A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend who is a successful professional in the US. Having made his money, and apparently bored with the humdrum of suburban living, he wants to return to Nepal "to do something here".

He asked me whether I had advice for him. I had none, for what one works for one individual may not work for another, and it's not easy to come up with a formula that works for all. But thinking of a way to help him and his wife think through their possible career plans in Nepal, I shared these three observations.

Mindset: Returning to work in Nepal after many years abroad is a function of mindset. There are those who get their kicks from removing obstacles to design systems for others to work productively, and there are others who are happier being productive in systems that others have put in place. Either mindset is fine, though those with the latter mindset might find most Nepali workplaces maddeningly chaotic and unmanageable.

But for those who relish the challenges of persisting to design their own systems of how work should be done, most senior-level jobs in Nepal tend to offer many such opportunities. Sure, compared to what's available elsewhere globally, the scale of such designs can be small here. But once the systems get up and running, it's not difficult to scale up, depending on which industry one is part of. Like in everything else, focus on and patience for results matter.

Mentors: Most, not all, senior Nepali professionals do not know how to be effective mentors to younger professionals. Ignorance is not their fault. Many of them became who they are by joining an industry early on, and then slowly climbing up the rungs over the years. Often, they were the first members of their clans or districts ever to start or join private sector firms.

As such, they may know their industries well, but that knowledge does not extend to their explaining what kinds of career opportunities are available. Indeed, meetings with most of them to discuss career-related matters can be a waste of time, filled with vacuous, if emotionally stirring, paeans about Nepal's unlimited potential for, well, just about everything. So, yes, getting a job by knowing someone senior can be easy. But the task of making a fulfilling career out of that job or a string of related jobs must remain an intensely personal work.

One solution is to start one's own formal and informal professional network. This is something that many career-savvy young to mid-level professionals are already doing in Nepal via email lists and regular get-togethers.

Minding the fame: One downside of a having \'successful' career in Nepal is that becoming famous quickly is not difficult. Not everyone has the self-awareness of Magsaysay winner Mahabir Pun, who had the humility to declare that the award was given to him too early.

But once you start giving interviews about the state of the nation, appearing on magazine covers and reports, and filling in as judges and patrons at various charity events, often with the same set of friends, it's hard not to take yourself seriously as one of Nepal's pillars. The result is that you start believing your own press clippings, using them as evidence for the results your produce. And it's fair to say that many former good professionals have stagnated in their careers because they did not know how to graciously handle the easy fame that comes from being a big person in a small, friendly and comparatively easy-going town.

I am eager to see what my friend and his wife do in 2008.