same across all industries regardless of the position. That's because the companies in the workplace, through HR and young people job hopping, are constantly competing and balancing with each other.
For example, when a fresh graduate starts working in an engineering firm, he'll typically think that he's full of potential because he graduated from a prestigious university, that the company should give him all the tough projects, so that the company (through his reputation) can accept even bigger projects. (Isn't that similar to what the SO's are thinking?) But that's not the reality. It's dangerous to give a new person so much responsibility. Companies in the past may have done that before and learned a tough lesson. Now, when this person gets chartership and becomes a registered professional engineer, his salary, recognition, and working condition will all increase. Unfortunately, his working hours will also increase, often taking work to do at home, so his home becomes a 2nd office. Therefore, you gain some and you lose some.
As for being a pilot, I haven't been one, but my imagination is quite good, so here's my take of how you guys feel. Correct me if I'm wrong. You guys have higher recognition, salary, better working hours, and a job that you can do until the day you retire. However, according to this thread, you follow a lot of SOPs which is so routine and mundane. And, there's also something that you haven't mentioned. You've been traveling all over the world non-stop. While the travel may have been fun in the beginning, now, you start to wonder where your life is heading, flying all over the place. I'm not sure.
However, the fact that your career exists means that there's a use for it. If a job was really THAT bad, then it'll be eliminated. So, being a pilot isn't the worst job, nor is it the best, it's around the same as the other ones. But the best thing is when a person willingly does his best job despite knowing all its flaws. That, in my opinion, is a high level of achievement.
Last edited by Dragonator; 19th Oct 2010 at 01:57.