Singapore Expats

Fellow expat forumers,

Would like to know if anyone has experience with their son or daughter looking for internships here after JC or HS. My daughter is going through this process now and there doesn’t seem to be much out there.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 2:28 pm

Fellow expat forumers,

Would like to know if anyone has experience with their son or daughter looking for internships here after JC or HS. My daughter is going through this process now and there doesn’t seem to be much out there.

I think some of this starts at the secondary and JC level, as there are companies/schools running programmes for students. Some students are probably building upon these experiences.

Other options are trying to leverage company/industry attachments for academic/subject programmes or one’s own experiences outside of the classroom. Last options are family connections or banging on doors yourself.

Reality is, whether one can get a company internship at this stage or not, there are an infinite number of things a student can do that are developing much of the same during this time.

Good luck.

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

malcontent wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 1:07 am

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

Congratulations! Employment and volunteer work are definitely two of the number of things a student can do. I guess just keep looking for the internships; as you allude to, often the opportunities come to those who make it happen for themselves.

Quite frankly, at this stage what matters more is whether the person has interest in and embraces whatever the opportunity is. They are all pieces of development outside of the academic setting.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 2:28 pm

Fellow expat forumers,

Would like to know if anyone has experience with their son or daughter looking for internships here after JC or HS. My daughter is going through this process now and there doesn’t seem to be much out there.

What are her areas of interest?

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 7:18 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 2:28 pm

Fellow expat forumers,

Would like to know if anyone has experience with their son or daughter looking for internships here after JC or HS. My daughter is going through this process now and there doesn’t seem to be much out there.

I think some of this starts at the secondary and JC level, as there are companies/schools running programmes for students. Some students are probably building upon these experiences.

Other options are trying to leverage company/industry attachments for academic/subject programmes or one’s own experiences outside of the classroom. Last options are family connections or banging on doors yourself.

Reality is, whether one can get a company internship at this stage or not, there are an infinite number of things a student can do that are developing much of the same during this time.

Good luck.

When my daughter was looking for internships, she found great luck in cold emailing. It's a lost art.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 1:07 am

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

Congrats to her! Retail can be a nightmare, so I hope the position suits her well. What kind of internships does she have her sights on?

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 6:20 am

malcontent wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 1:07 am

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

Congratulations! Employment and volunteer work are definitely two of the number of things a student can do. I guess just keep looking for the internships; as you allude to, often the opportunities come to those who make it happen for themselves.

Quite frankly, at this stage what matters more is whether the person has interest in and embraces whatever the opportunity is. They are all pieces of development outside of the academic setting.

Exactly. It's not so much what you do, but how you do it. Work ethic cannot be bought.

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 5:56 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 1:07 am

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

Congrats to her! Retail can be a nightmare, so I hope the position suits her well. What kind of internships does she have her sights on?

She is looking for something related to her major which will be economics, but she intends to pursue interdisciplinary studies crossing economics with sustainability/environment, and behavioral/psychology… possibly for a future in policy making. But she is also open to most anything in the financial realm as well.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:51 am

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 5:56 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 1:07 am

Over the past week or so, our daughter has been seeking jobs/internships with the same voracity that she applies to her studies… she finally got her first job offer today. It seems to be a good one — not an internship, but a sales assistant in a department store. Having myself worked 3 years in a department store during late HS/early college, I hope it will be an equally satisfying job for her. She is still on the hunt for internships too, and doing volunteer work on the weekends. Have to admit, she is a real go getter - far more than I ever was!

Congrats to her! Retail can be a nightmare, so I hope the position suits her well. What kind of internships does she have her sights on?

She is looking for something related to her major which will be economics, but she intends to pursue interdisciplinary studies crossing economics with sustainability/environment, and behavioral/psychology… possibly for a future in policy making. But she is also open to most anything in the financial realm as well.

Has she explored her options with the career guidance office at school? If her JC (which I won't state here) is anything like my daughter's, there will be an abundance of resources at her disposal.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:51 am

She is looking for something related to her major which will be economics, but she intends to pursue interdisciplinary studies crossing economics with sustainability/environment, and behavioral/psychology… possibly for a future in policy making. But she is also open to most anything in the financial realm as well.

What prompted the change from business to econ? Not all universities offer undergraduate business, but many of the ones you were looking at do (I believe). Some would say econ is a better degree (certainly more math), although job wise the upper rung of undergraduate business schools tend to do just fine.

I am not 100% sure and it varies by university, but my guess is that in many cases the econ track allows for more of the other interdisciplinary studies you are talking about. Add on the option for policy making and econ may be a better choice.

Also, it is easier to change at some places than others, often depending on whether the applications/offers are to/from the general college or a specific college/department.

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 5:29 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:51 am

She is looking for something related to her major which will be economics, but she intends to pursue interdisciplinary studies crossing economics with sustainability/environment, and behavioral/psychology… possibly for a future in policy making. But she is also open to most anything in the financial realm as well.

What prompted the change from business to econ? Not all universities offer undergraduate business, but many of the ones you were looking at do (I believe). Some would say econ is a better degree (certainly more math), although job wise the upper rung of undergraduate business schools tend to do just fine.

I am not 100% sure and it varies by university, but my guess is that in many cases the econ track allows for more of the other interdisciplinary studies you are talking about. Add on the option for policy making and econ may be a better choice.

Also, it is easier to change at some places than others, often depending on whether the applications/offers are to/from the general college or a specific college/department.

Her decision to major in econ was something that just evolved over time. Probably a combination of factors. She did well in H2 Econ in JC, several of her friends are majoring in econ, plus she is strong in math and science. Also, like you said, some of her top choice schools only offered econ for undergrads. For schools where econ is super competitive, she put a less popular major as first choice and will try to switch later (though it’s never guaranteed). But she has little to no interest in majoring in business at this stage.

Thinking back to my college days, I was majoring in Computer Information Systems up until my final year and then abruptly switched to Finance (despite my advisor strongly discouraging it). It turned out to be the right decision - despite taking a full load of upper level finance courses, it was my best year ever and the only year I made the dean’s list. Sometimes you just don’t know until you try.

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 3:53 pm

Has she explored her options with the career guidance office at school? If her JC (which I won't state here) is anything like my daughter's, there will be an abundance of resources at her disposal.

I know that some JCs here are very supportive and have an abundance of resources… not really the case at her school. They barely had anything for applying to US schools, and seemed confused about what to advise her. My daughter doesn’t know one single soul at her school that is applying to the US. Most everyone seems to be aiming for NUS, with just a tiny few applying to the UK. The teachers and advisors at her school are almost all local grads too, they know very little about overseas universities. We were pretty much on our own and had to drag them along.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 6:30 pm

Her decision to major in econ was something that just evolved over time. Probably a combination of factors. She did well in H2 Econ in JC, several of her friends are majoring in econ, plus she is strong in math and science. Also, like you said, some of her top choice schools only offered econ for undergrads. For schools where econ is super competitive, she put a less popular major as first choice and will try to switch later (though it’s never guaranteed). But she has little to no interest in majoring in business at this stage.

Thinking back to my college days, I was majoring in Computer Information Systems up until my final year and then abruptly switched to Finance (despite my advisor strongly discouraging it). It turned out to be the right decision - despite taking a full load of upper level finance courses, it was my best year ever and the only year I made the dean’s list. Sometimes you just don’t know until you try.

Makes sense. Do you mind sharing which schools she applied to? I'm quite certain I can guess one of the only offered econ for undergrads, not sure on the others. Just trying to add to my database of outcomes (although often it is still hit or miss).

I think USC early whatever is out this Friday? Others will trickle in through the end of the month, and then the flood gates open in March. Good luck!

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 7:14 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 6:30 pm

Her decision to major in econ was something that just evolved over time. Probably a combination of factors. She did well in H2 Econ in JC, several of her friends are majoring in econ, plus she is strong in math and science. Also, like you said, some of her top choice schools only offered econ for undergrads. For schools where econ is super competitive, she put a less popular major as first choice and will try to switch later (though it’s never guaranteed). But she has little to no interest in majoring in business at this stage.

Thinking back to my college days, I was majoring in Computer Information Systems up until my final year and then abruptly switched to Finance (despite my advisor strongly discouraging it). It turned out to be the right decision - despite taking a full load of upper level finance courses, it was my best year ever and the only year I made the dean’s list. Sometimes you just don’t know until you try.

Makes sense. Do you mind sharing which schools she applied to? I'm quite certain I can guess one of the only offered econ for undergrads, not sure on the others. Just trying to add to my database of outcomes (although often it is still hit or miss).

I think USC early whatever is out this Friday? Others will trickle in through the end of the month, and then the flood gates open in March. Good luck!

I’ve sent you a PM. For USC, they only started their early action program for the first time last year, and I heard they deferred 80% of the early applicants to regular decision. So, I’m guessing there is a very high probability of that happening to our daughter unless she is extremely lucky. I’m definitely not holding my breath.