HE would operate cranes during the day and rush to attend classes at night.

Mr Nicholas Joel Xie, 22, said learning how to use the heavy machinery while serving full-time national service (NS) in the navy was 'really fun'.

The regular hours, 8am to 5pm, meant he could make the most of his time.

So he decided to enrol in the SMa School of Management (SMa-SOM) to pursue a diploma in Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) part-time.

He said: 'It was tough initially, having to rush to school after work, but I got used to it after two months.'

He attended classes two to three times a week, from 7pm to 10pm, at the school's North Bridge Road city campus.

It was his second diploma. He already had a diploma in Electronics, Computer and Communications Engineering from Singapore Polytechnic.

But he said: 'I didn't really like engineering as I found it quite dry.

'When I flipped through my older brother's business management books, I found it easier to relate to the topics.

'So I decided to go for the business diploma to see if I liked it.'

He earned his diploma in a year.

After completing his full-time NS, Mr Xie found a sales job with insulation supplier Foster Asia Pacific.

He then decided that he 'wanted a good mix of work experience and studying'.

So he enrolled in SMa-SOM, this time for a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Management and Marketing Management, awarded by Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

On choosing business over engineering, the second-year student said: 'A business degree lets you decide which industry you want to join later.

'With an engineering degree, you're committing yourself to a very specific field from the get-go.'

He was admitted directly into the second year of the undergraduate programme as his diploma was the equivalent of the first year of the degree.

FLEXIBILITY

He said he has no trouble juggling work and school due to the flexible nature of his accounts executive job.

His work involves looking for new markets for insulation sales and expanding the company's customer base within South-east Asia.

He said: 'I have to travel for work to Malaysia once in a while, but I can choose to do so when I don't have school.'

He attends classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7pm to 10pm.

He said: 'I used to be a procrastinator, but once I started working, I realised I'd to start on my assignments once I get them.

'If you do schoolwork at the last minute, you won't be able to cope if other things for work start coming in.'

He said his work and studies 'complement each other'.

He recalled how a workplace law module he took came in handy for work.

He said: 'I've to draft contracts together with my company's engineering department as part of my work.

'And I now know what to look out for, such as making sure there are clauses to tackle the problem in the event that customers back out.'

He said his work experience also helps him grasp concepts learnt in class.

The pricing strategy he uses to break into a new market is a good illustration of 'price skimming', which he learnt in a marketing module.

'Price skimming means we enter the market at a higher price, but lower the price as time goes by to increase our market share,' he explained.

'The strategy only works for a niche product, like insulation. There are only two other competitors in Singapore, so we don't have to lower our prices as much to attract customers.'

Mr Xie recently got promoted and is happy with his job for now.

But if he wants a new job, the school's Career Assistance Services can help graduates look for jobs among the Singapore Manufacturers Association's (SMa) more than 2,800 member companies from 11 different industries.

Graduates can also post their resumes on the SMa's website for member companies to view.

This article was first published in The New Paper.