I don't know what to major in after A lvls.
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Hello, I'm JC2 this year taking A lvls so i was looking at uni courses so tt maybe i can make a good decision when the time comes. So far i have only narrowed down to 2 courses in NUS: Biz Admin/Proj and Facilities Management but i don't know what to choose. Personally i think i'm more interested in PFM, it's about buildings blah and taking charge of projects. I have went to NUS web to read up on the modules too.
But i have this concern which i'm unable to address myself: The cut off A lvl grade for PFM is a mere BBB/C which isn't extremely decent which sorts of dims the course. 2ndly, i have just been to a built environment talk today at BCA academy and i have found out the starting pay of a project manager is a mere $3000-$4500.
Pls read again, this is project manager which won't be a position that a graduate would assume shortly after employed, so i began to be quite doubtful about the monetary rewards as a managerial position would only fetch tt sum.
These are so far only what i feel and i'm not sure of how true they are and therefore i'm posting to see if anyone could answer me. On the other hand, biz admin is probably a more general career... Being some office boy then slowly climbing through to be some office/brand/aftersales manager etc...Personally i'm not extremely interested in that but still i'm okay w studying that.
Therefore, i do not know how to make the decision. And yes, i'm trying to study hard now for the big A so that hopefully it is me who chooses the courses and not the other way round. And no, i'm not an elite student from an elite JC but on the contary a very average student from a lower tier JC. Would be nice to hear some opinions on ppl who are familiar w the job scopes!
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Office boy? I thought its an adminstrative executive.
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any field is ok if u have the passion for it than to bother about what others think...
generally, facilities is a new field.....people still hold conventional professions with higher regard e.g. banking & finance, accountancy, law, medicine.....
can you withstand public opinion that FM, no doubt necessary when the air con breaks down, is a general duty professional...or a GD man?
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and can you withstand the possibility of your prospective gf choosing an investment banker than a fm mgr at his beck and call when the urinal is choked with his orange pee?
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A degree is just a starting point to your career. It does not really determine how well you will do in the industry.
mere BBB/C?
Work on your As first little boy. That's if you're even good enough to get into NUS. PFM and SDE may not even take you judging from the increasing interest and higher cut-off every year.
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BBB/C is not that easy to obtain.
please note that other than the top jcs, most of the other JCs publish their A lvl results in terms of percentage passes, that is any score above S grade.
and clearly, there are many who did not, and cannot, attain the BBB/C grade.
and are you sure you are up to the jobscope of facility management?
on paper its a 9-5 job, but you have to be on call 24/7. any power failure, burst piping/sewage etc, you are expected to drop everything you have at the moment, and rush straight to your workplace, and provide an instant solution. even if it means that you are being woken up at 2am in the morning.
and there's tons of paperwork to be done, may the project be either big or small.
e.g., to replace a doorknob worth less than $20, you have to put up a purchase order, and get 3 quotations etc, for auditing regulations. Some of the vendors cannot even be bothered to do business with you, as it is not worth it to do so many paperwork for something which they have little to profit from.
when that sort of things happens, you are stuck, having to stick to regulations, and at the same time having to provide your service which you have no answers for.
and this happen quite often, since most complaints are about the nitty gritty small things.
to sum it all up, a project manager has a grand-sounding title, but in reality, its a pretty demanding boring job.
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You don't need a degree from NUS for such stuff.
PMs from NUS are trained to handle cost estimations, procurement, contracts etc in the Built Environment (building projects like Marina Bay Sands, which was done by the firm that a couple of the PFM students are bonded to because of their scholarships)
FMs wise, they take modules such as energy management (calculate and manage energy consumption of buildings).
Plenty of career opportunies. Can work with developers like Capitaland/CDL, consultant firms as well as contractors like Lian Beng/Tiong Seng. Just look at the number of scholarships offered by BCA and the supporting firms and you get the picture.
Can always drop by for the NUS open house in March (i think). But then again, talk about choosing your course after you're very sure that NUS wants to take you. Before that, don't talk about BBB/C being indecent or so. -
1st of all, thanks for all the replies. 2ndly, ok i will keep in mind not to talk about the BBB/C thing. 3rd, i was talking about project but not facilities, i do not intend to become a facilities person. The position which i'm interested in is in the project side whr one gradually climbs up the ranks to be able to take charge of building projects and work for developers. Anyway, thanks again!
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Originally posted by scratch87:
You don't need a degree from NUS for such stuff.
PMs from NUS are trained to handle cost estimations, procurement, contracts etc in the Built Environment (building projects like Marina Bay Sands, which was done by the firm that a couple of the PFM students are bonded to because of their scholarships)
FMs wise, they take modules such as energy management (calculate and manage energy consumption of buildings).
Plenty of career opportunies. Can work with developers like Capitaland/CDL, consultant firms as well as contractors like Lian Beng/Tiong Seng. Just look at the number of scholarships offered by BCA and the supporting firms and you get the picture.
Can always drop by for the NUS open house in March (i think). But then again, talk about choosing your course after you're very sure that NUS wants to take you. Before that, don't talk about BBB/C being indecent or so.Um, i don't really get what you mean by i don't need a degree for such stuff? Meaning tt it would be a waste of a time to get a specialised degree just to work in this field? And yup i was informed about the many developers tt one could work for through BCA.
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Why not become a pastor?It is good to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and be rewarded in heaven after you die.
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Felzus: That sentence was meant for deathmaster. You don't need a degree to be in charge of fixing door knobs or pipes or sourcing for the 3 quotes. Those are more like a condo's maintenance manager.
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Originally posted by scratch87:
Felzus: That sentence was meant for deathmaster. You don't need a degree to be in charge of fixing door knobs or pipes or sourcing for the 3 quotes. Those are more like a condo's maintenance manager.
I see. Ok thanks. I was also considering architecture as it falls under built envrionment too. I know the structure of the course has quite a distinct difference though. Argh don't know what to do...
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Take one thing at a time.
Work on getting your As and Bs first, then depending on what grades you get eventually, apply for the course accordingly. You could reapply year after year if you don't get into your desired course, or apply for transfer during your 1st year in Uni.
My advice is, better to score As in the major you're interested in, than to score Cs in the major that you think is more useful, unless you are sure you're the sort who can score in even the major you don't like through hard work and perseverance alone.