26 no degree is all hope lost? private degree holders advice needed please
 

In my teens and early 20s i was sick didnt finish JC/Poly (psychology) and barely have any long term work experience. I did eventually get a pre-uni cert from James Cook and diploma in comms from Kaplan. However when covid hit and i started looking at job requirement for comms/PR/Marketing jobs i realised i didnt learn sh*t in my dip.

I am contemplating getting my degree finally probably from PSB (will try SIT and SUSS but highly doubt theyll accept my certs).

I guess I was wondering if anyone has any advice for possible routes/training programmes/careers i can embark on without a degree/private degree. I think a management programme of some sort would be interesting but im not sure if they would accept a private degree. Im seeing alot of comments saying private degs are useless/unrecognised so i'm also worried about that.

I'm also learning digital marketing/copywriting/video editing on the side to see if anything sticks.

Thanks i'm immensely grateful for any pearls of wisdom


oh also i highly doubt i will go for govt jobs as im not sure if they accept persons with MH records

Honestly without a local uni degree you can forget about management associate programmes or civil service. Try for entry lvl direct hires and work your way up from there - it's possible to get something at ad agencies as the hours to pay ratio is not great and hence they're not the first choice for marketing grads.

Good luck, rat.

Give a man a mask and he will show his true face

The face inside is right beneath the skin

Obviously writing a hate post on an anonymous forum to berate an innocent person like so speaks volumes of your deep insecurity. Cheap shot at best. You must be suffering in real life.

To TS, no hope is ever lost if you don't believe in yourself. It is true nonetheless you have to accept your disadvantaged position and start learning to be more street-smart i.e. identify demand and supply in every situation you are in. Have confidence and a thick skin, because then cheap shot bullies like our friend Unregistered here would be a time-wasting hassle to deal with in your journey.

Why all so triggered ah?

I am trying to help you.

psych grad working in govt, job unrelated to degree, MH past but not with IMH. I feel that its very lucky to never go to IMH, IMH is used as the main point of reference for checks, but private doctors do not report your records to IMH, and neither do public hospital doctors, can confirm.

yes the degree helped to get the foot in the door to start work, not going to lie. it took a very long time to get a full time job (4 years from grad for me, prior to that was jumping around doing contract and sales jobs). However once work really starts, very little else matters, its all about how you tackle problems, think of solutions, make recommendations and build trust in your relationships at work.

My coworkers, many do not have degrees (despite what people here will tell you, and that info may be good enough to give away my workplace to some who know, its not one of the "big paying" places, not that I care for agency's rep amongst workers, we do good work). We care for each other all the same, paper is just paper at the end of the day.

Learn what you can on your own time, one of the biggest pieces of help I ever got in poly from my lecturer, is a fantastic place if you know how to assess information and learn from helpful people. if not, i guess you can use your skillsfuture to take more courses that may help you find work in the near future.

if you're searching for work, it may take awhile, and the jobs you do until you find one you like may not be great, it may not even pay very much at all. contract jobs would vary a lot. some in social work pays "ok" amount on paper but the hours are pure hell (job i worked from 7am until 10pm, clearly against guidelines but I needed the work, wasnt even paid overtime.)

Understand above all that you're worth more than what papers say you know, its more about how you apply what you know. if you're a creative, freelance work to get started and join communities with like-minded creatives can help you along. At the start, things are always rocky and honestly, working a part-time job or a mind-numbing one may be worth it as long as you keep in mind that this is not your end goal.

But even as you do them, try to understand that be it whether you work as an office peon or at a fast food outlet, someone else is treating the same job as their career, there is nothing to be ashamed of, and there is nothing to judge, everyone's working to get by. be humble, be helpful, maybe if you're not the type, force yourself to offer to help someone else with their task (office worker needs to get papers filed, if you have free time, offer help. the old aunty at work needs to move something and while she may not need help, offer anyway.) Over time, things will become second nature, you'll be noticed, but don't do this for "rewards", you're doing this because it builds discipline and the right attitude.

save what you can, take care of yourself first, establish your safety net. back then, i understood the concept, but no one ever explains lifestyle inflation with earning, just that i didn't make enough from my first job and paycheck to paycheck was normal, but i did set aside a small amount to save each month (~$100, which was about 4% of my take home). I even worked a-certain-job-that-gives-a-join-incentive-that-you-will-need-an-ipad-for-work, i made nothing from that job in the end, paid it all back when i left after a year. as you build savings, you'll worry less about money and eventually you'll be a whole paycheck ahead, you'll have a buffer.

you're just starting out, have hope, keep trying, you can do this. if you're looking for social reinforcement or assurance, I can tell you it can be done, but timelines are different for everyone.

Unfortunately this is what Singapore is like, you need a degree to succeed if you want to join the rat race. Alternatively, you can try thinking of business ideas and set up one.

Otherwise, just accept the fact that your counterparts with degrees will be given more opportunities, and you might lead a life of mediocrity if you stick to working in a company.

Don't mean to be offensive, but just seeing the reality in the situation. So i would urge you to start thinking of business ideas and not be cooped up in the rat race.

Don't bother with business, their SIM brains cannot handle it. Better off spending the money on toto, all in for hongbao draw.