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Copyright © 2012 by Ailian Gan, Daniel Wong and Kwa Chin Lum

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, except for brief quotations, without the prior written

consent of the authors.

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Praise for The $500,000 Decision

“This was definitely a good read for me. The authors offer thoughtful perspectives and

honest responses on what getting a scholarship entails in the Singaporean context, which I

easily identified with. I would readily recommend this book to anyone thinking of applying

for a scholarship, or even before they make a decision about university choices. I wish I’d

had this resource to help me make my decision back then!”

- Nicholas Ong, A*STAR scholar

“If I had an 18 year-old friend or family member ask me ‘Should I take up a scholarship?’, I

would ask them, in response, the crucial questions that The $500,000 Decision contains. The

authors use their life experiences from further down the road to help 18- and 19-year-olds

who are searching for a way to make this life-changing decision, yet who don’t have the

necessary information or perspective to do so. This book will force you to confront the

hard questions that need to be answered before you decide which path to take. An

important read.”

- Jason Wong, PUB scholar

"Insightful. This is a must-read for every young Singaporean who's thinking of taking a

scholarship! The three co-authors are at different points in their careers, and they've chosen

to go down such different paths. This gives the reader a more holistic perspective on the

scholarship decision. The opinions the co-authors express are balanced. The $500,000

Decision is a really valuable resource."

- Sean, who is currently serving his scholarship bond

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“Having been through the process myself, I can safely say that there will never be a definite

answer to the $500,000 decision. Everything depends on your circumstances and how you

make the most of it, both pre- and post-decision. The $500,000 Decision is brilliant in

succinctly listing and analysing many of the important considerations like money,

uncertainty, education and career goals. It’s helpful that this book is written from the

perspective of three individuals who are different yet similar in so many ways.”

- Former scholar

“Delightfully candid, this guide empowers students to make their own well-informed

decision by encouraging them to ask themselves the questions that desperately need to be

considered before applying for a scholarship. Having inputs from a panel of three

scholarship recipients who are at varying stages of their careers makes for a refreshing and

well-balanced read.”

- Shafa, SIA scholar who currently works in SIA’s Company Planning department

“Whether or not to accept a scholarship is likely one of the most important life decisions

you'll ever have to make. This book is chock-full of sagely advice from multiple points of

view. Even if you've already decided one way or the other, read it anyway. For a decision

this big, it doesn't hurt to have more information.”

- Steven, former PSC scholar

“I like the idea behind this book—that is, to help students better consider their decision of

taking up a scholarship—and l highly recommend that all scholarship-seeking students, and

their parents, read this!”

- Roger Look, government scholar

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“I like the idea of getting different types of scholars to co-author this book: one who broke

away from the system, one who’s currently serving his bond, and one who has successfully

completed his bond. Their combined viewpoints paint a much clearer picture for young

adults to answer the question of whether or not they should accept a scholarship offer. I

wish I had read such a book when I was applying for scholarships.”

- Royston Phoon, scholar who is in his final year of university

"As Singaporeans, we tend to let our circumstances dictate our path in life. This book is an

excellent reminder that taking a scholarship, like all other important decisions, is a

commitment that ought to be made with eyes wide open."

- Jiawen, JTC engineer and Stanford University alumni

“Written with remarkable insight and candour, this guide highlights the key issues that most

18-year-olds fail to consider when they make the choice that will shape the next decade of

their lives and beyond. I wish this excellent resource was available when I made my

$500,000 decision.”

- Harold Au, Singapore Technologies Engineering scholar who is currently serving his bond

"In this short book, Ailian, Daniel, and Chin Lum share their valuable personal experiences

and encourage you to both reflect on and refine your scholarship decision heuristic. The

decision to take on a scholarship at 18 years old is one that is often made with imperfect

information. The authors plug some of the information gaps to help you better think

through what could be one of the most important decisions of your young adult life."

- Teo Yinquan, A*STAR scholarship recipient

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"A key resource for anyone who's thinking about taking a government scholarship—Daniel,

Chin Lum and Ailian offer great insights, which help to clarify the thinking behind a

decision that could affect the next decade of your life. As a teacher, I have seen the many

anxieties and pressures that befall the student, and hope that this book might ease some of

that headache and help students out there to make a wise (and happy) choice for their

future."

- Andrea Phua, government scholar, ex-teacher, happy civil servant

“Why didn’t this guide exist when I was thinking of taking up a scholarship? I really like the

format of this guide. Nicely done.”

- Alvin Lee, PSC Overseas Merit Scholarship (Open) recipient in 2001 who finished serving his bond and

currently works in the private sector

"The $500,000 Decision is a refreshing look into the merits and long-term implications of

taking up a scholarship. Based on real life accounts, this guide is a must-read not just for

someone who’s about to enter university and who’s considering taking up a scholarship, but

also parents, who have the biggest influence on their child's academic and career decisions."

- Jason Ong, software engineer and startup community leader

“If you're a student who's thinking about whether or not to take a scholarship, you could

spend days or weeks trying to find the right people to talk to: people who have broken their

bonds, people who have served their full bonds and stayed, and people who are currently

serving their bonds. After that, you could spend even more time figuring out what questions

you should ask them, and at the end of it all, it's likely that you still won’t know what you

don't know. On the other hand, you could just read Ailian, Daniel and Chin Lum's

thoughtful, honest opinions on what I think are the right questions to ask yourself before

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taking a scholarship.”

- Jian Wei Gan, software engineer

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CONTENTS

About the Authors

10

Note to Parents (from a Parent)

14

Preface

16

Section 1: The Prestige

18 I’ve always done pretty well in school. Applying for a scholarship seems like the logical next step. 18 If I don’t get a scholarship, I’ll feel like a failure. 21 Most of my friends are either applying for medicine, law or an overseas scholarship. It seems like other options are inferior. 22 My parents are putting a lot of pressure on me to take a scholarship. How do I deal with their expectations respectfully? 25

Section 2: The Overseas Experience

28 What are the main benefits of studying overseas? Can I replicate the experience some other way? 28 I really want to study overseas, but my family isn’t that wealthy. A scholarship seems like my only option. 31 When it comes to my university experience, will I have to make any sacrifices or compromises if I decide to take a scholarship? 34

Section 3: The Bond

38 Having a bond to serve means I have guaranteed employment. Isn’t job security a good thing? 38 I have at least four years until I actually start work—that seems pretty far down the road. I’ll think about all these work and career issues when the time comes. 42 I’m sure I want to work in Singapore, so I’m not really restricting myself by taking a scholarship.

44 The fact that I have a bond to serve after I graduate—will that significantly influence

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my long-term career choices? 46 By the time I finish serving my bond, I’ll be in my late 20s or early 30s. How will this impact my life decisions? 49

Section 4: The Job

53 If I take a scholarship, I’ll be on the fast track to becoming the head of the organisation! 53 What are the most important factors I should consider when applying for a scholarship? 56 How much control will I have over which department I get posted to when I start work? 58 I really want to go into the public service. Is a government job the only way to serve the public? 61

Section 5: You

65 Right now, I feel quite sure about what kind of career I want. I don’t think this will change much while I’m in university. 65 I have some idea what my strengths are. How important is it that my future job allows me to make use of these strengths? 69 How do my values fit into this whole equation? 71 Looking back on my career, what do I want it to count for? 74 How should I think about how a scholarship fits into my long-term goals? 77

Afterword 81

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About the Authors

Ailian Gan works as a product manager at a Silicon Valley tech

startup called BloomReach.

She graduated from Duke University in 2005 with degrees in

Economics and Public Policy. She earned her MBA from The

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

For her undergraduate studies, Ailian was sponsored by a scholarship from the Monetary

Authority of Singapore (MAS). She served one year of her six-year bond.

She was told she had amazing opportunities as a scholar, but she struggled with the

boredom and bureaucracy. She felt a nagging sense that her paper-pushing wasn’t making a

difference. She decided that she would rather succeed or fail by her own deliberate choices

than lead a life of guaranteed non-failure.

Since then, her career has taken many unexpected turns. By the end of her theoretical bond

(that is, six years after graduating from Duke University), her career had taken her to New

York for investment banking with Goldman Sachs, to Hong Kong for a market risk job, to

New York again for a social investing gig, and to Wharton for an MBA.

Meanwhile, her idea of professional fulfillment changed from merely wanting to be

challenged, to wanting to have an impact on an enterprise and being able to improve the

lives of those around her. She is fascinated by Internet startups that are inventing the future.

She works as a product manager, and is inspired by her team of engineers who say,

“Assume we can build it!”

She believes in cultivating side projects. She blogs about reimagining career advising at

ailiangan.com, successfully ran a Kickstarter project, and currently teaches a popular

Skillshare class called "Land a job at a startup even if you can't code".

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Over the years, any anger she felt when she broke her bond has transformed into a kind of

empathy for unhappy scholars. Scholars have found their way to her to talk about their

bond-breaking dilemmas.

The most powerful lesson she has learned from breaking her bond is that if you're willing to

do the work and take full responsibility, you can construct the life you want. Owning your

decisions will change you.

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Daniel Wong is a Singapore Airlines scholarship recipient who’s

currently serving his bond. As a project engineer, he manages new

aircraft programmes that involve in-flight entertainment and

avionics.

He graduated from Duke University in 2011 with a double major

in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. Born in South Africa,

he lived in Hong Kong and Singapore before heading to Duke

University. He's a Singaporean.

Daniel is passionate about education and personal development. He has given talks to

thousands of students on topics such as goal-setting, personal effectiveness, finding success

on your own terms, and developing a vision for your life.

He writes regularly about topics related to education, career and personal development at

www.daniel-wong.com. He also writes for Yahoo! and other websites, and he has been

featured in the media multiple times.

Daniel is the author of The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success, a book

which aims to help students find new meaning and motivation in the pursuit of academic

success. He also works as an Education & Personal Excellence coach and speaker. He

offers scholarship advising services and runs mentoring programmes for students and young

adults.

For most of his academic career, Daniel wasn’t a happy student. He feels compelled to share

his transformational journey—from unhappy overachiever to happy straight-A student—to

ensure that students everywhere don’t make the same mistakes that he did in the blind

pursuit of success.

Here’s his personal mission:

To empower others with the mindset and methods to lead a meaningful and marvelous life.

Daniel hopes that The $500,000 Decision will help many people to find the long-term

happiness and fulfillment they’re looking for.

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Kwa Chin Lum is a Public Service Commission Overseas Merit

(Open) Scholar who has just finished serving his bond. Chin Lum

graduated from Stanford University in 2005 with undergraduate

degrees in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Economics, and

a Master's in Financial Mathematics.

Chin Lum has worked in the Ministry of Finance and the soon-to-

be-defunct Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. He is now the Head

of the Centre for Strategic Futures in the Public Service Division. He enjoys working on

public policy and creating a positive impact in society.

Chin Lum does not have a blog, has not made his first million dollars (nowhere close!), has

not authored any books, and has not founded any companies. But he is happily married, and

has contributed to nation-building through National Service, paying taxes and expecting his

first child.

While Chin Lum believes there is no such person as a “typical” scholar—hence no advice

would ever be perfect for you!—he would like to share his own experiences and thoughts so

you can decide for yourself which path you would like to take, as a scholar or otherwise.

The perspectives expressed in this guide represent Chin Lum’s personal views and not that

of his employer or the Government of Singapore. He did all of his writing for this book in

his spare time and not while at work, so this effort was not funded by taxpayers’ dollars.

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Note to Parents (from a Parent)

By Doreen Wong, co-author Daniel Wong’s mother

My parents taught me to study hard and to try and get as many

diplomas and degrees as possible. They hoped I would get a good job

that would provide me with financial security and a comfortable life.

When my older brother got an overseas scholarship 45 years ago, it

made my parents extremely proud. They took it as a sign that they had

succeeded as parents.

It was as if their love and encouragement, their emphasis on discipline and hard work, their

countless sacrifices made for their children—it had all culminated in this prestigious award.

To them, the fact that they had raised a scholar meant that they had done an excellent job as

parents. They took it as a pat on their shoulder. My parents came from a humble

background and they didn’t think genetics or good luck had played a part in my brother

getting a scholarship.

When I got an overseas scholarship 35 years ago, my mum was a widow. The way my mum

saw it, studying overseas was an opportunity not to be missed. The scholarship would make

it easier on the family finances and would guarantee job security after I graduated.

Once the news got out that I’d been awarded a scholarship, my mum received numerous

congratulatory messages from her family and friends. Understandably, this made her feel

happy, satisfied and rested.

To my mum, it was a parent’s job done, completed, accomplished successfully.

Today, I’m a mother of two scholars. My eldest son isn't one. I’ve learned not to measure

my success as a parent based on how accomplished my children are.

Instead, I feel a sense of fulfillment when I see my children learning things that are helping

them to become better people and to make more of a difference in the lives of others. If

they’re paid well for the value they’re adding to other people, that’s a bonus.

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Please don’t misunderstand; getting a scholarship is a good thing. But is it the best thing for

your child?

“Good” is about prestige, finances and feeling successful as a parent for having raised a

scholar.

“Best” is about your child’s passion, personality and purpose in life. A scholarship may or

may not be the path that’s best for your child.

I trust that you’ll reflect on this crucial distinction between “good” and “best” as you

support your child through this $500,000 decision.

Wishing you great parenting success,

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Preface

We’ll make this point clear upfront: The $500,000 Decision isn’t about gaming the system.

If you’re only interested in finding out how to bag a scholarship, this book isn’t for you.

This book won’t instruct you on how to write more impressive application essays or

perform better at interviews. There are plenty of guides out there that cover these topics in

depth.

In contrast, the advice we’ll provide you with in The $500,000 Decision will help you decide if

you should even be applying for a scholarship at all.

Don’t get us wrong; we’re not saying that scholarships are bad or that nobody should apply

for one. We’re not out to bash scholarships or the scholarship system.

After all, it’s possible that a scholarship might serve as a launching pad for you to enjoy

many wonderful experiences and a rewarding career.

But we do know many scholars who wish they’d had more information and a more holistic

perspective before they signed that $500,000 contract.

That’s where we come in.

All three of us co-authors took scholarships. One is currently serving his bond (Daniel), one

broke her bond (Ailian), and one has finished serving his bond and is continuing in his job

(Chin Lum).

With this diversity of experience, we’ll attempt to present you with a balanced view.

We trust that by sharing our thoughts and insights with you, you’ll be better equipped to

make the right decision, whatever that decision might be.

If you eventually choose to become a scholar, we want to ensure that you’re doing so with

the correct mindset and with a willingness to take complete responsibility for your choice.

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If, instead, you decide to go down a different path, we want to make certain that you don’t

have any regrets about not taking a scholarship.

Now that you know why we decided to write The $500,000 Decision, we’ll give you an

overview of how it’s organised.

The $500,000 Decision is divided into five main sections:

1. The Prestige

2. The Overseas Experience

3. The Bond

4. The Job

5. You

It’s structured in the form of questions and statements to which we provide our responses.

This way, you’ll get to hear our individual voices and perspectives.

I hope you’re excited about this journey of finding fulfillment in your university life and

your future career.

Let’s get started!

P.S. While working on the first draft of this manuscript, we penned down our responses individually,

without looking at what our two other co-authors had written. This was to ensure that the answers we gave

were as genuine and honest as possible.

P.P.S. Please don’t quote us exactly on the $500,000 amount. That’s approximately what your bond will

be worth by the time you start work if you take an overseas scholarship for a four-year undergraduate course

at a US university.

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Section 1: The Prestige

“Whoa… someone’s a scholar, huh?”

“That’s really impressive that you got a scholarship.”

“Your parents must be so proud of you!”

Be prepared to hear these kinds of remarks from friends and relatives if you take a

scholarship.

There’s prestige associated with being a scholar, but should the “prestige” factor weigh

heavily in your decision? What should you do if it’s your parents who are obsessed about

the prestige and not you?

These are issues we’ll investigate in this section.

I’ve always done pretty well in school. Applying for a scholarship seems like

the logical next step.

If you’re currently in a position to apply for a scholarship, chances are that

you’ve done consistently well over the course of your academic career.

It’s easy to become obsessed about climbing the ladder faster.

How do I get to the top as quickly as possible? What ladder-climbing

technique should I use?

But this is the more important question you need to ask yourself: Is the

ladder leaning against the right wall?

Take some time to think about your motivations in applying for a

scholarship. For me, I’ll be honest and say that I was partially motivated

by the “prestige” factor and the desire to live up to other people’s

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expectations.

I now recognise that these aren’t at all the right reasons to apply for a

scholarship!

If you do apply for one, make sure that your primary motivation is your

interest in serving the organisation that will sponsor your education.

It may seem to you as if getting a scholarship is the pinnacle of academic

achievement, but it really isn’t. It’s just one possible option, so don’t

assume that it’s the logical next step.

There are many other paths you can take.

*

Figuring out what's next is the next step.

I think one of the difficulties with doing well within the Singaporean

school system is that you become used to having goals and, by extension,

having success defined for you.

Good grades, awards, club leadership positions. You're used to seeing one

set path, one right track to take. But the reality is that careers are less like

following a road and more like navigating an ocean.

I think one of the big secrets is that you don't have to do anything in life,

no matter how much pressure you feel. You don't have to go to university

or get out of bed or do well in school or spend time with your friends.

All these are choices.

You need to make choices and take responsibility for the consequences.

Based on this line of thinking, you’re likely to conclude that there are

significant benefits to going to university and getting out of bed.

But you don't need to apply for a scholarship any more than you need to,

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say, study chemistry. For some people it makes perfect sense (studying

chemistry makes sense if you want to be a doctor), but for many others, it

doesn't make sense at all.

*

It could seem that way, especially when all of your friends are beginning to

apply for scholarships, and they already know which is their top choice.

But there are some questions you should ask yourself first:

• What course of study am I interested in?

• Do I want to study overseas?

• Which organisations am I interested in working for?

• What kind of career do I want?

• How badly do I want a scholarship?

• Do I even know what a scholarship entails?

Once you’ve thought about these questions, it will be easier for you to

decide whether you should take up a scholarship. Speaking to people who

have walked the journey before you will help you a lot in figuring out what

you want.

Some people are able to make the scholarship decision quickly, while

others take longer. It’s okay to be one of those in the latter group (but

don’t use this as an excuse to procrastinate!).

In the meantime, go for tea sessions and find out more. You could also

start thinking about how you might respond to some of the application

essays that you’ll have to write—it’s an interesting process of self-

discovery, which could help you decide whether the scholarship is for you.

Don’t restrict your options too early, whether it’s taking up a scholarship

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or not applying for one at all.

If I don’t get a scholarship, I’ll feel like a failure.

Maybe your parents, teachers and friends are putting pressure on you to

get a scholarship, but it’s important that you know, first of all, what

success means to you at a personal level.

Getting a scholarship is definitely an achievement, but real success isn’t

about accumulating achievements and accolades. It’s about being purpose-

driven, not performance-driven.

A scholarship, on its own, won’t result in long-lasting happiness and

fulfillment.

Getting a scholarship doesn’t make you a success; neither does not getting

a scholarship make you a failure.

*

I didn't get into Harvard or Stanford. I didn't get a PSC scholarship. I got

an E (a grade below 50%) for a big exam when I was 17. Does that make

me a failure?

I got an MAS scholarship, I got my MBA from Wharton, I did investment

banking for Goldman Sachs. Does that make me a success?

I don't find it useful to think about success and failure in terms of a

checklist. At the end of the day, you need to figure out what’s most

important to you and strive toward that.

While brand names attached to your résumé are useful ego boosts and do

open doors to interesting opportunities, fulfillment comes from how you

live and not what’s on your résumé.

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*

You might feel discouraged if you apply for scholarships but don’t get any.

But take the disappointment in your stride, and if you can channel it

towards motivating yourself to work harder in your university years—be it

in your academics, skills or character—it will surely make you stronger.

One of my favourite quotes is from former British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to

another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Beyond the scholarship, which actually only applies for the four years that

you spend in university, whether you’re successful or not depends a lot

more on your actual work performance than on whether you’re a scholar.

In the course of my work, I’ve come across many people who didn’t

receive scholarships but who have done very well. These are people who

have worked hard, learned quickly, and made the most of the

opportunities that have come their way.

Conversely, just because you’re a scholar doesn’t mean that you’ll

necessarily perform up to expectations.

Don’t let a single disappointment get in the way of something much

bigger!

Most of my friends are either applying for medicine, law or an overseas

scholarship. It seems like other options are inferior.

Medicine, law or an overseas scholarship are attractive options mainly

because they’re hard programmes to get into.

If you’re someone who has excelled academically, there will be some

future career options available to you, which probably aren’t viable

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options for many other people.

But remember that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you

should.

In the same way that just because you can afford to buy a $100 million

mansion doesn’t necessarily mean you should, just because you have the

ability to become a scholar (or a doctor, lawyer, etc.) doesn’t automatically

mean you should.

After all, there are brilliant doctors, lawyers and scholars who haven’t

found career satisfaction.

Coming back to respond to the statement above: Inferior options don't

exist. Different ones do.

*

You probably feel this superior/inferior comparison because some

options are more selective and competitive than others.

I've made the "prestigious" choice several times in my life, because I'd

assumed that I would get to work with smarter, more motivated people

this way.

I did, in fact, get to work with smart, motivated people. But I've also

discovered that there are many pockets of smart, motivated people in

many niche areas—boutique firms, smaller programmes, people who have

"normal" day jobs but who are freelancers and artists by night.

It isn’t reasonable to say that prestige doesn't matter. Having certain brand

names on your résumé does make it easier to get interviews, and people

do give you the benefit of the doubt about your intelligence (even when

you know nothing about the topic being discussed).

But if you're choosing something primarily for prestige, you’re likely to

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find yourself questioning your decision later. If you choose to study

medicine because everyone else is doing it, but you hate memorising

information and the sight of blood makes you squeamish, the “prestige”

of being a doctor will not save you.

Taking pride in your work, developing your strengths, focusing on what

you can contribute—these are the things that make a choice superior for

you.

*

It’s hard to compare options between individuals, because it’s entirely

subjective which option is inferior to which. On what criteria are you

basing your judgment?

Sure, in some professions you’ll start off with a higher salary, but joining

these professions could also mean that you’ll need to go through a longer

period of study, more intense courses, and additional hours of hard work

in a junior position. Moreover, you may or may not enjoy what you’re

studying.

When it comes to an overseas scholarship, whether this is a good option

ultimately depends on how well you adapt to the job after you graduate. In

addition, some people might prefer to be closer to home, to study locally,

or perhaps only do an overseas stint some time later on, e.g. going on an

exchange programme or doing a Master’s programme abroad.

The bottom line is that you need to figure out, from a personal

perspective, what you want and how your options compare. That’s not to

say that law, medicine or an overseas scholarship aren't superior options—

they could be, given the prestige, potential benefits, etc.—but you have to

decide that for yourself.

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My parents are putting a lot of pressure on me to take a scholarship. How do I

deal with their expectations respectfully?

Parents want to feel successful in the same way that you want to feel

successful.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; I’m just saying that that’s the way it is.

Many parents measure their own success by how successful their children

become. As long as there’s prestige associated with getting a scholarship,

many parents will continue to insist that their children go down the

scholarship path.

If your parents are putting excessive pressure on you to take a scholarship,

I encourage you to have a heart-to-heart talk with them.

I recommend that you follow these guidelines:

• Decide exactly what issues you want to address before the

conversation.

• Set up a meeting time in advance. This way, your parents will

understand how important the conversation is to you.

• Start by thanking them sincerely.

• Focus on how you feel, not on the mistakes that they’ve made as

parents.

• Ask for their support in a direct and specific manner.

• End the conversation by saying how much you love them.

Even though this one conversation isn’t guaranteed to transform your

situation completely, it can certainly pave the way for you to see a real

change in your parents’ mindset.

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*

I don't have a good answer for this one. I’m fortunate to have very

supportive parents to whom I’m extremely grateful.

I think most parents will be persuaded to listen to their children if they see

that their children have done their research and have thought through

their options in a mature way.

If you're refusing to apply for a scholarship just for the sake of being

rebellious, that's not going to go over well with your parents. But if you've

considered your decision carefully and you're willing to accept

responsibility for whatever you choose to get yourself into, it puts you in a

better position.

Ultimately, all of this is highly dependent on the kind of relationship you

have with your parents. There are no right or wrong answers here.

Regardless of whether or not you take a scholarship, and whether or not

you later regret your decision, do not blame your parents!

*

I know how difficult it is to respond to parental expectations when you’re

18 or 19 years old.

There’s no single best way to deal with these expectations. A big part of

how you respond also depends on your family dynamics.

It’s important that you first decide for yourself—regardless of your

parents’ expectations—whether or not you want to take up a scholarship.

Then, if you decide that you don’t, at least you’ll be clear on the reasons

why.

At that stage, you’ll need to have a conversation with your parents. Be as

mature and as respectful as possible, and find out why they want you to

27

take up a scholarship.

This will help you to understand their motivations. After all, parents do

want the best for their children.

Be aware that the onus is on you to convince your parents that your

proposed alternative works out best for you (and the family).

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Section 2: The Overseas Experience

If you’ve spent your whole life in Singapore, there’s a certain allure to the overseas

experience.

Studying overseas just seems more fun. People who have studied overseas have so many

exciting stories to tell, so many unique experiences to share.

The freedom of being away from home, the foreign culture, the new friends, the

opportunities to travel… it all seems so exotic and wonderful.

In this section, we’ll discuss exactly how “priceless” an overseas education is, and what

price—if any—you should be willing to pay to get it.

What are the main benefits of studying overseas? Can I replicate the

experience some other way?

Studying and living overseas allows you to see the world from an entirely

new perspective.

It’s refreshing to interact with people who are so different from you,

people whose childhood experiences you can’t identify with at all, people

with incredibly unique interests and passions.

This might sound strange, but the most valuable part of the overseas

experience for me was feeling out of place. I had a few unpleasant

encounters with racism, and I had to continually deal with the “Asian

student” stereotype.

I’m Chinese, so I almost never feel out of place when I’m in Singapore

because I’m usually in the majority. Living in the US for four years taught

me—to some extent—what it’s like to be a minority. Now I’m a lot more

conscious about the way I treat minority groups (racial or otherwise).

29

Is it possible to replicate the overseas experience completely? I don’t think

so.

But if you take the initiative to reach out to foreigners—when they’re at

your school for an exchange programme or when you meet backpackers

or when you see tourists while you’re out shopping—you’ll get to

understand them better. That’s a large part of what the overseas

experience is about.

Living overseas forces you to do things that you’d normally be too afraid

to do.

If you stay in Singapore for university but constantly get outside of your

comfort zone by doing things you’re afraid of, you’ll reap many of the

benefits associated with the overseas experience.

Only the things that scare you make you stronger!

*

I think the main benefit of going overseas is pushing yourself far outside

of your comfort zone. You’ll live and learn among people who come from

very different backgrounds. You’ll challenge yourself to do things you

never thought you'd excel at or love.

But, ultimately, the most wonderful experiences are specific to the

university you go to and the opportunities you choose to pursue.

For me, one of my most life-changing experiences was going on a

semester-long programme called “Leadership and the Arts in New York”.

We watched plays, operas, concerts and dance performances almost every

single night for a whole semester.

It was a magnificent experience. It changed my view on matters like how

empathy relates to leadership, and what it means to exercise ethical

leadership. It also gave me a love for the arts, especially for opera, that I

30

have kept with me ever since.

Can you replicate that? Not all of it, but you can definitely force yourself

to get out of your comfort zone more often.

Take up a hobby or join a club that you suspect you might like but don't

know anything about. Take up a leadership position in a club and change

your club's agenda. Go backpacking overseas. Go hang out in places

where you get to meet people who are totally different from yourself. Get

engaged in communities (in Singapore, online, wherever) that you care

about.

Ask yourself: How do I want to be changed?

Then go pursue opportunities that push you in those directions.

*

When I was 18 years old, I thought that studying overseas was primarily

about getting a different educational experience, especially in the

American system where learning is much more broad-based and flexible

compared to the Singaporean system.

While I was in university, I had a great time in my academic classes, but

much of my learning took place outside the classroom.

Living overseas, for one, forces you to take ownership of your life and to

be independent.

If you’re a Singaporean male like me, you’ll have to do National Service.

That experience will help you to grow up, but even those two years of

your life are still “planned” for you in some way—you pretty much follow

a regimented schedule that has already been decided for you.

The newfound freedom of being overseas, away from your parents—as

you pick your own classes, activities, friends and sources of

31

entertainment—means that you’ll have to be responsible for yourself in

new ways.

I learned a lot about myself from the way I made decisions and reacted to

new situations while I was abroad.

But I found that the largest benefit of my overseas experience was the

opportunity to exchange ideas and build friendships with people who were

so different from me. This helped to broaden my perspective on many

issues, and taught me to keep an open mind. I learned to empathise with

others and not to pre-judge them.

In my four years at Stanford, I met many exceptional people who’d had

amazing experiences. I learned many life skills and life lessons from them.

Certainly, parts of the overseas experience can be replicated, e.g. through

immersion or exchange programmes. There’s also an increasing diversity

of choices in the local university scene, which gives you greater exposure.

But my personal view is that these kinds of programmes are not quite the

same as living and studying overseas for four years.

Knowing that you’ll be overseas for a prolonged period of time forces you

to approach things differently, from how you set up your living

arrangements to how you reach out to people and form friendships.

I’m deeply thankful for the opportunity I had to study overseas for four

years.

I really want to study overseas, but my family isn’t that wealthy. A scholarship

seems like my only option.

It’s tempting to think that, but it’s not entirely correct. There are other

options you could consider if you want to study overseas.

32

Exchange programmes are one possibility. The experience won’t be as

immersive as studying abroad for four years, but you’ll still get to

understand a different culture and way of life.

As an international student from Singapore, it’s generally difficult to get

financial aid from a big-name university. But liberal arts colleges and less

well-known schools do offer financial aid more freely to international

students. (This is true for universities in the US, at least.)

Even if you stay in Singapore for university, there will be opportunities for

you to live and work overseas in the future, especially because the world is

becoming increasingly globalised.

You could also explore options like mid-term scholarships, where you take

a scholarship after you’ve already completed part of your university

education. Taking a mid-term scholarship gives you more time to discover

what kind of career really interests you before you make the scholarship

decision.

Taking a full overseas scholarship is one way to get the overseas

experience, but it isn’t the only way.

At the end of the day, I’m convinced that it’s not so much what kind of

experiences you’ve had that matters most. It’s what you do with those

experiences.

Do you process and reflect on the major events that occur in your life?

Do you proactively search out new ways in which you can leverage on the

experiences you’ve already had?

The bottom line is that you don’t have to feel like an overseas scholarship

is your last—or only—chance to live abroad.

*

I think there are far more options available now compared to "my time".

33

(Makes me sound so old!) I know of many friends who studied at a local

university and then went on to do semester-long exchange programmes in

the US, UK or Australia.

You could also consider going overseas later in life for graduate school

(e.g. MBA, MPA, PhD), when perhaps you’re in a better position

financially to do so.

You could also use your long holidays to travel, to do an overseas

internship, or to learn something different (e.g. a design class in Venice).

Get creative.

*

You could certainly explore alternatives, such as financial aid from the

university or bond-free scholarships (e.g. the Loke Cheng Kim scholarship

was the most well-known one during my time).

There are other ways for you to study overseas. Exchange programmes are

one viable option. It’s also possible for you to work part-time while you’re

in school, or you could take out a student loan.

I’ll be honest and say that when I was in your shoes, taking up a

scholarship looked like the most attractive option.

For me, however, the choice was easy to make because I was really

interested in working in the government. And, at the end of the day, the

government did offer me a scholarship.

(If I had not gotten the scholarship, I would have been forced to consider

other options, including studying locally, but it didn’t come to that.)

In evaluating the different options, I encourage you to think not just in

terms of the financial provisions of the scholarship in the immediate

future, but also about the bond and the job that you’ll start work at once

you graduate.

34

If you do this, you’ll come to a fuller appreciation of both the costs and

benefits of taking up a scholarship.

When it comes to my university experience, will I have to make any sacrifices

or compromises if I decide to take a scholarship?

If you’re on a scholarship, you’ll be concerned about your academic

performance. Not just because you’ve done well in school so far, but also

because your scholarship board will expect you to achieve consistently

excellent academic results.

Should I take a fascinating class with a professor who’s notorious for

giving grades no higher than a “B”? Or should I take a class that doesn’t

interest me at all, but that promises an easy “A”?

These are the kinds of dilemmas you’ll face.

These dilemmas could influence the quality of the education you receive,

because you might be more concerned about grades than about learning.

When your undergraduate days are over—depending on how engaged you

choose to be—you’ll leave with a university degree, but will you have

received a university education?

There’s a big difference between the two.

If you choose to study in the US, and if you try to graduate in three years,

you’ll need to decide on your major early on. You’ll also have to take extra

classes each semester, and you’ll probably need to do summer school as

well.

All this means that it’ll be hard—not impossible, but still hard—to be

extremely involved in activities outside the classroom.

35

I chose to graduate in four years instead of three. That’s the best decision

I made while I was in university!

Because of that decision, I had a lot more time to explore my other

interests, such as writing, consumer psychology, ethics and

entrepreneurship.

For instance, I had the privilege of taking cool classes just for the fun of it,

including one with world-renowned behavioral economist Dan Ariely. I

also took a class called “Ethics in an Unjust World”, which drastically

changed the way I think about volunteering and community service.

There’s also no way I would have found the time to write The Happy

Student, a labour of love on which I spent several hours each week. This

book project was an exciting one that helped me to discover my passion

for bringing about change in the arena of education.

I wouldn’t have had all of these amazing experiences if I’d chosen to

graduate in three years.

*

Many scholarship boards have specific expectations about your academic

performance. You’ll need to maintain grades that are far higher than what

is considered average at whichever university you attend.

You might feel the pressure to spend more time on your academics

instead of other activities. You might also feel the pressure to take easier

classes rather than challenge yourself with more difficult but more

interesting ones that may hurt your grades.

You'll need to declare your major at the time of applying for or accepting

the scholarship. At US universities, students aren't required to declare their

major until well into their second year, after they’ve had the chance to

explore many different courses.

36

So you will be narrowing your options early on if you take a scholarship.

If your interests change and you wish to switch to a different major, you'll

need to seek your scholarship board’s approval. It’s not guaranteed that

they will give you the permission to.

*

I didn’t have to make any sacrifices or compromises, and I’m not sure that

you'll need to either.

Yes, I had to graduate with the major I had promised my scholarship

board I would (a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering), but I picked my

subsequent degrees (a second degree in Economics and a Master’s in

Financial Mathematics), took part in campus groups, was a Resident

Assistant in a dormitory for two years and, overall, had a great time.

(I had friends in my year who even managed to change the major they had

initially declared to their scholarship board that they would complete.)

You would certainly have to work hard—that’s a given for all students,

not just scholars—if you want to do well. In addition, every scholarship

comes with its own fine print. But it’s up to you to decide how you'll make

the most of your time in university.

The one thing that might be considered a compromise in taking up a

scholarship is that you'll have significantly less access to internship

opportunities.

This is because many companies hire interns over the summer, with the

intention of offering full-time jobs to outstanding interns when they

graduate.

It’s still possible, but much more difficult, to get an internship if you've

taken up a scholarship. Nonetheless, if you’re a scholarship holder with a

bond to serve, I think you should expect this kind of situation to come

37

with the territory.

38

Section 3: The Bond

Bond.

Commitment.

Obligation.

Guaranteed employment.

Whatever you choose to call it, you know what it is. You understand the contractual

implications of signing the scholarship agreement.

But do you understand the other implications for your future career and your life?

As naïve, eager 18-year-olds when we signed our scholarship contracts, we didn’t—at least

not completely.

Most people think of the bond only as a number—the number of years you’ll have to work

for your new employer—but what else does it mean? And what’s in the fine print?

In this section, we’ll fill you in on the details so that you’ll have a clearer understanding of

how the bond will affect your life.

Having a bond to serve means I have guaranteed employment. Isn’t job

security a good thing?

There are multiple perspectives to consider.

During the second half of your time in university, most of your friends

(those who aren't scholars) will be scrambling to find an internship or a

job.

As a scholar, you won't have to go through all of this stress. Your friends

will say things to you like "You're so lucky!" and "I wish I were you."

39

You'll feel fortunate that you can sit back, relax, and not need to worry

about writing your CV or going for job interviews.

On the other hand, you may also wonder what it'd be like if you had more

freedom of choice. These thoughts can cause you to experience a different

kind of stress.

You may wonder what it’s like to work in management consulting for

McKinsey, or in investment banking for Goldman Sachs, or in technology

for Facebook.

You may find yourself envious of all the opportunities that are open to

your friends, because they don’t have guaranteed employment after they

graduate.

The grass is always greener on the other side, huh?

Please don't misunderstand; getting a scholarship really is a blessing, and

you’ll feel a temporary sense of relief that you don’t have to go through the

job application process.

Bear in mind, though, that you’ll probably have to apply for a job some

time later on in life. After all, most people land jobs by applying for them,

not by going through the scholarship process.

As a scholar, you'll have a sense of security and stability when it comes to

your career. But, at a deeper level, you need to ask yourself if security and

stability are the primary things you want out of your career.

I encourage you to think seriously about what kind of contribution you'd

like to make through the work you do, and how you want to be of service

to other people and to society.

As a working adult, you're going to spend more than half of your waking

hours at your job. If you're content to settle for a job simply because it

provides you with a sense of stability, you're shortchanging yourself of a

40

truly great career.

Once again, I'll reiterate that for some people taking a scholarship might

just be the path that allows you to build that fantastic career, but it's not

for everyone.

*

If you work hard and are talented, which presumably you are if you can get

a scholarship, landing a job is unlikely to be your biggest problem.

Finding a job that you find exciting and fulfilling is probably going to be a

bigger problem, but a fortunate one.

That job may be a government job, or it may not be. Even if you choose a

government job, you’ll probably be pushing yourself to get promotions

and greater opportunities, rather than worrying about staying employed.

In short, guaranteed employment is a small consolation for the freedom

you’re giving up by taking a scholarship.

One personal anecdote I'd like to offer on risk aversion: Most people, it

would seem, become more risk-averse with age. I've had the bizarre

experience of watching myself become more risk-loving as I get older.

From Civil Service to investment bank to small tech startup!

I once shared my observations about my growing tolerance for risk with a

stranger, and he said something I'll never forget: "Maybe it’s not that you

were ever risk-averse. Maybe you grew up in a system that constantly

rewarded risk aversion, so you learned to become very good at it. But now

that you've repeatedly chosen environments of a different kind, you're no

longer rewarded for conforming. Maybe your natural risk levels are just

being revealed over time."

Guaranteed employment might seem appealing now, but allow for the

41

possibility that your appetite for risk may change as your confidence

grows.

*

I don’t think that finding a job should be of great concern to you if you’re

someone who’s able to get a scholarship.

If you’re a scholar who does well in university, you’ll be tempted by many

enticing possibilities. These might be in monetary terms (or stock options,

in certain cases), while others might be in terms of the nature of the work

or the access to cutting-edge technologies and ideas.

When faced with these kinds of offers, the bond will probably appear to

you more as an obstacle that's keeping you away from these opportunities,

rather than a wonderful guarantee of employment.

When I became aware of such opportunities, I found it useful to ask

myself why I had wanted a job in the government and taken up the

scholarship in the first place. Reminding myself of these motivations

helped me to put things in perspective.

If the future job that’s linked to your scholarship is one that you think you

would like to do, then guaranteed employment is pretty great, regardless of

the other options available.

This is especially because you won't have to worry about submitting

résumés and going for job interviews like most of your other friends will

be doing around graduation time.

42

I have at least four years until I actually start work—that seems pretty far

down the road. I’ll think about all these work and career issues when the time

comes.

I know that’s the approach that I had when I first signed the scholarship

contract.

During the scholarship application process, I was completely focused on

just one thing: getting a scholarship.

But I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

I was so determined to get a scholarship that I neglected to consider the

long-term consequences. These are things we’ll discuss in the rest of this

section.

Four years really isn’t as long as it seems, and I guarantee you’ll say “Wow,

time flies!” again and again when you’re about to graduate from university.

The scholarship decision isn’t just about where you’re going to study.

It’s about your education, your future, and your life.

*

Sure, but know that you're not just delaying the decision. You're actually

making a decision now that will significantly change what you need to deal

with in four years’ time, and maybe in the six years that follow.

You're making a decision that you'll have to live with for up to 10 years.

In fact, it can extend beyond 10 years. Your first six years of work

experience will impact the career opportunities you have at the end of

those six years.

43

Someone who spends six years in investment banking vs. in health policy

vs. getting a PhD will have very different options at the end of those six

years.

It's not that you can't make a major shift in your career later on, but you

are closing off options. You should be aware of the options that you're

closing off.

*

You can never start thinking about these issues early enough! Some

decisions you make will have long-lasting ramifications, and taking up a

scholarship is one of them.

(Marriage is another such decision, but that’s a topic for another book.)

My advice to you would be not to take up a scholarship if the job doesn’t

sound like something you would enjoy doing.

It also doesn’t mean that you can put off thinking about work and career

issues once you get a scholarship. Non-scholars think about what they

would like to do at the end of four years, and take the right courses to give

them the skills to get the jobs they want.

Why shouldn’t scholars think about these things, too?

If you’re serious about the job that you’re taking up as part of the

scholarship, there's some responsibility on your part to think about how

the course you’re studying and the skills you’re learning might

meaningfully contribute toward your development.

These skills need not, and will not, be a perfect fit for your job. But they

could make your learning curve on the job less steep, and they could

positively influence the perspective you bring to your organisation.

For instance, some grounding in public policy, economics or statistics

44

could be useful for government scholars. An internship at a local

government office or an NGO might also be worthwhile.

(I should, nonetheless, add that you shouldn’t do everything for the sole

purpose of developing yourself for the job. Much of the fun of a

university education comes from the serendipitous discovery of

knowledge.)

I’m sure I want to work in Singapore, so I’m not really restricting myself by

taking a scholarship.

It’s completely reasonable for you to feel that way right now, especially if

you’re close to your family.

But it’s very likely that your aspirations will change while you’re in

university.

You might develop a strong desire to work overseas, especially if you

become interested in sectors like finance, consulting or non-profit work.

You could definitely pursue a career in these fields in Singapore, but

Singapore isn’t quite the “place to be” if you want to be where the biggest

deals, most sophisticated markets, and leading thinkers are.

I love Singapore and I’m extremely proud to be a Singaporean. But

Singapore is a small country, and there are limited career opportunities in

certain areas.

If you experience an overwhelming urge to work abroad, you’ll feel

constrained both by the bond and the fact that you’re working in

Singapore.

*

45

You're not just restricting yourself to Singapore. You're restricting yourself

to the scholarship board that is sponsoring your studies.

This can be extremely specific (say, teaching or operating a shipping port

or working in a branch of the army) or extremely broad (say, the Public

Service Commission).

You won't just be living in Singapore. You'll be spending each waking day

doing a particular job and acquiring particular skills in a particular

organisation that operates in a particular way.

So you must not only want to work in Singapore. You need to be sure that

you want to work for that specific organisation.

*

For overseas scholars, the scholarship means that (a) you have to return to

Singapore after you graduate, and (b) you have to work for the

organisation that you’re bonded to.

The first is easier, especially for people who feel a strong sense of

connection to Singapore as their home. Just be mindful that having the

desire to work in Singapore over the longer term doesn’t mean that you

might not want to explore the possibility of working overseas for a couple

of years first. The scholarship you take up may or may not allow this

flexibility.

The second is something you should consider more carefully. Does the

scholarship you’re taking up offer you the job opportunities you seek?

Some scholarships, like the Public Service Commission one that I took,

have a broad range of jobs that you could come back to after graduation.

Other scholarships are more specific, so taking up the scholarship

“restricts” you to a certain area of work. This isn't necessarily bad if that’s

the type of job you want, but this is a factor you ought to be mindful of.

46

The fact that I have a bond to serve after I graduate—will that significantly

influence my long-term career choices?

After you’re done serving your bond, you would have gained a fair

amount of experience in a particular industry or arena.

You’ll probably feel comfortable in your job, and there’ll be inertia that

will deter you from leaving.

It’s easy to “slide” into making important life decisions. When you’re

almost done serving your bond, your thought process might go something

like this:

“I’m almost done with my bond.”

“I guess it’s time to make a decision about whether to stay or move on.”

“I’m comfortable where I am.”

“I’m also pretty good at what I currently do.”

“Even if I leave, I’m not 100% sure what I would rather be doing.”

“I guess I’ll stay.”

47

That’s what I mean about sliding into a decision.

On the other hand, making an active, intentional decision involves

evaluating your long-term goals, determining what you want your career to

count for, and asking yourself how best you can use your abilities to serve

and to contribute.

The bond makes it convenient for you to slide into the decision of staying

on—which I don’t deny could be the right decision for some people—just

because it’s the easier choice to make, but not necessarily because it’s the

better one.

*

When I talk to scholars who are in their final year of university and who

are unhappy about their scholarship, it surprises me how often I hear

them say something like this: "But I did an internship with McKinsey, so

my employer in six years’ time will take that into consideration, right?"

They imagine that by doing summer internships in other industries, they

will have kept the door open to those careers for when they finish serving

their bonds.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, your future employer in six years' time

will not care about your internships from long ago.

Your university internship experiences have a "résumé life" of about two

years. Beyond that, your full-time work experience will matter more than

any internship.

The work experience you gain in the first six years of your career will set

you up for very different opportunities down the road.

Six years after I graduated, I had a few years of work experience in

investment banking, and I also had an MBA. This combination put me in

a position where I could land the startup job I currently hold.

48

I now work in tech as a product manager in Silicon Valley. If I had six

years of work experience, say, enforcing financial regulations, there's no

way I'd be eligible for this job.

Conversely, I'm currently not eligible to run a department within the Civil

Service, which could have been the case had I stayed to complete my

bond.

While career transitions are more common these days, it's still generally

harder to start over in a different industry the older you get. It can be

done, but it will take significantly more deliberate effort on your part.

*

Having four to six years of working experience will absolutely have an

influence on your long-term career choices when you’re deciding what to

do after your bond ends.

When you’re done serving your bond, you’ll experience a certain inertia to

change your job or explore a different industry. You’ll probably feel

comfortable where you are, and your career will likely be progressing well.

Moreover, leaving your job involves risk. You may not have the relevant

skills to join another industry, and you might feel like you just don’t have

the energy or motivation to start all over again at another organisation in a

more junior position.

Nonetheless, some skills that you pick up during your first few years of

work will be transferable, and your being a scholar could play to your

advantage.

You would have gained exposure to different kinds of work, and you

would likely have held leadership positions.

Having said all that, you could very well decide by the end of your bond

that you actually do want to continue at your job. There are good reasons

49

why you would feel that way, and many scholars do stay on after their

bond.

For me, there’s something powerful about believing in what you do and

about working with people who are committed to the same cause as you.

Those are two big reasons that are keeping me in my job, even though my

bond has ended.

By the time I finish serving my bond, I’ll be in my late 20s or early 30s. How

will this impact my life decisions?

When you’re in your late 20s or early 30s, you might be married, and you

might even have kids.

I know, I know… at this stage in your life, getting married and having kids

sound like things that will happen a lot further down the road.

But it’s not that far down the road, I promise!

In your late 20s and early 30s, you’ll be very concerned about your

personal finances. You might have housing and car loans to pay off, and

you might need to support your parents financially, too. Having kids isn’t

cheap either.

If, after you’ve completed your bond, you want to take a risk by venturing

into a different industry or starting your own business or becoming a

freelancer, I guarantee that you’ll think twice.

You might feel like you have too many responsibilities and obligations to

make a drastic change in your life.

I know people who continue to have this mindset for the rest of their

career!

50

Having a bond to serve could have a huge impact on the way you make

decisions down the line.

I’m not discouraging you from taking a scholarship. I do hope, however,

that you’re beginning to see that taking a scholarship is a weighty decision

that requires careful thought.

*

From all the discussions I’ve had with fellow scholars, and from my own

experience too, it’s hard to predict the psychological impact the bond will

have on you.

When I came back to Singapore and started serving my bond, my biggest

fear was that I would conform and "be like everybody else".

When I was out with friends and everyone was discussing who was

assigned to what Ministry and who was likely to make it to the prestigious

Administrative Officer track and who was buying cars or condos, I felt so

out of place.

I didn’t aspire to the same things at all.

I wanted to be passionate about my job. I wanted to be challenged and

inspired. I wanted adventure.

I didn't find any of these in the job I was assigned to by my scholarship

board. (This is not true of everyone’s experience, of course. Many of my

scholar friends have had different experiences in their jobs.)

In retrospect, my life has veered so far off the traditional civil servant

scholar track that it seems ridiculous that this fear of conforming weighed

so much on me back then, but it did.

I was most afraid that if I stayed in an environment that I found stifling

for six years, I would be so drained, so cynical, so beaten down by the end

51

of it that I wouldn't have the energy to get out and start over on

something I really wanted to do. I suppose I feared my own weakness.

Since leaving the Civil Service, I've come across people who make all

kinds of decisions along the way while they’re serving their bond.

People who break their bond with two years remaining just because

they’ve had enough and want to go work in the private sector or get an

MBA. People who serve their entire bond and then become freelance

writers or playwrights. (As you can imagine, no job in the Civil Service

really equips you with the skills needed for those careers.)

The most important thing is to own your decision every step of the way.

Whether you choose to stay or leave after one year or six years or 20 years,

don't do it because you feel like it's what other people are doing. Don’t do

it because it’s what other people want you to do.

Do it because it's what you want.

*

You'll spend at least a third of each weekday (and possibly some

weekends, too) at work. Your job affects your lifestyle choices, in terms of

what you can afford. It affects what you do in your free time, what you

read, and how you invest in yourself in terms of training and skills

development.

But, while work is important, life isn't just about work.

Beyond the obvious questions of career choice (whether now or at the

point when your bond ends), it would be useful to ask yourself what you

value in life.

Is work-life balance important to you? How much does family factor into

your long-term plans? What other interests would you like to pursue?

52

How do you want to give back to the community?

Your answers to these questions will determine the choice that you

eventually make about your career. You should accept that your answers

might change as you grow and mature, but it’s never too early to start

thinking about them.

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Section 4: The Job

People have high expectations of scholars. As a scholar, your colleagues will probably say

things to you like “You’re going to be the next CEO/Permanent Secretary” or “I’m sure

you’ll make it to senior management, at least”.

Before you start daydreaming about becoming the CEO (or Permanent Secretary, if you’re a

government scholar), it’s vital that you address the more fundamental questions first.

What’s most important to you in a career? Is it all about rank, position and title? What does

a successful career look like to you, specifically?

Dare to ask yourself the hard questions, the ones that make you uncomfortable.

Finding the answers to these questions is actually much more difficult than getting a

scholarship!

The job you’ll be working at after you graduate is the main part of the scholarship

agreement. Don’t lose sight of this fact amidst all the busyness, excitement and anxiety

surrounding the scholarship application process.

If I take a scholarship, I’ll be on the fast track to becoming the head of the

organisation!

It works differently in every organisation. From what I’ve observed,

though, scholars aren’t automatically put on the “fast track”.

As a scholar, you tend to be given more high-profile opportunities, but if

you don’t perform up to expectations, you won’t get promoted solely on

the basis of your being a scholar.

At the end of the day, the real world is all about performance.

The scholars who eventually occupy senior leadership positions make the

54

most of the opportunities they’re given right from the start. They don’t get

to where they eventually end up just because they’re scholars.

All this being said, the real question you should ask yourself is whether

you actually want to be the head of the organisation.

If you do want to lead an organisation, what kind of organisation do you

want to lead? What kind of influence do you want to have?

Being a CEO or Permanent Secretary isn’t the only way to lead.

Moreover, there are sacrifices you’ll need to make in order to reach a

position of such influence.

I know I said this in Section 1, but I think it’s worth repeating. It’s

important that you realise that just because you can do something doesn’t

mean you should.

Doing things just because you can will lead to a lot of long-term

unhappiness.

*

There’s a perception in many organisations that scholars are automatically

put on a fast track for accelerated promotions. Whether or not this is true,

nothing is for certain.

You’ll still need to work hard, learn and prove yourself. This principle

applies whether or not you're a scholar, and whether you work for the

government or some other organisation.

Being a scholar probably doesn't hurt, but don't think of the scholarship

as a golden ticket to fast promotions, high salaries and success.

Plus, no one wants to work with someone who operates with that kind of

presumptuous arrogance!

55

*

I should first say that scholars don’t get placed on the “fast track”

automatically. You'll still have to work hard, compete with others and

prove yourself.

As a government scholar, you’ll move through rotations quickly, which

means having to learn and re-learn things equally quickly. You’ll need to

build new relationships each time you switch jobs.

Of course, this also makes your career fun and dynamic. You’ll have no

shortage of development opportunities as a scholar. It’s then up to you to

make the most of these and prove yourself in each of your different

portfolios.

Along the way, you’ll have plenty of exposure to different environments

and scenarios, and you’ll play a part in shaping key decisions.

In my own experience, handling the relational aspects is probably the

toughest part of moving up quickly.

For me, it hasn’t been easy coming into a new job and leading a team of

colleagues who are older and more experienced than me. It has also been

challenging to try and engage my peers at the same level, as they have

much deeper domain expertise than me.

This can lead to a fair bit of pressure to prove why I deserved to be there.

And remember that doing well in your job goes way beyond just being

smart—it’s also about maturity, humility and relating to other people.

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What are the most important factors I should consider when applying for a

scholarship?

Obviously, you should think about the work you’ll be doing after you

graduate. Does the work interest you?

Think about the work culture, too. Do you know what it’s like? Will you

be able to survive and thrive in that kind of environment?

What kind of reputation does the organisation have, based on what you’ve

heard from people inside the organisation?

I encourage you to find out everything you can about the organisation.

Talk to employees. Do an internship. Read the financial report. Find out

what recent projects the organisation has taken on. Learn about its

mission, vision and core values.

This might sound like a lot of work, and it is. But it’ll be well worth the

effort.

Right now, it might seem like the most important factors to consider are

how much the monthly stipend is, or what the computer or warm clothing

allowance is, or what other benefits you’ll receive.

You’ll realise later on that these things don’t matter much at all.

*

Find a way to spend time with scholars who have completed their bonds

and who are happy with their careers. Ask the scholarship organisation if

they can put you in touch with current scholars. Take these scholars out

for chats over coffee.

Do you see traits in them that you also see in yourself? Listen to them talk

57

about the greatest challenges they face at work. Do those challenges sound

exciting or painful to you?

Listen to them talk about their successes and how they've grown during

their time with the organisation. Do you want to grow in similar ways, too?

Do you want to be like them "when you grow up"?

Ask them what they dislike most about their job. Ask them what they

would change about their job or career, if they could. Are you comfortable

with the fact that you could have similar regrets down the line?

You won't ever have perfect information, but if the real-life example of a

successful, happy scholar isn’t appealing to you, then you should

reconsider taking a scholarship.

Then, if you can, find a way to talk to scholars who wish they had not

taken a scholarship, so you can understand the potential downsides.

Talk to people who broke their bonds. Talk to someone who did the

research and chose not to take a scholarship.

A few questions I wish I knew to ask myself when I applied for

scholarships:

1) Am I okay with working within a bureaucracy that measures success not

by profits or growth, but by the lack of anything going wrong? Stability is,

after all, a desirable trait in governments.

2) Am I comfortable working in an environment where I’m expected to be

risk-averse and to maintain the status quo, rather than pursue continual

innovation and improvement?

3) Will I deal well with the need to navigate politics and bureaucratic

processes?

4) If “guaranteed employment” is one of the big selling points of a

58

government job, will I like working with people who prize the “iron rice

bowl”?

5) Is it acceptable to me that my career preferences will always be

secondary to the needs of the organisation? Will I be able to come to

terms with the fact that my preferences will often be ignored?

I would have answered “no” to all of these questions, or at least been very

uncomfortable about signing up for a scholarship if I’d taken the time to

ask myself these questions in the first place.

*

In my mind, the most important factors you should consider all boil down

to one thing: the job.

If you’re a scholar, your prospects of career advancement will not be

lacking, but you might want to ask yourself whether you agree with the

values and the mission of the organisation.

You should also ask yourself if the nature of the work is something you

would enjoy.

Speak to people who are already working in the organisation to get a feel

for the type of work you’ll eventually be doing. More importantly, you’ll

also get a feel for the organisational culture.

Better yet, do an internship to figure more things out for yourself.

How much control will I have over which department I get posted to when I

start work?

In all likelihood, not too much.

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You’ll be allowed to express your preference, but you’ll probably be posted

to whichever department needs additional manpower.

(I don’t deny the fact that there are organisations with HR departments

that are exceptionally accommodating. These HR departments will do all

they can to meet your needs. Based on what I’ve heard from most of my

scholar friends, however, this tends to be more of the exception than the

norm.)

You might think you deserve more freedom of choice when it comes to

something like your own career, but try not to feel too much of a sense of

entitlement.

After all, you haven’t exactly done anything to prove yourself.

You haven’t worked a full-time job at the organisation before, so why

should you be given your preferred position?

Moreover, the organisation did invest a few hundred thousand dollars in

you. You can’t quite blame them if they sometimes treat you as if you’re an

investment or a commodity.

It’s a fact that the world runs on economic principles.

I’m not trying to be overly cynical here. I’m just giving you a glimpse into

how the senior management (people who have probably been working for

longer than you’ve been alive) will think about your situation.

When you sign the scholarship contract, please understand that you’re

indirectly agreeing to be “owned”—to a certain extent—by the

organisation.

Come to terms with this and accept full responsibility for your decision.

*

You should expect to have no control. In a good scenario, you'll be asked

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for your preferences. But don't expect to get your first choice or even any

of your choices.

In my case, I went out of my way to do my research in order to make an

informed choice. I submitted my top three preferences, which included

some of the largest departments that received many scholars.

I didn’t get any of these choices.

It might be different for you, but the general rule is that the fewer

expectations you have about your first posting, the happier you'll be.

This isn't to say that you shouldn’t have any expectations at all. As you

think about your career, you should have expectations that you enjoy your

job, that you get to apply the knowledge you’ve acquired, and that you

learn new skills that you find valuable.

But in a scholarship programme, these expectations will be subordinate to

the needs of the scholarship organisation to fill their headcount in various

departments.

So don’t expect to always get what you want.

If it matters a lot to you which department you work for, apply to that

department after you've completed your studies as a non-scholar. Better

yet, go work for the many other companies in the world where you have

better visibility into the job you're signing up for.

With most normal employment processes, you’ll know what job

responsibilities you’ll have, which department you’ll be joining, and who

your boss will be.

You give up control and knowledge over these key aspects of your job

posting if you take a scholarship.

*

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If you take up an open scholarship with the PSC, the organisation will try

its best to match you with a Ministry based on your interests and

competencies. But remember that you’re not the only scholar around, so

organisational needs may not afford you your preferred choice.

I always tell returning scholars not to worry too much about where they

get posted to for their first job. Every posting is carefully considered in

order to give scholars the proper exposure to government work.

Regardless of where you get posted to, there will be plenty of

opportunities for you to learn and to shine.

Beyond the scope of your assigned portfolio, you could also be involved in

organisational-level or inter-agency work, which will allow you to become

familiar with other areas in the government.

You’ll probably go through two or three rotations before the end of your

bond. During this time, you’ll develop a far better sense of the type of

work you enjoy doing, as well as the type of work you don't enjoy so

much.

I really want to go into the public service. Is a government job the only way to

serve the public?

Given that I currently work for a private company, Ailian and Chin Lum

are in a better position to answer this question than I am. But here are my

thoughts.

To me, serving the public is about serving people. Public service isn’t just

about setting policies or about making excellent use of taxpayers’ money.

Public service can happen in any industry, as long as you’re adding value

to people’s lives and empowering them in some way.

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You can shape Singapore’s future by building a business just as much as

you can by determining, say, immigration policy.

*

There are so many ways to serve the public.

There's work you could do in the “social sector”. You could start a non-

profit like Charity:Water, which aims to bring access to clean water to

almost a billion people in need.

You could work with a platform for social enterprises to raise capital like

the Impact Investment Exchange that’s based in Singapore.

You could make microfinance loans to people in developing countries

who need money to start businesses through an organisation like Kiva.

Then, there are many other seemingly ordinary ways to do worthwhile

work. You could start a company that provides jobs to 10 other people.

You could run a department within a company well and make it a good

place to work, while also delivering great products to people who want

them.

You could spend your Sundays tutoring children who need help but can’t

afford it.

These days, when I think of public service, I rarely think of the

government. I think of organisations like the Acumen Fund, which helps

social enterprises to scale, and which also demonstrates that financial and

social returns aren’t mutually exclusive.

I also think of companies like Apple that have invented products like the

iPhone, which have transformed the way millions of people live, work and

play.

What does public service mean to you? That's the real question.

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*

No, you can certainly also serve the public in other ways.

You could volunteer or start a social enterprise. You could even serve the

public through politics by running for office.

(For those of you considering the PSC Scholarship, I want to point out

here that Ministers are not part of the Public Service. You would, in fact,

have to quit your Public Service job if you want to run for political office.)

There are also other professions where you can serve the public as part of

your job, e.g. if you work for a Voluntary Welfare Organisation as a social

worker, or as a doctor in a hospital.

There are, however, some unique aspects of a government job that appeal

to me in terms of how I get to serve the public.

First, a government job allows—or forces, even—me to take on a much

more macro, systems perspective to how policies work. We often have to

think about policies from conceptualisation to implementation, beginning

with the principles of governance through to how the policies will be

operationalised on the ground. We not only look at specific policies, but

also at how policies interact with one another.

Second, I get to have a diversity of experiences and interact with many

different groups of people. Through my first three postings, I’ve gotten to

work with people in the finance and social services sectors, as well as think

tanks and consulting firms. I’ve created models in Microsoft Excel, found

space and funding for centres for the elderly, and done long-term strategic

planning for the government.

Third, this range of possible “government jobs”—illustrated by the

diverse nature of my first three jobs—also provides me with opportunities

to develop and apply different skill sets and competencies.

64

The bottom line is that the government is not the only way to serve the

public, but it’s a pretty good way to.

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Section 5: You

Potential scholarship applicants often ask, “Is it a good idea to take a scholarship?”

This question implicitly assumes that it’s the same answer for everyone.

This really isn’t the case, however, because the most important part of the equation is you.

What are your aspirations, strengths and shortcomings? What’s your risk tolerance like?

You’ll have to go through an intentional and intensive process of self-discovery before you

understand who you are.

This process is essential, because you need to know who you are before you decide what to

do.

Putting the “being” before the “doing” is crucial if you want to find long-term fulfillment,

whether or not you’re a scholar.

Right now, I feel quite sure about what kind of career I want. I don’t think this

will change much while I’m in university.

There are people who, from childhood, know that they want to be an

entrepreneur or a civil servant or a teacher. But most people have only a

vague idea of what their dream job is.

In university, you’ll get a lot more exposure to the “real world”.

You’ll have the opportunity to talk to recruiters from all sorts of different

companies. You’ll get to interact with professors who have experience in

both academia and industry. You’ll meet people who are passionate about

causes that you didn’t even know existed.

Through the classes you take, your eyes will be opened to the big, wide

66

world out there.

For example, I didn’t know anything about poverty alleviation work or the

ethics of civic engagement until I learned about these things in university.

This knowledge has made me see the world with fresh eyes and has given

me clarity about how I want to serve my community through the work I

do.

Even my personal mission statement, which guides me in every decision I

make, was borne out of the experiences I had learning about civic

engagement.

These experiences have informed my personal mission statement: “To

empower others with the mindset and methods to lead a meaningful and

marvelous life.”

Having a more nuanced and developed worldview will help you to

understand what kind of contribution you want to make during your

lifetime.

All the exposure you’ll get while you’re in university will give you a better

idea of what kind of career you’re suited for.

*

It’s rare for people not to change their minds about the kind of career they

want. The biggest problem with making a major career decision when

you're 18 or 19 years old is that you have very limited information. You

don't really know about the jobs and careers that are out there.

Think about the adults you know. Do you even know what their jobs are

about? I had no idea what investment bankers or product managers did

when I was 19. I didn't even know that those jobs existed.

To give you a sense of some things I didn’t know but which matter a lot: I

didn’t know that I’d have such a hard time working in an environment

67

characterised by slow decision-making.

I didn’t know it would frustrate me to no end to work with people who

resisted change at every turn.

I didn’t know that it would annoy me to have to tell small financial

institutions how they had violated obscure rules. I certainly wasn’t

prepared for the fact that even some short emails I wrote had to be vetted

by several levels of bosses.

On the other hand, I didn’t know that I would love being in fast-paced

environments.

I didn’t know how fulfilling it would be to help build a company, or to be

able to point to a chunk of revenue generated from my clients or from my

product and feel responsible for having made that happen.

I didn’t know how exciting it would be to make product decisions today,

and to ship the products and see better performance and higher revenue in

just a few weeks.

Also, if you're making the most of your university education, you’ll

probably discover more—more about what excites you, more about what

you're good at, more about what you want to spend your time doing.

Let's say that you’ve never tried your hand at computer programming

before, and you take your first computer science class when you’re in

university. Prior to that, how would you know whether or not you'd enjoy

being a software engineer?

It’s not certain that you will change your mind, but you shouldn't deny

yourself the chance to discover new things about yourself. That’s the

premise of personal growth. As you gather more information along the

way, give yourself the chance to change your mind.

Sometimes these changes won’t lead to an adjustment of career path, but

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sometimes they will.

*

Changing your mind about what kind of career you want will definitely

happen when you expose yourself to different experiences and

perspectives.

You’ll meet people who inspire you, and you might consider a future

partnership with them. Or you might discover something you’re passionate

about and decide that a specialised career appeals to you much more than a

generalist one, say, in government.

I know some people who ended up transferring their bonds to academia

(i.e. their bonds were taken over by a university) while they were in school.

Others came back to work in the government after graduation, but

eventually left.

For these groups of people, the first seeds of doubt might have been

planted during their time in university, when their eyes were opened to the

other opportunities out there.

But there are also many others who have remained as sure that they want

to work for the government as when they first took the scholarship.

For me, while the opportunities and accompanying temptations were

there, my motivations for wanting a government job in the first place

never changed, because these motivations were related to my values and

what I wanted my career to be like (and not to be like, too).

Nevertheless, I would still encourage you to expand your understanding of

the realm of career possibilities while you’re in university. It may or may

not change your mind about the job you thought you were sure about, but

it will make your decisions better-informed.

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I have some idea what my strengths are. How important is it that my future

job allows me to make use of these strengths?

I strongly recommend that you read these three books before you fill out a

single scholarship or university application:

• What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles

• Do What You Are by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron

• StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath

I also wrote my book, The Happy Student, to help students like you figure

out what kind of career path suits you.

These books will help you to understand yourself better, so that you’ll be

able to choose a job you’ll love.

Most people say that they want to find a job that utilises their strengths,

but most people also don’t put in much effort to discover what their

strengths really are.

Don’t be “most people”.

You probably haven’t been in enough work situations to know what

you’re best at, so I encourage you to volunteer or do an attachment or get

involved in a community project.

If you want to find a more rewarding career than the average person, then

you need to put in more effort than the average person.

*

One of the key elements of enjoying your job is being able to use your

strengths to produce meaningful results. Being able to develop these

strengths into rare and valuable skills—that’s when you develop real

expertise—is another element of professional fulfillment.

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At the same time, accept that you will discover new strengths while you’re

in university and over the course of your career.

Accept, also, that what you currently think are your strengths may prove

to be incorrect in the future. If you put yourself in enough competitive

environments, you may discover that although you were once the best in a

small pond, you’re now merely average in a much bigger pool.

This doesn't mean you should give up on developing these traits. But it

may mean that you’ll need to work that much harder to distinguish

yourself from everyone else.

Being aware of your strengths is a great starting point. However, having a

“growth mindset” where you believe that your strengths can be developed

through effort is what will allow you to succeed in the long term.

I think the follow-up question to ask yourself is this: In what ways do you

want to grow?

*

Whether you’re a scholar or not, you would want to be able to do your job

well. Being able to do your job well contributes significantly to your job

satisfaction.

Having a good sense of your strengths—and weaknesses, too—will help

you tremendously in your work, so it’s fantastic if your job allows you to

make use of your strengths.

But this is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for you to do well

in your job. (Thank goodness, because perfect fits like that are few and far

between.)

You would also need to ensure that your weaknesses don’t get in the way

of you doing your job, and that you are developing new strengths you

require in your job.

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The best people I’ve worked with are those who grow quickly and ably

into the jobs that they’re given, and who are able to handle a wide range of

tasks.

Also, while it may not appear immediately obvious how your job allows

you to make use of your strengths, you should continually ask yourself

how you can make use of your strengths in your job.

Some of your hidden talents could prove to be very useful in a new area of

work. This could be a pleasant surprise for your organisation!

How do my values fit into this whole equation?

You probably haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about which values are

most important to you.

I encourage you to write down your top five values and rank-order them.

(You can use a list like this one for reference.)

When I did this for myself, it became a lot simpler to make good

decisions.

Values often come into conflict. For instance, is truth more important to

you or loyalty?

Your answer will determine what you’ll do in the event that your best

friend does something wrong, but no one else knows about it except you.

Will you inform the relevant authority? Or will you be a loyal friend who

keeps his or her mouth shut?

Your values come into play in just about every choice you make.

Should you become a lawyer, scholar or social worker? Your values will

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point you in the right direction.

Your values act as your compass, so it’s helpful that you write down your

core values before you’re faced with a dilemma, such as whether or not you

should take a scholarship.

When you act according to your values, you won’t live with regret, even if

you’re forced to make a difficult, or even heart-wrenching, decision.

*

I suppose this question carries special meaning for me since I broke my

bond, which some would argue is an “immoral” act.

I think it’s very difficult for an organisation to claim the moral high

ground by declaring that bond-breaking is immoral, when the organisation

also reaps significant returns on top of the principal amount when a

scholar breaks his or her bond.

The steep 10% compounded interest rate, standard for overseas

scholarships, cheapens the contract and turns the scholarship from an act

of good faith into a financial one.

It’s also shortsighted for a scholarship organisation to think the only way

for a scholar to contribute to Singapore or to society is through a job with

the scholarship organisation.

On the other hand, if you’re lucky enough to have the means to go

overseas without a scholarship or to break your bond, appreciate your

great fortune. You have even fewer excuses to be unhappy about your

career choice.

Use your freedom wisely. Figure out how you can contribute to the lives

of others in ways that you find meaningful, whether it’s through your day

job, or through the ways in which you spend your time, money and

energy.

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Over the past few years, I’ve had scholars who were considering breaking

their bonds find their way to me to talk about their dilemma. I still feel a

lot of empathy for people faced with such a difficult decision.

Even though it’s been six years since I broke my bond, I still remember

how tortuous and isolating it felt. So if I can be a sounding board and

provide guidance to others, then I’m glad to be of service.

(Note: Many of these scholars choose not to break their bond, at least not

immediately.)

*

Every scholarship comes in two parts—the opportunity and the

obligation. The opportunity comes in the form of the financial support for

you to study abroad, in addition to the job waiting for you upon

graduation. The obligation comes in the form of the bond.

There are two questions you need to ask yourself to help you figure out

how your values fit into the equation.

The first question: Are you attracted to the scholarship because of (a) the

chance to study overseas or (b) the job?

The second question: Do you see the scholarship bond as (a) a moral

obligation or (b) a contract?

Chances are that your answers to both of these questions will not simply

be either (a) or (b). Instead, your answers will probably lie somewhere

along the spectrum between (a) and (b). Your answers might even change

as you get older.

Your answers don’t determine whether you’ll end up taking the

scholarship or breaking your bond. They also don’t necessarily mean that

you’re a better or worse person.

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But asking yourself these questions will, at least, help you to think about

whether you see the scholarship more as an opportunity or an obligation,

and whether or not you should take up the scholarship.

Looking back on my career, what do I want it to count for?

Your career is an important part of your life, but it’s not the only part.

My mentor once said to me, “Don’t confuse your roles with your

purpose.”

You might have roles in life as a civil servant, engineer, nurse, student,

parent, son, daughter or friend.

All of these roles are meant to contribute toward a larger purpose. My

mentor was encouraging me not to let any one of my roles form too large

a part of my identity.

If you allow yourself to be defined by your academic performance or your

job title, it can be dangerous. How will your self-worth be affected if you

receive a bad appraisal or if you do poorly on an exam?

All this being said, you’re going to spend many, many hours of your life at

work.

What do you want your career to count for, when it’s all said and done?

Do you want your career to be about embracing a sense of adventure, or

building a more cohesive society, or mentoring young leaders, or

empowering the disadvantaged?

You’ll need to spend some time thinking and reflecting in order to figure it

out.

Don’t jump into the scholarship decision—or any decision related to your

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career—without first finding a satisfactory answer to this question.

*

It's good to start thinking about this now, but realistically your answer will

change over time.

Some people start out wanting money, power or prestige. Some people

keep wanting that. Some people discover that they want to contribute or

have a particular kind of impact or help better the lives of other people.

In my own life, I started out wanting the greatest learning opportunities I

could find.

If a job was intense and highly selective, I wanted it, but without really

understanding why. In retrospect, I associated intensity and selectiveness

with prestige. I thought that if I held these jobs, people would think that I

was accomplished.

I was partly right on that count, but I was wrong in thinking that it would

make me feel fulfilled professionally.

Now I'm far more focused on making a difference in ways that only I can.

(Writing this book, for instance!) There’s a great post by the wonderful

futurist thinker Kevin Kelly where he says that you must do the job that no

one else can.

I’m working towards that in small ways every day. I try to bring a little

more of myself to each task, each project, each interaction.

I expect that my answer to “what do I want my career to count for?” will

continue to evolve in the coming decades. Now I think of it more as a

question about direction than a question about destination.

*

In my opinion, your career matters for two reasons.

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The first is that it allows you to realise some of your life goals that aren’t

directly related to the work you do, e.g. providing for your family

comfortably or, for some, being able to retire at 40 years old so that they

can pursue other things in life.

The second is that it allows you to achieve meaningful things through your

job itself. Your work could lead to a groundbreaking invention or scientific

discovery, or you could make a significant contribution through starting a

company or developing a government policy.

I differentiate between the two reasons because, while many jobs might

allow you to achieve several of your life goals, the sense of

accomplishment you derive from your job will likely be specific to the

nature of your work.

For me, it’s important that I make a difference to society in some way. So

far, I’ve chosen to do this by working in the government.

When I was at the Ministry of Finance, I had the opportunity to be part of

“moments in history”. I was part of the team that worked on amendments

to the Constitution, which changed the spending rule for returns on our

investments. I was also part of the action the first time ever that Singapore

drew on its reserves for spending in the Budget.

At the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, making a

difference was about the way I was able to facilitate the work of different

Voluntary Welfare Organisations on the ground.

And in my current job at the Centre for Strategic Futures, I find great

meaning in helping the Public Service do its job better by thinking about

the future and preparing our nation well for the challenges we’ll face.

When I grow old and look back on my career, I want to be reasonably

satisfied that my job has given me and my family a good life, but I think it

would be the achievements and experiences like the ones I’ve described

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above that I would truly savour.

How should I think about how a scholarship fits into my long-term goals?

Your long-term goals should cover every aspect of your life, not just your

career.

I encourage you to set some long-term goals in areas like health,

relationships, personal development and contribution to the community.

Unless you specifically write down these goals and commit to them, you

might end up focusing on the things that aren’t extremely important to

you in the long run—simply because you get caught up reacting to urgent

matters that cry out for your attention.

Just because something is urgent doesn’t automatically mean that it’s

important.

I know people who claim that their family life is supremely important to

them, yet they continually make career decisions that unmistakably reveal

that their career takes priority over their family.

If you confuse urgency with importance, you sacrifice greatness for

mediocrity.

Let’s say that you want to be a high-ranking civil servant. In that case,

taking a government scholarship might be the right choice for you. Just

make sure that you have the right motivations for wanting to be a high-

ranking civil servant.

Ask yourself if a scholarship will enable you to reach your long-term goals

and to lead a life of significance, instead of mere superficial success.

*

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The scholarship, when you strip it down, is a means to fund an overseas

education in exchange for your commitment to work for an organisation

for six years (assuming a typical overseas scholarship).

In making this commitment, you give up the option to work anywhere

else, unless you pay a large penalty.

The package is sold as consisting of two upsides: a free university

education and a guaranteed job. For some people it could be two upsides.

But for most people, the package means something a little different.

The first part, the free university education, is unquestionably an upside.

The second part is an obligation.

If the second part were so clearly an upside, there would be no need to

have a bond. People would simply come back to serve without being

contractually bound to do so. After all, there are many people who choose

to work for the government without being bonded. (The friends I know

who chose this route are among the happiest government employees I

know.)

There’s a need to bind you with an obligation because your university

education will open up many new, interesting opportunities for you,

beyond what your scholarship organisation can offer you.

Think of the scholarship in these terms: dessert first and work later. As

with all work, you may or may not enjoy it. The work may or may not

have been worth the dessert.

So go in with your eyes wide open.

In retrospect, what would it have required for me not to have taken a

scholarship?

I would have had to meet someone older who had been through the

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process, and either did not take a scholarship or broke his or her bond.

I find that the most persuasive way to imagine yourself taking a certain

path is to have a role model whom you identify with show you what that

path looks like. I wish I had done more research before I signed the

contract. I wish I had greater access to information.

(A big part of my enthusiasm for writing this guide is that I want to put

better information out there for students who want it.)

On a final note, decide on your long-term goals first, then decide whether

or not a scholarship is in alignment with those goals.

*

A scholarship is a long-term commitment. The decision to take up a

scholarship will shape who you are over the next decade or so—from your

time in university to the time you’re done serving your bond, and also in

terms of how it will influence your life later on.

The perspective you have in thinking about this important decision should

reflect its gravity.

I don’t mean to scare you into not taking up a scholarship. As much as

taking up a scholarship is a serious decision, it can also be a wonderfully

rich and positive experience, as it has been for me.

The scholarship gave me the opportunity to spend four years overseas, an

experience I wouldn’t have had otherwise. The scholarship has also given

me job opportunities that I’ve enjoyed, and which I’ve learned a lot from.

I don’t know for now if I’ll be a civil servant for the rest of my career, but

I have no plans to leave in the near future. I enjoy my work and I see

value in my contributions.

Think carefully about the scholarship decision. But as with many things in

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life, you can’t plan everything perfectly, and you sometimes have to take a

leap of faith. It’s then about figuring things out, being adaptable, and

enjoying the process.

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Afterword

The three of us wrote our responses separately. But when we finished writing and went

back to read through the full set of answers, we were struck by how similar many of those

answers were.

We’re largely in agreement, yet the subtle differences in our perspectives have led us to

choose such different paths for our lives.

This highlights what a difficult decision taking a scholarship actually is.

So take the time to think and reflect. Write down your thoughts in a journal.

Cultivating your inner life—the ability to be alone, to process your own thoughts and

experiences—is hard work, but rest assured that not an ounce of your effort will go to waste.

As you mull over the $500,000 decision, we encourage you to keep this wise saying at the

forefront of your consciousness:

Don’t let what you want now prevent you from getting what you want most.

This isn’t to say that a scholarship will prevent you from getting what you want most. But

it’s easy to let what you want now—the overseas education, the prestige, a secure job, the

bragging rights—cloud your judgment.

What do you want most? A career that’s full of adventure? A business that you can call your

own? A job that’s in line with your core values?

How does a scholarship fit into the picture?

If you choose to take a scholarship, you ought to be fully aware that it will open certain

doors for you, but that there will also be consequences you hadn’t foreseen.

But that’s life.

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Choices come with consequences, so take complete responsibility for your decisions.

Whatever the outcome, you should accept that you have made the decision and that you are

fully responsible for your life.

No excuses. No complaints.

So whether you take a scholarship or not, commit to personal excellence. Serve with all

you’ve got, and give all that you have to give.

Wishing you wisdom in your $500,000 decision,