Join Alvin on his inspiring journey from a 9-to-5 IT employee to achieving work autonomy and time freedom. Discover practical steps to transform your career, embrace cloud technology, and find fulfillment in your work. Read on to unlock your potential and make your passion your profession!
Introduction
Hey there! π I'm excited to share something personal with you today - a journey that many don't often talk about:
From being a regular IT employee stuck in the 9-to-5 grind with constant overtime and no clear direction, I transformed my career into something I'm truly passionate about. Now I have the freedom to control both my work and time, while doing what I love! Let me show you how I made it happen. π
Today, I'm living my dream - enjoying my work while building wealth and never missing precious moments with my family. Let me take you through my journey, from my first job to where I am now, and show you the steps I took to get here.
Why am I sharing my experiences?
Because I know many people are facing the same challenges I once did.
Here's the message I want to share:
While achieving a life of freedom and turning your work into something you love isn't easy, it's absolutely possible for everyone - including you.
The key is finding the right direction and taking action. With two years of dedicated effort, you'll begin to see your life's trajectory shift towards your ideal path.
I hope my story can inspire you and give you hope!
I strongly encourage you to read this article to the end. I'll be sharing all the major insights I've gained over the years in one go. My goal is to help you discover important information early and avoid potential pitfalls. These discoveries might just change your life's trajectory starting today and transform how you see the world!
Hi, I'm Alvin!
This page is dedicated to sharing insights and methods for IT professionals to grow and thrive. I'll show you how to choose the right path, enhance your skills, and achieve work autonomy and time freedom - making your work truly enjoyable. Whether you're already in IT or planning to transition from another field, the information here is perfect for you. If you find this article helpful, remember to subscribe and turn on notifications so you won't miss out on valuable knowledge that could benefit your career.
π«π The Timeline Above ππ«
Shows my journey from my first job after graduation to where I am now
How I achieved work autonomy and time freedom through four crucial stages
Let me share them with you in order π
π Stage 1: My First Job After Graduation π
As a fresh IT graduate, I was completely lost, directionless, and couldn't see what tomorrow would bring
This stage lasted nine years - looking back, it's the period of my life I wish I could have shortened the most
π (My Beliefs, Thoughts, and Hopes Back Then) π
When I started my first job, I had no real concept of what working in IT meant.
I didn't understand the IT industry as a whole, the different roles available, or their career prospects.
I was just a complete rookie.
π‘ I had one naive thought: π‘
If I just stayed with this company long enough, I'd eventually get promoted and earn more
How much should I earn to consider it good? I had no clear idea - I just hoped it would be enough to support a family someday.
Starting out, I was full of ambition and hoped to showcase my abilities.
I was a tech enthusiast, fascinated by all kinds of IT technologies.
Just working with technology made me feel fulfilled.
I admit I'm an optimist, and that hasn't changed to this day.
Later, I realized that optimism is actually a powerful mindset that helps you go further.
I'll share more about this point with you all another time.
π (What I Actually Did) π
When I first started working, I was incredibly motivated and eager to learn all sorts of IT knowledge.
I worked on mobile and web programming, image processing, network programming, firmware - it was quite scattered.
But after about two years, I became just like many other 9-to-6 IT workers.
Working day in and day out, with occasional overtime.
After work, I'd be so exhausted that I'd just collapse on the couch.
I lost all motivation for any personal development outside of work.
During peak seasons, overtime was frequent. After working late.
Looking at the dinner my family had left for me, I'd ask myself: What am I doing here?
What's the meaning of this work for me?
As time went by, I remained in the same position, unable to achieve the promotion I had dreamed of.
My salary increase was far from ideal. Looking back, my initial expectations seemed unrealistic.
Gradually, my willpower eroded, and my initial enthusiasm completely disappeared.
β Ever wondered why IT professionals are sometimes called "IT Dogs"? β
The term "IT Dog" originated from an educational magazine called "Mathematics and Technology".
It featured a comic strip called "Super IT Dog".
In the comic, the main character Jenny often conversed with her mechanical "IT Dog".
Since then, people have used this term to describe IT professionals, implying they're like "IT Dogs".
Just following orders from bosses and clients.
(And back then, I was exactly that kind of IT employee)
I often felt this way:
I worked incredibly hard solving complex technical problems.
But my supervisors and sales colleagues never understood how challenging these technical issues were.
They just complained about the speed, constantly demanding solutions in unreasonable timeframes.
They would jokingly say: "No rush, just make it quick!"
(They weren't actually joking...)
If I was so unhappy and couldn't see a future.
Why did I stay at that company for nine long years?
Well, at that time, I had limited industry knowledge, was inexperienced, and lacked direction.
My family and friends advised me to stick with one job for a long time.
My parents' generation believed in lifelong employment.
My peers' opinions had an even bigger impact. They thought my situation wasn't too bad.
"Better than most people," they'd say. "You should just stay put and be content."
Years later, looking back, I realized a crucial life lesson:
That kind of thinking is life's biggest enemy.
πΈ Like a frog in slowly heating water, you don't notice the danger building upβbeing content with the status quo is the most perilous statee" πΈ
Time passes, and regrets pile up. I've met many people like this.
They're older now, around 50-60 years old.
I imagined if I had stayed at that company for 20, 30 years.
Stuck in that narrow space while others kept moving forward.
The world and the IT field won't wait for you - they keep advancing.
While I would have remained in my small comfort zone, feeling falsely content.
If I realized the truth at 50, it would be too late to change anything.
The power to choose would no longer be in my hands - just thinking about it now gives me chills!
That's when I decided: "It's time to step out and explore the IT world, not just be a big fish in a small pond π¦".
At the end of my first job, fortunately, something pushed me to make a change.
Through some divine intervention, I found the courage to leave that nine-year position.
With this career change, I hoped to quickly find my professional direction.
I knew exactly what I wanted - to make IT both my career and my passion.
And most importantly, I wanted work autonomy!
I changed to one of Hong Kong's top local IT companies, determined to make the most of my time by exploring different roles.
These included: Project Manager (leading IT project teams), Presales (understanding client needs and proposing solutions), and Consultant (teaching mobile app development to client teams).
Let me share my journey and key discoveries in this order.
This is how I gradually changed my career direction.
π Being a PM gave me a new perspective on projects π
Previously, as a programmer, my entire world revolved around code and logic.
There was a huge communication gap between me and the bosses, sales team, and even clients.
"I thought their ideas lacked logic, while they felt I was speaking an alien language!"
I was always frustrated that my brilliant ideas weren't accepted or valued.
Have you ever experienced this?
As a PM, I stood between management, clients, and the development team, which opened my eyes.
I realized how narrow my perspective had been as a programmer.
Here's the life lesson I learned:
"Those who only follow orders will sink deeper into the pain of losing autonomy!"
Let me share a real project example to illustrate this: A pork wholesaler wanted to implement an ERP system as their business grew.
The development team's approach was to digitize everything using scanners and computers.
In reality, this transformation wasn't feasible.
Think about it - these workers had always used manual processes, communicating through conversation and paper notes.
How could they suddenly switch to all-digital operations? The change would be too drastic and counterproductive.
"The most successful tech professionals are those who can bridge the gap between technology and people."
A PM's role requires considering multiple perspectives and thinking from various angles.
We need to make professional judgments about what to do and what not to do, while persuading different stakeholders.
The goal is to complete projects within limited time and resources.
But in reality, execution is incredibly challenging. We often can't meet client demands.
Clients make unreasonable requests, yet we must maintain a service-oriented attitude.
Time and human resources are always scarce, requiring all sorts of motivation tactics.
We use up all our credit trying to get the development team to work overtime.
To show solidarity, we work overtime with the team.
Then we have to explain budget and time overruns to management.
It's a thankless position, caught between multiple stakeholders.
So where does the problem lie?
Later, when I worked in Presales, I discovered one of the root causes.
Presales work happens before a project even begins.
At my company, Presales worked alongside Sales to meet clients.
We would understand client pain points.
The Presales role involves proposing solutions based on these pain points and negotiating with clients.
The goal is to reach a solution that everyone agrees on.
For a project to succeed, I concluded it must meet three conditions:
- Clients must have the right expectations about the project.
- The solution must be well-defined and feasible.
- There must be sufficient time and financial resources.
And here's my shocking discovery:
"Many projects are doomed to fail before they even begin!"
Here's what happened: Some Sales and Pre-sales teams would over-promise to clients, agreeing to unreasonable requests that were simply impossible to fulfill.
Pre-sales lacked professional judgment, proposing solutions that were completely unfeasible. With flawed solutions, the development team was bound to fail.
They would either misjudge project scope or deliberately underprice projects, leading to insufficient time and money. This inevitably resulted in budget overruns.
Why did they do this? Simply because it made closing deals easier. Sales teams and development teams had different motivations, and honestly, project success wasn't really their concern.
The development team's programmers and PMs were kept in the dark about what happened before. While some sharp PMs might get more information, programmers, being several layers removed, faced a huge information gap.
This realization was eye-opening and left me feeling uneasy, especially since I had been part of development teams.
My life lesson was: "No matter what position you're in, you need to see things from a higher perspective to understand their true nature."
At that time, I wasn't sure about my direction, but I knew I didn't want to pursue a PM role. PM work is 80% dealing with people and only 20% handling technical issues. I wanted more focus on technology (I'm a tech enthusiast at heart).
π‘ Finding My Passion as a Consultant π‘
Later, I tried working as a Consultant. One project involved teaching mobile app design and development to a client's development team.
This teaching experience was incredibly rewarding. I loved being able to distill my thoughts, experiences, and knowledge into a systematic approach to share with others.
It brought me great satisfaction. I discovered my passion for teaching!
This discovery was incredibly exciting and significantly influenced my future direction. I realized I could combine cloud technology IT with teaching - they complement each other perfectly!
"Try different roles - you might just find the work you love."
Another great thing about that company was meeting a wonderful mentor who became a good friend.
He was an important inspiration who broadened my worldview and perspective, significantly influencing many aspects of my life (both technical and philosophical).
In fact, he introduced me to cloud technology!
Back then, cloud technology was just starting, and the term was unfamiliar in Hong Kong. Few people had heard of AWS, GCP, or Azure.
When I first learned about these technologies, I was immediately fascinated. It felt like something with immense potential, likely to become mainstream.
(It was already trending in Western countries, just slower to catch on in Asia.)
I spent lots of time learning in my spare time, constantly practicing and testing. I discovered that cloud computing wasn't just about technology.
It represented a new design approach and mindset, different from traditional technology. Cloud technology offers high development potential and creativity.
Yet it has a low entry barrier - even individuals can master it.
While my day job wasn't going well and made me question my career choices, I kept learning cloud technology in my free time.
I decided to quickly pursue my next career goal: transitioning from traditional IT to cloud computing.
After much effort writing cover letters, going to interviews, and learning from mistakes, I started from zero cloud experience and initially got no responses to my job applications.
I kept improving my cover letters until I started getting interviews. Even after interviews with no offers, I improved my preparation and tried again.
Finally, I found my ideal company!
I learned many lessons from this success, but here's the most important one I want to share:
The right mindset: "Fail fast, implement fast, and achieve continuous improvement."
The cloud world demands innovation and speed. New services emerge at an incredible pace across all cloud providers.
We don't need to master every service (that's nearly impossible), but we should quickly test and implement within our work/learning scope.
This approach promotes innovation and continuous improvement.
Of course, you still need patience while continuously improving and executing.
Finally, I joined an Australian tech company headquartered in Hong Kong, beginning my cloud technology journey!
I achieved great results at this company, continuing to apply the mindset of "fail fast, implement fast, and achieve continuous improvement."
I discovered this mindset applies not just to technology, but to almost all aspects of work and learning.
The secret to success is like planting a seedling:
"You need the right soil to grow healthy!"
"In the wrong environment, you can't achieve anything!"
Choosing cloud technology was absolutely the right choice for me.
This cloud wave will dominate the next couple of decades.
"When you choose the right runway, even a pig can fly!"
Cloud technology has been a crucial foundation, opening up future possibilities in my life.
In recent years, I've become a slash worker, taking on cloud technology consulting and design work for international clients.
I also teach - making my work truly my passion.
Even now, I keep learning and facing new challenges every day.
The most important thing is "Choose a field you love - that's how you can fight the long battle."
I often think if I could share my accumulated knowledge and experience, especially the right mindset, with my 10-years-ago self.
I could have saved 7-8 years or more, avoiding all those detours and trial-and-error.
IT professionals aren't just "code monkeys" - IT is a profession!
But the IT field is vast - the key is choosing the right direction.
Cloud technology is clearly a booming industry today.
From the cloud tech company boom of recent years to last year's AI explosion, this IT wave is evident.
It will dominate the next couple of decades, with cloud technology being fundamental to other technologies.
However, not all IT fields will benefit - some traditional IT areas will decline.
The most important thing is choosing the right direction early and investing your time and energy there.
This helps avoid taking detours and wasting your youth and time.
I hope you all can turn your work into something you love.
With effort in the right direction, you too can achieve:
Work autonomy and time freedom!
Whether you're in IT or not, if you're interested in joining the cloud industry,
feel free to join my WhatsApp group below - let's be friends!
Feel free to leave comments below for discussion!
γQ&A Time! π€γ
βοΈβοΈβοΈ
To all warriors looking to enter the cloud and IT industry!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below π¨. I'm happy to share more experiences with you.
Good luck and stay positive! π
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