Perception

That’s the number of semesters I have left before I graduate, and minimally as well. I finished my last paper today, out of four, and I’m glad that the ordeal is finally over. Time has flown pretty quickly this past semester, and I’m sure many will share that sentiment. It won’t be long before this six-week break is over, and what comes after it will be another challenging term of projects, tutorials and assignments.

I initially didn’t have much to write about, except note that I’d made it to end-of-examinations mark. However, I’ve recently been thinking about school and what the next three years or so will be like. I’ve been considering pursuing a minor or even another major, as not only does this enhance my degree (to a certain extent), but I feel that having a more in-depth knowledge of a relevant field outside the scope of my degree is more useful and worthwhile when compared to compulsory modules like Singapore Studies, which in my opinion only serve to be a waste of modular credits and time.

The academic programmes that I’ve explored so far are a Minor in Technopreneurship, a Minor in Management and a Major in Management (Technology), all offered by NUS Business School. Pursuing one of these will hopefully gain me additional skills, knowledge and experience in the respective field, and also make up for my reluctance in attempting a Double Degree. Not that I doubt my own ability, but rather it’s because the computing major offered for the degree isn’t to my preference.

There’s a host of other programmes offered by the School of Computing, and I’ve also taken a look at a few of them. I’ve ruled out trying for the Student Exchange Programme (SEP) and NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme, mainly because I’m not interested in going overseas. The Advanced Technology Attachment Programme (ATAP) looks appealing, but selection will definitely depend on my grades then. Getting into this programme will be invaluable in terms of the experience it’ll provide, which is why it’s one of the top on my list of considerations.

I guess I should be more concerned with the upcoming semester, but thankfully, taking part in the Module Preference Exercise a few weeks ago has allowed me to be pre-allocated with four modules already. This should ease the bidding woes considerably, as it leaves me with only one module to bid for next semester.

The six-week break doesn’t seem like a very long time, and there are a few things I would like to achieve within this period of time. Finding a job is one of them. I’ve been soliciting internships at various firms this past week, but without much luck. The job market is probably saturated at this time of the year, and I can only remain optimistic about my prospects. I’d also like to start learning PHP as it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for quite a while. Either way, I’ve set these two main objectives for myself and I certainly hope that I’ll be able to accomplish at least one of them by the time next semester begins.