I need Business Career advice please :)

[llchristinall]

Hi there,

I'm an International Business major..
Bachelors degree from a private American university in California.
Also spending time at the International Business Intitute in Europe for 10 wks as part of my education.

My background:
I grew up moving around between Singapore, Princeton (USA), and Cambridge (UK).
I attended Singaporean, British and American local school, as well as a Singaporean American school.
I have a full blown American accent, I can speak mandarin well, but my written Chinese is poor.

I may pursue a masters in Human Organizational Development straight after my Bachelor's..(I will intern as well and the degree would take a year to complete).

Should I pursue the masters immediately or take a year off to work?


What would my job prospects be in Singapore with a Bachelor/Masters?
What type of job would I most likely find in Singapore with an International Business bachelors?

How much should I expect to be paid with just the bachelors?
Would there be a large difference with the masters?


Thanks so much~,
Christina

[Strong Eagle]

Life is short and you are young. There will be plenty of time to puruse a business career, a time when you no longer will have the freedom you have now.

Take the time off and discover, both yourself and the world. There are millions of ways to earn a living, make a difference, and have a great life without getting swallowed up into the corporate machine.

My sense is that you see your life planned out as getting the right credentials, hooking up with the right company, and rising up through the ranks to become "successful". Success can be measured in many ways but in my eyes, waking up after 25 years of fealty to a corporation is not one of them.

I'm not suggesting that you follow her foot steps but Jane Goodall is a great example of a different way of looking at things. She didn't try to plan a career, per se, she went and followed her heart, the things that interested her.

As one who has lived life on both sides of that coin, I can tell you that taking up a career because it is "what people do", and because it is the way to material success and riches, is a hollow way to live life. Much better to follow one's heart, one's guiding direction. The difference is that you must be willing to give up the security, certainty, and control that comes with a planned career... those are illusions anyway... and simply strike out for yourself today. I think all the great men and women of history, no matter their contribution, operated in this manner.

[KLS]

Couldn't agree more withthe above!!!

Don't let your mind be controlled by society & status, A masters degree is no big deal, without life experience and the common sense to use it. better to be a jack of all trades and a master of none, if you want to survive in this world!

The sooner your street wise the better! take time off and enjoy life and follow your own instincts. Why make others wealthy, that is what I say!

[Sonia_Couling]

hi llchristinall
i am here for the share some career and success advice ,Success is something very important in this world, but for this you need to influence people. To influence people you need effective communication skills and strong leadership quality. With the combination of both you will become the leader. Then you will find success in your way.

[ksl]

hi llchristinall
i am here for the share some career and success advice ,Success is something very important in this world, but for this you need to influence people. To influence people you need effective communication skills and strong leadership quality. With the combination of both you will become the leader. Then you will find success in your way.
Best of luck!

If you are raised in a competitive environment, you have no need to listen to the crap above, and i don't have to explain why.
The most important things, you will decide for yourself, however, depending on the direction you wish to follow, always keep in the back of your mind, which will help you most....

Like SE says, enjoy life, don't get rolled over by the mechanism of social pressures, that are in place, decide yourself, at the pace you want to follow.

International business demands a love for many cultures and adaptations, and it's probably best to do these things while young, so my advice is to master your Chinese writing, by going to mainland China, the Language Institute and enjoy the time chilling out, with others of the same age, at the same time, getting something that you can use out of it, at a later date.
I myself was 40 before i took my business studies, and went to China, to study for a year, at the same institute, my main reason, was to do things the way I like to do them, and not the way, that the system indoctrinates you to follow.

Experience of life is much more of a value, than education, and it's very difficult to achieve, if you are pressurised into doing things, because the system says, that is the way it is. You will be years in front of others, if you go out into the world and live the life, but also being focussed on the direction you are heading.

Theory is theory, which never really fits into the real world, this you will soon realise, and is of more value to you. So just take time out, to think of what's on offer...Age and experience actually exempts you from many factors of the learning establishment, so take it in your stride.

[Winxkid]

in Asia, having an American accents might helps to get a job... an added point.... Taiwan might be more suitable for You, since it's one of the developed country and the Taiwanese idolize people with American accent alot

[MikeDirnt]

Should I pursue the masters immediately or take a year off to work?

IMO and experience, you should complete your masters as well. it is not easy to continue after you take a break.

[ksl]

Should I pursue the masters immediately or take a year off to work?

IMO and experience, you should complete your masters as well. it is not easy to continue after you take a break.

For anyone to do a Masters degree, without experience tells it all, thinking you can jump the queue because you have another piece of toilet paper, will not help you one bit, in my opinion.

It only says, to me, that you are totally full of yourself, overly ambitous and a dreamer, to believe, it will help you get promotion....or a step infront, quite the opposite would happen in my opinion.

Any good HR guy would psychologically have the applicant diagnosed has a dreamer, and throw it to one side...an MBA is absolutely pointless, without experience and if you think it will save you time, then it goes to show, what kind of a MBA contender you are going to be.....

Not a great deal of thought was put into the study, so you can study, so what....anyone can study if they put their mind to it, but not everyone can manage or lead people, so why not save yourself alot of money, and discover, if you are going to make the grade first.

It's true that many have jumped on the bandwagon doing their MBA without experience and it truly does stand out in the business world, what a bunch of overated academic clowns, have been riding the waves of success, unfortuantely errors of their success and bad management skills have been identified, and a good businessman, will soon dispatch an MBA employee, to the unemployment register.

Gone are the days of carrying glorified MBAs' without experience I'm afraid, although you may find a clown to employ another clown, that i will agree with, it's only results, that will get you anywhere, and if you are not the leader type, or the manager of people type, you will be throwing your money away in my opinion.

[MikeDirnt]

there is no big deal. you can always ask for a lower pay and level with a graduate. after a few years work, you can switch to a higher paying job with your experience. better still some employers willing to employ you as a master graduate.

but most importantly there is no break of flow in your study.

[Strong Eagle]

So, did Sonia_Couling resurrect a 3 1/2 year old thread just to push, aka spam, our board with her plug for her book?

[MikeDirnt]

So, did Sonia_Couling resurrect a 3 1/2 year old thread just to push, aka spam, our board with her plug for her book?

i didnt realise the date

the threadstarter must have graduated and working.