If Singapore wasn’t Singapore, the talking points across my coffee table in recent weeks would be admission into universities. But with Singapore being Singapore, I didn’t even give a hoot about it.
That aside, I really don’t see myself getting into one of these institutions. I don’t feel the enthusiasm like I did when I was moving on from my secondary days to the polytechnic life. Okay, maybe it IS due to the mandatory 2 years factor.
But I did consider getting a degree and a personal liking leaned me towards SMU…. and that’s about all where the fire burn till.
My family are not exactly pestering me to get into university but there’s this unspoken air that by logic, I should be pursuing a degree after my NS stint. Numerically, I am cleverest amongst all my cousins. So there’s the invisible pressure and underlying hope for me to be the role model and success story for all of them.
Do you get the imagery that everything was hidden and nothing was spoken yet somehow there’s this inkling of expectation heaped on me? *shurgs*
Some of my friends enrolled into universities just because it’s a natural progression for them. Even my guy friends had applied this year despite getting in only about 2 years later.
“If kena rejected then can apply again mah.”
“At least you pay the fees that they quoted now, just in case they increase it in 2 years time.”
“Just apply lor, I don’t wanna work first ah.”
That piece of paper may help me get a better pay instead of working for eons in a company, or boost my chances of getting a promotion but they’re not listed as one of my goals.
I just wanna keep on studying, increase my knowledge, meet new people, experience campus and hostel life, and enjoy being a student (again).
One more thing I wonder…
Do you pursue in a degree that you are really interested in
OR
go for something that’s practical eg Business degrees ’cause they make one more marketable/ Science degrees ’cause the market is hot?
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thanks for sharing your experience man.
Well…follow your intuition.
Technically degree nowadays from any respectable uni like NUS, NTU and SMU seems to get a typical Singaporean a job.
I’ve seen people with a degree in IT or Engineering doing Business-related jobs.
Unless you wanna specialize in Marketing or Finance, then the degree should be relevant to Marketing or Finance.
If you want to get a degree, think smart and hard of what you wanna take because some jobs don’t really need a degree for you to flourish. It’s about how you work and how smart you work. Paper qualifications doesn’t portray the attitude of a person.
=)
March 26th, 2008