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Present to you
Webinar Summary

On 10 January, we conducted our second webinar- The Routes Ahead For all who missed it, fret not! This article has all the key points shared by our speakers!

Speaker Introduction

Stanley Chia is an entrepreneur.
He graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic Accounting and NTU accounting.

Weng Keong is currently a counsellor for 5 years.
He did computer engineering in polytechnic but decided not to further pursue in this field.
He shifted to pursue Degree in Psychology and Masters in Guidance in Counselling.

Stessen is currently involved in film production.
Even though he has color vision deficiency, he still pursues arts as passionate about fine arts.
As such, he is leaning more towards film.

Wei Lin is a former math teacher and is currently an entrepreneur.
He was previously from Cedar Primary School, where he discovered his passion for math.
He went on to Dunman High and VJC, where he did double math, physics and economics.
He pursued Degree in Math(statistics) in NTU, where he won the MOE scholarship, went on to NIE and served his bond as teacher in secondary school after graduation
After saving money, he decided to venture into business


Education Route

  • - Look into personal skill sets to decide whether JC or Poly is the route for you
  • - Poly education is more practical and bigger on hands – on experiences
  • - Poly requires discipline and instead of looking at results only, focus on processes to help discover yourself
  • - Give yourself different experiences to enrich yourself

Factors in choosing tertiary education:

How to discover your passion
- Self-awareness, assessment tools for possible careers based on character and values

No need to stress
- self-discovery is a process
- If you really don’t know, try to reach out to ECG counsellor for guidance

Communicating your own ideas & emotions in your tertiary education

Exposure to certain areas/interests
- Able find out what you like/ don’t like


How to adapt to polytechnic studies:

1. Surround yourself with friends who push you towards being disciplined and focus

2. Personal discipline

3. Have fresh start in poly to motivate yourself


How to adapt to JC studies:

1. Step back and rationalize the situation

2. Do not overstressing on JC life


Transition from jc/poly to uni:

JC to University:
- Uni more spaced out
- Some universities may allow you to skip certain modules

Polytechnic to University:
- Some repeated modules but the way it is taught is different. Poly focuses on the technical ability, while University touches on the higher level thinking behind a skill/concept
- Some Universities will allow you to skip basic modules


If looking back, will you change anything:

Wei Lin:
1) Taken up another scholarship instead of MOE scholarship

Stesson
1) Focusing more towards giving back to social good
2) Even if the experience not great, eventually it will kind of help in the future

Weng Keong
1) More preparation work
2) Being proactive and have more exposure

Stanley:
1) Maybe go to Foreign Universities, but still NTU did help in shaping who he is now


Any advices:

Stanley:
1. If you go through the poly route with ambition to go to a university, you need to understand that every semester in Poly counts. Every project counts.
2. Be involved in extracurriculars
3. Don’t try to hurry through the academic system. Losing 1 or 2 years is better than wasting 5 to 10 years of your life doing something you hate.

Weng Keong:
1. No matter which track you go, it’s fine
2. Be careful of the trap on wanting to be always on top, as there will always be someone better. Get the comparison mentality out of the way, as this will result in you never being satisfied
3. Enjoy what you choose. If you really cannot, at least make some meaning out of it (eg. knowing that you should not pursue in that direction)

Stesson:
1. Find a purpose in what you are doing along the way to steer yourself into becoming successful
2. Listen to this

Wei Lin:
1. Choose your circle of friends wisely --- peer pressure
2. Be proactive, hustle for opportunities --- find your own internships
3. Know your strengths & keep working on them
4. Life follows a non-linear path, be ready for curve balls
5. Take time to reflect and introspect --- Ask people you work closely with for feedback



If you missed the live webinar, you can review it through the link below:
Click Here