Bookshelf at NEU CCIS Lab by djitz!

oleh: Peter Norvig

(disadur dari Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years)

Mengapa semua orang terburu-buru?

Masuklah ke sebuah toko buku dan anda akan melihat buku mengenai bagaimana “Belajar Java dalam 7 Hari” dan banyak variasi lainnya yang menawarkan untuk mengajarkan Visual Basic, Windows, Internet, dan sebagainya dalam beberapa hari atau jam. Saya melakukan power search di Amazon.com:

pubdate: after 1992 and title: days and (title: learn or title: teach yourself)

dan mendapatkan 248 hasil. 78 hasil pertama adalah buku komputer (no. 79 adalah “Belajar Bahasa Bengali dalam 30 hari“). Lalu saya mengganti “hari” dengan “jam” dan mendapatkan hasil yg luar biasa mirip: 253 buku, dengan 77 buku komputer dan diikuti dengan “Belajar Grammar dan Tata Bahasa dalam 24 jam” di nomor 78. Dari 200 hasil pertama, 96% adalah buku-buku komputer.

Kesimpulannya adalah entah orang-orang sekarang ini terburu-buru untuk belajar tentang komputer, atau komputer adalah hal yang sangat mudah dipelajari dari hal-hal lainnya. Tidak ada buku untuk belajar Beethoven, atau Fisika Kuantum, atau bahkan Melatih Anjing dalam beberapa hari. Dr. Felliesen et al. mengakui tren ini dalam buku mereka “Bagaimana Mendesign Program“, dimana mereka mengatakan “Memprogram dengan jelek sangat mudah. Orang-orang Idiot bisa mempelajarinya dalam 21 hari, bahkan walaupun mereka betul-betul bodoh.”

Mari menganalisa bagaimana judul seperti “Belajar C++ dalam 3 Hari” bisa memiliki arti sebagai berikut:

• Belajar: Dalam 3 hari anda tidak akan punya cukup waktu untuk menulis beberapa program yang berguna, dan belajar dari keberhasilan dan kesuksesan program-program ini. Anda tidak akan punya cukup waktu untuk bekerja dengan seorang programmer berpengalaman dan mengerti seperti apa hidup dalam lingkungan C++. Singkatnya, anda tidak akan punya cukup waktu untuk belajar banyak. Jadi buku tersebut hanya bisa berbicara tentang hal-hal yg superfisial, dan tidak pengertian yg mendalam. Seperti Alexander Pope pernah berkata, mengerti sesuatu hal dengan sedikit adalah hal yang berbahaya.

• C++: Dalam 3 hari anda akan bisa belajar sedikit sintaks C++ (bila anda telah mengetahui bahasa pemrograman yg lain), tapi anda tidak bisa belajar banyak bagaimana cara menggunakan bahasa tersebut. Singkatnya, bila anda seorang programmer Basic, anda bisa belajar menulis program dalam gaya Basic menggunakan sintaks C++, tapi anda tidak bisa memahami keunggulan (dan kekurangan) dari C++. Jadi apa gunanya? Alan Perlis pernah berkata: “Sebuah bahasa pemrogramman yang tidak mengubah cara berpikir anda tentag programming, tidak berguna untuk dipelajari.” Satu kemungkinan yg terjadi adalah anda perlu belajar sedikit tentang C++ (atau mungkin JavaScript atau Flash Flex) karena anda perlu membuat sebuah interface dari program yang sudah ada untuk melakukan sebuah hal. Tapi kembali lagi anda tidak mempelajari bagaimana untuk memprogram; anda hanya belajar bagaimana melakukan hal tersebut.

• dalam 3 Hari: Sayangnya, hal ini tidak cukup, seperti yg sudah dijelaskan di atas.

Belajar Programming Sendiri Dalam Sepuluh Tahun

Para periset (Bloom (1985), Bryan & Harter (1899), Hayes (1989), Simmon & Chase (1973)) telah menunjukkan bahwa diperlukan sekitar sepuluh tahun untuk mengembangkan keahlian di berbagai macam bidang, termasuk bermain catur, mengomposisi musik, mengoperasikan telegraf, melukis, bermain piano, berenang, bermain tenis, dan riset dalam bidang neuropsychology dan topology.

Kuncinya adalah latihan dengan penuh perhatian: tidak hanya melakukannya lagi dan lagi, tapi menantang diri anda sendiri dengan suatu hal yang diluar kemampuan anda saat ini, mencobanya, menganalisa performa anda dan setelah itu, membetulkan kesalahan-kesalahan yang ada. Lalu ulangi lagi, dan lagi.

Sepertinya memang tidak ada jalan singkat: Mozart sekalipun, yang sudah memiliki bakat musik luar biasa di umur 4 tahun, membutuhkan 13 tahun lagi sebelum ia mulai membuat musik kelas dunia. Di aliran musik yang berbeda, The Beatles seakan-akan mencuat dengan beberapa hit #1 dan sebuah penampilan dalam acara Ed Sullivan pada tahun 1964. Tapi mereka telah bermain di club-club kecil di Liverpool dan Hamburg sejak 1957, dan walaupun mereka mampu menarik perhatian massa dari awal, kesuksesan terpenting mereka, Sgt. Peppers, dirilis pada tahun 1967.

Malcolm Gladwell membuat laporan dalam sebuah studi murid-murid di Berlin Academy of Music yang membandingkan satu per tiga group terbaik, menengah, dan terakhir dari sebuah kelas dan bertanya kepada mereka berapa lama mereka latihan:

Setiap orang, dari ketiga group ini, mulai bermain kira-kira pada umur yang sama, sekitar umur 3 – 5 tahun. Dalam tahun-tahun pertama ini, semua latihan sekitar 2 – 3 jam seminggu. Tetapi sekitar umur 8 tahun, perbedaan yang sesungguhnya mulai muncul. Murid-murid yang akan menjadi terbaik di kelasnya mula berlatih lebih banyak dari yg lainnya: 6 jam seminggu pada umur 9, 8 jam pada umur 12, 16 jam pada umur 14, dan terus bertambah hingga saat mereka berumur 20 tahun mereka berlatih lebih dari 30 jam seminggu.

Saat mereka berumur 20 tahun, orang-orang terbaik ini telah berlatih selama 10,000 jam dalam hidup mereka. Murid-murid yg cukup baik hanya 8,000 jam, dan yang menjadi guru musik di masa depan hanya sedikit lebih dari 4,000 jam.

Jadi mungkin saja 10,000 jam, bukan 10 tahun, adalah angka ajaibya.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) berpikir bahwa angkanya lebih banyak: “Kesempurnaan di bidang apapun bisa didapatkan hanya dengan usaha seumur hidup; hal tersebut tidak bisa dibeli dengan harga yang kurang dari itu.”

Dan Chaucer (1340-1400) mengatakan “hidup ini terlalu pendek, keahlian terlalu banyak untuk dipelajari.”

Hippocrates (sekitar 400SM) dikenal untuk potongan berikut “ars longa, vita brevis”, yang adalah bagian dari kata-kata yang lebih panjang “Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile”, yang berarti “Hidup ini pendek, keahlian lama, kesempatan menghilang, eksperimen berbahaya, keputusan sulit.” Walaupun dalam bahasa Latin, ars bisa berarti seni atau keahlian, dalam bahasa Yunani aslinya kata “techne” hanya berarti “keahlian”, bukan “seni.”

“My friend once asked me,

‘you saved so much, what are you gonna do with all the money you save anyway?’

i should have answered her,

‘it’s not what i’m gonna do with my money that matters, rather it’s what my money gonna do for me…’”

-djitz!

“The only difference between the programmers in Bali Camp software house and the people in any mental hospital is the earlier knows how to program.” -djitz!

Pastor Ginduk from Flickr by caB.jm’s photostream

I know that a position as Sabbath School group discussion leader is one of the unwanted position in some Adventist church. You got to come early and face a bunch of people who never study their Sabbath School lessons. Help!

Do it wrongly and you got a dull and boring SS discussion… And that was the case with my church youth SS group discussion few years ago.

I tried several ways on how to improve the live of our youth SS discussion. Some works, some don’t, but in the process I learned several things that I believe are essential to improve a SS group discussion.

In this post I want to share to you some of the things that work in my church.

1. Small is Beautiful (and Circle Formation is Advantageous)

When it comes to the size of SS discussion, I prefer a small size of 4-6 person. Why? Because it encourage everyone to speak.

Smaller size means that less number of eye contact and since what refrain most of the people to speak is fear of rejection, the small size becomes your advantage to make everyone speak.

For any new SS group leader I encourage you to try this as this also will build your confidence as you try to lead more and more number of people.

There are some cases where you cannot force this idea of small group discussion size, but you can have a list of question and divide the group to discuss the questions seperately.

If possible, also create the group discussion in a circle form. It will make everyone sees everyone and also encourage a live group discussion. I believe this is one of the critical factor for encouraging everyone to speak too.

Most of Sabbath School group discussion I know is setup similar to a class room where the SS group leader stands in front of several rows of pew. It’s not so hard to guess who do all the talking in this kind of setup.

2. Get Prepared

Preparation is what a SS group leader should do every week. As SS group leader you should read your Sabbath School lessons everyday, period. You cannot skim read the lessons on Friday night and hope everything will be allright the next morning. It doesn’t work that way.

Your group will easily notice whenever you lack of preparation. Those of you who have experience it, you know what I’m talking about.

3. Choose The Proper Weapons

If preparation guarantees you ready for the discussion, choosing the right materials guarantees you to have a great discussion. Although we believe in “Bible and Bible alone”, preparing with the right materials broaden your mind of what the lesson could lead to.

You can refer to my earlier post “Djitz Sabbath School Stack” to see my list of weapons before leading the SS discussion on Sabbath.

4. Pray

Pray in your heart before you read your Bible and SS lessons, and before you go to Church on Sabbath, and pray together before you start your SS group discussion. There is no such thing as too much prayer.

I learned my lesson when one of my youngest student in AY reminded me that we didn’t pray before we start the Pathfinder lesson.

(Wait a second, are we talking about AY or SS?)

The point is, you can forget anything in this tips but never forget to pray to God that He will lead you as you lead the discussion.

5. Ask Questions

SS group leader should not do all the talk, for it won’t be a discussion.
Besides your goal here is to make everyone thinks and talks (if possible) so go ahead, prepare some questions before you start the SS discussion and asks for everyone’s opinion appropriately.

SS lesson has some good questions you can easily ask. Most of the resources in my Sabbath School Stack will also give you some more good questions. You even may also ask some of your personal questions sometimes.

Here’s how I do the discussion:

First, I present the lesson title, have people read the texts and I explain briefly what the lesson of that particular day is all about.

Then I ask the group about the question that I have prepared in relation with the lesson.

Let the discussion flow from there, but keep it under the lesson context.

6. You Don’t Know Everything, Don’t Act As If You Do

Face it, nobody knows everything about Bible, not even your Pastor, so why should you act like you do?

Humbleness is one important characteristic for a SS discussion leader. However much resources you have read prior to the SS discussion you will never know all the questions that your group will ask.

Rather than trying to be the know it all, why not ask everyone’s opinion of the matter? You will be surprised on how much actually we can learn from everyone.

7. Smile

Don’t smile only to the cute girl (or guy) in the group, but smile generously to everyone in the group. People don’t go to church to see people frown, they go to church to feel how everyone is happy in the Sabbath day.

I believe Jesus must have smiled a lot during Sabbath when He was in this Earth.

I usually smile whenever I don’t know an answer. I smile whenever anyone try to tell me I’m dead wrong.

Control yourself and your words, don’t let emotion takes control when you lead a SS discussion. Keep smiling.

Conclusion

Believe me, becoming a Sabbath School group discussion leader is one of the most interesting responsibility in a church. When else you have the chance to talk and discuss about Bible with a group of people? You will also meet so many different types of people with their different understanding and perceptions.

Simply put, if you are one of the person who likes to meet different types of people, you’ll love it.

Moreover, a Sabbath School group discussion leader bears a heavy responsibility of leading the group to Jesus, the main reason of the Sabbath worship itself. Never take it for granted.

If you have some other tips that you can share here, please write them in the comment section.

God bless your Sabbath School discussion brothers and sisters!

Veneta SDA Church from Flickr by YoungWarrior

Quite a catchy title huh? Well, I just wanna talk about my theories of different church types. I’m not gonna talk about different church denominations here, but rather the different church of SDAs.

From my experiences going around the churches in Philippines, Singapore, Surabaya, Bali, and Jakarta, I see that basically SDA churches can be categorized into at least four types, they are:

1. Family churches

Family churches are churches that, well, consist of families. I know you gonna scream, “But aren’t all churches consist of families???”

Yes, but these churches are really full of different families that have known each other for several years and attend the church together.

This kind of church maybe small, or big, it doesn’t matter. But it is characterized by the strong bond of families inside, usually the grandfather, father, children, and great grandchildren are in the same church.

2. Tourist churches

Tourist churches are churches that looks full because 50% of the attendees are ‘tourists’ most of the time.

The word tourists here can mean literal tourist for the churches that is located in tourist cities, but it also can mean the SDA ‘tourists’ who have no permanent churches.

It’s quite easy to notice this kind of church, just ask several people beside you if they know who is the name of the church pastor. If the church is consists of tourists, at least half of the people will politely told you that they don’t really know it.

Other characteristic of tourist churches, if more than 50% of the people you see in the sermon was gone after the potluck, then it is indeed a tourist church.

3. School churches

School churches are churches that is located inside or near an Adventist school compound.

You can notice that more than fifty percent of the attendees are beautiful and handsome young people, high school or college age, usually they are in couples holding hands.

It is characterized by the higher number of young people classes during Sabbath School discussion time. However, though it is full in the Sabbath morning, 80% of them will be gone and no longer can be seen when AY program starts.

4. Social churches

Social churches is like a meeting point. It is a church with convenient environment and facilities located in a strategic location, making it the best place to meet old friends. Usually it is full after the Sabbath School time because people will need to prepare and show their best before meeting their old friends.

It is usually characterized by fashionistas where the church attendees have the latest fashion trend and gadgets.

One more thing, potluck is the most favorite part of this type of church, as the attendees make discussions that far interesting surpass the Sabbath School discussions.

Closing Words

I believe you notice some of the churches that fall to four categories I mentioned above.

To be honest I’m not trying to attack nor disregard churches with this post, please consider this post as a ‘reality’ joke that actually happening around us. If you look closely, the churches are actually reflections of the church members and attendees.

Guests, newly baptized, and all other who want to know more about Jesus is actually judging Christianity through our behaviors and worship habits. It is a pity to show negative images to people who seek the wonderful Savior and His humble followers.

If you have comments or critics please let me know.

photo by Rafael Fischer (http://iasd.org)

AY Department is probably one of the most important department in a church because it prepares the next generation for their responsibilities to God and fellow men. Unfortunately in most churches it is also probably the department that has least attention.

I’ve had a year experience as my church Adventist Youth (AY) Leader. The church was a petite one, with only more or less 10 youth in total. However, the lessons that I learned I believe are quite fundamental and exist in other churches as well.

In this post I want to share some of the lessons that I have the great opportunity to learn during my AY leadership term.

Lesson #1. Every church has its own problem

So you see another ‘ideal’ church and you start envying how on Earth they could be so perfect in all AY aspects? Great programs, great parents support, cool officers, and other things that make you want to move to that particular church.

Well, believe me, there is no all-perfect church, and that church that you think is the heavenly church is no exception. That church must have one or more problems that it’s facing.

There is one church in Jakarta that is famous for its number of youth. It has a great choir group with full schedule, beautiful girls, and handsome guys, and very active AY members.

I happened to have a chance to talk to one of its AY member, and I was surprised with what I heard. She said that there is actually some internal problem among the youth. Well well well.., who would’ve thought?

What’s my point?

Don’t get panic and discouraged when you meet a challenging problem. That’s really the life fact since the second Adam and Eve sinned. Problems are in nature just like the gravitational force, and as the AY leader, you are the lucky person who should handle them. Hehehe..!

Don’t get mad at me yet. It’s really your responsibility to handle those AY problems, but always work with the other AY officers and church officers to solve the problem.

Lesson #2. Have a Purpose

Allright, I’m not actually promoting the book “The Purpose Driven Life” here, though yeah, the book is a great one.

Rather I’m encouraging every AY leader to have a deeper purpose rather than just be an AY leader.

What does it mean?

When I was the AY leader of my church, I always have this purpose of “teaching the teens and kids in my church so that they will be smarter and better person when they are at my age later.”

That way I always prioritize programs that are aligned with this purpose, such as Adventurer and Pathfinder programs.

Having a purpose means you have a higher goal than just completing your one year AY leader term. This will help you set out one year AY plan, help you cope up with problems that come to you, and feel more sense of accomplishment when you are done.

Please make it personally, not something that you got from the Pathfinder Guide Book or any pre-made sources. Because you won’t feel the passion to do it unless it really comes your personal thought.

Lesson #3. Be patient, have an open mind, and be tactful

Now I should admit that this is one of the toughest thing that I learned. I thought having seen so much in Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia, I must already possessed enough level of the so called ‘open mind’.

Maybe, but there is no word ‘enough’ for this. There is really so many different people in this world, and this world always have a ready stock of people that can make you crazy.

So what should you do?

First, keep your head cool. Then talk to them and get to know them better. Try to know their passions, goals, and hobbies.

Why?

Because from my experience, people that are bad and kill joy at one event, may be the central of the universe and heroes at other events. They who you believe ruin one of your carefully planned program may be just the person who save your face in other program.

It’s similar to the colors of different painting. Blue may be the color of choice when you are painting a scene with lots of skies in it. But not be a good choice when you are painting a close up flower.

Knowing your AY members will give you a great advantage of choosing the right people for the right time. It will give a win-win situation for you and the AY members.

Lastly, never think that people should always think like you do, because naturally they just don’t. Keep your mind open for different opinions and options. Besides, who knows that these opinions and options may be better than your original ideas.

Lesson #4. Network With Other AY Leaders And, If Possible, AY Mentor

Who says that networking only work in business world? Leading a church AY will be a lot more fun and interesting when you have fellow AY leaders to share and discuss with.

Some problems may not be as hard as you thought before when seen from other person’s point of view. Some problems may already even solved by other person, so you don’t need to find out the solution further.

When I was an AY leader, I had a very good friend of mine who happened was the AY leader of her church. It is really encouraging when you can talk to someone who isn’t only understand the situation, but also can feel the problem.

Having an AY mentor is actually an ideal situation, a utopia for every AY leader, especially for a beginner. Unfortunately, it is a very rare condition because what happen most of the time is rather a sad fact.

Most of ex-AY leaders are usually very much tired and exhausted with the AY affairs. With several famous reasons such as ‘no longer a youth’, or ‘i’m already married’, these ex-AY leaders are actually wasting their precious experiences that can help any current AY leader to repeat the same mistakes.

However, I believe you still can consult them every now and then. To recognize them early is really important, because usually they play low profile once they complete their term.

One important notice though in networking, please don’t think that it’s an obligation for your fellow AY leaders and AY mentor to help you. They are just like you, so they probably have their own problems. Do return the favors and offer them help if you can do something for them. This will keep a healthy relationship.

Lesson #5. It’s Not About You, It’s About Jesus and Others

When I knew I was elected as AY leader,  I was not only surprised, I was outraged. How on Earth??? Why me? I almost never attend the AY when I studied in college, though it was Adventist college. Once even I got a ‘prize’ for being the person who attend the least number of AY. (It was the idea of the AY leader, she really knew how to recognize the lazy AY goers.. :p).

So I thought, okay, whatever, just let see what gonna happen.

To my surprise, it wasn’t actually that bad. Besides, it’s pretty cool to be an AY leader sometimes. It caught girls attention pretty good sometimes.

However, I realized it’s totally wrong to think selfishly when you are the AY leader. Jesus has showed us that to lead is actually to serve. I know it sounds cliche, but trust me, it’s hard to refuse the chance to use your position for some selfish reasons. Especially when people don’t notice and it’s all covered in great programs.

Always pray to God, ask for His help, and surrender yourself and your plans fully to Him. Because when He takes control, it just can’t get wrong.

Wrap Up

Remember guys, an AY leader has a really great responsibility. It’s the person who the younger kids are look up too. Whatever examples that the AY leader showed, they are what the kids will most probably do when they grew up later.

Don’t do it because you were elected and you have no choice. If you feel so, please consider resigning, because it will only hurt yourself and the AY.

So far, these five tips are what I can share with you. If you have problems and suggestions about AY, feel free to contact me.

I remember almost a year ago I googled for article about this. I’ve been a system and network administrator for more than two years in medium sized company, dealing with Windows Servers, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, Firewall, and VMWares.

Then, for an unknown crazy reason I applied for a programmer position in one of the biggest software house in Indonesia. I was accepted and suddenly had a dillemma of choosing to stay as an administrator or to shift career as programmer.

Being a good information age generation, I looked for what other people’s opinion in online forums. Some are pros for career in sys and network administration, and some others are pros for career in software development.

To be honest, they made me even more confused. But I finally made my choice.

Now after 8 months of work as Java EE programmer, I want to share about what I know about these two IT careers. Please note that I don’t think one is superior than another although during this article I may be a bit inclined to software development career.

It’s Not The Career That Make One’s Success

Like most of the fresh graduates I know, I used to think that success is closely attached to one’s career. That some careers are naturally better than the others. However, through time I realized that this thought is not true.

There are successful administrators and there are successful developers. On the other side, there are also unsuccessful administrators and unsuccessful developers.

What makes the difference?

It’s The Person With The Right Career

In the online forums that I found those who are pros of each side listed the reasons why one career is better than the other. They all speak from their experiences and observations.

Some of the wiser members, however, posted that one should ask himself about what career is more suitable to him rather than only looking for the salary number or future overseas outsourcing trend.

Why I chose what I chose

I accepted the work as programmer and I don’t regret it a bit. It’s not because I don’t like the work as an administrator, but because I enjoy the process of creating something so much.

Making something has been my passion since I was a kid, and now I enjoy making software in every step.

So what should you choose?

Ask yourself this question,

“Will I excitedly wake up every morning to do this career?”

Some of my work colleague said that they actually don’t like coding and it’s really sad. I think they are not only waste their time here, but they also waste their life.

For me, someone can only achieve his greatest potential when he does what he really enjoy. And since life is not as long as we always think, choose a career where your passion is.

There is a really interesting portion at the end part of the wiki article on Medical technologist. It’s about the decreasing number medical technologist education program causing decreasing medical technologist available. This of course leads to increase in demand for medical technologist in the US and other countries (not specifically mentioned though).

I tried to look for the exact publications from where the citation is taken, however the wiki doesn’t provide any.

Honestly I was writing a post about my view of medical technology last week then I saw the portion and I decided to postpone my writing first and discuss about this interesting insight rather.

The article then mentions that the average age of the medical technologist now is at late 40s, almost 50. Considering the low number of young medical technologists who will succeed the profession, this will lead to another increase of demand in medical technologist.

“Wow!“, that was my initial impression when I read the article, “I hope this is true and so my fellow medical technologists can now have more opportunities and better salary.” Unfortunately there is something paradox at the end of the article. It says

“..yes, the job pays less than others in the medical field.”

Quack! Although once again the article doesn’t mention to what other profession in medical field, it seems that it probably refers to nursing.

Hmm, interesting… So however needed is the medical technologist, it still cannot beat the other medical field professions in terms of salary.

Please note that although I always bring the issue of salary, I’m not saying that it is the most important part of one’s carreer. But simply because it is the most common measurement of a profession. Also from the fact that some of the visit to my website is because people are searching about the pay in medical technology field.

As summary, a part of the article is worth to take note, and I believe it is the best part:

“The best way to minimize this problem is to make secondary and post-secondary educators and advisers aware of both the benefits and the job security of degrees from accredited Med Tech programs, and advising their students to get informed about the profession….  a degree in Medical Technology may open doors to high wages, travel, management experience, or even pave the way to another career, such as Pharmacy or Physician.”

Warning: This article contains strong and provoking words that may discourage some of the readers who are currently taking bachelor of science in medical technology and/or bachelor of science in laboratory science as it is called now.

BS Medical Technology (BSMT) or also known as medtech was one of the best science course one can take in Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) during my study there. The sight of medtech clinical students (CD) wearing white uniform and black pants for the guys with a silver name tag shining sent an exclusive image for those who wear it.

The course was designed to only allows the smartest and the brightest to survive. It was famous for its hectic schedule, long laboratory hours, and difficult curriculum. All of these create a mysterious impression of the course itself and its students altogether.

Having all of these characteristics plus the banner that constantly announced the course’s top notchers in the Philippines medical technology board exam, the course receives high respect from the campus community. Thus the future seems bright for the medtech graduates.

However, the question is, is it true? Is the future really going to be dazzling for the medtech graduates, who are mostly the brightest students of the campus? This is the question that I’m trying to answer through this article.

Medical Technology Graduates Different Professions

Three years after I graduate from medical technology and I realize it is still a short period for concluding about the course’s graduate performance. However, from my observation there is no much difference though the period is lengthened. Most of the medical technologist are working in hospital and clinic laboratories, which does not provide much room for career advancement besides to become the laboratory department head.

Then there are medical technologist who work in hospitals but not necessarily in laboratories, they might work in other hospital departments.

The remaining of the medical technology graduate does not work in hospital nor clinic at all.

Different Motivations

Every individual has different motivations, something that drives the individual to choose what he/she choose. There are certainly many different reasons why someone chose medical technology as bachelor’s degree course.

I personally chose BSMT because I was going to take medical school (which deferred permanently) and also because for the course pride. I thought I deserve to be in one of the most respected course in AUP. I wanted to be one of the elite.

I know some of my batchmates who have motivation that is not so difference with mine.

Other medical technologists I know have different stories about how they took the course. One that I personally know said that she took medical technology because it was the course that has the shortest ‘pila’ (queue) during registration day.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to motivations why someone take BSMT. However, if money was one single motivation then I suggest the person to take a course shift form immediately and that person will thank me later on.

Why? Not because BSMT cannot bring money, but because it is too much hassle if making money is the only motivation. There are certainly other course that consumes less time and resource, and allow the graduates to work in a profession that can bring a lot more money than BSMT.

When The Brightest Is Not The Richest

This is the part that may disappoint most of the BSMT students.

I think I’m going to tell you upfront that some BSMT graduates I know make less money than other course graduates. Not only that, the BSMT graduates also have lower work opportunities than other course graduates.

Why?

It’s just the way it is. That’s how the real world value the medical technologist profession. In investing terms, the BSMT sadly gives lower Return On Investment (ROI) compared to other course degree.

But how could this possible?

I’m not really sure about the exact answer. But partly, it could be because of the market law of demand and supply. Somehow the demand for medical technologist is not that much compared to other profession, and thus the medical technologist’s salary may not be as good as the other profession.

But how about in US? I heard the salary there is good..

Yes. Fortunately the medical technologist salary in US is good enough compared to other coutries such as Philippines and Indonesia. But are all medical technologist will be able to go to US? I’m not sure about that. Plus, if you notice, other profession in US can give the same salary with medical technology, if not better.

The Lessons, Wisdoms, and Thoughts

Keep in mind that the reason why I write this post is not to discourage the BSMT students nor to disrespect any BSMT graduates. Medical Technology, in my opinion, is still one of the best course one can take in AUP.

If you have passion to be a Medical Doctor, then by all means try to take medtech as your undergraduate course. It is so far the best course you can take to prepare for medical school because you will find most of the medtech subjects repeated in the medical school. Most of the brightest medical school students I know are medtech graduates.

Or if you have passion to be a Medical Technologist, I also strongly recommend you to listen to your heart and take BSMT. There is no one more successful than someone who be the person who that someone wants to be. The field of medical technologist is indeed an interesting and challenging one.

But if you are not sure and you neither wants to be a medical technologist nor medical doctor, I suggest you to take other course that suits you better. Because the pain that needs to be undergone in medtech clinical division and internship is really not for everyone.

I personally believe that money is not everything and is not a measurement of success. Although I brought the issue of salary, it is not my intention to measure medical technology course using salary. I only wanted to present the fact that the medtech students should know.

Lastly, this post is not about discrediting BS Medical Technology course. But it is rather about asking one’s motivation taking BSMT, the course that I’m really proud to have as my bachelor’s degree.