This is the message I wrote while I was at home, posted in HRM's Discussion Board...
Dear MAE friends,
My name is Linsien, your Indonesian classmate who has big dreams (but with a plan too, I’m dead serious about making my dreams come true, I hope I’m in the right path^_^) and I was motivated to share my own career plan after seeing some of yours. Thank you for sharing.
I am not a scholar and I think I am just a normal student who happened to be in the same course as you. It was my Industrial Attachment in 2006 (yes, I had mine in Semester 1) that has opened my eyes to the various career possibilities that an engineering undergraduate like me (and you) can pursue. If you are someone who has REAL interests and skills in working as an Engineer upon graduation, then you are one of the lucky few who are in the right course.
Ironically, I believe that most of us here might have just realized that engineering is not our cup of tea. You don’t picture yourself working as a professional engineer in the next 10 years (maybe you realized it in your second year, during your IA, or maybe just now?). Friends, there’s no written rule that we HAVE TO BE an engineer upon graduation. If you do realize that you don’t belong in this course, don’t be disappointed. You can always think about other possibilities that suit your interest and your current skills.
The excel file attached is my career plan and I have three major options upon graduation. I came up with these options after months of soul-searching. I read a lot of career-related books and some inspirational stories from successful people.
1st Option
I plan to work in a multinational company and enter their supply chain/logistics department. I have attended several recruitment talks and submitted my resume to certain companies. My specialization is in Systems Management and so I felt that I have special interest in this type of industry.
2nd Option
I plan to enter event/conference/exhibition industry and work as a conference planner. I love to organize things and I had some related experiences in these past four years. I want to try out working as a professional event/conference planner, get to know how things work in this industry. I simply love the feeling of satisfaction after successfully accomplishing a project. I also submitted my resume to one of the conference planning companies in Singapore (visited them in NTU Career Fair several days ago)
3rd Option
It is quite a different path and I am largely influenced by the accomplishment of Merry Riana (if you’ve heard about her before, if you haven’t you can Google and find her name). It is not easy for someone to bravely decide on working in the insurance (financial planning) line upon graduation. There are so many negative perspectives from the society and financial uncertainties if one decides to pursue this career. I was one of the negative-minded people before I read her book. She is a living proof that all of us can be successful (and rich) at young age; anything is possible if we put our heart and effort into it (in whatever it is that you’re doing). I am still not very certain about this option, although I know that I can be debt-free relatively faster if I put my heart and soul into this career (who knows?). I am in a 40k-debt upon graduation and I really don’t wish to burden my parents anymore.
I’m still pondering and keeping all my options open, up until the time when I really have to make a decision. I hope you can take a look at what I have in mind and perhaps some comments? Or maybe it will inspire you to share your own career plan? Thank you for reading this.
My name is Linsien, your Indonesian classmate who has big dreams (but with a plan too, I’m dead serious about making my dreams come true, I hope I’m in the right path^_^) and I was motivated to share my own career plan after seeing some of yours. Thank you for sharing.
I am not a scholar and I think I am just a normal student who happened to be in the same course as you. It was my Industrial Attachment in 2006 (yes, I had mine in Semester 1) that has opened my eyes to the various career possibilities that an engineering undergraduate like me (and you) can pursue. If you are someone who has REAL interests and skills in working as an Engineer upon graduation, then you are one of the lucky few who are in the right course.
Ironically, I believe that most of us here might have just realized that engineering is not our cup of tea. You don’t picture yourself working as a professional engineer in the next 10 years (maybe you realized it in your second year, during your IA, or maybe just now?). Friends, there’s no written rule that we HAVE TO BE an engineer upon graduation. If you do realize that you don’t belong in this course, don’t be disappointed. You can always think about other possibilities that suit your interest and your current skills.
The excel file attached is my career plan and I have three major options upon graduation. I came up with these options after months of soul-searching. I read a lot of career-related books and some inspirational stories from successful people.
1st Option
I plan to work in a multinational company and enter their supply chain/logistics department. I have attended several recruitment talks and submitted my resume to certain companies. My specialization is in Systems Management and so I felt that I have special interest in this type of industry.
2nd Option
I plan to enter event/conference/exhibition industry and work as a conference planner. I love to organize things and I had some related experiences in these past four years. I want to try out working as a professional event/conference planner, get to know how things work in this industry. I simply love the feeling of satisfaction after successfully accomplishing a project. I also submitted my resume to one of the conference planning companies in Singapore (visited them in NTU Career Fair several days ago)
3rd Option
It is quite a different path and I am largely influenced by the accomplishment of Merry Riana (if you’ve heard about her before, if you haven’t you can Google and find her name). It is not easy for someone to bravely decide on working in the insurance (financial planning) line upon graduation. There are so many negative perspectives from the society and financial uncertainties if one decides to pursue this career. I was one of the negative-minded people before I read her book. She is a living proof that all of us can be successful (and rich) at young age; anything is possible if we put our heart and effort into it (in whatever it is that you’re doing). I am still not very certain about this option, although I know that I can be debt-free relatively faster if I put my heart and soul into this career (who knows?). I am in a 40k-debt upon graduation and I really don’t wish to burden my parents anymore.
I’m still pondering and keeping all my options open, up until the time when I really have to make a decision. I hope you can take a look at what I have in mind and perhaps some comments? Or maybe it will inspire you to share your own career plan? Thank you for reading this.
Good Luck Friends!!
Dr. Foo? Can you give me comments? or any advice?
Warmest regards,
Linsien Setiani Tan
PS:
-Feel free to use the excel file as your template to design your career plan (if you want)
-You can also visit my personal blog (if you want) at
And this is my Prof's response (hope it'll be helpful in my decision process...*pondering*)
Many thanks for sharing --- can you post your career strategy in powerpoint? I certainly like to discuss your career plan in class. It has a number of very interesting features. Firstly, you are what I call a strategic thinker. What you had done is strategic planning: search for information, read up on biographies (past careers) and evaluating options...etc. Secondly, 40k debt had worked on you! It forces you to be thinking strategically. Working in the bank before, I realize that debt is not necessarily a bad thing. You are "driven" by having to pay debt to work hard. The same argument in setting up a family. Thirdly, you seek to be inspired --- to "energize" yourself through the stories of successes. Let us explore in class.
Attached below is my plan in jpeg, right click and save the image to view it clearly. Do you have any advice for me?
Will these ambitions come true? No one knows. All I can do is work as hard as I can (and as smart as I can)
Borrowing my friend's shoutout in FS
(Lex, I happened to see your profile just now. Good luck in your quest...^_^)
"You Have To Do What You Have To Do; In Order To Be Able To Do What You Want To Do" ~THE GREAT DEBATERS~
As for now, I'll 加油 in doing my fyp, quizzes, report, tests, job-search etc etc..
What a busy final year!
Okay....back to work!
Cheers,
Sien2
*battery fully charged after 10 days at my home sweet home
1 comment:
although you have some plans, in the end you still need to be flexible.
Anything can happen no matter how well you plan. As I always say, people's way of lives may be different.
Be strong to accept the fact and find other opportunities :)
Post a Comment