After 13 years, I finally left OOCL, the first company where I worked as a permanent staff.

I started as an Assistant Technical Analyst (equivalent to SWE I). I had been climbing the engineering ladder for years and became an Engineer Manager in 2020, leading a product team.

Last year, I planned to move to the UK to seek better opportunities. After spending over a half year experimenting with almost everything I’ve learned in Agile while delivering a product satisfying the stakeholders, I told my manager it was time to move on.

While decluttering my bookshelf, I noticed Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese?, a book I bought over 2 decades ago. As a kid, I wasn’t mature enough to understand the book. This book has been left untouched since then. But when I read it now, I can relate.

There are 4 characters in the book, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, representing 4 common attitudes when facing changes. Haw struggled a lot and began to understand the need for change. He then strived to overcome the fear, embraced the changes and eventually found his new big Cheese.

I was like Haw, who felt fearful when facing the changes but finally understood the need for change.

Over the years, I occasionally considered changing jobs for different challenges. Every time, I didn’t take any action. Most of the time, I was lucky enough to have internal career advancement, like learning Agile and becoming an Agile Coach or taking the accountability of an Engineer Manager. But I know I won’t be that lucky to have these opportunities whenever I consider changing jobs without actual movement.

As an Agile practitioner, I won’t be afraid of facing small changes like the working process and new technology. But if the change is gigantic, I might be scared. As Hew said in the story, “It’s comfortable. And I’m afraid I’m not interested in getting lost and making a fool of myself.” Am I capable of facing a dramatic change that includes changes in language, culture, working environment, people I’m working with, technical stacks and so on? On the other hand, I couldn’t project myself staying unchanged for a decade more.

If you do not change, you can become extinct. Old beliefs do not lead you to new Cheese.

Indeed, when I did a job search in the UK, it blew my mind. The nature and requirements are completely different from those in Hong Kong. There are fewer pure managerial positions in the UK. Level 8 Software Engineers are still capable of coding. The job interview process for this position requires a coding interview to test the knowledge of data structure and algorithms. What about the equivalent position in Hong Kong? I doubt most of them can still code, not to mention that data structure and algorithms are rarely discussed during office hours. Handling office politics across silos is their main duty.

It’s tough. It’s challenging. And it requires me to take time to learn new things. But I know it’s rewarding.

When you stop being afraid, you feel good! The quicker you let go of old Cheese, the sooner you find new Cheese.

What a great end

I’m now having a career break. Apart from packing the stuff to the UK, I’ll enjoy my journey to Japan. It’s probably my last travel to Japan within a couple of years due to the expensive flight to Japan from the UK. After settling in the UK, it’s time for me to think of my long-term career goal and plan for career advancement.

As an Agile practitioner, I’m sure I can embrace the changes, and work towards a better life by continuously improving it.

Move with the Cheese and enjoy it!

A new journey. A new chapter. See you in the UK in September!