Aside from our country’s Smart Nation initiative, which will open up a lot of IT job opportunities, programmers are needed everywhere in every industry — as long as anything needs software, you’ll find coders!
Just how much demand are we talking about? According to a commentary in The New Paper (by Francois Lancon, the senior Vice-President of Oracle (Asia Pacific)), research commissioned by Oracle Academy has found that “70 per cent of the fastest growing skills and 26 per cent of the highest paying skills in these fields are related to computer science”! Many of these skills involve proficiencies in coding languages such as Java and Python.
One specific area where coders/programmers will be put to work is the app industry. In a mobile app forecast by market researcher App Annie, the app economy alone could double to a cool 101 billion globally.
So, if you’ve wanted to learn to code for interests’ sake, or to acquire this valuable skill, here’s a starter list of courses you can look at! Do note that programming only tends to take up a portion of any computer science degree, and you’re often expected to spend time outside the curriculum to further your knowledge or pick up a new language.
We also recommend you check out the free resources and courses online to see if coding is for you — and what kind, Java programming? C programming? — before investing in a paid one. Happy learning!
*All course fees are for 2023/24’ intakes and are subject to changes depending on the school; fees do not include misc. fees. All fees are in SGD unless otherwise stated.
Short Courses (online)
- Mozilla
- General Assembly
- Lithan Academy
- Rocket Academy
- SMU Academy
- NTUC LearningHub
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Degrees
- Singapore Institute of Technology (Awarded by DigiPen)
- National University of Singapore
- Singapore University of Technology and Design
- PSB Academy
- Bachelors of Science with Honours in Computer Science (Awarded by Coventry University)
- Nanyang Technological University
- Kaplan Higher Education Singapore
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Single major, awarded by Murdoch University)
- Singapore Management University
AWARE’s hotline is run by women for women, and is manned by trained volunteers and staff. They are able to take calls in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. The organisation also offers affordable counselling services, chargeable at 2% of your salary if your pay is $3,000 and above — or at a flat rate of $35 if your salary is below that.
Hours: The helpline operates from Mondays to Fridays, 10 am to 6pm
Location: NA
Contact: 1800-777-5555
Offers: Short-term individual counselling, talks, workshops
Description
Location: University Health Centre, Level 1 (20 Lower Kent Ridge Road)
Contact: +65 6516 2376, 
However, I was lucky as I was scouted on LinkedIn based on my previous portfolio at a company to be their Corporate Affairs Intern. That was when I decided to look into more internships within the corporate sector and found that I could fulfil the requirements of being a Corporate Affairs Intern, Public Relations Intern, and HR Intern. It did not matter to me that I did not have a strong background in either business or mass communications. After all, it never hurts to try, and if I do not get it, then the right person did.
There is no harm in trying and learning, especially as a university student who is still trying to figure out what they want to do in the future.
After a few applications, interviews, and rejections, I was offered the position of HR Intern (Recruitment Marketing) at my current company, Versuni, or maybe you would be more familiar with its former name – Philips Domestic Appliances. Many people may be unfamiliar with what recruitment marketing is, but it is essentially talent acquisition where we scout and help fill different positions in the company. Sort of like the middleman between the hiring managers and the candidates! Moreover, it also has some marketing aspects regarding how we can improve promoting different roles with how we post them on sites such as LinkedIn, or even designing a few banners here and there. Thus, the start of my 6-month internship.
One of the main things I was doing was helping my supervisor schedule interviews for different roles across APAC, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea. However, my main job scope was to help scout local university students for our different internship positions. I looked through the pile of applicants and essentially scrutinized their resumes to see if they were suitable for the role based on the job description, then forwarded their profiles to the hiring managers.
Afterwards, I will heed the hiring managers’ feedback and schedule interviews with the selected candidates. There were other things involved, such as calling up the candidates to get to know them a bit better – such as finding out more about their previous experiences or interests with the role before the interview, and basically being the line of communication between them and the company.
Of course, I have also helped handle some full-timer roles, and I must admit I was very slow when I first began. There is a specific format to the emails and communication with the candidates, and since I was new to talent acquisition, it took me a while to acclimate. However, I surprisingly enjoyed my work more than I thought, and was able to take up even more projects as time went on.
Fortunately, I had a very good team to accompany me throughout. There were two other interns in my department, and we all grew close with the rest of the team. When I first arrived, the previous intern guided me through the different processes of what we needed to do, how emails should be formatted and just taught me the guidelines we needed to adhere to.
I was fortunate that one of my co-workers had also recommended me to the TA Lead in Netherlands to support in possible projects alongside her which were a bonus from my original job scope. Moreover, I was also trusted by the HR Lead in Singapore for a secondary project. I had so many opportunities in developing my skills for TA, and was fortunate enough to be handed different projects, which I believed strengthened my appreciation for HR.
However, not everything was smooth sailing. There were times where I had encountered the occasional bump in the road, such as struggling to find suitable candidates for the different roles available, as well as the rare instances of miscommunication between me and some of the stakeholders. For example, there was an instance where I struggled and felt guilty because I was having trouble finding a suitable candidate for a specific role, and mishaps including those that were scheduled to be interviewed kept happening – such as, having no-shows for interviews or last-minute rescheduling.
I guess in a way, it also taught me how tough the job can be despite only being an intern. I would say that my experience was just a tiny crack allowing me to peek into the world of HR. For example, my knowledge of HR was quite basic, thinking that it was essentially like the team that handled all internal affairs, such as employee welfare, payroll, etc. While that is a part of HR, I was able to understand more of TA, and how TA is more of the external affairs related to HR.
It helped me gain more respect for the work done by both the people in my team, and others working the same discipline.
Furthermore, since I was involved in other projects, I was also able to tap into my creativity and develop my marketing skills with some of the tasks assigned to me. Of course, there was a lot of trial and error done since it was something new for me to try. Other than that, I also felt some pressure being assigned these tasks with thoughts of “I’m just an intern, why was I assigned to do this? Or to be the lead in this?” because I was overwhelmed. However, just because I had these thoughts does not mean I wasn’t grateful. I was able to develop my own proposals and plans for the different projects, and gain feedback.
Hence, I believe that this internship taught me more than what I had expected to learn. I came in thinking I would do ‘saikang’ work only related to TA, but what I was able to participate in, and achieve were so much more than that.
The best part? You can plug in your earpieces and be alerted instantly when the time is up!
Even large and successful businesses face obstacles and setbacks along their journey: what more us? Persistence, resilience and many minds brought them to where they are today.
Interested in more of such stories? Check out Walt Disney and Starbucks!
(Mondelēz International is home to big brands such as Oreo, Halls and Ritz)
Prudent risks? Irene Rosenfield reminds us how #YOLO is sometimes not the wisest idea. When taking risks, you should still make the most informed decision you can. Remember to have contingency plans or strategies, and make sure that you’re fully aware of what you’re getting yourself into!
Prudent risk-taking recognizes that not all risks will lead to success, but also how these serve as valuable lessons for future decision-making. This way, we can work toward continuous improvement and adaptation in the face of changing circumstances! 
It would help if you started as early as possible as early as possible, especially since there are so many courses to look through and schools to compare against. Many students overlook the importance of getting started early, or some are too overwhelmed to know where to start.
Firstly, create a timeline of the important application dates of the prospective universities you are aiming for. Log them into your Google Calendars or your phone’s calendars and turn on a reminder one day before. Secondly, make rough notes of the potential courses you are interested in and those you want to learn more about. Having a clear to-do list while course searching is beneficial to not miss out on any information you need! Thirdly, ensure that you check the respective university requirements.
Speaking from personal experience, I did not prepare my CCA Transcripts and Recognition Letters until it was one day before the deadline! So do not be like me and check all the necessary documents that you would require for the respective school’s application process.
You can do this!
The university application process can be challenging and overwhelming, but with proper organization, you can make it a manageable journey. Keeping track of deadlines is crucial to avoid missing out on admission to your desired university. Utilizing tools such as spreadsheets or calendars can help you prioritize tasks, allocate your time efficiently, and manage your workload effectively.
In addition, it is important to take the time to research universities thoroughly, identify your strengths and interests, and make a strong application that showcases your abilities and achievements.
By following these tips, you can make the university application process less daunting and increase your chances of success. Remember that this is an exciting journey towards achieving your educational goals, and by staying organized and focused, you can make the most out of this experience. Take your time, get feedback, and show off your unique qualities to increase your chances of getting into the university of your dreams.
Good luck! 
Duration: 2 days (9am–5pm)
Fees: $889
What you’ll learn: Taught via blended-learning, course objectives include learning how to identify various public speaking methods, how to identify your audience before a speech, how to create an outline of your speech, how to flesh out your speech, how to deliver your speech and overcome nervousness, as well as how to handle difficult questions and answers.
2. Public Speaking Academy – 
Duration: 2 days
What you’ll learn: As per the course outline, participants will learn how to prepare and write their speech’s text, manage stage fright, vocal expression, voice production and clear speech, as well as articulation and pronunciation techniques. Participants will also go through an individual speech and voice analysis.
Fees: $690 for non-members, $600 for SIM members (pre-GST). An early bird fee of 540 is available, and non-members are welcome to sign up for membership to enjoy the discounted rate.
SkillsFuture Claimable: Please enquire with SIM Professional Education.
6. Speak Sell Succeed – 
