I stumbled upon the cross road of my life recently.
Wandering around the world, finding myself, and thinking where I could fit in in this real dog-eat-dog world.
"I am earning Malaysian Ringgits and owning an apartment in London right now, what's that telling you? What would I regret about turning down the UK offer and returned to Malaysia many years ago? If I can do it, you could too. If you have made up your mind to stay here, then go for it. But if you haven't, my advice is to just go home. I have spoken to so many Criminal barristers in the UK, and I am doing much better than they are now. Don't be bothered by how much your allowance is now, because when you get your reputation, the rewards come before you even realizing it. Don't think about 20 years in the future, focus on what you're doing and BE VERY GOOD at it. That's all you need. I do not have an expectation, I am only looking for enthusiasm, and that's exactly what will drive you to success. " Datuk Sivananthan, one of the top Malaysian Criminal Law counsel.
"I'm pretty sure you can drive your Rolls Royce and own a house in LA, NY, London, Tokyo and wherever you want, by making good money in Malaysia, than staying in the UK and being an average barrister, earning little after all the VAT, taxes and living costs, even after you manage to become one. Get home, obtain experiences and earn more, then do your master, or anything, apply to top universities, it'd bring you further." Mrs. Brown, pattern attorney, USA.
"Looking at the intense, fierce and stiff competition in the UK's legal field today, doing your pupillage back in Malaysia really wouldn't be a bad option." Ex-criminal barrister in the UK.
"If I were you, it'd make more sense for me to go home and complete whatever is necessary, gain experience, wait and come back to the UK after a few years, especially now the economy here is not doing particularly well. Who knows, it will pick up on track then and will be needing more overseas' talents. You would have been well prepared by then and that's exactly what the country would be looking for. To make your chance higher? Now, go and make yourself an invaluable asset, not a liability." Alex, Freelance TV Director, BBC.
"Getting a job in the UK for you is not impossible, especially with the radio news presenter's experience and the language skill, could very well put it to use in Immigration Law here since the huge Chinese immigrants market. Or even applying for BBC International, cater for the already huge Chinese community here. That is what enables employers to easily eliminate the chances of employing British. You have what they do not have here. You will definitely stand out. But that might also very well mean that you will not become a practising barrister in the UK, at least not in these few years time. With all those uncertainties, coupled with chances to do what you suppose to do is slim, there's no guarantee that you can even get the pupillage no matter how hard you try. On that note, all you have to do now is weighing them, do you have the patience? Is that really what you want?" Mr. Burton, retired solicitor, UK.
Many thoughts were coming across my mind these days. Travelling might help, which is exactly what I'm trying to do right now.
USA, UK, Canada or whatever will not run away, it will stay there, and be there for me to get there, and settle down there, any time, when I'm ready.
So, listen, one day, if I decide to leave the UK, that doesn't in any sense mean I am giving up on my dream already. It's simply because I found a better alternative to make it comes true.
Don't get me wrong with this note, nothing will ever stop me from dreaming big.
So do you too!
Wandering around the world, finding myself, and thinking where I could fit in in this real dog-eat-dog world.
"I am earning Malaysian Ringgits and owning an apartment in London right now, what's that telling you? What would I regret about turning down the UK offer and returned to Malaysia many years ago? If I can do it, you could too. If you have made up your mind to stay here, then go for it. But if you haven't, my advice is to just go home. I have spoken to so many Criminal barristers in the UK, and I am doing much better than they are now. Don't be bothered by how much your allowance is now, because when you get your reputation, the rewards come before you even realizing it. Don't think about 20 years in the future, focus on what you're doing and BE VERY GOOD at it. That's all you need. I do not have an expectation, I am only looking for enthusiasm, and that's exactly what will drive you to success. " Datuk Sivananthan, one of the top Malaysian Criminal Law counsel.
"I'm pretty sure you can drive your Rolls Royce and own a house in LA, NY, London, Tokyo and wherever you want, by making good money in Malaysia, than staying in the UK and being an average barrister, earning little after all the VAT, taxes and living costs, even after you manage to become one. Get home, obtain experiences and earn more, then do your master, or anything, apply to top universities, it'd bring you further." Mrs. Brown, pattern attorney, USA.
"Looking at the intense, fierce and stiff competition in the UK's legal field today, doing your pupillage back in Malaysia really wouldn't be a bad option." Ex-criminal barrister in the UK.
"If I were you, it'd make more sense for me to go home and complete whatever is necessary, gain experience, wait and come back to the UK after a few years, especially now the economy here is not doing particularly well. Who knows, it will pick up on track then and will be needing more overseas' talents. You would have been well prepared by then and that's exactly what the country would be looking for. To make your chance higher? Now, go and make yourself an invaluable asset, not a liability." Alex, Freelance TV Director, BBC.
"Getting a job in the UK for you is not impossible, especially with the radio news presenter's experience and the language skill, could very well put it to use in Immigration Law here since the huge Chinese immigrants market. Or even applying for BBC International, cater for the already huge Chinese community here. That is what enables employers to easily eliminate the chances of employing British. You have what they do not have here. You will definitely stand out. But that might also very well mean that you will not become a practising barrister in the UK, at least not in these few years time. With all those uncertainties, coupled with chances to do what you suppose to do is slim, there's no guarantee that you can even get the pupillage no matter how hard you try. On that note, all you have to do now is weighing them, do you have the patience? Is that really what you want?" Mr. Burton, retired solicitor, UK.
Many thoughts were coming across my mind these days. Travelling might help, which is exactly what I'm trying to do right now.
USA, UK, Canada or whatever will not run away, it will stay there, and be there for me to get there, and settle down there, any time, when I'm ready.
So, listen, one day, if I decide to leave the UK, that doesn't in any sense mean I am giving up on my dream already. It's simply because I found a better alternative to make it comes true.
Don't get me wrong with this note, nothing will ever stop me from dreaming big.
So do you too!
