work
okay another update after a while!
today, i was just telling someone that i actually missed working. as in doing the office job kind of work, like my past internships. haha, was at vivo and while looking at the lunch time office crowd, i suddenly missed the routine of going to work everyday, ironing and wearing my office clothes, and squeezing on the train every morning during that mad rush hour. i think i’m a closet workaholic! but then when i met up with some of my coursemates in the evening for dinner, as i talked to them, i was thankful that i didn’t have to do an internship this holidays somehow. maybe i might have felt that i was missing out on something especially when most of my friends are doing theirs this holidays, either for clearing the modular credit or the experience. but i know that this time, i chose not to work because i want to give more time for other things, and to really spend my holidays meaningfully instead of going through a routine which takes up more than half of my time of the day, leaving only those few precious hours of evening time. and then just now i came across my brother’s blog, and he wrote something related to work which i feel makes a lot of sense too:
“If you look back the few years you’ve worked, what is memorable? Staying late to rush a project timeline? What in the end has the project done? Has it helped anyone? Has it ever made a difference to anyone’s life? Answer would likely be no, it would only add to the revenue which came back as a number, cold hard number on the P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement.”
reading this, it makes me think twice about going into the finance and investment sector. i know that most people in my course are aiming for that because of the glamour and the pay, but seriously, what difference are we really making by doing those number crunching? currently, i’m still quite unsure of my niche field in real estate.. whether it’s marketing/development/valuation/finance/urban planning.. somehow i feel that my interest lies in urban planning, it’s been an interest of mine because of its aesthetics side (used to like to draw floor plans since very young and loved design & technology in sec because i could conceptualise and visualise 3-d images very easily.. haha used to want to be an interior designer actually). however, i know that it’s very hard to get into URA to be an urban planner, and they accept mostly architects because of their specialised knowledge. haha well, the other option is marketing which is also my passion since jc days because of a marketing internship i had before, i would love to be designing the tenant mix of a shopping mall and come out with marketing campaigns to ‘revive’ the mall but i know that retail marketing requires a lot of time at the malls especially during weekends, and i definitely don’t want to give up my weekends for work. which leaves me with finance and investment.. which is something i’m not that comfortable with, facing huge sums of money. hmm.. i guess the only satisfaction derived from being in the sector is knowing that you brought in a lot of money to the company, adding to its bottomline at the end of the financial year.
oh well, work is really something that i’ve been thinking about suddenly, but i still have some time to think about what i really like to do before i graduate in a year. hopefully, by then, i’ll be more clear about my strengths and passion in real estate! =)
yeu@nn said,
May 25, 2009 at 11:23 pm
you finally updated, sis! haha… but yup really like what your bro wrote. v meaningful and true.
anyway, gosh you enjoy office work, being jam-packed into a MRT full of ppl during rush hour and so on? wah. *shakes head* haha…
but yeah, want to encourage you to ask God for a clearer vision, direction of what He wants to do through you… you never know what He may show you!
and oh yeah, it’s never too early to ask Him haha…
but! in the meantime, have a great holidays… i’m sure it’ll be a holiday to remember… =) proud of you sis! work hard for Jesus ok!
God bless…
amenda said,
May 26, 2009 at 3:42 pm
hey joyce, go public! haha. if you like numbers, you could go IRAS and it’s not exactly profit motivated. at least not as much as those in the private sector.
and if you like valuation, you could go hdb or jtc (i’m not sure which other agencies would offer that path but i’m sure there are more options).
and since u like marketing, you can (once again) go hdb or jtc! you could market DBSS housing estates or punggol21 etc. and you can also help advertise for industrial developments like biopolis or science park etc.
i guess my current internship as assured myself that i would want to join the public sector upon graduation. well, at least that’s my short term plan.. it might or might not change along the way but yup, that’s for now.
hope you’ll find your path soon
take care and make the best out of this short lived precious break.
faithsheep said,
May 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm
hey yeuann.. haha you are really updated with my blog leh.. replied to my post so fast. anyway yeah still praying regarding this area of finding a direction for my work.. but there’s still some time so not too worried. i’m excited to be going into the marketplace though! hahah yeah love those rush hour
hey amenda! thanks for the advice.. haha wow sounds like you are enjoying your time at jtc eh.. what are you doing there exactly? heard from brandon that his job is quite boring lol. i think that public is good, but will need to get good grades first (meaning maintain the 2nd upper.. AH results.. kk shan’t think about it until friday).. anyway yeah hope i’ll find my path soon!
flince said,
May 28, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Test test.. my comment got eaten up by wordpress o.O
flince said,
May 28, 2009 at 7:52 pm
hmm ok i type again -_-
i think some ppl actually enjoy staying late to rush projects and help their coys earn lots of money, they get a huge sense of accomplishment from being able to boost the bottom line. Think almost all the senior execs like the CEO etc think that way. My mom is one of them i think, she used to work at Citibank.
From what I heard banking/financial side, if you land a job in operations, it’s quite a thankless job. And front end/relationship manager is also a tough job, esp now bankers have lost a bit of credibility. Analyst might be fun, if you enjoy number crunching..
Public sector is good, esp for females I feel, since they are very pro family oriented and has better work/life balance. Might not be relevant now, but I’m sure eventually will be impt ba heh.
Just my (abridged) 2 cents.
yeu@nn said,
July 13, 2009 at 1:32 pm
update? =)