SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old Singaporean shared her thoughts online, opening up about how, despite living a comfortable life and making a solid S$4,500 a month, she still feels lost and uncertain about what’s next.
In her post on the r/askSingapore forum on Tuesday (Jan 7), she shared that she has been fortunate in many ways. With the support of her parents, who cover all her expenses, including her phone bills and education, she has not faced many significant challenges.
“I live quite comfortably. There’s really nothing to complain about, yet sometimes, I still find myself living from pay cheque to pay cheque due to my extravagant lifestyle. Travelling as and when and taking grab to work daily.
I do have some rainy day funds, but I don’t want to eat into that,” she wrote.
She also mentioned that she’s been progressing well in her early career, quickly moving up the ranks. “During my private diploma days, I took up a part-time role in healthcare with my friend. I later converted to a full-timer with a salary of $2,800,” she explained.
After gaining more experience, she switched companies and was promoted to a managerial role within a short period, earning $3,800 a month. However, she felt burnt out after a year of working in management.
“I got sick of management, yolo-ed, resigned and took a 6-month break from working and recently got offered a role with the same job scope for S$4.5K a month,” she said.
Despite the progression she’s made in her career, she admitted that she had no real interest in the healthcare industry.
“I don’t even know if I like working in healthcare. I work mainly only to sustain my lifestyle. I applied for roles in healthcare because my only experiences are in healthcare, and it pays well.”
Further complicating her sense of fulfilment is her educational path. She enrolled in a part-time marketing degree program at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) because her friends had advised her that the field offers good pay.
Still, she has since realized that marketing doesn’t ignite her passion.
“I realised I have zero interest in marketing. I can’t take up other courses in SUSS as I was only offered marketing due to my private diploma,” she said.
“I’m not going to put my marketing degree to full use, and I only take it because my mum said having a local degree will help me with job hunting in the future.”
In comparison, she feels that her friends all seem to have their futures mapped out, whether becoming influencers or starting businesses, while she remains unsure of her direction.
Feeling lost and overwhelmed by the pressure of adulthood, she reached out to others on the forum to understand if this sense of uncertainty was a common experience.
“Is this what adulting is like? I feel very ‘sian’ with life, and I always wonder what’s next in life,” she expressed.
“My question is, how did you know what you want in life? At which point or at what age did you finally know what you wanted to do in life? Do I just yolo and go with the flow?” she asked.
“Try to pay everything yourself…”
In the thread, many users pointed out how lucky she was to land a high-paying role at such a young age. One user said, “22 years old earning $4.5K is considered GREAT already… I don’t even get that amount in my working life.”
Another commented, “You’re lucky with $4.5K and supportive parents. I’ve seen people not knowing what to do with their life and career, taking part-time degrees while working full-time jobs because they dislike their current jobs and their parents are not rich.”
Others, on the other hand, argued that she felt “sian” about life because things had been too easy for her up to this point.
One user explained, “Try to pay everything yourself. You had it easy because your parents paid for everything. You are bored because there are no challenges ahead for you. Go do something meaningful like upskilling or learning a new language.”
Another wrote, “$4.5K and living paycheck to paycheck. A little extravagant. Parents pay for everything despite a slower headstart. That’s like living life in an easier mode already. If you are bored with no direction, try living on your own and paying for your own stuff.”
In other news, a Singaporean job seeker took to the Reddit forum to ask others if he should accept a job offer that pays less than his previous role or continue holding out for a better opportunity.
Posting on the ‘Ask Singapore’ community on Monday (Jan 6), he provided more details about his situation, writing, “I’m in my late 20s. My previous company promoted me, but I was let go 7 months into the new role due to organizational changes.”
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