After I finished my civil engineering diploma course, I get back home and take a rest for a few days. At that time, I am staying at the quarter of No.3, Irrigation Department, Magway and I came back home with the authorized letter of field to work under-training at this department. When I informed to office, they said they haven't received yet for our official letter from govt. So they suggested me that I should wait till they receive official letter and I never disappointed for that because working govt proj is not my dream. Since I am staying in this quarter and my sisters are working at account department, I am familiar with some AE from there. So one of AE told me to go site and she'll make me sure comfort and earn a big pocket money. Because site AE is her friend and she can give me recommendation letter when I go to site. On the other hand, my elder two sisters want me to do at Irrigation Department Projects as they know how SAE are earning well and powerful around them. But I didn't sway my ambition for working at the Yangon anyway.
Luckily I received a call from my friend who is looking for a job for me at Yangon and he found a job for me in time and asked me to join him as soon as possible. Without delaying any time, I packaged my things and started to travel to Yangon to fulfill my dream. My daughters are not blocking my way despite they do disappointed me upon my action.
I arrived yanong on around February, 1998 and joined my friend who also managed to hire a room near Thamine Junction for our temporary stay. On the same morning I arrive on Yangon, Company car arrived our room and picked up me and my friend to the site that we are supposed to work. The site is located on the junction of North and South Dagon, called Dagon Yeik Mon Housing Project developed by Malaysia developer. I think this project is one of pioneer project in housing development by international investment. On the way to site, I saw a lot work-in-progress sites beside the road and I started to worry if I could able to do this kind of construction. To be honest, I don't have any construction related experience to date and my worry stay in my head for big. My friend is a big familiar with construction project as he did work in one construction company after he passed 10th standard. And he has two civil engineer sisters and they are staying together at Yangon. So he is confident in doing our duties and responsible. According to him, we were offered to work as site engineer with salary 5000Ks and foods provided by company as well. So the package is so good to a fresh graduate with no experience. At that time 5000 Ks is quite good and only experienced engineer can get that amount salary. Our friends who were finishing the course at the same institute are working in the different company for free except they get 50Ks a day for transportation charges. They need to bring their own foods or buy themselves. Compare to them, we are quite lucky to secure this job.
Actually I have to thanks to my friend who is clever enough at interview. He knows exactly how to explain interviewer all questions although he is not master at that. He simply just asked his experienced daughters and could answer well. As a result we got this well paid job and now we are going to start our construction experience. I considered a lot on the way to site and sometime I even think that this driver are bringing us to a wrong place because we need to ride so long and so far. Being villager, I never think how big Yangon City are. From Thamine Junction to N/S Dagon Junction is so far because the time is peak hours when we travel. Anyway we arrive to site office and met with GM and introduced each other.
The site office is pretty small and there is one small room that is supposed to sleep inside for us. GM who is also one of bosses, talked a few and asked us to learn drawings first and start work tomorrow. We say rest and place our things in the room. There are few staffs at the company, 3 directors, 1 scretary, 2 drivers, 3 engineers including both of us and 1 store keeper. I noted company name "Standard Engineering Co. Ltd". The living/working room is also small and it is used as a dinning room as well. There are a lot of other companies site office on the same road. All the offices are facing main construction site. All are bungalows and we got a few semi-detached bungalow to do in this project. I am given 2 bungalow to supervise and my friend also got 2 bunglow as well. I see the ongoing project buildings and think a lot if I can do it or not and suddenly my worry bigger.
Since I am type of worry man, I can't stop to think about thinking that and I even told my frd about that. My friend is always confident and very supportive to me. Whatever he encourage me, I can't believe in myself. And I am not good at interpersonal skill like him. He can solve out problems by his good talking skill I do believe in him. But now we are seperate to different bunglow and we have to manage to progress our respective site. Our neighbouring companies are doing well and they are quite far ahead from us. So I enquire to one senior staff about being late. He explained me that there have been a lot change of engineers within a short period in this company. So they can't settle in doing it rightly. The management staff can't make it properly and they are busy with finding permanent engineer to do the job and finally we are here to to their big burden. Unfortunately we are not good enough to make it all right because we are lacking experience. But we are willing to learn in anything we are not master here. The problem for us is it's impossible for us to learn bez we take a salary and my frd insist that we have been exp and we can work it independently. That's why they gave us site engineer post and different site head to conduct. We can't make it step-backward now and we have to go ahead anyway.
The lucky thing is we have an experienced daughters who know all about construction jobs and we can go and ask whenever we encounter problems. There is another engineer who is very much experienced and he always wanted to compete with us. Because he got a lower cert from THS and he always tell us that you both are GTI engineer and should know better than him. Actually he know that we are fresh graduate and in trouble in managing with site. So he always stay away from us and he is not a good senior for us. On the evening of first day on site office, one of director told me to check profile line first when I start the job tomorrow. And he go back home, my friend and I need to spend tonight at the office room. I say yes to director but I don't know what he asked me exactly because I don't know what does it mean "Patt Tern" (profile line). Site ppl used to call profile line Patt Tern in myanmar words. The problems is I never heard before and I don't know that. Actually if he even say profile line, then I won't be understand. Being fresh graduate, how much you can expect from us? Not much, right? We are not exceptional and we struggle it. My friend seems ease although he also don't know what is patt tern. Everytime we don't know , he'ld say don't worry, lets ask my daughter next days. The problems I need to check it tomorrow and no time to go n ask his daughter. I can't eat and sleep well that night with a lot of worry. We are busy with studying drawing the whole night till we sleep and the exp engg is drinking alcohol at the office and seems estimating ours. We are learning dwgs at the bed room and he don't know all what we are doing inside. I wanted to ask to him what is patt tern but my friend reject my proposal. By this way, our first ever day in real world is finished and looking forward better tomorrow.
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