I only brought up my
psle grades not to boast but to reply to someone's post. As for my pg dip, I did it with the intention of using it for credits towards a biz masters, probably in a few years time. I currently am finishing up a part time education masters from university college london (I am also getting well above average marks here). Like i said i wasn't boasting about my
psle, even my mother thinks I only have a diploma, I didn't bother to tell anyone I even have a degree, except for employers, I didn't see the need to. Of course, I know many of you guys have topped your classes one time or another and have
nus degrees.
Speaking of
nus grads, I am sure many are competent. But here is my latest interaction with the 'supreme beings' (if you are the average poster here). I recently went to a sg hospital for an apendectomy. One
nus resident missed my vein about 6 times, on both hands, and pasted tegaderm horribly on a drip that was halfway in, he couldn't even stick an iv into me. I had to save some spots for more iv drips to come, so i politely asked for a nurse to do it, and she did it in one try. I had my op, and i was feeling terribly sore around my shoulders, so I asked everyone why did I feel like I just got knifed by a geylang loan shark on my right shoulder. The
nus grad nurses told me it was muscle loss from lying in bed for 2 full days. The
nus grad surgeons who cut me open repeated the same reason the few times I asked them. The pain was killing me, It didn't make any sense to me, how can a fit male experience so much muscle loss in just 2 days and 1 night? and it certainly didn't feel like muscle loss. I finally got a mobile phone, went on google, and found my answer on wikipedia. The extreme pain was due to the irritation to my nerves from the gas injected during my keyhole surgery. The gas was rising, hence, the shoulder pain. It is pretty common and will go away soon, which it did. So, a team of
nus surgeons, with aaa a level grades, who went to
nus for 5 years, and who had been doing keyhole for probably a few years, didn't even know this. Well, at least they managed to stick an iv drip into me.... I also had an opportunity to sit in at
ntu where my ears nearly bled after 10 minutes.
Sure, many of my friends are
nus grads and they are competent,smarter than me. I think the smartest guy is from
smu though.
University is a lot about wealth. If you are rich, or most likely your family is rich, you can afford the tuition fees of 80k or 100k at top unis, or take 4 year off to do your bachelors full time etc. It certainly is not like a levels, or o levels, where anyone can take the same exams for a few hundred bucks. Everyone reads the same textbooks, basically, and exams and assessments are mostly similar as well. In top unis, you may get more value added stuff like talks from famous people, internships, etc.
Many of the same
nus guys laugh at the uol external grads on the other thread, the uol is an examining body for its colleges and if you get a first or second upper from uol or any uni, I wouldn't think you are stupid at all, unlike many of the
nus fans here. In fact, if you think they are stupid, it actually says something about you.
I applied for pr in another country last year. I moved here to work because the experience here allows me to apply for pr there. In japan, I was earning about 4k after tax. Here, 3k or so. Given the low cost of living here, 3k is okay. You have to make 4k in sg just to get 3k in cash after
cpf. I used to average 4k in sg runnin my own small biz.
So, if you think
nus or
ntu grads are the most competent, so be it. Or if you think money is the most important thing in life, so be it. I wish you nothing but the best. We are all different.
For me, I have opportunities in many places, not just singapore. I wasn't focusing on my career or money much previously but now I will focus more on it. With a Celta, a ba and soon a ma, there are many opportunities out there for me in my field. A quality employer will judge an employee based on his performance rationally. Good employers are rare anyway.
It is funny. Quite a few top level local or ivy league grad folks in sg once called Singaporeans who live and work globally for opportunities quitters and losers. Never mind the majority of citizens in their generation was born overseas or that their parents are most likely immigrants. Yet, at the very same time, the same guys are taking in mostly low quality immigrants from mostly 3rd world countries and calling them talents. It is just hilarious. Just 20 years ago it was stop at one or two, or be fined, now they are begging folks to give birth to as many babies as possible.
I was offered a dozen positions last year when I was looking for a job. I signed to teach with an american uni here for personal reasons. But I was offered jobs that ranged from junior manager in a biz to teacher to teacher trainer for a higher salaries as well. Next year, maybe I will search for opportunities in sg. Or if i can't find a good employer there are plenty of opportunities elsewhere.
My achievements in life are not my
psle, 11 deg, a master, salary (mine is low, I am not an achiever by any means). I am a loser compared to my peers, lawyes, doctors, etc.
A lot of my 'achievements' are intrinsic. I am happy with my life, I just did something cool the other day, my student just told me I was the best teacher he ever had, I am not stuck in anyway, I am healthy, I had a good time with my friends last week, I helped someone last week.
So good luck to everyone.