Need career advice! HELP!

[littlesunray]

hello people,

i need some help in making decisions regarding my career. because i am stuck and i don't know what to do. any advice will be greatly appreciated! sorry that it is just a long post... but i really need u to understand so that u can help advise me...

thank you!!

-----------
where i started:
i graduated with an accounting degree at a local uni but did not join big 4 immediately because i didn't really like what i studied . i literally suffered through university and i felt that it really was not suited for me. of cos, i scored Cs throughout except for my electives like marketing, psychology etc.

first career:
hence, i decided not to waste my time suffering in big4 (likely will not pull through the 3years) and tried contracting teaching in a pri school.

i thought i would enjoy it because i used to volunteer and generally liked kids. i thought a job with more social aspect will be better for me (knowing myself, i don't think i have the maturity at that point in time to handle career in social work).

altho i did enjoy teaching and colleagues/supervisors were great, but i did not sign the PGDE bond. mainly because i was always having gastric and just literally tired from taking all the classes (my school was shorthanded) from 8am to 4pm (with one 1hr and one 30min break in btw.) also, i felt that i could not teach for the rest of my life and transiting out from teaching to other sectors will be harder. it will also render my accounting degree obsolete, and i need a mental challenge that teaching cannot offer.

second career:
so i quit after half a year and got a job in the statutory board at the same pay of $2.8K. did not like the culture and felt stressed managing the bureaucracy, inefficiency and unfriendly colleagues. but big bosses were ok with me and logically my career can go on there. my pay increment was not bad, about $400 for staying there 1.5years. but i left because i was unhappy and i stagnated in terms of learning (no mental challenge) .

third career
took a paycut of $100 to join hospital doing financial analysis work. i liked the people, the job, and environment. there is some meaning to what i'm doing and job is stimulating... of cos, stressful in terms of challenges and deadlines but i can accept it.

im doing very well and better than my peers, because i had to be an independent learner in my previous job where colleagues dont help you. but the increment is low, like $100 per year. there are politicks and favoritism, but can look past that and i can forsee myself staying on for a least 3years. i have been here more than a year, and time really flies when a job is tolerable and colleagues are ok.

my question
should i stay on? my main complaint is pay and career suitability / direction.

will i become obsolete because i don't know full sets, gl accounting etc? shld i switch to other finance jobs? i tried looking for other finance jobs and ALL DON'T appeal to me... frs and things makes me sleep.also the challenges that come with going up corporate ladder in finance sector just scares me...and i am generally not very happy doing finance work...altho i can tolerate.but just not in the long run.

i considered going back to teaching, but the lack of mobility across schools (if i kena bad principal and colleagues, or heavy workload) is something that puts me off. i prefer a career where i have flexibility to change organisation. i am also not confident of myself to handle the teaching responsibilities including taking kids on fieldtrips/overseas etc. also feel like teaching is not really teaching when you don't focus on caring and devleoping kids... nowadays just handling colleauges, parents, marking... mayb teaching really not suited for me or i am just picky.

i have considered psychology, social work when selecting a uni degree. i tried volunteer work with social worker, in the various settings like old folks home etc. feel like there is no mental challenge and you are just executing the govt policies (not really helping ppl or hv autonomy)...

i have lately considered being counselor in a school.. but i don't want a pay cut as i am planning to get married and have kids in 3years time... it will just set my plans back more...i don't know what are the challenges like, can anyone advise?

I hope ppl can give me some options. or let me know if it's because i am picky, or i am really in the wrong career and need to start finding the right one?

Pardon me for being straight, but you look like a guy that despite working for quite some years still don't understand what working is about.

95% of the people work because they need to, not because they love to. Sure they might find some parts of the work interesting, but they also accept a large portion of things they don't like as part of the package as long as overall the pay is decent and environment tolerable.

You seem to be jumping ship within a short time the moment you find something in the job you don't like. And I must say some of the things you are complaining are pretty ludicrous and are part and parcel of what most of us are going through anyway.

In summary, you want a job that pays well, comes with good increment every year, mentally challenging, work life balance, no bureaucracy, no office politics, must have skills mobility, no stress, nice colleagues, no need to climb corporate ladder, must have mental challenge to strategize and not just executing policies etc.

The absurdity of this Christmas list aside, you should do some self-reflection and ask yourself who do you really think you are and what sort of value can you really offer to any organization?

If you look at what you have shared objectively, these are the salient points of your career so far:

1) Poor academics in accounting, mostly "C" grades

2) 6 mths as a contract teacher, inability to work long hours and handle stakeholders

3) Does not appear to be organization savvy as constantly complaining about bureaucracy and office politics in various short stints in other jobs

4) Salary currently at a level significantly below peers with the same degree and years of work experience

5) No specific professional skills, network or experience, hopping between various entry level executive roles

Given this kind of profile, what sort of mentally challenging and high paying jobs can you actually take up?

You mentioned wanting to settle down and set up family. For you and your future family's sake, you better start "settling down" career wise and come up with a realistic set of expectations for your job. Drifting from one low level job to another constantly complaining about perceived negatives ain't gonna get you anywhere.

Originally Posted by littlesunray

hello people,

i need some help in making decisions regarding my career. because i am stuck and i don't know what to do. any advice will be greatly appreciated! sorry that it is just a long post... but i really need u to understand so that u can help advise me...

thank you!!

-----------
where i started:
i graduated with an accounting degree at a local uni but did not join big 4 immediately because i didn't really like what i studied . i literally suffered through university and i felt that it really was not suited for me. of cos, i scored Cs throughout except for my electives like marketing, psychology etc.

first career:
hence, i decided not to waste my time suffering in big4 (likely will not pull through the 3years) and tried contracting teaching in a pri school.

i thought i would enjoy it because i used to volunteer and generally liked kids. i thought a job with more social aspect will be better for me (knowing myself, i don't think i have the maturity at that point in time to handle career in social work).

altho i did enjoy teaching and colleagues/supervisors were great, but i did not sign the PGDE bond. mainly because i was always having gastric and just literally tired from taking all the classes (my school was shorthanded) from 8am to 4pm (with one 1hr and one 30min break in btw.) also, i felt that i could not teach for the rest of my life and transiting out from teaching to other sectors will be harder. it will also render my accounting degree obsolete, and i need a mental challenge that teaching cannot offer.

second career:
so i quit after half a year and got a job in the statutory board at the same pay of $2.8K. did not like the culture and felt stressed managing the bureaucracy, inefficiency and unfriendly colleagues. but big bosses were ok with me and logically my career can go on there. my pay increment was not bad, about $400 for staying there 1.5years. but i left because i was unhappy and i stagnated in terms of learning (no mental challenge) .

third career
took a paycut of $100 to join hospital doing financial analysis work. i liked the people, the job, and environment. there is some meaning to what i'm doing and job is stimulating... of cos, stressful in terms of challenges and deadlines but i can accept it.

im doing very well and better than my peers, because i had to be an independent learner in my previous job where colleagues dont help you. but the increment is low, like $100 per year. there are politicks and favoritism, but can look past that and i can forsee myself staying on for a least 3years. i have been here more than a year, and time really flies when a job is tolerable and colleagues are ok.

my question
should i stay on? my main complaint is pay and career suitability / direction.

will i become obsolete because i don't know full sets, gl accounting etc? shld i switch to other finance jobs? i tried looking for other finance jobs and ALL DON'T appeal to me... frs and things makes me sleep.also the challenges that come with going up corporate ladder in finance sector just scares me...and i am generally not very happy doing finance work...altho i can tolerate.but just not in the long run.

i considered going back to teaching, but the lack of mobility across schools (if i kena bad principal and colleagues, or heavy workload) is something that puts me off. i prefer a career where i have flexibility to change organisation. i am also not confident of myself to handle the teaching responsibilities including taking kids on fieldtrips/overseas etc. also feel like teaching is not really teaching when you don't focus on caring and devleoping kids... nowadays just handling colleauges, parents, marking... mayb teaching really not suited for me or i am just picky.

i have considered psychology, social work when selecting a uni degree. i tried volunteer work with social worker, in the various settings like old folks home etc. feel like there is no mental challenge and you are just executing the govt policies (not really helping ppl or hv autonomy)...

i have lately considered being counselor in a school.. but i don't want a pay cut as i am planning to get married and have kids in 3years time... it will just set my plans back more...i don't know what are the challenges like, can anyone advise?

I hope ppl can give me some options. or let me know if it's because i am picky, or i am really in the wrong career and need to start finding the right one?

You keep saying all the jobs are boring and not mentally challenge for you. So what kind of challenge are you looking for?

Originally Posted by littlesunray

hello people,

i need some help in making decisions regarding my career. because i am stuck and i don't know what to do. any advice will be greatly appreciated! sorry that it is just a long post... but i really need u to understand so that u can help advise me...

thank you!!

-----------
where i started:
i graduated with an accounting degree at a local uni but did not join big 4 immediately because i didn't really like what i studied . i literally suffered through university and i felt that it really was not suited for me. of cos, i scored Cs throughout except for my electives like marketing, psychology etc.

first career:
hence, i decided not to waste my time suffering in big4 (likely will not pull through the 3years) and tried contracting teaching in a pri school.

i thought i would enjoy it because i used to volunteer and generally liked kids. i thought a job with more social aspect will be better for me (knowing myself, i don't think i have the maturity at that point in time to handle career in social work).

altho i did enjoy teaching and colleagues/supervisors were great, but i did not sign the PGDE bond. mainly because i was always having gastric and just literally tired from taking all the classes (my school was shorthanded) from 8am to 4pm (with one 1hr and one 30min break in btw.) also, i felt that i could not teach for the rest of my life and transiting out from teaching to other sectors will be harder. it will also render my accounting degree obsolete, and i need a mental challenge that teaching cannot offer.

second career:
so i quit after half a year and got a job in the statutory board at the same pay of $2.8K. did not like the culture and felt stressed managing the bureaucracy, inefficiency and unfriendly colleagues. but big bosses were ok with me and logically my career can go on there. my pay increment was not bad, about $400 for staying there 1.5years. but i left because i was unhappy and i stagnated in terms of learning (no mental challenge) .

third career
took a paycut of $100 to join hospital doing financial analysis work. i liked the people, the job, and environment. there is some meaning to what i'm doing and job is stimulating... of cos, stressful in terms of challenges and deadlines but i can accept it.

im doing very well and better than my peers, because i had to be an independent learner in my previous job where colleagues dont help you. but the increment is low, like $100 per year. there are politicks and favoritism, but can look past that and i can forsee myself staying on for a least 3years. i have been here more than a year, and time really flies when a job is tolerable and colleagues are ok.

my question
should i stay on? my main complaint is pay and career suitability / direction.

will i become obsolete because i don't know full sets, gl accounting etc? shld i switch to other finance jobs? i tried looking for other finance jobs and ALL DON'T appeal to me... frs and things makes me sleep.also the challenges that come with going up corporate ladder in finance sector just scares me...and i am generally not very happy doing finance work...altho i can tolerate.but just not in the long run.

i considered going back to teaching, but the lack of mobility across schools (if i kena bad principal and colleagues, or heavy workload) is something that puts me off. i prefer a career where i have flexibility to change organisation. i am also not confident of myself to handle the teaching responsibilities including taking kids on fieldtrips/overseas etc. also feel like teaching is not really teaching when you don't focus on caring and devleoping kids... nowadays just handling colleauges, parents, marking... mayb teaching really not suited for me or i am just picky.

i have considered psychology, social work when selecting a uni degree. i tried volunteer work with social worker, in the various settings like old folks home etc. feel like there is no mental challenge and you are just executing the govt policies (not really helping ppl or hv autonomy)...

i have lately considered being counselor in a school.. but i don't want a pay cut as i am planning to get married and have kids in 3years time... it will just set my plans back more...i don't know what are the challenges like, can anyone advise?

I hope ppl can give me some options. or let me know if it's because i am picky, or i am really in the wrong career and need to start finding the right one?

after reading the wall of text i still don't know what you want or what you like. so i dont know what to advise u. but i can related to my experience.

when i first graduated, i hated finance, hated big 4. i wanted to do engineering, but grades were not great. so i had to settle for light software engineering work within a bank. took me some time to understand the whole industry. fast forward few years later, i'm in advanced studies in finance, and looking forward to big 4. why? big 4 is more than just accounting. i'm more interested in the advisory side of big 4, where advisors gets to interact with clients such as CEOs, analyze their business models, and propose strategies. you get to travel all over and work with different colleagues all the time. doesn't sound mundane to me.

when your mind is not open, you lose a whole lot of opportunities. they dont always come the ways which you expected.

First, kudos for being forthcoming with your career choices, thought processes and the like. But I have to admit that the immediate thought I had when I read the post was, "Wow, this dude sure has a romantic notion of what working as a/an - insert career choice - is."

And to be honest, I was rather offended for teachers and social workers out there when you wrote that their work offers little to no "mental challenge", or that they are merely executing "government policies". And also how their work are not "helping people".

Rude.

Anyways, as the above posters have rightly pointed out, we will need to know more about this "mental challenge" that we see all over the post.

At the end of the day you are just a lowly paid 3k analyst with lousy degree grades. Even if you want to be strategic and mentally challenged, you still need to spend the first 20 years doing executing work no matter where you go.

Even a top performing non scholar in public sector needs at least 20 years before they are at a full senior director level to influence policy.

Stop dreaming...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

At the end of the day you are just a lowly paid 3k analyst with lousy degree grades. Even if you want to be strategic and mentally challenged, you still need to spend the first 20 years doing executing work no matter where you go.

Even a top performing non scholar in public sector needs at least 20 years before they are at a full senior director level to influence policy.

Stop dreaming...

haha quite direct, but true i guess.

TS, you really need to be humble and have the right attitude to learn and patience to work slowly up.

Keep condemning colleagues, boss, work, customers, company etc for being not good enough for you to learn just makes you look like kuku head esp when ur position is drawing a salary lower than many fresh deg grad.

Seriously dude. You need help from professionals........ kindly proceed to the net worth thread.

Just find a rich guy, marry him and retire now. Problem solved. Occasionally, give part time tuition or have another child if your bored / need a challenge.

I think like what some other posters have said, you dont have much calibre to actually be entrusted with high-level mentally stimulating work. How would I, an an employer, be able to trust a below average graduate that has been job-hopping with minimal experience? I cant, no boss in his right mind would ever give you such work. Those who end up directing policy and actually doing things that matter have 20 plus experience under their belts. Not to mention that most of them were all straight A scholars. You have neither the grades nor the experience.

Counselling will definitely not work. You'd need to study masters in counselling in NIE to get a job with MOE. Meaning you will be competing with the throngs of psychology/social work grads from NUS/NTU each year. And trust me, some of them who grad with even a second upper could get in. Its pretty competitive because there are lots of people like you who want to do counselling but there is just not much demand. And seeing how your grades are not good, you wont get in. Another method is to get your masters overseas. But its not a confirmed thing that you will get a job when you come back, because once again, the demand for counsellors here is actually pretty low.

What you can do, however, and this is pretty drastic, is to take up another degree. Maybe from unisim if you want to do part-time. Or just head to NUS/NTU again and do full-time. Get a degree in something you actually want to do and restart.

Or else, you just have to suck thumb and work hard and climb the ladder. Once you get a higher position, which of course takes a few years, you will be tasked with more responsibilities and more ways to change policies.