After JC/POLY, what's next? We have suggestions for you!

While most students’ first thought after JC/POLY would be to play all day, the long, nearly eight months break will leave you much more time to embark on interesting journeys.

Plan your time carefully and make the best out of this well-deserved break before the busy studying begins again! 

Here are five activities you can do to make full use of your break!

1) Work

2) Skills upgrade

3) Relationship building

4) Overseas travel

5) National Service

1) Work

- Did part-time before but could not commit more than two months? Wanted to intern at companies but was too busy with studies to do so? 

Now, it is the perfect time to have a more realistic taste of the working world!

- While working or interning for the industries you aspired to be in can be fun, re-consider and re-confirm your previous aspirations. Could you foresee yourself working in that same sector for long? If your schedule allows, take up a few different jobs to evaluate which suits you the best.

- Being able to work long-term now with a monthly wage also allows you to begin picking up skills to manage personal finances and savings. It is never too early to save for rainy days or even invest to grow your wealth!

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- Job opportunities can be obtained via online job-seeking platforms, and internships are commonly gained via personal connections or companies’ outreach programs through your school.

- Establish connections early to secure competitive opportunities.

- When seeking jobs online, beware of scammers and avoid disclosing sensitive, personal information. Prioritise personal safety.

2) Skills upgrade

i) After studying for more than half your life, it is time to pick up new skills or upgrade current ones to remain relevant to the fast-changing world.

ii) New skills can include;

- Learning a new language that is commonly used worldwide 

- Coding for robotics, websites or to use mathematical tools to do AI

- Grow your hobby into a professional skill, for example; video-editing, cooking

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- Equip yourself with new skills by tapping on technology. There are many online videos that provide free lessons and tips.

- Get your hands dirty by trying out so you can start to hone these skills immediately!

If you are a traditional learner, sign up for physical lessons at private academies or community centres if you seek an economical option!

3) Relationship building

- During studying, time was mostly spent on studying, and time with family and friends had to be sacrificed at times. Now, it will be heart-warming to spend time with your precious loved ones before your hectic university life starts, especially if you are planning to stay on campus for long.

- It will be good to maintain your friendships forged in JC/Poly to ensure that you will have a support system to fall back on even when you might have separated ways for your tertiary studies.

- Apart from existing relationships, form new ones as well to expand your social circle further. This trains your communication with people too, preparing you well for university, which would be unfamiliar.

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- You do not have always to wait for the other party to take the first step.

- Take the initiative to organise a meet up to sustain your friendships.

- Step out of your comfort zone to join new communities or volunteering opportunities to meet new like-minded individuals. Meetup.com is a good website for this!

4) Overseas travel

- You can make use of a long holiday to go on a solo or group graduation trip as well.

- This gives you a glimpse of independent living, which will be more relevant as you grow older. You would also be exposed to planning (with possibly a tight budget) and executing; these are skills that apply to the working world as well.

- Being alone in an unfamiliar environment may help to unravel some discoveries and realisations that could have a huge impact on you. Some include “Seizing the moment”, “Keeping an open mind”.

- Being overseas with friends may allow you to discover new sides of your friends and yourself. Going through the experience together can strengthen the bonds between all of you.

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- Personal safety should be the first priority at all times. Take extra caution to plan and know the destination well.

- Some people may face parents’ objection at the start due to the risks involved. What you can do is to prove to your parents that you are matured and able to act like a young adult.

Never overestimate your abilities, and always think of contingency plans for the worst-case scenarios.

5) National Service

- It is mandatory for all Singaporean sons to serve National Service (NS) after their first pre-university schooling, such as JC/Poly.

- While waiting for your enlistment letter, you may want to look at the available vocations that align with your interest since you will spend 2 years in it.

To know more, visit https://www.cmpb.gov.sg/web/portal/cmpb/home/life-in-ns/saf/after-basic-training

- Then, build your physique to prepare yourself for this vocation!

- Have a mindset that 2 years serving National Service is about trying out new and fun experiences such as shooting rifle, throwing grenade and other activities that comes with the vocation; driving tanks, participating in overseas exercises and more.

- Character building is also important as it allows you to work as a team, manage unreasonable situations, and learn how to be humble.

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You may also want to consider to serve as a Regular, in other words, “sign on” as they can;

- Sponsor you for your studies

- Award you with a sign-on bonus

- Provide a starting salary better than the market rate

However, you have to consider your interest and commitment. You may visit

- Career fairs or related fairs to seek clarifications

- Serve as a non-regular first to understand if this career is indeed what you like