‘Honestly every day damn sian,’: 22 yo poly grad earning S$2.6k says his job feels repetitive and dull

SINGAPORE: Fresh out of polytechnic, a 22-year-old Singaporean thought he had it all sorted when he landed a quality control engineer job paying S$2,600 a month.

However, after some time on the job, he took to social media to complain that his work felt rather repetitive and dull, which eventually led him to wonder if he should head to university or take a chance on building his own start-up.

“Honestly, every day damn sian. Job like repeat only, nothing exciting, just do for the paycheck,” he wrote on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit on Wednesday (Sept 24). “I keep thinking… should I go uni first, get the paper, then slowly plan a career switch? Or just save up, don’t bother with uni, and try to build something on my own (I got interested in tech/startup, been reading a lot about SaaS ideas).”

Unsure if leaving his job would be a wise move, he asked others in the forum for advice, writing, “Anyone here have a similar path before? How y’all decide? I dunno if a degree is really worth it, or if wasting my youth in a boring job is worse. At the same time, starting a business is risky.”

“If you only have yourself to think of, go for the start-up.”

In the comments section, many Singaporean Redditors pointed out that jobs are rarely glamorous.

One wrote, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but almost every job is mundane and repetitive. Most people just work for the paycheck so they can spend it outside work (e.g family, home, holiday and hobbies).”

Another shared, “I am 45 and never had a job that’s not boring or not toxic.”

A third stated, “Every job is the same. Repeat the same things every day.”

Some, however, were more supportive and suggested that he take advantage of his youth to explore different paths.

One said, “If you only have yourself to think of, go for the start-up. A university degree nowadays doesn’t guarantee a high-paying job, while a start-up will teach you more than a degree. Regardless of what you decide on, be thankful that you will always have your boring job to go back to if things go south. All the best!”

Another added, “I suggest this. Look ahead, consider where you would like to be in your mid-40s, and what you need in your CV to be there. Yes, for normal people, it does take 20 years to build a career, and you need to accumulate qualifications and experiences to get there. So, what do you want to be? Start there.”

In other news, an uncle has drawn flak online after he allegedly “pointed” at a woman sitting in a priority seat and demanded that she give it up.

A commuter who witnessed it shared the incident on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Wednesday.

In her post, the commuter stressed that no one should feel pressured to give up a seat solely because another passenger is older.

Read more: Uncle draws flak for demanding a woman give up her priority seat on the MRT