Tell us a bit about yourself. (and a bit of what you did in school too!)
Part of the pioneer batch of nushs. I never had the intention of joining council cos I didn't really like prefects, though I got in anyway. My main job in the council was to piss yingzhen off during every council meeting. Being logistic committee head was a secondary appointment compared. Became Nobel house's first house captain. It was the most stressful appointment of my life, mostly cos nobody really cared about house then. I'm one of the few people in my batch who can't really be bothered to study, expectedly did rather badly, but still managed to be eligible for all 4 honours, and I actually applied for all of them.
1. Use 6 words (or short phrases) to describe your work / workplace.
An experience really like no other.
Part of the pioneer batch of nushs. I never had the intention of joining council cos I didn't really like prefects, though I got in anyway. My main job in the council was to piss yingzhen off during every council meeting. Being logistic committee head was a secondary appointment compared. Became Nobel house's first house captain. It was the most stressful appointment of my life, mostly cos nobody really cared about house then. I'm one of the few people in my batch who can't really be bothered to study, expectedly did rather badly, but still managed to be eligible for all 4 honours, and I actually applied for all of them.
1. Use 6 words (or short phrases) to describe your work / workplace.
An experience really like no other.
(The person in the picture's not me)
2. Tell us a bit more about your work (heh give us some vivid experiences you've had! be it with guns or men or women!)
If i told you about the daily stuff, you'd probably be bored to death. just as any other job. interesting experiences would be in the indian ocean, sailing to *****, for ******. sea state (basically a scale to measure wave height) 3+, the ship was pounding on the waves so bad, hardly anyone could walk straight. was sitting on the table doing work when i suddenly found a Serway-size book (one of the textbooks I used in NUSH) flying in my face. then everything on my shelf dropped on me. thought that was the worst. then I saw a chair fly in my direction. exciting times. there, the sky is so clear, it's hard to make out the constellations due to the sheer number of stars.
right after that, went out to south china sea for ***** *********. got caught in a storm so bad, we couldn't see our sister ship just about 100m away from us. (to put it in perspective, 600m is about the closest you'd ever want to come to another ship on a normal basis for a ship our size). at that point, we found a sampan with dead engines. through the rain and weather, we hooked her up and towed her out of the storm.
3. What made you decide to sign-on? What will you say to an NUSH graduate who is interested to sign-on?
One has to note the differences between the reason for signing on and the reason for not regretting to do so. My reason to sign on was very simple. I had a not very well to do family. My parents would never have been able to afford my university studies. I was originally hoping to get a scholarship with PSC. However, when I went on to NS, I decided to sign on when I found that PSC takes precedence. (Note: Basically, if you have a bond with SAF, and PSC wants you, they can break your bond with SAF, no charges, and you even get to keep the pay you've gotten till then). PSC told me to fly kite and so i'm with SAF.
Why do i not regret signing on? It really is an experience I'll never get anywhere else. I'm always learning, and getting along with people from all walks of life. I know someone who got married and had a kid at my current age, all planned for. i know people who do menial jobs with a smile on their faces, not a complain. I literally see the world. How many people have seen buses so backdated you pull a cord to start its engine?
It's all about attitude, just like NS. There are people who simply hate it and find all ways to get around the system, but there are also those who look at the other side of it as a way to grow and learn. What i talked about is what i see through my eyes. Depending on who you are and how you look at life, you will see a different shade. SAF is not a job. It is a vocation. You don't come here to earn money. You come here to preserve something precious to all of us. Consider this before you sign on.
4. Is the pasture greener on the other side (other jobs?)
The pasture is always greener on the other side. i will envy the 8 to 5 of many office jobs, the 8 to 2 of a relief teacher, the ability to wear anything you want to work. They will envy my ability to see the world, my ability to go for a run / swim during office hours, and the unique things that happen in daily life. Choose what you want to do, and do it. Sometimes i wondered: what happens if i didn't sign on? Would i have gotten PSC? The police force at that time was trying to "jio" me. Would i have gotten SPFOS? But is there a point wondering about things that could have been? I learnt about myself here. I have a purpose to my job other than earning money for the company. Again, how green are the pastures depends on what colour you view the world in.
5. What kind of educational opportunities will you get?
I will have to say that the educational opportunities are rather exciting. I will enter university this year, as opposed to my batch mate's next year. (Note: Only the PSC Overseas Merit Scholarship, Local-Overseas Merit Scholarship, Local Merit Scholarship (Medicine), SAFOS, and SPFOS allows males to disrupt from NS to enter universities 2 years earlier as compared to their batchmates, all other SAF scholars/award winners will enter 1 year earlier compared to their batch mates.) What i got is a study award that's awarded to just about every officer in the armed forces and I'm already getting benefits similar to many of the other more prestigious scholarships around. The better ones allow you to go abroad, while being paid a salary. Getting a pay of about 2k per month while studying is quite a tempting offer, no? (That's of course besides the many tuition classes that everyone conducts to augment their allowance) The best scholarships allow you to completely disrupt from NS to study in the same year as the girls in your level, all the while paying you quite handsomely on top of the allowances you get. Still, if you sign on IN ORDER TO get the scholarships, I suggest you don't.
6. Career opportunities in the SAF (or the Navy)?
The "jobs" in SAF are always changing. You will hardly do the same job for more than 2 years. For example: 2 years in charge of ship navigation, move on to weapons systems. 2 years after that, operations planning and tactical warfare, 2 years later, manpower, welfare, ship to ship tactical maneuvers. 2 years later, policy making and safety. Of course like any job in the world, you've got to do well to progress.
7. Any last words?
Never be bought over by the cool stories about jobs. Surgeons' operations, lawyers' court cases, scientists' discovery of new things.... most of the time, a doctor is simply doing checkups and giving MCs. Most of the money made by a lawyer is as witness to deed signatures, wills, and the like. And as we all know, a scientist spends most of his time with failed data and waiting for a 30 hour running experiment. See the true side of a job before getting entranced by it, or you'll almost always be disappointed.
2. Tell us a bit more about your work (heh give us some vivid experiences you've had! be it with guns or men or women!)If i told you about the daily stuff, you'd probably be bored to death. just as any other job. interesting experiences would be in the indian ocean, sailing to *****, for ******. sea state (basically a scale to measure wave height) 3+, the ship was pounding on the waves so bad, hardly anyone could walk straight. was sitting on the table doing work when i suddenly found a Serway-size book (one of the textbooks I used in NUSH) flying in my face. then everything on my shelf dropped on me. thought that was the worst. then I saw a chair fly in my direction. exciting times. there, the sky is so clear, it's hard to make out the constellations due to the sheer number of stars.
right after that, went out to south china sea for ***** *********. got caught in a storm so bad, we couldn't see our sister ship just about 100m away from us. (to put it in perspective, 600m is about the closest you'd ever want to come to another ship on a normal basis for a ship our size). at that point, we found a sampan with dead engines. through the rain and weather, we hooked her up and towed her out of the storm.
3. What made you decide to sign-on? What will you say to an NUSH graduate who is interested to sign-on?
One has to note the differences between the reason for signing on and the reason for not regretting to do so. My reason to sign on was very simple. I had a not very well to do family. My parents would never have been able to afford my university studies. I was originally hoping to get a scholarship with PSC. However, when I went on to NS, I decided to sign on when I found that PSC takes precedence. (Note: Basically, if you have a bond with SAF, and PSC wants you, they can break your bond with SAF, no charges, and you even get to keep the pay you've gotten till then). PSC told me to fly kite and so i'm with SAF.
Why do i not regret signing on? It really is an experience I'll never get anywhere else. I'm always learning, and getting along with people from all walks of life. I know someone who got married and had a kid at my current age, all planned for. i know people who do menial jobs with a smile on their faces, not a complain. I literally see the world. How many people have seen buses so backdated you pull a cord to start its engine?
It's all about attitude, just like NS. There are people who simply hate it and find all ways to get around the system, but there are also those who look at the other side of it as a way to grow and learn. What i talked about is what i see through my eyes. Depending on who you are and how you look at life, you will see a different shade. SAF is not a job. It is a vocation. You don't come here to earn money. You come here to preserve something precious to all of us. Consider this before you sign on.
4. Is the pasture greener on the other side (other jobs?)
The pasture is always greener on the other side. i will envy the 8 to 5 of many office jobs, the 8 to 2 of a relief teacher, the ability to wear anything you want to work. They will envy my ability to see the world, my ability to go for a run / swim during office hours, and the unique things that happen in daily life. Choose what you want to do, and do it. Sometimes i wondered: what happens if i didn't sign on? Would i have gotten PSC? The police force at that time was trying to "jio" me. Would i have gotten SPFOS? But is there a point wondering about things that could have been? I learnt about myself here. I have a purpose to my job other than earning money for the company. Again, how green are the pastures depends on what colour you view the world in.
5. What kind of educational opportunities will you get?
I will have to say that the educational opportunities are rather exciting. I will enter university this year, as opposed to my batch mate's next year. (Note: Only the PSC Overseas Merit Scholarship, Local-Overseas Merit Scholarship, Local Merit Scholarship (Medicine), SAFOS, and SPFOS allows males to disrupt from NS to enter universities 2 years earlier as compared to their batchmates, all other SAF scholars/award winners will enter 1 year earlier compared to their batch mates.) What i got is a study award that's awarded to just about every officer in the armed forces and I'm already getting benefits similar to many of the other more prestigious scholarships around. The better ones allow you to go abroad, while being paid a salary. Getting a pay of about 2k per month while studying is quite a tempting offer, no? (That's of course besides the many tuition classes that everyone conducts to augment their allowance) The best scholarships allow you to completely disrupt from NS to study in the same year as the girls in your level, all the while paying you quite handsomely on top of the allowances you get. Still, if you sign on IN ORDER TO get the scholarships, I suggest you don't.
6. Career opportunities in the SAF (or the Navy)?
The "jobs" in SAF are always changing. You will hardly do the same job for more than 2 years. For example: 2 years in charge of ship navigation, move on to weapons systems. 2 years after that, operations planning and tactical warfare, 2 years later, manpower, welfare, ship to ship tactical maneuvers. 2 years later, policy making and safety. Of course like any job in the world, you've got to do well to progress.
7. Any last words?
Never be bought over by the cool stories about jobs. Surgeons' operations, lawyers' court cases, scientists' discovery of new things.... most of the time, a doctor is simply doing checkups and giving MCs. Most of the money made by a lawyer is as witness to deed signatures, wills, and the like. And as we all know, a scientist spends most of his time with failed data and waiting for a 30 hour running experiment. See the true side of a job before getting entranced by it, or you'll almost always be disappointed.
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