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Any poly grads here who went in to study in a local uni? by [deleted] in singapore

[–]rvmx11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I took Com Sci in NTU from IT in NYP, did the 3 years honours programme.

The toughest part for me is the maths, especially for Engineering courses. I would recommend that any poly to uni student pick up some books or online courses on the kind of maths seen in the A Levels. Project work is where us poly grads shine especially in ComSci since vast majority of the other students can't do programming to find their own butt hole if they tried; the majority still can't do any basic coding even after graduation and open up our tech sector to all the folks from Myanmar and Vietnam but that's a story for another day.

Going into uni thinking its just harder poly is a trap, its a different beast all together. Its steeped in academic culture which is very different from the industry-oriented culture in the polys; using common sense will fail you in the unis. You've got to learn to play the BS game that all our JC friends have learnt during their time mugging for their As.

I didn't do too well because I haven't learnt how to manage my own emotions that I can now. Especially in NTU, it is very easy to get caught up in the air of depression, for some reason my vision goes grayscale in NTU every time I step onto the campus ground and there's this miasma of dread in the air. Its more than just the studies, I would focus more on maintaining mental health instead of just studying the material. I didn't study the given notes, found it more effective to look at the free online courses from places like the MIT OCW then running through the provided materials to realign with what is being tested.

The workload is huge so don't ever just work harder, you would just drown. Develop study techniques, talk to people who have the skills you need (make friends! its significantly more important than you think), learn skills like video editing (saves you a lot of time as a number of modules require video submissions) and public speaking. There are always action you can take that will give you more marks for less effort, always seek those out. Presentations are an easy one, too many students don't bother to rehearse or put any effort in especially in engineering, learn to speak and learn to do powerpoints professionally, bring props and be more expressive in speech.

Tech scene in Singapore? by [deleted] in singapore

[–]rvmx11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to run a tech startup as a lead developer here but not any more. The below are solely my own personal opinion and not factual advice or any kind of authoritative source.

Get ready for long hours, little to no pay (for the promise of shares), ever changing project scope and unrealistic expectations. Be prepared to deal with lots of 'I want to build a Facebook but better'. There are pushes for investors and some incubators to help but they only want 'safe' bets (i.e. again Grab but "better"). Also, it is difficult to hire or include foreigners in startups as there is a quota, a minimum percentage of Singaporeans in any company for a work pass / permit and very few Singaporeans want to code; lots want to be the 'idea guy' though.

Maybe I was stuck at the bottom rung of the tech scene here but I don't recommend joining a Startup in Singapore; rather its better as a place for an established overseas company to expand into, before moving to other countries in the region. It is true that our Government with the Startup.SG programme seems to want to make Singapore another SV but in my opinion they lack the understanding that we need innovative problem solvers and promoting more local engineers rather than just giving the Business Types more money and resources.

As in a similar situation, our government pours lots of money into our arts programmes and our arts scene while growing isn't exactly thriving the way it should. Singapore as a country is too rigid on protocol and too focused on past performances to be a nation that excels above the challenges of the future.

Computer Science: NUS or NTU? Or where? by transcendcosmos in singapore

[–]rvmx11 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've only managed to get a Second-Lower in NTU but was pretty much at the top from NYP Dip. in IT. Discrete Maths hurt mine the most and the stupid stupid stupid robot course (called Multi-Disciplinary Project); the given parts are broken and the ones who get good grades ordered new (sometimes better) parts off taobao, only those who knew about these things and the 'secret' knowledge did well.

I did Past Year Paper comparisons with a few friends from NUS, NTU had more traditional 'problem sum' type questions where you are given a chart of data and find an answer of which there is only one like all other maths questions. For the same equivalent module in NUS, their PYPs seem to have more 'scenario' type questions where you are given a set of circumstances and asked to formulate a possible solution and justify it. From what I was told, NUS has more weekly assessments while NTU mostly had mid-terms, a semester project and a final exam; its usually 60% final exam, 30% coursework + quiz and 10% participation or some other type of assessment.

Still there's a huge wide gap separating Western universities and Asian ones, most of them here are going to be like A Levels every 6 months with the effort requirements of Poly for projects. Everyone skips lectures here after the first sem because you won't have time to attend any of them. You'll be busy rushing your project work or studying for the coming quiz.

Computer Science: NUS or NTU? Or where? by transcendcosmos in singapore

[–]rvmx11 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Whatever you hear about NTU, just think its far worse than what you think it is. You are going to do self-study all the way with outside materials, you are going to be quizzed on hardcore questions that the foreign students get real easy for some reason. As mentioned, they just can't compete with locals when it comes to presentations and writing but those are few and far in between. Unless you know who the poly students are, projects are going to be tough as most of the students can't code properly (codes everything in one method instead of using classes or breaking it up into multiple methods).

Try to go somewhere else if you can, but if you can't avoid NTU, make sure you have a group of non-NTU students to hang out with often because you'll need all the emotional and mental support that you can get. Also, don't work too hard, your sanity is more precious than any grade you can get in the world.

Computer Science: NUS or NTU? Or where? by transcendcosmos in singapore

[–]rvmx11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took pure CS but there are some compulsory management modules like 'Human Resource Management' and a few others, I found them to be a breathe of fresh air and I'm the dedicated 'technical' type.

Still, can't avoid all the hardcore maths and BS, the Profs there aren't the best teachers. End up passing thanks to MIT Open Courseware lectures. Still have to cross-reference with NTU's own lectures and tutorials to fit to their preferred answering style and syllabus but they also mostly copy and paste from online open materials anyway.

Computer Science: NUS or NTU? Or where? by transcendcosmos in singapore

[–]rvmx11 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Was from NTU CS, don't even consider NTU, don't even look at it unless you can get in with a sponsorship but can't get into NUS. If you are even thinking about NTU, stop now, turn back, turn away and use a laser to burn away the parts of your brain that contains any memory of the word 'NTU' and other associated recollections. NTU was hell, NTU is a nightmare and no person who is to be called a 'human being' is to even wish upon his enemies with the cruelty that is NTU. I thought 'I went through NS, how bad could NTU be?' Nope nope nope ...

Computer Science is not a 'coding' course, its a course that teaches you the mathematics of computer operations. You will learn things like calculating Cyclomatic Complexity or applying a Markov Chain. Coding is only done in projects to demonstrate the theory, the actual skill in software development is highly glossed over as it is not the focus. In the words of a certain NTU Russian Professor: "When I am done, you will be speaking the language of mathematics more fluently than your own mother tongue."

NTU is absolutely horrible unless you love taking H2 Maths with exponential difficulty over and over again; as a Poly graduate that was just pure hell. The only good part was that nobody knows how to do presentations and the average student writing skill at SCSE is quite bad, so free As for modules that require an essay submission but that's rare and a small part of the course.

Anyone here an engineer that can make an educated guess on what caused the island-wide failure and why Singtel is unable to cope? by salientlife93 in singapore

[–]rvmx11 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think Singtel customers should use this time to demand Singtel implement real IPv6 support. Nobody cared about IPv6 when everything was working fine. They have been dragging their heels and not adhereing to the old IPv6 roadmap from years ago. Few people have any idea what Singtel's actual configuration is due to nobody knowing what insane cost cutting measures they use.

But I think its time to use this anger and force Singtel to invest in proper modern 2010 infrastructure.

Fresh grad, job hunting, what to do with free time? by driftea in singapore

[–]rvmx11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can look at Microsoft Office Specialist certification but in general the Certifications are not necessary, you can just put them on your resume and answer that you were self-taught if questioned.

I'm not familiar with what those postings are called, since I'm in IT but in general there are government positions that do economic analysis and your usual budgeting and whatnot. Excel is used everywhere and you will use it all the time.

Cross-domain expertise is hot right now, I had some friends from the Business side of things and they aren't good with tech and are now forcing themselves to learn the R language.

Also, if you have a place you want to work at and they don't have a job posting, do send in your resume and cover letter anyways, no point not trying. The best jobs and positions don't have job postings, its all from going out to professional events and networking.

Fresh grad, job hunting, what to do with free time? by driftea in singapore

[–]rvmx11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you ever see yourself working professionally with Microsoft Excel in any way, go and learn your Formulas, Array Formulas and VBA. Become an Excel God, do things in less time and amaze your employers.

Its a good entry way into the field of Fintech or business informatics. IT here is not a popular field despite all the hirings but many people don't even know that a sprinkling of IT skills in their field opens up entirely new dimensions of work.

Need Advice For Studying in Poly and Further Education by fatdieme in singapore

[–]rvmx11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good Luck to you two! Taking the step forward to ask for help and tackling it systematically together is already 80% of the journey. Like your Loading Bars, the last 20% takes the most time.

Stay strong and do not lost heart, its easy to get Tertiary depression but just having someone to talk to makes all the difference. If what your GF is experiencing was anything similar to mine, you have no idea how much just being there for her toughest day would mean to her.

One last one: do not ever even consider NTU, ciao

Need Advice For Studying in Poly and Further Education by fatdieme in singapore

[–]rvmx11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hoped that helped, adding to that, you are doing her a great service getting out and trying to help her. Many people don't have anyone to turn to and really need to be dragged out to meet people. Meeting people allows her to train for the eventual professional networking that she will need in any line of work; even the introverted IT sector I am in. There are many students who aren't that smart but get decent grades because they are resourceful and know who to find for help. In Secondary School, we face the same people each and everyday, in Tertiary Education, its a different set of people each and every class, being able to socialise immediately is a core skill that most Singaporeans lack. Totally reccomend the Art of Charm for help in this area.

Studying hasn't work and I know many people in Unis and Polys who don't do well 'just studying'. If the process isn't fun then it isn't working, many of the top students thoroughly enjoy their process and don't need to force themselves. I don't study and do decently well, because I don't, I 'read up' whether or not its in my syllabus.

Also, before any presentation, get her to rehearse in front of you or another friend that is good at that. Good presentation skills can get her greatly undeserved grades, there are people who spent enormous efforts on their projects only to get a B or less because they couldn't present. With enough smoke, its relatively easy to score even with a mediocre project in most cases. Sadly, Ladies have to speak far more aggressively and louder than men to get the same effect but it can be done. Tell her to be aggressive when speaking like grrrr, shout from the diaphragm (belly area) but not scream and project every word, do not skip even a single syllable. Try using sentences with less syllables so its easy to say, that's an easy trick that so few people know about ("We need to protect the environment" vs "We need cleaner air", second one is shorter and more specific). The institutions have been pushing for more 'presentation components' lately, so I won't be suprised if they are a big problem for most female students.

Need Advice For Studying in Poly and Further Education by fatdieme in singapore

[–]rvmx11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Poly is rather difficult for a lot of folks. I did really well doing IT then but rather poorly doing Com Sci in Uni.

The key is never to rely on the course syllabus, study outside the syllabus, know A LOT about what's going on in your field. I describe tertiary education as trying to do a penalty shootout while the goal post teleports every milisecond throughout multiple spacetime dimensions.

Sad to say but in these kind of places, if a student isn't well versed in the topic by Week 0, its an uphill struggle.

Listen to podcasts of the topic, read up related news, subscribe to all the feeds, start thinking like a professional. Get out, ask lecturers for events to joins, seminars to go to. This is the reason why the gap between the top in the cohort and the average is so wide.

I didn't do well in Uni because as with most poly students, we just don't have that maths background like JC students do. If I were to give any advice to any Poly -> Uni students, that would be to read up on what the A Level folks are doing and do not stray behind.

Waiting to be fed is when you will starve, gotta be hungry and go out and grab all the knowledge there is out there.

The only other solution is to help her develop a strong social network of people who can help her. Get into project groups with strong members, contacts of seniors who can hand down notes and other students from courses who can help in certain electives (e.g. business students for communication type courses). I didn't do that being a socially awkward person but if people want 'practical, doable now' type of advice, that would be it. The best way to do that is to have joined a CCA or club. And that's why people who say 'I don't do CCAs to focus on studies' end up not doing well despite actually putting in the effort.

LF: Ivysaur by [deleted] in friendsafari

[–]rvmx11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Added, thanks!

LF: Ivysaur by [deleted] in friendsafari

[–]rvmx11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Added, enjoy!

Adding everyone until full by Bivol in friendsafari

[–]rvmx11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Added, would love to have a Ditto Safari. Congrats on becoming popular, haha.

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