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| Is Adeline barking up the wrong tree? |
Now am I being too harsh on Adeline? Perhaps I am - but here's the thing, no one is asking her to pick a career path that she absolutely must commit herself to for the rest of her life. No, instead she has the right to change careers at any point, retrain in a different field or even start her own business if she prefers to be her own boss. But just because you are allowed to change your plans doesn't mean that you shouldn't plan at all in the first place - there is quite a difference between allowing yourself to be flexible with your plans and simply going with the flow, not having a plan at all. Let me compare this to a driving test: there is every possibility that you may fail a driving test - maybe you are nervous, maybe you simply forget to check your mirrors before making a turn, maybe you accidentally exceed the speed limit or you could do what I did: I got a little bit too confident as the test was going so well, drove faster than I normally would and clipped the kerb when I was going around a corner - that's not the kind of mistake I make all the time, but it happened and that's why I failed my first driving test. So would you claim that just because you may fail your driving test that there's no point in preparing for it? Of course not - the more you practice, the less likely you are to make a silly mistake during your driving test that would result in a fail. Just because our career plans may change in the future doesn't mean we should make any plans at all. I was surprised that this young lady seemed to lack any initiative at all when it came to choosing a career path according to her own needs, interests and personality - well, was she waiting for someone to pick it for her?
Allow me to share with you a story of someone I actually know rather well - let's call her Dawn (not her real name). When Dawn did her first degree, she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with her life - so she thought that going to study abroad would broaden her horizons and help give her perspective about what she wanted in her future career. So Dawn's parents paid for her to go study in Australia and whilst she had a brilliant time there, she was so focused on her studies that she didn't really think about life beyond university - so when she graduated, she was no closer to having a firm idea about what to do about her future career. Getting a degree may have put her in a better position to apply for some jobs, but she didn't even know what jobs she wanted to apply for in the first place. So she decided, I know, I'll get a Masters degree so I will be even more highly qualified and have more options - so she went back to university, got her Masters degree and then when it came time to find a job, once again, she was back to square one. At this point, she told her parents she wanted to do a PhD but her parents finally said no - you need to get a job, your endless degrees are costing us so much money and you're merely studying to put off finding a job, rather than studying to get that dream job of yours. Fortunately for her, her uncle managed to pull a few strings and got her a job in his company and she has been working there ever since. Is she entirely happy with her job? No, she confessed that she isn't (and that's another long story) but when faced with the prospect of looking for a new job, she decided to stick with the familiar and try to make the best of a bad situation. Dawn isn't stupid per se, she has simply been irrational when it comes it comes to her career.
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| Dawn preferred studying to working. |
When I challenged Adeline why she wanted to do this degree (from a private university), she pointed out to me that in a recent post, I said that gatekeepers in banking are looking for people who have demonstrated that they are willing to follow the rules rather than rebels who may not fit into a culture which stresses conformity and playing by the rules. Please allow me to clarify that I made that statement specifically in the context of what you wear during the interview process: now it would be utterly foolish to get that far in the recruitment process only to narrowly lose to another equally credible because you wore the wrong kind of shoes for example or if you did bother checking just how formal the dress code is in that company. That would be the equivalent of me failing my first driving test over a stupid mistake which I could have easily avoided if I had just slowed down a bit more before approaching that corner. But let me try to explain it to Adeline like this: I am currently booking a number of different hotels for my big trip across Georgia and naturally, I am reading reviews before booking. I am always looking out for reviews that complain about noisy hotels as that's one thing I truly hate: being awoken in the middle of the night! Nonetheless, even if a hotel is rather quiet (or at least I don't read any complaints about the noise), would I blindly book the hotel on that basis? No, I would still be looking at so many other factors from the location to the price to the facilities offered (does it have a pool, a spa, a gym, a sauna, a garden etc).
So going back to the interview, do you think that you're going to get the job just because you dress the part and wear the right kind of shoes to the interview? No, of course not - dressing inappropriately could truly sabotage your chances of getting the job but dressing correctly doesn't really get you any closer, it just means that your attire is not a factor and we can then focus on how you answer those difficult questions. So when Adeline told me that getting a degree will prove at an interview that she is willing to follow the rules, I simply shook my head in disbelief - that's simply not the point of getting a degree. If I want to know whether or not you're someone who will conform and follow the rules, I will just spend a few seconds observing the way you dress and come to a conclusion pretty quickly. The whole point about getting a degree is to prove that you are intelligent - so for example, if you have earned yourself a place in a university like Harvard, then I know you're intelligent as stupid people don't make it to Harvard. If we were to look at it in the wider context of the laws that govern us in the societies we live in, there are often harsh penalties for those who do not follow the rules: for example, drivers will know that you can get a speeding ticket if you exceed the speed limit or your car might even get towed away if you simply park on a double yellow line especially on a busy road. Yet what about the good drivers who obediently follow the rules and never ever make any mistakes: are they rewarded for being so compliant? No, they are simply left alone - the law goes after and punishes those who refuse to follow the rules. Likewise in a job interview, you don't get a bonus for following the rules but you will be heavily penalized for breaking any of the rules.
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| Are you happy to follow the rules or are you a rebel at heart? |
There are some companies of course who will reward people who are very good at following the rules - let me give you an example: if you work for a fast food restaurant like McDonald's then the customer's all know exactly how their food should taste like when they order a Big Mac or a Filet-o-Fish: it doesn't matter whether you're in Tbilisi, Osaka or New York, the signature burgers in a McDonald's will taste the same. So if you're not a very good chef but you can take orders and remember instructions well, then you could become very efficient in the kitchen at a McDonald's fast food restaurant, preparing loads of these burgers very quickly. Now compare that to a chef at a very expensive Japanese restaurant - there's this fantastic concept called お任せ 'Omakase' which translates as 'I leave it up to you'. Thus when you go for an Omakase experience, you don't need to place an order - you simply trust the chef to serve you an interesting array of dishes. The chefs would go out of their way to surprise and impress you with not just the best ingredients, but using unique ways to prepare and present the dishes to give you a truly unforgettable experience - that's the complete opposite of ordering a meal in McDonald's when you know exactly what you're going to get. Needless to say, you need outstanding skills as a chef to do what an Omakase chef would do and if you're simply a chef who is good at following instructions or a recipe, then you're just not good enough. Needless to say, the Omakase Japanese chefs earn a lot more than your average chef in McDonald's and this reflects the much higher entry level for such Japanese Omakase chefs.
As for Adeline, I couldn't help but feel that because she has lacked the necessary nurturing earlier on in her life to develop the right kind of skills to thrive in the working world, she will end up in a job where she will simply become very good at following orders. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No, I don't think so - the ability to follow instructions carefully forms the basis of a lot of jobs out there, even your expert Japanese chef dazzling his diners during their Omakase experiences would have had to learn many dishes from an experienced chef for many years before they can start creating their own unique dishes. In the sport of gymnastics, most gymnasts spend years learning the basic skills and do not get the opportunity to try to create something special or brand new until they reach a very high standard. But here's the thing: my prediction is that someone like Adeline would spend most of her working life simply taking orders and following instructions if she doesn't change her current mindset. It does seem that she really doesn't know how to take any initiative and make any major decisions on her own, whilst waiting for someone else to tell her what to do. Can this change? Perhaps, but once she is stuck in her ways as an adult, it becomes a lot harder for her to go against her nature. Evidently, the Omakase chefs are taking a lot more risk each time they present a brand new dish to the diners, whilst the McDonald's cooks only have to reproduce the same kind of burger every time, every day, for every single customer.
Now all this starts from a very young age: for example, were you encouraged to be creative during playtime or were you already at that age carefully following the rules? I remember a colouring book I was given when I was a very young child, probably around 4 or 5 years old. The format was simply - first you had to join the dots in a certain order to form a picture, then you were given instructions what colours to use to complete the picture. I preferred to draw my own pictures, using my imagination without being told what to do - thankfully, my older sisters saw the value in allowing me to express my personality through drawings like that, even if those pictures looked awful. Nonetheless at that age, you need to introduce the concept of following instructions to young children hence I can see why books like that were popular - at that age, they are incapable of drawing beautiful pictures without help like that and it is teaching them to pay attention to little things like colouring within the lines. It is necessary to teach children basic discipline like that at that age, with strict guidance. However, this relationship changes as we get older and by the time you get to university, you are expected to come up with original ideas not found in any textbook and conduct your own research to back those ideas up - many people like Adeline never quite got to that stage, they still want to be given a book where they join up the dots and colour within the lines. They have become very good at following instructions like that but are totally clueless when asked to perform a task a lot more independently without any clear instructions like, "figure out what you want to do with your life."
This is why many people like Adeline balk at that crucial moment and freeze, not knowing what to do, waiting for the next instruction to come from someone. And in the absence of someone like me shouting at them, "grow up, start acting like an adult!", what usually happens is that they end up in a job just like the cook at McDonald's who simply follows instructions all day and isn't challenged to try to take any initiative or do anything original. Perhaps working in McDonald's is a bit of an extreme example - there are other better paid jobs out there which do involve simply following orders and routines. Let's take the military for example: those who ask too many questions are often treated like trouble makers, in the military, you're merely supposed to take orders and follow instruction without questioning your superiors. Some guys found national service quite a shock to the system because they're not used to that kind of complete obedience, where simply asking a question like, "but why are we doing this?" could get you into a lot of trouble. By that token, people like me found that kind of environment during NS quite stifling and difficult to adapt to, because we were quite used to challenging everyone from our teachers to our parents before enlisting - but for someone like Adeline, being placed in such an environment might actually be really perfect. In the military, you're told what to wear, when you eat, when you sleep, your work schedule everyday is determined by your commanding officer and the fact is you don't even get to make the most basic decisions - all that is done for you by someone else and that might actually suit someone like Adeline really well. But should Adeline join the army? I don't know - it depends if that's the kind of career that would suit her and I can't even get her to answer that simple question. She might just end up doing the first thing her parents push her to do.
So that's it from me on this topic - what do you think? Have you ever met someone like Adeline? Do you actually hold Adeline responsible for her attitude or do you blame her parents or even the wider culture that she grew up around? What do you recommend she should do to figure this out? Please leave a comment below and many thanks for reading.
As for Adeline, I couldn't help but feel that because she has lacked the necessary nurturing earlier on in her life to develop the right kind of skills to thrive in the working world, she will end up in a job where she will simply become very good at following orders. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No, I don't think so - the ability to follow instructions carefully forms the basis of a lot of jobs out there, even your expert Japanese chef dazzling his diners during their Omakase experiences would have had to learn many dishes from an experienced chef for many years before they can start creating their own unique dishes. In the sport of gymnastics, most gymnasts spend years learning the basic skills and do not get the opportunity to try to create something special or brand new until they reach a very high standard. But here's the thing: my prediction is that someone like Adeline would spend most of her working life simply taking orders and following instructions if she doesn't change her current mindset. It does seem that she really doesn't know how to take any initiative and make any major decisions on her own, whilst waiting for someone else to tell her what to do. Can this change? Perhaps, but once she is stuck in her ways as an adult, it becomes a lot harder for her to go against her nature. Evidently, the Omakase chefs are taking a lot more risk each time they present a brand new dish to the diners, whilst the McDonald's cooks only have to reproduce the same kind of burger every time, every day, for every single customer.
This is why many people like Adeline balk at that crucial moment and freeze, not knowing what to do, waiting for the next instruction to come from someone. And in the absence of someone like me shouting at them, "grow up, start acting like an adult!", what usually happens is that they end up in a job just like the cook at McDonald's who simply follows instructions all day and isn't challenged to try to take any initiative or do anything original. Perhaps working in McDonald's is a bit of an extreme example - there are other better paid jobs out there which do involve simply following orders and routines. Let's take the military for example: those who ask too many questions are often treated like trouble makers, in the military, you're merely supposed to take orders and follow instruction without questioning your superiors. Some guys found national service quite a shock to the system because they're not used to that kind of complete obedience, where simply asking a question like, "but why are we doing this?" could get you into a lot of trouble. By that token, people like me found that kind of environment during NS quite stifling and difficult to adapt to, because we were quite used to challenging everyone from our teachers to our parents before enlisting - but for someone like Adeline, being placed in such an environment might actually be really perfect. In the military, you're told what to wear, when you eat, when you sleep, your work schedule everyday is determined by your commanding officer and the fact is you don't even get to make the most basic decisions - all that is done for you by someone else and that might actually suit someone like Adeline really well. But should Adeline join the army? I don't know - it depends if that's the kind of career that would suit her and I can't even get her to answer that simple question. She might just end up doing the first thing her parents push her to do.
Firstly I'm impressed she was able to track you down since your Instagram account is not exactly intuitive. Also I'm glad she reached out to ask for advice. Most people wouldn't since it might be a display of weakness according to "Asian values".
ReplyDeleteHowever, as the adage goes, "you can lead a horse to water but can't force it to drink." What Adeline chooses to do with it would depend on her.
As cliche as it sounds everyone must find their own path and I'm still finding for mine.
No it is not hard to find me on Instagram especially since I have hyperlinked it in some of my articles because I want to show my readers some of the more fascinating things I do on holiday and that's the best way - rather than to post pictures here like I used to do. Good luck to her. I couldn't tell her what to do, I could only tell her that she had to find her own path and she wasn't exactly happy with that answer.
DeleteOh I've met plenty of people like that when I studied in the US, there's lot of kids(well, legal adults) whose parents paid big money for them to come to the US. It's particularly pronounced with Asians since there's a fixation in going the standard route (elementary, middle, high, college, job, marriage, family, death) that a lot of them don't question what they were going to do if things don't work itself out.
ReplyDeleteTo be frank, it's her responsibility in the end. You have no control over the cards you are handed in life, the only real thing you could do is decide how you want to play it. Sure you could blame the parents but our parents don't do that simply because they are mean or malicious, just that they don't know any better themselves. After all, it did worked for them and from their perspective everyone else around them (that they know of!)
She's still stuck in the bargaining stage of the 5 stages of grief. That if someone could tell her what to do everything would work itself out. Ultimately she has to realize no one is going to save her and that she has to figure out what to do and take full responsibility for what happens. A few women I know went for the marriage route, thinking her husband was going to fulfill that role but....it doesn't really deal with the core issue.
Yup, I know exactly what you're talking about. The scary thing is this whole marriage-kids thing: like if you get a job you hate, fine you can quit and get another job, but I see marriages fall apart because people were under pressure to settle down and the kids are the one who suffer the most as a result.
DeleteI think it is a lot more complicated. One has a fixed personality, some people who are born in a less privileged environment but are adventurous and outgoing will have more friends and they will find out more about their living environments and how society functions, compared to someone who is shy, with little parental grooming. On the other hand, those who have everything planned for them may lose their instincts for survival per se. We cannot totally say if our parents fault or it is our own faults, the truth is always somewhere in between. I am sure LIFT will agree that he may not come so far without his sisters being supportive and able to guide him.
ReplyDeleteHi LIFT,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the article. Can I have your opinion on the following?
1. What do you think of humanities degree such as Philosophy from NUS/NTU in terms of job prospects?
2. How important is GPA to gatekeepers? Do they make a significant difference in evaluation?
Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you at your own convenient time.
Have a good day ahead.
Hi there.
Delete1. I think that it is a useless degree in that anyone with a degree in philosophy will not end up doing a job involving philosophy as a philosopher. http://www.careers.cam.ac.uk/subjects/Philosophy.asp Note that I have cut and paste that from the Cambridge university website - now would you want to do a degree in philosophy from Cambridge? Yes totally, because it is Cambridge and you can do any job you want not because you studied philosophy, but in getting into Cambridge you have proven that you're like the top 0.1% of not just your cohort in Singapore but around the world. But to get into arts & social science in NUS/NTU doesn't require the same kind of high standards, so it is by that token that I would encourage you to try for something else unless of course, that's the only course your grades can get you into and in which case, fine do it and it's what you make of it.
99.999% of the course material will be totally irrelevant and useless to your working life, so I hope you like philosophy - dedicating so much time and effort to study something totally useless would mean you truly loving the subject.
2. There are different gatekeepers out there who have different methods to test candidates but the fact is gatekeepers exist for a reason - if you simply hired the person with the best GPA you're effectively eliminating the need for any kind of selection process or interview because you're assuming the person with the best grades is the best and most suitable person for the job. But of course, we all know that's not true - so that's why we have the rigorous selection and interview process to ascertain just how suitable the candidate is for the job.
I can't speak for ALL gatekeepers but for what it is worth, here's my take on the issue: I don't really pay that much attention to GPA at all but I do require my candidates to have done reasonably okay in their degree. In short, when I take a look at their results, I just need to see, "okay, s/he didn't fuck up - it looks alright". That cursory glance to check that the candidate didn't fuck up takes oooh about 0.5 seconds at most? It's fairly pointless going through your results in minute detail because 99.9999999% of what you studied is probably totally irrelevant to the job you're applying for. So I don't really give a shit whether or not your GPA is - but rather, when you are a student, you do have a responsibility to prepare for your exams and get a respectable, decent grade at the end of the day. You have one job and it is in your interest not to fuck it up. And if you do fuck up by getting a seriously bad GPA, then at least have a decent explanation for it like "I went to Malaysia for a holiday and got Dengue Fever, then I was in hospital for many weeks." That actually happened to my sister and I still remember how sick she was in hospital. But yes, as far as GPA goes, I only have two categories, "didn't fuck up" and "oh s/he fucked up". So as long as you're in the "didn't fuck up" category, I'll move on to more relevant parts of your application like whether or not you have any relevant experience or skills that will make you suitable for the job. So by that token, no it is not a significant part of the evaluation.
I hope this helps.
Aaah. And if I may add this: someone is going to say, "but hor, got this company, I went for the interview and the auntie who interviewed me there went through my results with a fine comb and questioned me why my GPA wasn't any higher, so it must be important." Yeah, there are companies who have shitty, stupid, awful, fucking nasty idiots who do a lot of fucking awful things to their staff (seen the Samuel Seow video yet?) - just because there are some fucking stupid companies who do stupid shit doesn't mean that they are right and they set the gold standard. And if you do meet a company who wants to split hairs about your GPA, have the confidence to tell them to go fuck themselves with a big durian. Seriously, go watch the Samuel Seow abuse video on Youtube - you'll see how seriously FUCKED UP some Singaporean companies are. Like for real. And that's just one company that got exposed, there are many, many more shitty companies out there which are just as bad that you don't hear about.
DeleteLike holy fuck, there's so much shit out there when it comes to seriously fucked up companies to work for.
Now you sound like a student and I'm a 43 year old middle aged man giving you a healthy dose of reality, don't be naive as to believe that all companies out there are good places to work in - only a small minority of places really treat their staff very well and it is your responsibility to seek out a good employer - not your employer's responsibility to treat you well.
I refer you to this other article for further reading on the issue: http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2019/03/lets-talk-about-bad-companies-out-there.html
Beware of bad companies out there - they are in fact in the majority. The good companies are few and far in between.
Hey I used to work for such a lousy company but as a contractor for 2 months. When that company hired a new IT director he, the CEO split hairs with him and asked him why he didn't get all As for his private certification course. He was not even a university graduate and once enrolled in NUS but didn't managed to complete it and dropped out in the end. That company is called SBF, seriously don't work for them. In fact they hired that IT director in the end since there were no other candidates willing to work for them.
DeleteThere you go - the CEO was being an idiot in splitting hairs about the private certification course, that goes to show what a fucking idiot he is. I don't know why so many Singapore students are so naive about the number of fucking awful nasty shitty bad companies out there. They are in for a rude shock when they enter the working world.
DeleteHi LIFT,
ReplyDeleteHow are you? I hope you are doing well. Can I hear your thoughts on the following?
Suppose that you want to hire somebody for a junior executive position and that there is only two candidates who applied and that you can consider.
The first candidate is a recent graduate with a relevant degree from a reputable university (not Ivy League level but a good university) with 6 months of relevant internship experience.
The second candidate is a diploma graduate from Polytechnic/ High school with a relevant diploma with 6 months of relevant internship experience and 4 years of working experience in a non-executive position in the same field (like 1 level below the executive position that he is applying for).
Suppose all other factors being equal, who would you consider hiring?
Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you at your own convenient time.
Have a nice day ahead.
Best regards
Hi PKH, thanks for your question.
DeleteThat's a really tough one because my gut instinct would be to favour the working experience over paper qualification because I'm hiring someone to do some real work, add value to the company, get deals done - rather than study to pass exams. So by that token, work experience trumps degree - I'll favour the second candidate. Having said that, I didn't say "I'll hire" the second candidate.
I'll take the time to speak to them both and understand them better, get to know them. So I have some burning questions for the second candidate, like if he already had so much work experience, why is he only applying for a junior position at this stage and not moving onto something a bit more senior? After all, this is a position that a fresh graduate is applying for - not someone with 4 years' experience. I always do a second take when I see someone in such a position - ie. "something's not quite right - can you explain to me what is going on?"
Hi LIFT!
DeleteI wanted to isolate the question of having work experience but lower paper qualifications versus having no to little work experience and higher paper qualifications, and see which one you would value more when considering who to hire.
Anyways, thank you for replying and for your answer!
Have a nice day ahead!
Well if you have to force me to make a decision, then I would have to favour work experience.
DeleteHowever.
I would consider one other factor: potential. I think it is wrong to discriminate against a bright young person with loads of potential but little experience. After all, I was once a bright young person with plenty of potential and little experience, till someone was willing to give me a chance based on my potential to achieve great things. I was grateful for that and now I always remember that.
I see... So I guess it could have went either way? I don't mean to discriminate against young people, since in the example, I intended for both candidates to be of same age (thus the 4 years of working experience for the second candidate because he went out to work instead of going university). I myself am considering whether university is worth, especially when I want to study humanities, which is not very relevant or useful to my future career. Actually, I don't even know what I want to do. Until I can sense which general direction I am going, then perhaps I can figure out if a degree is worth my commitment for the direction I am going.
DeleteWell PKH, I did do a degree in geography and here's a piece I wrote about it for your reference: http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2017/12/q-is-geography-degree-totally-useless.html Have a read as I think it will answer a lot of questions.
DeleteThough I have to caution you against this "I don't even know what I want to do" attitude - it's not going to help you. Doing a degree isn't going to answer that question as you'll be so busy with deadlines and projects etc that you're not thinking about what is next after you graduate. The only way to tackle that problem is to grab the bull by its horns - doing this before you get a degree is infinitely better because you can then decide to get a different degree, one that is far more relevant and useful.
DeleteFor me, I knew what I wanted to do, then I didn't get it. I was silly - with my geography degree, I had lofty ambitions of joining an NGO and helping the world, I even made it to the final round interviews of joining the Red Cross and finally, it was a no. Then in desperation, I took a sales job - the first one I could find just because I needed to feel as if someone wanted to employ me and that I wasn't unemployable with a useless degree. Then one thing led to another, changed jobs many times (I am now 43) and now I work in corporate finance.
I can't stress this enough: you need to plan. If you don't know what you wanna do, you need to decide and start planning. Don't make my mistake - my plan A didn't work out and I was like, oh shit I now need a plan B?!?! I didn't have one and it was chaos to say the least.
Thanks for article recommendation LIFT, will definitely read it. Yeah, I agree that that attitude isn't going to help me, that is why I'll only plan to commit to a degree once I know which general direction I am going and if the degree is going to help me or not. I am looking at IT (computer science related) or healthcare (nursing) at the moment, but still not sure if it is something I want to do.
DeleteWell IT and nursing are very different indeed, what do you see yourself doing in your career? Are you the kind of person who will be happy working as a nurse? If so, it is a great career path and most importantly, it will lead to many doors opening for you all over the world as nurses are always in great demand - you can even move to the West as a nurse if you wish. But IT ... I am far less convinced for a simple reason: if you're passionate about it, you'll already be doing it, you won't be comparing it to nursing and saying I am not decided, I don't know. I'm not saying that it isn't useful - of course it is, I am just wondering how you can put two very different courses next to each other and what your thought process is like.
DeleteHere's a suggestion: let's start with the end result and work backwards. What kind of adult life do you want? What kind of people do you wanna work with? What kind of lifestyle would suit you? The answers to those questions would help point you in the right direction.
For me right now, I just wanna make a lot of money. Hence corporate finance suits me just fine.
@Pang Join IT at your own peril. Take it from me a veteran of the IT industry for over 10 years. I recently left IT for healthcare and won't look back.
DeleteThe lack of a points immigration system and a useless labour union in Singapore has resulted in cost centre jobs like those in IT to be flooded by cheap foreigners. Do not join that industry unless you want your job to be undercut every year with cheaper and cheaper foreign labour.
I can't speak for IT in other countries but if you want to stay and survive in Singapore just don't work in IT.
I have had so many headhunters and job offers after getting my new qualification in a healthcare profession. In fact i have interested employers who are even willing to pay money to buy out the existing bond with my current employer. This has never happened with me when i was working in IT, and would never happen since foreign labour from a certain country is cheap and plentiful.
Thank you for the wise words of wisdom Choaniki!!
DeleteFirst of all, I just want to thank you two for taking out your free time to help a stranger on the internet.
DeleteThank you LIFT and Choaniki.
Here’s some context about myself first. I am a Polytechnic graduate, 22 years old this year, have been working for 2 years in the facilities management line in Singapore but looking to change industry because I don’t like it (I didn't think through fully when I choose to study facilities management in Poly, a mistake of a younger self). During this time, I learnt a few things about what I want for my career.
I am not highly motivated by career ambitions and want a job that earns a living without being overly demanding. I value freedom and my personal life, and don’t get much satisfaction out of climbing the corporate ladder. The ideal job is one that pays the bills, but offers little stress and plenty of free time to pursue my own interests.
If possible, I want to do something that is meaningful as well. I like to help people so I thought maybe nursing can be suitable.
I want to use my creativity as well as my practical knowledge. I want to be competent in an area and using my knowledge to solve problems. I also prefer work which is not overly repetitive, although I can tolerate some routine. I enjoy learning new things but I also want to practice my existing skills as well.
I prefer to work alone because I focus better, but I can also work in a team.
That is the ideal end result. The expectations are rather high I think, and so I am willing to compromise on some areas while working towards it. Although I still can’t seem any clear career path from what I described. Maybe you sirs will have some ideas to share?
As for my thought process for nursing, I like to help people, and after taking some personality tests (MBTI and OCEAN) just for some ideas (I know they are not 100% reliable as well), one of the recommendations is the healthcare industry. My grades are not good enough to study medicine (nor do I want to), and nursing sounds good. Especially since the demand is high and the supply is low, with good remuneration and global mobility, it really sounds like a good and suitable option. I do not know if I will like nursing or not because I have never done it, so I guess the next best thing would be to interview a nurse to learn more or shadow one (if they let me) to get a better gauge to see if I like it or not. But for now, I am undecided but this is my thought process for nursing.
As for my thought process for IT, I thought it might be suitable because I have a high degree of independence and can focus well on solitary tasks. I thought I might be able to replicate that in IT, such as coding. As I also like to think, analyse and solve problems, that is why I thought IT might be suitable. Because what I imagine is that I'll be doing long periods of focused work to analyse and solve problems which I like (I could be wrong about this, perhaps Choaniki can share his experience with me?). That is my thoughts on why I want to do IT.
What are your thoughts on my comments? I look forward to hearing them!
Thank you two once more and have a nice weekend ahead.
Hi PKH - allow me to respond to the following points you've made.
Delete1. We have a good community of people here who are happy to speak honestly, with an open mind, I want you to know that this is a safe space where you can discuss anything and I'm very grateful to my other readers because they will offer different points of views that I may not be able to think of and thus we have created a place where you're not just getting my opinions but also tapping into the other opinions of my (mostly very wise) readers. :)
2. I think you're approaching it incorrectly. Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of Singaporeans will berate you for having this lack of ambition - I did exactly the same thing to my nephew when he said that he wanted to be a teacher. And I was like, "mummy and daddy give you the best of everything for your education and is this how you repay them by settling to be a teacher?! What is wrong with you? Where is the ambition?!" Yeah, you can take the boy out of Singapore, but you can't take Singapore out of the boy. Let me make an observation that may be wrong and correct me if I am salah on this point okay? You probably see a lot of people in Singapore working crazy long hours to pay the bills because they have families to support - like they have parents who need money, they have kids who need so much etc. So they're trapped in their jobs, they're not happy but so many people are dependent on them that they have absolutely no choice but to keep on working. And I'm probably describing somebody you know - and you're thinking, no no no I don't want to become like that.
However, I think the answer to that question is to simply find a career that you like, look everybody has passions, hobbies, interests and some of us are fortunate enough to have jobs which are fun, interesting and something that you enjoy greatly. That is such a key factor in becoming successful in what you do - look, I see accountants who go into the office everyday and sort out huge volumes of data, how on earth do they get passionate and have fun with that I will never know. But I knew of this accountant who was so crazy good at what he did that he had the money to learn how to fly a private jet and went on to buy one of his own - so the accountancy practice provided him with the means to do fun things in life and so he has fun whilst flying his plane, rather than doing the accounts. I suppose my situation is fairly similar - I don't get incredibly passionate about what I do in corporate finance but I am making a ton of money and it allows me to travel a lot. Like I spend approximately 3 months a year on holiday, traveling. It's the kind of lifestyle that very few people can have whilst holding down a full time job. That is one practical route to go down.
3. I think you need to look towards your hobbies, interests and passions in terms of finding a career, rather than looking anywhere else. I really don't believe in these personality tests (MBTI/OCEAN) - I did the test and I got 'architect' as a career because I'm the thinking sort who likes to be left on my own to get own with my big ideas, yeah but it ignored the fact that I've got no interest in that field! I know a few architects and respect to them for what they do, it is not for me thank you. So please, those tests may be fun but don't believe what they tell you lah. You need to trust your instincts rather than ask someone to tell you what to do or even depend on the results of a test.
4. So why don't you start by telling me what your hobbies & interests are? Then either you can:
a) start learning loads of money to do the stuff you really enjoy
b) find a career that involves one of your passions, so work will be a genuine joy
part 2 coming up.
5. Of course this desire to do something good with your career and help others is a really good thing - but I have to ask you if you're really prepared for a career in nursing. My mother-in-law is in her late 80s and needs 24 hours care. My sister-in-law and her husband take care of her now (with the help of a social worker who visits a few times a day) and one day, my sister-in-law's husband found himself in a situation whereby my mother-in-law her diarrhea all over her bed and she was confused and embarrassed by the situation. He didn't know where to start - then the social worker showed up and basically took over, she washed and changed my mother-in-law whilst she told my sister-in-law's husband to clean the bedroom. It was an awkward situation that the social worker handled flawlessly because she had all the social skills to deal with elderly folks who are frail and my mother-in-law trusts her social worker. I am a dumb autistic moron who has crap social skills - http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2018/07/im-autistic-moron-will-you-be-my-friend.html I couldn't possibly do what this social worker does for my mother-in-law. Thus I believe that it takes a certain kind of character to want to go into career like nursing. Do you have what it takes to handle sick, old people like my mother-in-law? You see, not everyone has what it takes like that brilliant social worker.
Delete6. Let me tell you the situation in the UK: we are desperately short of nurses so we get tons of nurses from the Philippines as they speak English and many Filipinos realize they can move to the West via the nursing route. Don't get me wrong - English hospitals would not be able to function without the support of all these Filipino members of staff, they are vital and important! But there are stories of all these young, Filipina nurses who don't like nursing but just want to move to the UK and they try very hard to marry a white guy here so they can stay on as a wife rather than as a nurse - some end up marrying old (ugly, fat etc) men whom they don't love just to get out of nursing because they are so desperate to leave the profession. It's not like they are horrible people, but the challenges of nursing is not for everyone and these Filipina nurses are allowed to change their minds about their careers, but they don't have any other skills and they don't want to go back to the Philippines so married seems to be the only option left to them. Sad situation but there you go. Think very carefully about nursing.
7. From what you've written, I think you know so little about nursing and the moment you are exposed to the harsh reality of having to deal with the difficult work of nursing, you will run a mile and hide far, far away. It is an EXTREMELY demanding and difficult job, if you're making your decision based on some internet test rather than knowing exactly what nurses do for a living, then you're so so so wrong and barking up the wrong tree. By all means, do your research and start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2955FlikYaU
Delete8. As for IT, again, you're totally barking up the wrong tree (and Choaniki back me up here or tell me I am wrong). Sorry I think you need to be bloody good at IT to consider it as a career - you're up against these 12 year old super geniuses who are coming up with apps that have been sold for millions and they are doing this on their own, it is completely self-taught and they are not relying on some university to teach them how to do it. They are naturally gifted and if you're NOT gifted in this field and if you are reliant on someone teaching you how to code (if you are not already a coder), then hell no, no no no no no. Stay the hell away from IT. You're not bloody good at it. You're only choosing it on the basis of some inaccurate, misleading psychometric test which failed to ask you the most important question of them all: are you a brilliant IT genius or do you know very little about it? Your motivations are completely wrong and you decision making process is so so wrong as well. Hey, if you are brilliant at IT, let me know but if not, then no no no this is NOT for you. If you go into IT when you are at best mediocre at it, then your life in IT is always going to SUCK and you're gonna be so miserable as others who are genuinely brilliant at it will leapfrog over you despite being 10 or 20 years younger. Hell no.
You're barking up the wrong tree with both nursing and IT. So so so wrong. Neither are right for you. Forget those tests you took. They have only pointed you in the wrong direction!!!!!
If I may summarize one super important point please: you need to be BRILLIANT at your job, you need to find something you can become exceeding good at. Now, perhaps you have some natural talent or ability that you already have (and have yet to tell us about), or perhaps you have something that is of great interest to you and makes you very happy. When you're doing something you truly enjoy and like, then it is not that hard to become good at it because people who are passionate about their hobbies enjoy putting a lot of hard work to indulge in their hobbies. I have some talents and skills that allow me to be highly successful in my job - so at least I am in a position to make a lot of money whilst not putting in a lot of effort; it is a lucky coincidence and whilst I may sacrifice a bit of job satisfaction in choosing finance, it doesn't change the fact that I am bloody good at what I am doing.
DeleteLike seriously, you must be either:
a) really good at something or at the very least,
b) really passionate about something.
So those are the two guiding principles that should guide your choice of a career, everything else that you've used has led you to come up with two suggestions which I believe are totally wrong for you!
So looking back at a) and b) above, can you tell me if there's anything you're brilliant at or you're super interested in?
@Pang to find out what you are signing up for as a nurse just go to any restructured hospital and ask to shadow a nurse for a day or two.
DeleteAs for what LIFT mentioned about the IT industry, that is one portion which is Fintech. They hire lots of geniuses who have no problems getting hired in silicon valley. But Singaporean who really are so brilliant just go to silicon valley instead.
Most of the IT needed in Singapore is infrastructure or operational based. This means lots of daily maintenance and those are all cost centre jobs which you are fighting a losing battle with foreigners when it comes to salary. As for coding, I know small companies already outsource most of it to Myanmar, Vietnam, China, India, etc. Locals usually become project managers who manage these programmers.
Even when I was in IT I was never truly alone. I had to work with a global IT team. So you need to work well with a team and that team might be several time zones away and come from various different cultures (Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, English in my case).
The most useful skill I learnt from my past career in IT is how to work in different countries with various people from different cultures. In fact I had to setup the IT infrastructure in Shenzhen from scratch and had to provide technical support fully in Chinese to mainlanders. I also traveled to UK to meet with the global service delivery manager and the IT director and I also had the chance to meet LIFT while I was there.
My only advise for you is to go for various job and career fairs organised by WSG and various other industrial big shots. You might find something interesting that you never knew you could make a career out of.
Can I point out another major flaw in Pang's logic? He isn't considering the role of supply & demand in terms of IT whilst you've clearly explained it in your post.
DeleteAt university, I was very good at meteorology (the study of weather) but were there any jobs for me out there? Nope, none at all. No one was looking to hire a meteorologist. So it didn't matter how brilliant I was when it came to meteorology, it wasn't going to lead to a job. So there are limits as well when you do want to follow your heart and passions
Sure there is always plenty of demand for nurses because it is a bloody hard job, nurses are overworked and underpaid. I'll like to see Pang survive the first how after having to mop up some urine, shit, blood, vomit and other nasty bodily fluids.
I agree that Pang needs to do a lot more research and come to compromise about what he could do rather than just rely on those vague online tests. Geez, imagine me as an architect. Yeah right.
Hi LIFT and Choaniki, apologies for the late reply because there was a lot to digest and a lot of self reflection for me to do.
DeleteFor LIFT’s point 2, you are not wrong. I've definitely seen people like you’ve described during my years of work and I also don't want to become like that. Although, I admire these people for their strength and responsibility to duty, the duty they had chosen for themselves for their loved ones.
Earning a lot of money and using the money to buy freedom and to do the things you like is definitely one way to go down.
For LIFT’s point 4, my hobbies and interests are in reading books and thinking about things (like philosophy). I also like video games and basketball. I guess my dream job is to be a Philosophy Lecturer, but that path is not really opened to me and not very practical as well. I don’t think I have the resources to pursue a PhD in Philosophy. Not to mention that the market for lecturers is very competitive with very few spots, even though the number of PhD Philosophy Graduates are few, many struggle to find full tenure positions. That is why I am searching for other opportunities elsewhere. My loved ones are more important to me than my dreams.
As for something that I am good at, I was good at math when I was younger but didn’t pursue it further when I went to Polytechnic. And now with 2 years of working experience, I had forgotten most of it. I guess I’m good with numbers and logic.
For LIFT’s other points about nursing, I definitely need to do more research about nursing before I can come to a more solid conclusion.
For LIFT’s other points about IT and Choaniki’s comments, I’m really not so sure too. Though I’ve read about the vacancy reports (2018 and 2017 report) by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, as well as various recent credible news articles (Straits Time) that the software engineering side of IT is in need to people, as well as UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) design. Plus there’s the whole smart nation direction the Singapore Government is taking. So I guess I need to do more reading and research about the supply and demand for IT as well.
Looks like I need to do a lot more reading and research for both fields!
Anyways, may I ask you two this question?
What would you say to your 18 year old self?
I am curious as to what you two will say to your younger selves. Need not to be career related.
Thank you guys for the replies and advice again! Have a nice day ahead.
Firstly, here is a follow up on this post inspired by your questions: http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2019/06/how-do-you-pick-right-career-path.html
DeleteNow here's is my response to you:
1. Forget about become a lecturer in philosophy - like you rightly pointed out, supply & demand is a crucial factor. So few universities are hiring, you literally have to wait for an opening which is either someone retiring or dying, or a university offering a new course and that's a shitty position to be in. Basketball is a tough industry to make a living from - coaches get paid very little in sport unless you're coaching some NBA team in America. http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2019/04/but-you-even-dont-want-to-work-as.html and unless you're going to become the next NBA superstar, well, I just don't see how that's going to pay the bills for you in Singapore. And as for video games, that's not my area of expertise but I say that's far better in terms of the number of employment opportunities and that's something you need to look into further, do your homework and research.
2. Or you can just do what I do - ie. a job that you're very competent at, but not necessarily enjoy that much but use the money to make your life comfortable and fun. I'm pragmatic like that - money can buy you so many things to make your life great.
3. Being good at maths is pointless lah. Seriously. We live in the age of computers. I'm good at maths too but so what? I work with bonds all the time and the pricing of bonds require some very complex calculations and do I actually calculate these pricings by hand? Of course not - we're NOT allowed to. A computer programme does it for us to eliminate the possibility of human error. Maths is pretty fucking useless in this day and age and it is really IT skills you need - so I need to understand how to work the programme to get the information I need rather than calculate the price for the quote. Not that I'm saying that being good with numbers & logic isn't a useful skill, but you have to find a field where you can apply it like accountancy rather than thinking maths is useful.
4. Choaniki works in a hospital and he can tell you more about nursing than I can - but I recall the nursing home where my grandmother spent the last years of her life, like 90% of the staff were Filipinos, Burmese or Sri Lankan. Hardly any Singaporeans at all - why? Because the work was bloody difficult, the conditions were challenging and the pay was low - most Singaporeans looked at the job and thought, no thanks, no way. If you actually had a look at the conditions that nurses in Singapore had to work under, then I think you would run a mile. You have a very idealized vision of nursing which is nothing like the reality. Try this scenario: an elderly patient suffered diarrhea and shat all over the bed. You now have to clean the patient up, change the patient and then clean up the shit on the bed and the floor. Your nurse from Myanmar does it gladly because she can earn more money in Singapore doing that than in her village in Myanmar - are you happy to do the same?
Delete5. I think you're also approaching the whole IT issue incorrectly as well - you're basing your argument on the report you've read in the news, rather than you telling me, "I'm great at IT, I have loads of experience dealing with UX and UI and I've a passion for software engineering." You're putting the horse before the cart. What makes you think you'll be any good at any of these jobs? What if you suck at it? What if you can't compete with people who are far more passionate or talented in this field? I'm not saying that you can't get jobs in IT in Singapore, what I am saying is that if IT is right for you, you won't be saying, "I need to do some more research" - you'll be saying, "I love IT and can't imagine working in another field." So I think your approach is completely wrong. You can't determine your career path by reading reports like that - you need to identify something you're going to be competent at.
As for the last question, oh it's simple: "in the future, you will get out of Singapore, you will settle in the UK and life will indeed be better there. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence once you're 8 time zones away from your parents. It won't be all smooth sailing but you'll be a lot happier as an adult than you ever were as a child. Mostly because you're 8 time zones away from your parents."
Yes I have serious issues with my parents, I don't get along with them, I barely ever talk to them - or at least never directly. I have a wonderful sister whom I love dearly and she funnels information through, like she'll tell my parents what I am doing and vice versa, without her efforts, I would not have spoken to my parents in many, many years. I had a pretty fucked up childhood in many ways and years ago, as a teenager, I thought I was miserable because I hated Singapore but now I realized the problem wasn't Singapore per se, but just how fucked up my parents were and getting the hell away from them, starting a new life so far away from them allowed me to become a much happier person now that I have cut them out of my life. You can speak to Choaniki too about that - he too has a bad relationship with his parents.
Hi LIFT,
DeleteThank you for the article recommendation! I had read it and they are good points for me to consider too.
As for point 4, yeah, I think I idealized nursing a little bit. I can’t 100% predict how I will react to the situation you had put out and how I will feel. But in my mind, I won't say I am happy to clean shit. But I'll do it if it is my job and I'm required to do it. The elderly patient probably doesn't have much control and it isn’t his fault, and nobody wants to shit uncontrollably at their bed. I'll help to clean him up, and make sure he gets some rest and take some medicine. I'll also clean the place up (or ask the hospital cleaners/ other nurses to assist). But I’m not sure about doing it all the time everyday. As for cleaning butts everyday, as far as I’ve read about nursing in Singapore, isn’t a daily occurrence, and are mostly done by nurses of lower rank (such as foreign workers) who don’t have a nursing degree, but is something that all nurses must be prepared for and assist if needed.
As for point 5, I agree, I don’t know if I am good at it. But before I go and find out, I wanted to make sure that my time spent into it won’t be “wasted” in terms of identifying a potential career and my general direction. I wanted to make sure that at least, there was some stability and opportunity in an area I pursue so that I can get a job and money to pay the bills. As for identifying my personal strengths at the moment... To be honest, I don't know my own strengths actually. I suppose I enjoyed doing presentations when I was studying in Poly (there were many projects and presentations). I think I can communicate ideas pretty clearly to people (my own leisure readings into Philosophy helped a lot). I like to be clear and precise, and I like my communication to be like that too. I guess I like to help people understand things, like explaining things to people. Which sounds like being a teacher, but then again, nothing wrong with teachers since the job market is in need of teachers in Singapore, but the working hours for teachers in Singapore isn't suitable for me because they start very early (remember the 730am national anthems?) so I'm not sure if I will enjoy that. Not to mention the 8 to 12 hour workdays, with other tasks not totally related to teaching, like heading a CCA club, and actively having the club participate in competitions and stuff (I had considered teaching and had read about it before).
So, at the moment, I think I might have found some potential in IT (in terms of prospects). There’s some sort of demand there. I don’t know if I am good at it, so I think I will try it out. Although you don’t recommend me to try it out because I had missed the boat and I’m one of the adults (am I though? I am 22! Still feel like the kid in me) who thinks, "duh, I've never considered IT as a career but perhaps I can take a course or two and see if I like it?" I want to go learn for myself in those online courses and some programming books, and see if it is interesting for me. Never try, never know. Maybe I’ll like it, maybe not, and then if not (or if I suck at it), I’m back to square one. If I like it, I might not need to do it professionally, but just for fun. But I’m still back at square one! Damn it. The search is real, and long, and full of challenges.
Thanks for being honest and sharing with me about your parents. Not many people are candid like you are, which is a rare thing nowadays.
Hi PKH, a few points for you.
Delete1. As for the nurse cleaning shit, I think it is a calling to want to care for people who are very ill rather than a career option you choose just because you have certain desires to help people. The nurse from Myanmar does it for the money because what she earns as a nurse in Singapore is a lot more than what she can ever earn in Myanmar. However, speak to Choaniki about jobs higher up the food chain in healthcare - he is now a fully qualified X-Ray radiologist (sorry I don't know the full title) having given up a career in IT. He certainly isn't cleaning up bodily fluids in the wards, but he is a vital member of the healthcare community. He is a man who has made a very good choice in this aspect. Speak to him about it, please.
2. Let me be blunt about my job situation. Am I passionate about it? No, I am not. But why am I doing it? Well, a combination of factors: I am good at it, I can make a lot of money easily (it's sales, whenever my clients invest I get a cut, it is easy money), I work half a day or so and get plenty of sleep, I have plenty of time to do stuff I enjoy etc.
That's me working in finance getting all of those perks. Do you think you'll get any of those perks in IT?
Did you even consider how much you will get paid in IT? I am going to turn to Choaniki as he has worked in IT for his opinion - just in case I have been way too harsh on you, but here's my take on the situation: sure you can make big money in IT but you have to be the best of the best (the same can be said about any industry) and if you're such a late starter at 22, then sorry to be blunt, you're NOT the best of the best in IT. Sure we can train you to perform some role in a company, but you'll be but a small cog in a big piece of machinery and you'll end up working long hours for mediocre amounts of money, doing a job you may be competent at but I doubt you'll enjoy or feel passionate about. Will you become amongst the best of the best at your age? I doubt it, it's never gonna happen, you can be at best a foot soldier in the world of IT - amongst the lower ranked infantrymen and that's a bad position to be in because that means your job could easily be replaced by a foreigner either in Singapore or the job can just go to India altogether.
I refer you to Choaniki's analysis of the IT sector in Singapore (please scroll down) and I would also ask him to verify if my analysis is accurate or not here please. Thanks Choaniki.
OK since we're being honest, let me tell you what I do first thing I wake up. I log onto my trading system for notifications of new trades placed by my clients and I work out how much money I've made overnight from Asia whilst I had been asleep (London is currently 7 hours behind Singapore, 8 hours in the winter). Sometimes it's nothing, sometimes it's a few hundreds and once in a while it is a few thousands. But on a good day, I can wake up in the morning and literally have made over $20,000 overnight whilst sleeping. I worked my butt off to establish my business contacts in Asia, but now that I've set that all up, I can sit back, get a good night's sleep and the money is so easy I am literally making money whilst I sleep.
DeleteThat's why I work in finance. The nice things in life cost money. I need to get one of my properties repainted before the new tenant moves in, the painter gives me a quote - imagine if I had problems paying him. I am now planning my trip to Argentina, the local guide suggests another excursion to the mountains that will cost a further US$500 and I don't want to have to say no just because I have no money to do something like that as it sounded like the experience of a life time.
Will you ever have money to spend like that if you work in IT? I'll let Choaniki answer that, because I really don't think you'll ever earn enough in IT to justify doing a job you're merely competent at. I'm not passionate about my job, but the money more than makes up for it. Will you ever be in that kind of position in IT? Never, no I don't think so - that's my honest answer but I'll let Choaniki have the final say.
I don't really agree on the passion part. Anything you have a passion in that you have to do for work will cause you to lose that passion eventually. I was very passionate and interested in computers since young. I studied and was self taught in most aspects of hardware from desktop computers, windows and Mac notebooks, servers, networks, wireless equipment, you name it I have probably touched it before. Heck my first job was at Sim Lim Square just so that I could learn how to assemble a PC and install an OS plus troubleshoot basic startup issues. How many of the fresh graduates are willing to take up a low paying and tough gig like retail sales just to obtain skills? I have also worked at a helpdesk and managed to obtain valuable remote troubleshooting skills. I worked all the way up to a regional support engineer role and was sent to Shenzhen to setup the entire IT infrastructure including ERP solution for a new branch office. I could do all this because of my passion and skillsets.
DeleteHowever towards the end of my time in IT I had lost all interest in computers and no longer did any passion projects. I also no longer visited tech websites to follow the latest tech trends.
Nowadays for all passion projects I do for free like volunteering in Redcross to help the less fortunate. Ever since leaving IT I started to regain my interest in computers and am now thing on doing up my personal IT infrastructure for my new home.
Thanks for your reply Choaniki. Very interesting. Allow me to respond to your post.
DeleteOkay so clearly you have a passion for IT. I can relate to that - the same thing happened with my gymnastics. I did coach for a few years on the side and boy it killed my interest - I had to stop coaching and say, okay, just because you like gymnastics doesn't mean you will enjoy teaching it. I suppose if I could pick and choose my students, then I could really enjoy teaching gymnastics but as a coach, you are assigned a class and you have to do a job whether you like those students or not.
But can I ask you a hypothetical question? Would money have made everything okay? Say if you could earn S$10,000 a week doing IT, would you be like, oh yeah for that money I'll do anything because that money can be spent on so many things like buying a super nice house, luxury holidays and I could walk into any shop on Orchard Road and buy anything I like?
More money in IT would keep me longer in the industry, it wouldn't necessarily restore any my passion. But it is a ticking time bomb since I would be the first to be retrenched due to my high wages and the cost centre nature of the job.
DeleteHmmm. I suppose the other side of the question is what else you would rather do if you weren't working in IT? If you had something that you could switch to that would earn you good money and give you good job satisfaction, then of course you'll switch. I don't think I really have anything else I could switch to right now - certainly nothing that would earn me as much money.
DeleteDefinitely not being a bitter taxi driver which is why I plan to learn and new language (French) and move to a new country to explore the options.
DeletePour toi: http://limpehft.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-most-useful-language-to-learn.html
Delete@Pang I'm glad you asked for advice here instead of just trusting what you read in the propaganda papers.
ReplyDeleteI will let you in on a secret, this Smart Nation initiative is nothing new. Back in the early 2000s, the government partnered with Microsoft to come up some Smart Nation or digital nation equivalent initiative. Those who were old enough probably heard of this currently defunct local website called One net that is part of this initiative.
I was suckered by all the local news, back in the day, to study IT. The government kept harping on the need for IT trained professionals. But close to 20 years on they have yet to reach their goals and one can wonder why.
Part of the reason is due to the dot com crash. But the other more important reason is that the government took shortcuts and hired a massive number of foreigners to fill the IT gap. I have talked to so many locals who were trained in IT but left the industry to become teachers, salespersons, etc. The really talented one were headhunted and emigrated to US or other countries where they won't likely come back.
Have you talked to taxi drivers who used to work in IT? I have encountered too many to count. Some used to be IT directors or high salaried employees who were retrenched and unable to find a new job due to their age and over-qualification. Which other industry can you name which has so many qualified professionals turn to driving taxis?
If I had a good piece of advice for younger me I would have advised myself to not study IT and work in an industry that allowed me to get the hell out of SG ASAP.
Thank you for your response Choaniki. I'm just appalled that PKH is doing this: he is reading the news selectively, he is filtering out anything negative or pessimistic and only absorbing anything that is positive and optimistic about his situation. Yeah we all know how fucked up the situation is in Singapore, yet he chooses to filter out the bad news. But as you said, at least he is talking to us here. If he was truly filtering out the bad news, he would have disappeared a long time ago.
Delete@Pang https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-28/boeing-s-737-max-software-outsourced-to-9-an-hour-engineers
ReplyDeleteJust look at who you are fighting with. Even megacorporations are paying peanuts to cut costs. Nevermind the software written is misson critical and can cost lives when they malfunction.
US9 per hour is plenty to survive in India but I doubt you can get by that amount in Singapore.
@Pang - look, this is between you and Choaniki and I think the reasonable, sensible, rational response after speaking to him is "thanks for warning me, I will stay the hell away from IT" rather than "I will do more research."
DeletePermit me to be frank - you're lazy, you had so many years to find out more but you did so little. This is the best advice you're ever going to get and you should listen. If you think you're going to find evidence to the contrary, then you're just plain delusional. You know the saying, you can bring a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Choaniki has already given you such good advice, but if you're stubborn enough to not heed his advice, then you deserve to be either stuck in a bad job or unemployed.