Tutorials!

I went for tutorial today from 930am-4pm on Module 5 of Singapore College of Insurance. The tutorial was held in the Prudential Training Center located at the 8th Level of Singapore Post Center (Paya Lebar mrt). This building is amazing. I like the design of the offices and the spacious area available. From outside, it looks like a giant UFO. Previously, everytime I pass by this building I would think, "What the heck is Barang-Barang? This building looks strange."

Tutorial was conducted by one of the Prudential trainers. Although she was lively but the content of the course was dry so most people were falling asleep including myself. As like in NUS, the tutorials have tutorial project groups. My group members were friendly and one said she stayed in Bukit Batok... OMG I thought, OH NO I thought... Then I told her my address. She was not familiar with it which made me feel relief. Hehe...

Today I realised something (sth that is S'porean or prevalent elsewhere).... having a degree increases one's status and rank. It is not that I want to look down on others. It was never my intention in the first place. When my people ask me where I studied, and I told them NUS, immediately they gave me a weird kind of stare and they 'talk down' things. They didn't say where they are from so I asked and they would just say "poly" in a shy/embarassed manner. I don't know what to say for this situation. It is the first time I've encountered it although I was in a room full of poly grads for an interview previously (I didn't asked previously). In the previous case, I find that they are more reserved and timid. However, in this case, they weren't like that until they found out that I'm from NUS. I wonder what they are thinking inside. IF I were them, a possible thought would be "Heh, NUS grad ah? So what? I will do better than you in my career." Abuthen, this is me. I think I'm having these thoughts because I don't want to be looked down on. I demand recognition and acknowledgement. Hahaha.... Oh well...

Of course, after stating the above, I don't mean polytechnic grads are low class. This is why I felt weird after they gave me those looks. I mean, so what? Heck care the education level or school one is from! What matters more is how well one cope with the University of Life. Entrepreneurs like to quote this: "Do you know that only 20% of top managers have university degree while the 80% have only O levels or lower? The top university students work (slave) 12hours under them daily." Does this make university education obsolete? No. It is still important to do well in university because what we learn from university is not knowledge but skills. It gives us opportunities to hone analytical skills, writing skills, time-management skills, presentation skills, etc. I'd like to use AIESEC way of questioning and answering here - 'Are you studying to get good grades or preparing yourself for future challenges? It's Up To You how you want to spend your university life.'

Unfortunately, my university life has 'expired' :(