Anyone else thought about how different life would be without a university cert?
At about 30, all my university friends are employees working for MNCs, with the exception of 1 working for his dad’s company and another in a startup.
Recently I met up with my secondary school friends who didn’t go to university and I realise they’re very successful too. I’m immensely happy for them. More than half of them have their own non-tech businesses which aren’t inherited from their parents. For example: f&b, renovation, recruiting, advertising, ac repair, motor workshops.
As much as I am happy that they are doing well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t envious of them. While my uni friends and I are talking about whether to get a resale 4 or 5 room, most of my secondary school friends have outright bought condos/landed properties already.
What I realise is that my secondary school friends worked for SMEs for a couple of years to learn the trade before starting up their own business. Now, if I were to try to replicate this, I’d need to start a petrol company, which is absurd. Yes I work in Jurong Island.
I’m not complaining that I have chosen this path, but sometimes I really wonder how things could be if I didn’t go to university for an engineering course.
Here are what netizens think:
- Starting a biz isn’t exclusive for non uni grad….And which law says you can only start a biz of your trade?Don’t be envious because you don’t know what they have to go through to make it to the top. And maybe if you learn how they got there, you will be glad you chose the right path.
- That’s your pasar though. There are many equally successful university graduates and many equally unsuccessful non-university graduates. Your life is what you make of it.
- Yours is a common fallacy. With this kind of thinking, you are better off as an employee. Thinking like that will only bring regret and misery, but it would take a herculean effort to switch your thinking around. The education system is still acting like the world of the 1960s, while “looking” futuristic, so don’t feel bad – the programming runs deep.