Will this ruin my future?

[Noobtopro]

Hey guys,

After getting a graduating GPA of 3.88 (Business Diploma), I was talking to my parents about pursue my further studies in one of the 3 local universities. However, due to family financial issues, my parents told me to go UniSIM and do a part time degree while working full time instead. The issue is not with the school fee, as I can easily get a bank loan to pay off. However, the problem is that if I go to a local uni, its the opportunity cost of not being able to work a full time job and help my family with the financial.

Really feeling kind of sore about it, after working so hard in poly to get this GPA, and unable to go local university.
But the thing is, will I still have a good career prospect by doing a part time degree with UniSIM? Afterall I will have few years of working experience after getting UniSIM degree, so does this increase my employability too?

Thanks for any advice

 

[erquan]

Hey guys,

After getting a graduating GPA of 3.88 (Business Diploma), I was talking to my parents about pursue my further studies in one of the 3 local universities. However, due to family financial issues, my parents told me to go UniSIM and do a part time degree while working full time instead. The issue is not with the school fee, as I can easily get a bank loan to pay off. However, the problem is that if I go to a local uni, its the opportunity cost of not being able to work a full time job and help my family with the financial.

Really feeling kind of sore about it, after working so hard in poly to get this GPA, and unable to go local university.
But the thing is, will I still have a good career prospect by doing a part time degree with UniSIM? Afterall I will have few years of working experience after getting UniSIM degree, so does this increase my employability too?

Thanks for any advice

u got nice grades, dont waste it; local uni will be a better choice

 

[Bedokian]

I understand how you feel and you are not alone. I have seen a few bright people who had to give up studying in local universities due to family financial issues. Some took part-time eventually while others did not continue at all.

There are a few ways to go about it. You could still go back to full time study after working 1-2 years (a few of my poly classmates did that), hoping by then your family situation improves. Alternatively, you could still work part time while attending a full time course, but this one needs discipline and time management.

As for the UNISIM option, with the announcement of being the 4th university, I can foresee the employers may give more attention to their degrees, although whether on par with the local 3 universities is still too early to tell.

Studying full time or part time, we have to make do with what we have for now to make a decision. That's life.

 

[Noobtopro]

u got nice grades, dont waste it; local uni will be a better choice

I, too, want to go to a local uni. But financial issues is really dragging me back.

 

[Noobtopro]

I understand how you feel and you are not alone. I have seen a few bright people who had to give up studying in local universities due to family financial issues. Some took part-time eventually while others did not continue at all.

There are a few ways to go about it. You could still go back to full time study after working 1-2 years (a few of my poly classmates did that), hoping by then your family situation improves. Alternatively, you could still work part time while attending a full time course, but this one needs discipline and time management.

As for the UNISIM option, with the announcement of being the 4th university, I can foresee the employers may give more attention to their degrees, although whether on par with the local 3 universities is still too early to tell.

Studying full time or part time, we have to make do with what we have for now to make a decision. That's life.

Thank you for your encouragement.

But to add on, my dad's health is not too good. Hence if anything happens to him, family financial is gonna deteriorate.

Agreed that I can still work part time while studying, I've been doing that for entire poly education too and still managed to juggle studies, CCA and part time work. However, Part time job can only bring me few hundred bucks a month. As compared to working full time, its a vast difference.

Sigh, probably going to UniSIM and do a part time degree...

 

[Bedokian]

Thank you for your encouragement.

But to add on, my dad's health is not too good. Hence if anything happens to him, family financial is gonna deteriorate.

Agreed that I can still work part time while studying, I've been doing that for entire poly education too and still managed to juggle studies, CCA and part time work. However, Part time job can only bring me few hundred bucks a month. As compared to working full time, its a vast difference.

Sigh, probably going to UniSIM and do a part time degree...

Whatever decision we make, whether good or bad, we have to make full use of the path taken.

The choice is yours. All the best to you and well wishes for your family.

 

[patryn33]

U could hope for better and work 2-3 then return to local uni.
U can talk to poly counselor and see if they have other options besides uniSim.
Maybe there is scholarship out there that pays $1k in allowance but u have to be bonded for a longer time if that's something u willing to give up.

Or become a teacher, u get to go NTU 1st 2 yrs if edu u get full salary. 3rd and 4th yr may get stipend or seek out bursary and work part time throughout edu to save up fir final 2yrs. If teach is what u wanna do.
Ministry of Education, Singapore: Teaching as a Career: Career Information: Teacher Training Schemes for ‘A’ Level / IP / IB and Diploma Holders

 

[simon_84]

unisim also have the option of scholarship and some modules are gradually getting tougher and tougher
for a basic degree, there are more than 25 modules to be completed in order to meet the 130 cu requirement.

 

[TKR1992]

But the thing is, will I still have a good career prospect by doing a part time degree with UniSIM? Afterall I will have few years of working experience after getting UniSIM degree, so does this increase my employability too?

Thanks for any advice

Yes, and yes.

A UniSIM degree may not seem much compared to a NUS degree as first glance, but a few years of relevant working experience will tip the scale to your favor.

If you are able to cope and juggle wisely, then in a few years, you may be able to climb higher than those who had gone to local uni.

 

[Havok_ex]

My girlfriend works and also studies while at NTU so it really is possible. She manages to squeeze her lessons to 3 days a week. Leaving 2 weekdays and 2 weekends to work and evenings to teach tuition. She pays her tuition fees with bank loans and the university is quite generous with bursaries. Her parents dont give her allowance anymore so she survives by teaching tuition and working part-time at a restaurant. So yes, if you have the will, it is possible to work and study full-time at the same time.

 

[Nicholas92]

I was discussing something similar with my peers this morning. Warning : WOT.

The opportunity cost for Poly Grads is indeed high.

Student A :
Instead of going for full-time degree, earning a (being prudent here) starting pay of 1.6 to 1.8k a month for 4 years will put him in a fairly healthy financial position. By the end of the 4 years, it is safe to say (unless its a f-up company), that his basic pay should be 2k+.

{ I find that Poly Grades have little correlation to their starting pay, but with a 3.88 and presumably a diploma with Merit - you shouldn't have too much trouble finding employment. }

* I know of very rare cases of fresh Diploma Grads getting 2k pay. Its possible.

And someone who has gone the degree route after graduating from Poly ?

A huge study loan debt (Unless their parents forked out for them which isn't much to be proud of, or won a scholarship)

Even if he had worked part time during his 4 years, his savings will not be comparable.

Yes, his starting may easily be 2.5k+, or even 3k+, depending on his course. Possibly on par with you, but probably higher. So if this model continues, he will eventually overtake Student A from a financial point of view.

Now though, in your case, having taken a part-time degree with UniSIM, the situation changes totally.

Now we're comparing a UniSIM + few years of working experience VS NUS/NTU/SMU fresh grad.

Already at a financial headstart, the working experience pushes ahead. You will be on par at the very least, if not ahead. Don't worry about "future being ruined".

Of course, I'm comparing apples to apples. Average people ah. Don't jump in and talk about some NUS high flying Law Scholar with 5k a month, or some Poly entrepreneur who makes 10k a month.

 

[Noobtopro]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the replies. Really appreciates it a lot!

Alright, so it seems like either I just enter local university and work part time to get some allowance, or I just go to UniSIM which obviously isn't too bad of a choice. But the reason why my family wants me to do a part time degree is because the 1.6-1.8k of full time pay that I'm getting, I can give my parents some money to help with my family's financial. So I'm guessing even if studying full time in local uni and working part time isn't enough :/

I still have 2 years of NS to go. It's really a waste of time considering my situation. So I'm guessing I hope to get a placement in NTU (just went for admission interview) and decide during NS. If family financial still not doing good and my day's health ain't improving, I'll just have to take up the UniSIM road. Tough is tough, but thankfully working Part time in poly while actively participating in cca and juggling studies had trained my time management skills

 

[Kyoji83]

Hi Noobtopro,

1) I know some companies only take in local university & they mean NUS, NTU & SMU but never UniSIM. Not sure about far future but as for now & even in near future, this apply in their recruitment.

2) When you work full time for few years, you will feel that opportunity cost is too great to quit your full time job & study full time degree.

3) When you full time & study part time, you needs to give priority to work, family & education. For me, I choice work & family over education which is the reason why I have bad result for my degree. This is because if I am not working, who is going to feed my family & pay my school fees? I can afford not to have job & degree but cannot afford not to have my family.

4) Yes, financial is a problem for people like us. That is the reason why I ask my brother to get scholarships which include allowance too. You don't want to work part/full time & study full/part time which affect your result & worst case you cannot graduate with a degree. Eg:

NUS - Office of Admissions : Scholarship

 

[simon_84]

Student A :
Instead of going for full-time degree, earning a (being prudent here) starting pay of 1.6 to 1.8k a month for 4 years will put him in a fairly healthy financial position. By the end of the 4 years, it is safe to say (unless its a f-up company), that his basic pay should be 2k+.

a poly student if by the end of 2 years max, doesn't hit 2k, he/she should be looking for a new job in order the scale higher up the salary ladder.
even my screwed up sme company has to keep gradually increasing my pay yearly in order to keep its singaporean employees around.

not everybody can secure a job in major mnc, so starting from sme is one way to acquire some stepping stone working experience.

 

[FrostWurm]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the replies. Really appreciates it a lot!

Alright, so it seems like either I just enter local university and work part time to get some allowance, or I just go to UniSIM which obviously isn't too bad of a choice. But the reason why my family wants me to do a part time degree is because the 1.6-1.8k of full time pay that I'm getting, I can give my parents some money to help with my family's financial. So I'm guessing even if studying full time in local uni and working part time isn't enough :/

Very cliche, but YOLO. Going to university is a significant event in your life; choose wisely. If you can qualify for it, it means you have the calibre to succeed there. Don't settle for anything less.

Even if financials seem like an obstacle, there is no doubt that your parents will be very proud of your entry into a local university.

 

[Lixi_Loxer]

Try to get a scholarship if possible. Not everyone can get into local university. It is a privilege, especially for poly students. Don't give up everything you have worked for.

 

[GloveK8]

With ur results if u have excellent cca. Should go apply for scholarships. Anyway even if u dun have scholarships, if ur per capita income is less than 400 i think, the bursaries normally will be 4k and above per academic yr. Lets say u take 4 tution assignments per week. 8 hrs of ur time 20 per hr u can get 600 per month. The 4k u can give it to ur family to help them out i guess. During semester break go n work. But it will be tough. Especially in nbs where it is projects intensive

 

[Noobtopro]

Hey guys,

I appreciates everyone's responses and concern
However, one major issue is that my dad's health ain't at its best condition. If halfway throughout my degree and my dad can't work, I'm even more screwed. I understand that being able to enter any of the 3 local universities is a great privilege and it's really a shame to waste it. But there's just many considerations to take in place

Regarding scholarships, I will definitely just apply. In fact I've applied to many other external scholarships from organizations. I don't even mind having to serve a longer bond. But as of now, there ain't any replies from these scholarships. As for university's scholarship, it's a little difficult for me as my GPA ain't at the fantastic range of 3.9x. Even though I attained Gold for CCA, I didn't win much prestigious medals at national/international level. I'm also not in the committee, which actually adds a lot of volume if the candidate held a leadership position in cca :/

Oh well..

 

[Lixi_Loxer]

Hey guys,

I appreciates everyone's responses and concern
However, one major issue is that my dad's health ain't at its best condition. If halfway throughout my degree and my dad can't work, I'm even more screwed. I understand that being able to enter any of the 3 local universities is a great privilege and it's really a shame to waste it. But there's just many considerations to take in place

Regarding scholarships, I will definitely just apply. In fact I've applied to many other external scholarships from organizations. I don't even mind having to serve a longer bond. But as of now, there ain't any replies from these scholarships. As for university's scholarship, it's a little difficult for me as my GPA ain't at the fantastic range of 3.9x. Even though I attained Gold for CCA, I didn't win much prestigious medals at national/international level. I'm also not in the committee, which actually adds a lot of volume if the candidate held a leadership position in cca :/

Oh well..

That is why good CCA grade is considered during scholarship application; results are not everything.

 

[patryn33]

I still have 2 years of NS to go. It's really a waste of time considering my situation. So I'm guessing I hope to get a placement in NTU (just went for admission interview) and decide during NS. If family financial still not doing good and my day's health ain't improving, I'll just have to take up the UniSIM road. Tough is tough, but thankfully working Part time in poly while actively participating in cca and juggling studies had trained my time management skills

My buddy kinda in this situation except his dad died in poly 3rd yr a mortage to pay, he signed on in the army, he break bond after 5 yrs and went to local uni for his degree. Like u he has great GPA, a COM but has no great CCA. Yes start way late but the 5 yrs in army he saved up abit to tied him over, now doing alright. These day he travel exotic places