Don't just seek jobs, but opportunities

FOR someone who has always had a passion for entrepreneurship, the thrill of starting my own business appeals to me more than a predictable job in the public sector.

Unless the public sector undergoes an image overhaul, I will be less inclined to pursue a career there as I do not think it is dynamic and challenging enough.

Even though my friends are madly rushing to apply for scholarships, why should I let a bond hinder my ambitions and settle for a predictable pay cheque while I am still young and adventurous?

Instead, I prefer circumventing this financial crisis by looking for new markets to tap into for investment. I'm considering the array of funding options from organisations, such as Spring Singapore, which support budding entrepreneurs.

This may be the best time to put my entrepreneurial skills to the ultimate test.

Nicholas Lim, 19, has a place in NTU's Nanyang Business School.

Don't be obsessed with job-hunting

REGARDLESS of the state of the economy, career prospects were never my primary concern. While proper planning can never be overrated, I still believe that I have better things to do with my remaining three years in university than to worry about securing a job.

Youth is a time to explore, to do the things I may never be able to afford to do in future. In my stint as a journalist intern before I entered university, I spoke to illegal street hawkers and covered crime scenes.

Among the people I met on the job, one was a trishaw man who pedalled tourists around, while others filmed an educational video on sexually transmitted diseases for submission to the Health Promotion Board.

My exploits may not help much in fluffing up resumes, but such experiences form the basis for the halcyon memories of youth. They will save me some anguish when the current economic crisis is past and my mid-life crisis rolls around.

Lim Heng Liang, 21, is a first-year English student at NUS.

The value of civil service positions

I USED to think that public sector jobs were for lazy people who wanted to work only fixed nine-to-five hours. I also never saw much potential for personal fulfilment in them because I felt that such job security would just lead to zero competition at work.

However, the current recession has made me change my view of the civil service.

Now, whether I want to excel in my job or not should be up to me, regardless of the working environment or colleagues. The fixed hours also ensure that I have quality time for my family and friends, and time for self-improvement.

Most importantly, a civil service job is a stable one, something which can never be understated in tough times. Fretting over job security would sap energy which could be better channelled to other areas of my life.

Stephanie Song, 22, is an honours-year psychology student at NUS.

Not the time to be picky

A STABLE income and doing something I enjoy are criteria that I look for in a job.

In this economic crisis, achieving both will be very difficult. For sheer pragmatism, income stability would matter more to me.

If that means accepting a public sector job when I graduate, so be it.

This is not the time for me to be choosy.

As to the criticism that public sector jobs are not fulfilling or challenging: every job has its own criteria for measuring performance, and meeting them is already a challenge in itself. Hard times or otherwise, no one is ever set for life.

Eileen Teo, 19, is a first-year sociology student at NUS.

The public sector needs us

THE importance of public service lies in this: though it may be busy and hectic, you are serving the community. During my term break last December, I did an attachment at one of the major public hospitals in Singapore. The long queues at the emergency department and at outpatient clinics were clear signs that we needed more manpower in public hospitals.

The private sector may be tempting for its attractive remuneration and flexible working hours, but it does not serve the needs of the masses.

The economic downturn could be a blessing in disguise, since this will lead to a greater interest in jobs at the Ministry of Health and in public hospitals. This is both promising and beneficial for patients looking for better health care.

Tabitha Mok, 22, is a fifth-year medical student at the University of Western Australia.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.