I was an engineering student at a university in Singapore, and I just had a conversation with a few of my friends that left me feeling a little frustrated.
I had been studying hard for my degree for the past few years, and I was proud of the fact that I was able to make a decent living by working part-time in the IT industry. I was able to make around $4,000 a month, and I was satisfied with that.
My friends, however, were not so satisfied.
They were all working as Grab drivers and making around $8,000 a month. They would often talk about how much money they were making and how easy it was for them to make it. It was a little disheartening to hear them talk about how much money they were making.
I couldn’t help but think to myself, why did I spend all this time at university to make half of what my friends were making?
Sure, I had a degree and I could take on higher-paying jobs in the future, but at the moment, I was making much less than my friends. I was starting to feel like my decision to go to university wasn’t worth it.
I didn’t want to feel this way, so I decided to look at the situation from a different perspective. Sure, my friends were making more money than me, but they weren’t doing anything that was particularly meaningful. They were driving around town all day and picking up fares. There was nothing challenging or rewarding about that.
On the other hand, I was using my degree to do something meaningful. I was applying the knowledge I had acquired to solve real-world problems and make the world a better place. Sure, I might not be making as much money as my friends, but at least I was doing something that had a real and lasting impact.
I realized that university was worth it.
Sure, I might not be making as much money as my friends, but I was doing something that was meaningful.
But this trail of thought was disrupted after I had a gf
She started to say that my salary was a mere $3.2k after CPF and I cannot afford a car nor fancy holidays.
Should I start part-time Grab?