signing on in army(short term) vs working outside

Originally Posted by Henry

do married regulars get to stay out 8-5?

No need married. Regular >2SG gets to stay out. But if your camp is so far, why bother? Also, certain units don't even require you to stay in.

hi. i am a nsf,20, diploma grad, currently in sispec ( now called scs) for my foundation term.

i have thethought of signing on long time ago, short term.

to be honest, i am attracted to the bounty sum, $25k. thats alot of money. thats more or less like a annual income for a diploma grad. the starting pay is good also, and is told by my enciks the starting pay for dip grad have raised also.

whats stopping me from signing is the work curriculum. my main priority is to be get a pt degree durng my service. i dun intend to serve long, just wannbe a farmer.

i am interested in signing on as medic spec. is there any experienced spec or lao jiao can enlighten me about the curriculum or life of a spec. i am afraid i have no time for part study. thats my main issue.

and also, may i know which vocation curriculum is the most flexible one?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi. i am a nsf,20, diploma grad, currently in sispec ( now called scs) for my foundation term.

i have thethought of signing on long time ago, short term.

to be honest, i am attracted to the bounty sum, $25k. thats alot of money. thats more or less like a annual income for a diploma grad. the starting pay is good also, and is told by my enciks the starting pay for dip grad have raised also.

whats stopping me from signing is the work curriculum. my main priority is to be get a pt degree durng my service. i dun intend to serve long, just wannbe a farmer.

i am interested in signing on as medic spec. is there any experienced spec or lao jiao can enlighten me about the curriculum or life of a spec. i am afraid i have no time for part study. thats my main issue.

and also, may i know which vocation curriculum is the most flexible one?

Join the commando unit.. the unit with the most freedom to study.. Confirm u get a 1st class honors degree!! Guaranteed!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi. i am a nsf,20, diploma grad, currently in sispec ( now called scs) for my foundation term.

i have thethought of signing on long time ago, short term.

to be honest, i am attracted to the bounty sum, $25k. thats alot of money. thats more or less like a annual income for a diploma grad. the starting pay is good also, and is told by my enciks the starting pay for dip grad have raised also.

whats stopping me from signing is the work curriculum. my main priority is to be get a pt degree durng my service. i dun intend to serve long, just wannbe a farmer.

i am interested in signing on as medic spec. is there any experienced spec or lao jiao can enlighten me about the curriculum or life of a spec. i am afraid i have no time for part study. thats my main issue.

and also, may i know which vocation curriculum is the most flexible one?

For a diploma grad, it may make sense to sign on as an officer, but as a spec, I will think long and hard.

The main thing is that the experience is not likely to be relevant to any respectable white collar civilian job you may want to do in the future (which is why many regulars end up as insurance agents, real estate agents, taxi drivers or hawkers) although the money is admittedly attractive if you are looking for funding for your degree.

As an officer, its really quite attractive. First, you wil get your captain rank after a year of getting your degree, and thats a high 3 to 5k pay package. Within 6 to 8 years, you can look to get your major rank, which is a 6 to 9k pay package.

If you do not mess up in a big way, your expected rank by retirement is LTC, which is not bad, with low 5 digit monthly pay package, not to mention contract extension bonuses thru the course of your career and about 3 months annual bonuses, which is not bad by any standard.

If want to sign on, at least sign on those vocations where your skills can be transferred to the outside world, e.g. technician. Knew of 2 friends who signed on as technicians and now working at engineering-related MNCs.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If want to sign on, at least sign on those vocations where your skills can be transferred to the outside world, e.g. technician. Knew of 2 friends who signed on as technicians and now working at engineering-related MNCs.

sign on with air force positions. almost all positions give you transferable skills.

[Ryan002]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

sign on with air force positions. almost all positions give you transferable skills.

Hell yes. I agree totally. I was in the Air Force during NS, and I was actually able to use the IT training they gave me to get a temp job. It paid well and I was working the day after I left the camp.

Also, people joke about how air force is all paperwork. Let them be garang if they want. The air force paperwork teaches you a million things about office life, not least of which, learning how to make power points, use excel, type faster, etc. etc.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are embarking on a quest to pursue your life and that's impressive for someone of your age.

I suggest taking up the offer and studying part time whilst in army.

For those who oppose this option, may I ask - what's the viable and betterer suggestion? After all, besides joining the army, he would be working in the private sector and we know that working in the private sector encompass extreme hard work and downsizing of profile by the employers nowadays.

Besides, we are facing an imminent danger of recession in Singapore that may take another few years to form up. The army is a blanket to shelter you from the shocks facing the economy. I don't suppose you would want to worry about your next month paycheck whilst studying for your exams. Even if retrenchment is not on the cards, given your age and starting pay, we would need to be realistic about how the employers squeeze you while retrenching other people! The job market would be bleak, should recession come.

For those who are in semicon industry, you would know that your orders are slowing down since last month, and it takes 6 mths or so before it tickles to the other industries such as banking, manufacturing, shipping, etc.

You are going to study anyway, but the decision is only: in the army, or private sector. Granted, the experience in the army does not bring you many places. But HR is not a pail of water in the toilet - they gauge your degree pay based on the date of which you obtain your degree. Hence, your 'diploma' experience is still, only diploma consideration for them; and that in turn makes your private sector experience irrelevant as well. It would be the same.

Of course, that would depend which industry you are going in. If you are going in Sales line, that wouldn't be a problem because Sales are dictated not by certs, but by solid performance. And that Sales experience is able to be carried forward. Now, if you are thinking, you would say: "But since Sales is based on performance, then what does my cert bring me to?" Precisely! Degree and diploma is not critical in Sales, in number, in figures. It is merely a tool to progress to management.... in the future.

Alot of people suggest that joining the army is as good as eating wasted rice, but that's the idea because you wouldn't want to have a lack of time to study for your degree.

Trust me. Because my wife has been studying for her SIM degree for the past 4 years and have yet to pass because of her work schedule. She always have to make choices to stay back for meetings (after work, mind you), and go classes. If she stayed back in office, she would miss classes. If she went for classes, she would be marked by her superiors because everyone else stayed.

Unless you are confident of finding a job where the schedule matches your preference, the army is a more suitable choice.

I would have to say it is a Yes/No case, because not all vocation are as suitable as it is. Some vocation offer time flexibility, but most not. It require time and commitment.

Wish to know more on what are your options, drop me a note at:

[email protected]

Originally Posted by Nimbuss

No need married. Regular >2SG gets to stay out. But if your camp is so far, why bother? Also, certain units don't even require you to stay in.

I ask this because i intend to sign on and study pt degree which most of us intend to. Which vocation can allow this flexibility like 8-5 ? And which vocations have skills that is transferable to normal cillivian life?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I ask this because i intend to sign on and study pt degree which most of us intend to. Which vocation can allow this flexibility like 8-5 ? And which vocations have skills that is transferable to normal cillivian life?

Signing on as regular is quite subjective to people. After signing the bond, some straight away regrets. Because lack of freedom, too many guard duties, always jo bo lan (do nothing), and tons of useless project (so called improvement). Some even drag wearing the uniform in public places. Some decided to break bonds, but only to find that they can be released only at the last year of services. Some prefer to sign on forever, since it is stable, good bonus, not much stress, relax lifestyles, some can work shifts, etc. Some ppl just like to rot in it, so they like to stay inside as a regular. It all depends on the individual.

You should decide whether you want to continue the bond only after you sign the first contracts. No one can reallly decide for you.

I used to be a regular, after 6 yrs (old scheme), I get out without any degree cert. It was not easy. Employers don't regard those years of experience in the air force as work experience, in fact to most of them, it is a slackening jobs. I have to suffer pay cut, even though my same peers which did not sign up, is much better pay than me. Also, once you get out, you will be like a tortise in the private sector, everything so different from being a regular. And you will think of job hopping to get a higher pay job. However, if you are willing to work hard and upgrade yourself after the "conversion", you will catch up with your peers of the same age in no time. Now, I am in Sales line and managing a office. It boils down to your personal objective to stay focus and work hard.

The saying always go, the good will leave after 1st contract, the lazy one will stay on. No offence, but this is the way it works. Many regular after ORD goes back to ST Engineering to work on aircraft. IN the first case, they shouldn't have left the airforce.