Joe's messy apartment

I  went to Joe's place today, it's exactly he'd promised. Joe lives in a condo alone as his family is in Hong Kong. No maid , no mother so it's messy. I made him promised he hadn't deliberately mess it up for me ...haha...

Anyway, when I first met Joe, I'd imagine that he lived in a penthouse apartment with a sea view, a chrome kitchen island, bar stools and a focus group employed to give 24-hr feedback. But now this mess seemed to make sense.

However even I wasn't prepared for the left over pizza n the coffee table :))

Crabby advice : follow your dreams !

Lately many people have been telling me "to follow my dreams" . But which dreams?

What about the dream where I went to David Gan & ask him to shave me bald !!! Serious , it was terrifying.... would you like ,me to follow that?

Beyond Paper Chase in Singapore

Traditionally the emphasis has always been on paper qualifications- it's like a passport to a good job, good pay etc... Well at least it gets you a foot in the door, an interview at the very least. But should it be the only criteria to define one's ability?

There has been a shift in the mindset of many employers, or so I've read. We often heard of success stories - people without a degree armed only with personality ,skills & experiences making it BIG. Academic qualifications became only one of the multi criteria that determine one's ability.

My dad stress very much on job performance & attitude . He has a mid size company & he often come back complaining of the  "youth of today". Paper smart but nothing other than that! Is he being too critical & harsh? Cant blame him though, I sometimes help out in his office & got to know some of the workers.

We have some new comers, who quit after like only a week. During interview some will complain it's too far, or the hours are not what they want (& we are talking of normal working hrs) what were they thinking???? My dad gave up & he ended up hiring a poly grad.

So the question is, is a degree enough? After all unlike olden days, everyone has a degree now. My dad said the present degree is the past "o" levels (roll eyes.....) . So what will set you apart during an interview? The results don't seem to matter also , unless its govt section ( they are still 'old school' I guess, still think good grades = good performance & ability) . Maybe it's safe to choose someone base on grades. But we all know, often good grades = only good memory/exam smart or good tutor (who is good  in spotting exam questions for you....lol...).

Back to results & interview. It seems the personality is very impt- during an interview, the one with the better personality stands out. The one who only could code from books & without some creativity & originality pales in comparison with some one who's more interesting but not so good results.

Conclusion, yes study hard but get some experience, travel a little if you have the budget, expose yourself more .... get a personality !!!!

With Rising Costs of an Overseas Education , is it still worth it?

You read the news? A Singapore student claimed her tuition fees at King's College London's law school increased from £14,000 in 2012-2013 to £15,000 in 2013-2014. A jump of £1000- within such a short time- mind blowing right???  Apparently the main excuse for  these institutions is rising costs Also you don’t expect them to charge their local students more right? It’s easier to pass the buck to “rich” international students. Sadly not many Singaporean students who go over are that richL .

So why do students from middle income families go abroad then? Many do it because they didn’t do all that well & couldn’t get into local universities or popular courses like medicine and law. For those who could afford it, they might just want the kids to experience more to expand horizons – well why not if you can afford it right?

The report I read noted that , tuition fees for undergraduate engineering courses is around $55,000 a year. Medicine courses can go up to $80,000 a year. Minimum living costs in London, can easily hit $2,000 a month, or $24,000 a year or more. A three-year UK university education can thus easily cost $250,000 today. And that cost will definitely go up in the future due to inflation & fluctuations in exchange rates. In Australia, costs are slightly lower, probably at above $200,000 for a three-year education today. In the US, costs will also vary widely depending on the school, course and location. A typical four-year education there can thus cost $200,000 to over $300,000 today.

By contrast, local Singapore university tuition fees for citizens are currently at just $8,000 a year. Most students would probably stay with parents. With no rent & food is much cheaper here. So when parents sent kids abroad, it’s really all about the ability to splurge- the numbers tells all !

How about those who barely could afford it? If you take a student loan, you’ll take ages to repay it, unless you end up with a cushy job with high pay. But how many of us will be that lucky? Heard of parents who give it all up even selling the house so that junior can go abroad? Is it worth it? What about unexpected circumstances like parents getting retrenched, parents getting sick, unexpected fee increases & exchange rate fluctuations? Think about it.

The top 3 most stressful colleges :

According to a poll, these are the top 3 most stressful colleges!

1. Stanford University (Stanford, CA)

2. Columbia University(New York, NY)

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

Why all the interest now? My baby brother is applying to these 3 ! Is he trying to be funny? Who knows? my dad is encouraging him, my mum is worry & I'm sorta pissed!