Need some advice!

Choi yuheng SG

Hi guys,

I am 21 this year and have completed my NS. During my younger days,i was rebellious and i drop out of school in secondary 2. After working for a few years before and after NS,i have come to understand how important those certs are. I wanted to go study yet i have no idea which path i should proceed on.

Should i go for ITE General Education programme which will take me 5 years for the o - level or should i go for private diploma? From what i heard from my friends is that even though i do not have n or o level, i just need to complete bridging modules and i can straight go for the private diploma. Is it true?

Hope u guys can help me.

Thanks

FYI, below is my psle grade which might be useful for certain course

English Grade C

Chinese Grade A

Mathematics Grade A

Science Grade B

Chemguide7 SG

Hi,

If it is possible, maybe you would like to go for a private diploma. You need to surf the websites of private institutions and maybe e-mail the admin office whether they can consider you as a candidate. A private diploma may be a faster route.

Else, you can take O levels as a private candidate, and maybe enrol in eg. BMC for some classes. You need to do a lot of self study. You can surf the websites of the private schools. But the fees are not cheap and experiences in the schools vary from candidate to candidate.

I empathise with you. Or you can be an apprentice to some mechanic workshop, chefs and maybe open your own business next time.

There was a LianHe Wanbao article saying that 2 ITE grads earned $230K in 2 months by setting up a mover's (furniture) company. So it is not really the educational qualifications that matter.

Take care.

gwynified SG

I'm a student myself, so I have no idea whether employers look for 'O' level certificates in job applications, but here's what I think:

The diploma is more valuable than the O level cert in this case.

Unless you want to get an 'A' level cert (JC standard, very tough) and proceed on to get a university degree (at least 10 years from your estimate given and a lot of $$ needed), you're better off with a diploma. Diploma is something like going to poly, and you can skip the O level part too (5 years is crazy, that's a hell load of time gone from your life).

Pick the course you want for the diploma wisely, though. Make sure you're truly interested in it and that there is market to accept you in future.