Been there, done that
Where am I supposed to go now?


Came back from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Went there today as alumni with Xuanyi to kinda mingle around with Parents who might want to speak with someone who graduated from the course.

The familiar 1 hour 30mins journey there is definitely nostalgic. That familiar route that I can repeat again and again even if i'm half asleep, eyes barely open to see where i'm going, on an early school morning.

However, the turnout for TRM wasn't alot I guess. (Expected, cos most parents for my batch didnt go for it either)

But it wasn't a wasted trip! Sort of interacted with my lecturers, and sorta learnt of each other's education plans with Xuanyi.

Alot of insight gained about Overseas Education. Generally the lecturers recommended it, most of them were from Overseas Universities anyway. The experience, the networks, the exposure to foreign ideas, education system, the resume....everything is all in that expensive package.

Xuanyi's working as a temp staff in a headhunting agency for top executives as well (Like a recruit express for managerial positions I suppose?) And her boss did give quite alot of insight, in which she shared.

I mean, definitely without a doubt, a degree IS important. Especially in modern day Singapore where a degree is almost like getting an O Level cert. It just becomes a requirement rather than a choice to further your studies.

...Then comes WHICH degree you get. Obviously having studied tourism in Ngee Ann, I guess I have to go towards getting a tourism or business related degree. I mean, I have no qualms about pursuing an education in Tourism, but yeah I guess I'm interested in National Tourism Organisations (NTO).

Lastly obviously is WHERE you get it from. I believe most Human Resource managers have the basic requirement to know the different degrees you can get nowadays, and like Xuanyi's boss, they scrutinize according to it.

Split degrees (Those where you get a degree locally in just a few years, which apparently have tie ups with prestigious Overseas Universities) speak the least of what you are capable of. From what I read and heard via the conversations, its almost like getting a degree for the sake of getting one. You can just hold it and be proud that you've finally completed the standard education journey in Singapore, albeit not gracefully as you wanted. Of course, I might be biased, as the conversations today were slightly biased as well, but all in all its the cold hard truth of it.

Of course, hurray if you can get into a Local University with prestigious degrees like those MBA courses and Law.

...But what if you can't?

Arts and Social Sciences? Honestly i'm deeply affected due to the fact I didn't do as well as I hoped to be. And I find myself considering such options for the sake of it. Not that I don't think the degree is good. But i didn't study that in Polytechnic in the first place so its like taking a detour for me!

Like "I cant get a nice business or tourism degree here in the 3 Local Unis due to their ridiculously high cut off for polytechnic students. Sociology seems to have a lower cut off! I need a degree let's just try for it!"

Then again, to contradict myself...you get diversity and a wide spectrum of knowledge. Which could come in handy, sometime in the near future. Who knows, they might just be looking for a Tourism student who knows sociology?

Deciding between Junior College and Polytechnic was a major choice for me. Coming from Anglican High, practically 90% of the friends I knew went to the top JCs in Singapore, while I was with the few who chose the Polytechnic route.

Quite embarrassingly, my plan then was to :

- Get into the Director's List every sem
- Get a Scholarship for all 3 years
- Graduate with flying colours and get a scholarship to a Switzerland University to study Tourism

...Not quite what I imagined. Obviously I was misinformed by the stereotypes back then in 2007. Polytechnic ISN'T easy. At least not for my Tourism course...

EVERY single semester and small test along the way adds up to your final grades, not like in Secondary or JC schools where its your final exam that counts.

...Projects are crazy, it just creates so many chances for things to go wrong! Setting up a business website. Analyzing and planning a hotel's security system. Setting up your own Retail shop. Coming up with your own FnB Menu. Organising and running your own event. Plan a travel itinerary for a make believe company.

As a result..yeah I didn't score as ridiculously well as I ridiculously aimed...

I did fine...Fine, but not well enough to get any of the courses I wanted to pursue.

So now I'm stuck with this unfortunate situation, where I cant do what I want locally in the Top Universities, and the other local choices are just...just

Then theres always the option of Overseas Universities...which I really hope I had the opportunity to attempt. I so ridiculously aimed to get a scholarship at the age of 16, never did I realise it wasn't just money the school would offer to any student who spoke good english and looked keen enough to study.

Money is definitely an issue about studying Overseas...and as per conversations with my peers today and the past few months...some are actually going to depend on themselves to pay back the loans in 6 years. Not that the parents explicitly don't want to obviously, but rather...not sure if they can pull it off?

But well I still have quite a bit of time before the time comes for me to choose my University again...Probably can start seeing how much I can save....

Can try to save up my National Service pay...

Get sponsored by a company

Get sponsored by some rich relative (I don't think I have)

Sign on in NS (Super last resort, rather, I don't want to)

Start an awesome business that's earning me significant extra income

Get blessed with a windfall

Save a rich kid's life

Realise I'm the prince of Brunei