I’m Lost! Guide Me!
I’m in form 5 this year, yes my final year (probably) in secondary school. And this is the question that I’m very afraid of, “What do you want to do after SPM?” I don’t know how to answer my brother, sister or my parents when they ask me this. I’m lose. I just hope anyone can help me with my decisions.
I’m currently studying in a semi-science stream. Im taking all 5 compulsory subjects, with Add Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Accounts. Yes, I’m not taking Biology. I never like Bio, and I don’t want to be a doctor either. Accounts? I don’t hate it, but it’s not my favourite either. I planned to be an accountant, but after a while, I felt like not wanting to be an accountant.
Ok, now this is the part that I’m lose. After my SPM, I’d probably be going to the National Service, as I heard that everyone born on the year 1988 is picked. After my NS, what am I going to do? Here’s a few choice that I’ve stated out:
Form 6; Matrikulasi; Local U; Private College (most probably TARC); Take CAT/ACCA courses in Miri.
Form 6. That’s when I will be going to “secondary school” for another 1 and a half years. In Form 6, I will be facing the same thing like I am now. Teachers, Schools, Class, Assembly, Reccess, Spot-check etc.
If I go to Matriks? A 1 and a half year too. But different situation, because I will be leaving my home. I’m not sure about the studying condition in Matriks, and I hope someone would tell me more about this.
Local U. This is the hardest. I’m just an average student, and I’m chinese. Probability of going to Local U is quite low. As for Private College, all I can say is TARC, since it is one of the cheapest around Malaysia. I don’t come from a rich family, and my Dad is going to retire this year. Financial is one factor.
If I go to Form 6, I will have another 2 years of thinking, to where I should go, to what I should be. But 2 years wasted just for thinking, I think it’s not really worth it.
If I go to private college or local uni, then what course should I take? I love computers, and I hope to be working in this computering industries, either in programming or designing. I hate hardwares by the way. The problem now is, job oppurtunities. If I’m involve in computers, job oppurtunity is low. There’s quite a lot of IT graduates that is “selling grapes” now. My sister’s friend who has Degree in some IT thing-ey, now he is a salesman!!
What if I wanted to go onto this Accounting thing? My sister say if you want to earn money in this area, you must not study alang-alang. She means that I must get at least to the MCA before I can earn big with accounting. Many people says that accounting is hard. That’s what I’m afraid of.
I wanted to go to the computer related courses, but I’m afraid I don’t have job in the future in Miri. If I go for accounting, JOB IS A LOT, but I must get the highest state to earn money. And plus, accounting is not my favourite, it’s not a thing that I really enjoy. Computer is.
If you’re reading this, can you help me out? Guide me, give me advice, tips or anything that could help me in my decisions. My SPM is getting nearer, decision has be made quickly.
Popularity: 1% [?]
May 15th, 2005 at 9:09 pm
haha, 70% of all secondary students would think of what you think before they finish form 5 and i’ve been there and done that…
they call me computer expert but i didnt study anything related to IT instead i go take up Mechatronics in TARC right now…if you’re thinking of developing the other half of your life you can study IT, but if its the other way round and after finish studying and coming back to miri? you better not think of IT. just my piece of advice after i think through the whole thinggie and had a few talks with my friends…
the only question i’m answering to right now is “How come you didn’t go study computer?” :yikes: :yikes:
May 16th, 2005 at 12:10 am
You’ve been a computer geek:grin:, if you don’t study computer then people will say like “aiya you are so good why don’t you go study computer?:shock::shock:” But it’s your choice, who cares. No matter what’s your choice, it’s your choice anyway, and you will got our votes. :noworry:
Answer these simple questions:
1) Who are you?
2) Where did you came from?
3) What do you like?
4) What should you do?
5) Where should you go?
6) Where are you belongs to?
May 16th, 2005 at 12:28 am
Be realistic. If you are not acadmically inclined and find coures difficult, opt for skills courses. You can be assured of jobs with such qualifications and it would cost you much.
Go to this site to see the options
http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2005/05/skills-training-for-undergrads.html
and his other postings
May 16th, 2005 at 12:29 am
..correction
.. and it would NOT cost you much.
May 16th, 2005 at 1:59 am
Ok, i can’t believe that someone would actually face the same problem as i’m facing now even though i’m out of form 6…If it’s possible, go to matrics, if you are in the matrics, you are almost guaranteed a place in local uni provided that you work hard of course. I have 13 friends of mine, non bumis who is the first batch to enter the matrics and all of them are in the local uni currently. for those student who got a 4 for their CGPA, they mostly got off for their first choice out of their 8 choices. I don’t think there’s anything to lose if you enter matriculation if you really could. just that i’m being rejected from it…
anyway, dunno y, i don’t think TARC is a good idea. let me tell you this ok? if you were to enter in the local uni, whether UM, UKM, UUM, USM, UIAM and UPM, you are being recognized by MIA. but TARC, if you were to do accountancy, which is to say you will be doing the Diploma + ACCA thingy. This is going to be much risky. You just have to do it right once and for all, or else you just will give up half way. Studying ACCA is the only way to get you recognize by MIA in TARC. But ACCA is not an easy thing to study, it might drag on to 7 or 8 years if you failed to complete your ACCA. Are you prepared to go through that over and over again for the next 7 or 8 years? if you are then you may go or if you are sure that you could finish it within one go, then you may go also. otherwise, it’s just a bad idea cause you are gona end up with no qualifications other than diplomas which is not gona bring u anywhere at all.
bout f6, i guess it’s something you could consider or as a last resort if you failed to get into matriculation. since you have not make up your mind doing what you want to do, it’s better to do f6 first to let yourself think about what you wanted to do. at least you still have time to do so for the next 2 years.
my advice is, don’t think so much first as you should b focusing in your SPM. trust me, if you do excellent in your SPM, you very much wouldn’t need to worry about your future. if you use your time to think about your future on your studies, score some straight a’s, even JPA can be in your way. don’t end up like me, which you will regret for sure.
bout computing and accountancy, it’s still very much depends on your interest. first thing first, both of it is not going to be easy. Accountancy will require you to face different problem in different accounts and you will have to be in accountancy firm for the first 3 to 5 years to get some experience before you could be a chartered accountant. as for computing, it’s still bad in our country. too many people own an IT degree and unless you are the best among the best, you might survive. i’m still very much struggling in this dilemma in choosing between computing and accountancy.
i ended up in the f6 as i failed to get matriculation and somehow my application to study IT in MMU just failed to reach them. after 2 years in f6, made up my mind finally after STPM results is out in doing Accountancy. But now, I got an offer from NUS offering me to study Computing. NUS is the top 18 Uni of the world. What should i choose if i got accountancy course in local uni? I’m very much made up my mind to do computing again. So, my point is, there’s no point planning so much ahead for what it is not your priority now. You will never know what’s going to come up next.
Good luck in your future…
May 16th, 2005 at 2:06 am
and by the way, your title should be i’m lost shouldn’t it?
i hated f6 very much until i got an offer from NUS. this is one thing that make me felt that i’ve not wasted 2 years. so, i guess its worth trying.
sorry if what i wrote is not helpful and bores u…
May 16th, 2005 at 4:10 am
well.. on one hand it’s important for you to know what u really WANT and LOVE doing…
on the other hand, i also believe that you’re really young, and u may only discover what you really love…. so… Malaysia is a shitty place to discover that because there are not many opportunities (and expecially not many varieties of what u can study).
I guess, u gotta sit down and ask yourself what u really like, what do u enjoy doing, and then only think of where u shud go study it…
You said u like IT but that whole industry is not so good right now… but ask yourself also, how much do you REALLY like it? Can you really see yourself doing it for the next 10 years? if you can’t, then…. dun do it!!!
anyway, all the best, 17 is a very young age… and u said u have to do 1 year NS anyway, so, that’s one more year for u to meet people, experience life and discover what u want to do…
May 16th, 2005 at 10:55 am
thanks for pointing out ~shadow~, it should be “I’m Lost”. My bad English :yikes:
As I can read from the comments, I can see that I must concentrate on my SPM for now, and I should do what I really love. I shouldnt think too much for now. I should just concentrate and excel on my SPM.
The reason I’m writing this is because I’m worried about job opportunities in my future, if im taking the IT/Computer related courses. Then if I’m taking Accountancy, I afraid I will regret later.
Maybe I should go for matrics, if not rejected. If rejected, maybe I’ll go for form 6. At least another 2 years for thinking.
May 16th, 2005 at 7:36 pm
Hi GeminiGeek,
I saw your post in MalaysiaBlogger, then came here to see what actually I can help.
Well, after reading through your description and others’ priceless opinions. I quite agree with ~shadow~ on the Accounting in TARC part. I agree ACCA is hard to get, but on the other hand, do you think IT cert is relatively easier? (Please compare ACCA to MCT) It’s all depend on your effort actually, don’t go and figure out which field is easier to survive. You should pick one field and do your very best. No matter IT or Accounting, be the top, and forget about surviving. (I know said is a lot easier than done, but do your best lah.
)
Those surviving or jobless for 6 months or so, I would say they didn’t do well in their result AND don’t have much IT related skills. The world is very realistic, they look at your grade then only look at your actual performance in the Interview. So, grade is a tool to attract them to select you for interview. Those who says result is not important just don’t understand how useful is this tool to help them to get job and promotion. Again, one thing I wanna stress is don’t be an average student in IT, we have more than 80,000 average IT graduates jobless, and please don’t be part of them. Same applies to accounting field.
Tell you honestly, I never pass my modern math (Add math I passed once, the passing mark was 60. Hahahha …) during my F4 & F5 and I’m doing my Master in Business Admin now. I kind of “insaf” only after my Diploma. I even took the wrong course in my Diploma (I studied Micro-Electronic, which is minor in IT). Fortunately, I went to do a bridging to my Degree in IT (finally my favourite course, luckily they accepted me too). I need to clarify that I’m not showing off or anything, nothig to show off also. I just wanna motivate you and let you know that you are 2 years ahead of me when you realize what to do. I realized only after my Diploma.
Continue to motivate you with my real case:-
I was a lousy student in high school who got the lowest Chemistry mark in the class during F4 and the teacher laughed at me in front of the class when I went to collect my exam paper. From that moment onwards, I told myself I’ll get the highest mark in chemistry in the coming year. Since then, I spent almost every afternoon in the library and I finally got the highest in the 1st semester in F5. Now it’s only May, you still have a few months to go until your SPM, do something now, start from the next minutes, if not the next hour. I did not ask you to get straight A, you should focus on your favourite subjects, like I did to Chemistry. I started picking up marks slowly in every semester and finally got 5 As in SPM. Remember, your tommorrow is determined by what you are doing today.
I tell you what, don’t think SPM result is useless, it’s a stepping stone for you to enter courses that you want in local U. Good SPM motivates you to get even better STPM result, there is some linkages. You should focus on SPM first, after finish you exam then only think of others. Do your very best and start from a small step, like my idol says, Always start from a baby step. I’m sure you will have a few tests before your SPM, target yourself what grade you wanna have for your favourite subjects. For example, if you always got C for Add math, target it to B- or B in the coming test, then target A for final test. Improve yourself step by step.
All in all, focus yourself in SPM first. IT or accounting for me are the same as long as you like them. Anyway, if you ask for my opinion, I usually don’t encourage ppl to take IT unless he/she is really interested in. For IT, you need to keep updating yourself almost every minute or so, whereas for accounting, ask yourself how often the accouting concepts change.
The evolution pace is very much faster in IT, if you can take it, go for it. Some enjoy it, some cannot take it and eventually change job like your sister’s friend.
Feel free to drop me an email if you wanna have more motivation, probably I’ll reply you on Sat.
Cheer up !!
have a nice day.
Best regards,
Bryan
May 16th, 2005 at 9:02 pm
SapiensBryan: you sounded just like me…i’m having the same thing exactly as you in my f4 & f5 :yikes: :yikes:
July 4th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
[...] I wrote about how I’m lost and what to do in my future. This post here is kind of like the expansion of that post. Anyway, this career day helps me a lot. They explain a lot about the job opportunity and what is the most marketable job for now and the future. But now, I’m stuck in a dilemma. Go for marketable job, or go for my interest? [...]
August 11th, 2005 at 8:57 pm
Hi Clueless
Here’s my little piece of advice, I hope it helps.
Before you listen to all the various advice out there, you must determine where you stand. For e.g., when you mention that you are an “average” student, are you talking about 4-5As or are you talking about 4-5Cs for your SPM? Everyone calls themselves “average”
Take advice carefully – someone who failed in his ACCA will tell you that ACCA is very difficult, whilst someone who completed it will say it’s a worthwhile pursuit. So don’t take advice blindly. You need to place yourself next to that person and see where you stand. For e.g., a straight As student listening to “ACCA very difficult” may get discouraged, when he’s actually very qualified to complete the course.
If you do plan to become a good computer science student, and ultimately a good programmer – you should have a good foundation in Mathematics. Your Matematik Tambahan should score at least a B4, preferably better. This doesn’t mean that you can’t complete your degree otherwise, but it does mean that you may just be “mediocre” in the subject.
STPM is not a “waste of time” either. In general, I prefer hiring students who has taken the 2 year STPM or ‘A’ Level course, as it actually provides the students with the right foundation to do well in university. I found my “calling” in Economics only after I took the subject at ‘A’ Levels – otherwise, I might have ended up being a lawyer because I didn’t get the extra time to “think about it”. Hurrying yourself to join a university will help you get your certificate faster, but it will not make you a better graduate.
Besides the popular computer science, accountancy etc., there’s actually a fair bit of other useful courses such as business administration, economics, finance, marketing etc.
So, in short, I’m not telling you what you should do, because I don’t know what your grades are exactly. But I just thought I should outline for you some of the key criteria you should think about before you make your decision.
Good luck!
Tony
September 26th, 2005 at 9:07 pm
[...] SPM Written Exam starts on 9 November. Since I’m not taking any extra language subject, my exam starts on the 14th November and it ends in the 5th December. After that? Totally nothing to do. Left a few things to do, decision making. [...]
January 13th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
well…i’m lucky then u , coz when i was secondry sch, i know exactly what i want in my life, n my decision was directly go to college, n i’m taking CAT now, foundation of ACCA, i’m last sem now, n going to continue my ACCA part 2 , but not yet decide which college to prefer, that’s what i worry now..:cry:
er…actually what they said is true, ACCA may be hard may be easy, it’s depend on you, how you look of it..n the most important things is the effort u are ready to put in ..
so, don worry to much ..everything will be fine, at ur stage, what u need to do is juz state clear what u want in ur future life, when u know it, then everything will be easier..
i also heard from many people that ACCA is very hard..
but that never affect me to take ACCA, coz i know where is my way…actually i’m not very interested in acountinng but as others said, it’s a faster way n can earn more money n better job opurtunities, n i’m going to earn capital for my interests and dreams..as no capital,it’s hard to do what u like…hahaha~
anyway, juz my opinion,
don blindly trust others words, trust ur own sense…
gd luck 2 u ya~~:wink:
August 7th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Hai,
I am kavin i need some tips from you hom to choose my future.If you can please help me.
December 5th, 2006 at 12:08 am
HI GUYS
i myself am not a bad student an AVERAGE and by it i do mean it cuz i am ,and i am gonna start my CAT classes this 15 ,and i need tips and information about CAT and ACCA ,an dsome things which might help me in studying and in my papers which might be in MARCH,