This thread is ridiculously full of ****. I came here for the topic and read stupid replies by SIM (and non-SIM, seriously, what are you guys doing here?) kids. It's no wonder people like to trample on certs from SIM. I'm a UOL 2nd upper econs/mgt, recently grad 2 months ago, and although I finished my studies in 2 years, I still feel slightly ashamed to share that I attended sim-UOL.

Why? Look around you, literally, in school. 80% are rich brats who just waste their time and parents' money. They don't do anything value-added to their career and graduate with lofty aspirations thinking they can get a high salary (the same can be said for local grads).

Degrees are just a door opener, I don't think it matters 5 years later (as long as you pursue a progressive career and are an average to above average performer). A fresh grad will need work experience and interview tact to land a good job and salary. So why the competition? A local uni grad can be academically smart and still have a slow career progression, on the other hand, a "private uni grad" can be streetwise and progress fast in his area of expertise. Of course, there's only a handful of such people from either schools.

Anyway, tl;dr, back to the gist of this thread. I'm earning 3.2k, in a industry and job of my choice. I took some time to find a job as there weren't many openings for this type. It's not an easy job to enter (non-bank sector), and a good tip will be: do internships during your study break!!! If you don't want to "waste your precious holiday", don't cry and compare when you are earning ~2.5k and your local uni friends are earning ~1.5x your pay.