Btw, EVERY SINGLE PIECE of advice I've received from BC-ites.
Miraz bhai, with his advice about bdjobs.com, helped me land my first job. Thank you, Miraz bhai.
ialbd, your suggestions about the job market were spot on. One thing I found out, and now others are also finding out, is that WHO you know is what matters, not WHAT you know.
layperson was almost right about photos in job applications. Most of the big-name places do look for someone presentable when they are hiring; however, lots of no-name places, when they ask for photos, are looking for "a lil sum-sum" from the (always female, they never hire male) future employee
.
Banglatiger84, reverse culture shock like WHOA! Thank you, brother, for the heads up! Traffic jams like you've never experienced them anywhere, being stuck, not getting ANY form of transportation to go from point A to point B unless you have your own... it is TERRIBLE out here, and anyone who hasn't been back wouldn't know. You are right about starting to feel disillusioned after six months; I am hanging in there, though, but don't know when I will run out of patience. It's been a couple of years, and it's still really, really tough.
Thebest was right about Bangladesh becoming more talibanized in some ways, but at the same time, we've become a lot more receptive to Western , non-Islamic cultures too. It's as if TWO polar opposite sets of people (the talibanized folks and their polar opposite counterparts) are the vocal minorities in this country, bickering while the silent majority just sits and listens.
akabir77 was right about Dhaka becoming very "moholla"-centric. People live close to where they work, mainly because of the terrible traffic, and so, people who work in Gulshan live in or near Gulshan, and people who work in Dhanmondi live in or near Dhanmondi. Baridhara is a GREAT place to live, in case any of you are thinking of moving back, BUT getting in and out of Baridhara could get tricky during rush hours. Also, you really cannot trust anyone, and by that, I mean anyone, from the 5-year old you just gave some money to who would point you out to the muggers, to the 60-year olds who beg you for a job, any job, an odd job, so long as they can get three meals a day and then when you hire them, they take you to the cleaners when nobody's home and you are in the shower.
One World was right about the age factor. I am on the wrong side of 30, and cannot apply for government jobs. In a lot of other jobs too, you cannot apply if you are past a certain age. Pretty weird.
yaseer, you were right. Spot on. Most of the times, I wish I had listened to you, but every now and then, I think of how it feels to be with my family again, and then I feel like it was worth it.