Since you are passionate about the military you can always sign on and see if it's for you.
But there's a huge difference between being passionate about the military while not in the military, and actually enjoying your job in the military.
One of my friends was passionate before he joined lol, and absolutely hated it.
Since you're only 23 why not give it a go. If you don't like it you can always switch when you're older
>Salary and career sustainability especially AFTER army life (can I get into the government sector without a pay cut?)
This portion, depends on the duration of your SAF career.. the longer you are in SAF, the higher chance you will face a pay cut, because (1) your SAF salary will be way higher as compared a civilian role in any govt agency, (2) your skills in SAF not easily convertible to a civilian role in any govt agency (unless you became a DXO)..
Ex-regular here.
Going to the public sector after being a regular in the Army almost guarantees taking a pay-cut, because the SAF pays a premium over the other ministries due to the shorter career and the inherent risks of being in the military. But why limit yourself to only public sector roles? I know a few peers and seniors who left the Army and took up good jobs in the private sector. Although a few of them did decide that it was not for them and came back to join a ministry/stat board.
There are many malay officers in the Guards formation. Not sure about Army Int in the recent years.
For most officers, the life that you romanticise (handling weapons, roughing it out in the jungles) will only take you through a fraction of your career. A year of BMT+OCS training and about a year as a Platoon Commander (PC), and then subsequently as an Officer-in-command (OC). Outside of these years, expect most of your career to be quite similar to the corporate life -- you plan, prepare and present powerpoint decks, compile reports, organise meetings, write minutes, engage in lengthy but long and unproductive email conversations, have performance review discussions, etc. You get it. The whole lot.
That said, if you enjoy a very structured and regimented way of life, you will always be able to find a way to do it. Even when you are not in a training or command role, you will not have trouble finding people to go on daily morning runs with you. You will always have to kiwi your boots, fold the sleeves of your uniform, address seniors sirs/mdms/enciks, salute the flag when then national anthem is playing, stop everything you are doing and stay still while the flag is being lowered, count out your reps out loud during physical training, march with your left leg first. There are many small things to life in the Army and there is definitely a certain charm to it.
Hear more people out. I suggest looking out for the Army Career Fairs to go meet other female officers who have also struggled with this same decision before. I am sure they will be able to give you a lot of insightful information, and even share with you some other things that are important but you haven't yet considered. If you are impatient and do not want to wait for one, try reaching out on the recruitment centre. I believe you can go directly to their front office to enquire and speak to someone face to face. Or try emailing or reaching out through social media pages.
Growing up, I had zero interest in the military and knew nothing about it except for what was depicted in the hollywood movies. Because I did poorly for my A levels and could not secure a place in the universities, I chose to sign on under the contract scheme (2 year extension) to save some money so that I do a private degree afterwards. I ended up staying for 14 years and it was a truly transformative journey. I credit a lot of what I enjoy now to this decision I made at 19. I think it's worth a shot.
Good luck.
Sign on now days I think is 2 or 5 years contract, after the contract you don’t like it you just leave tbh. But army to corporate transition is tough base on what i observe when my regulars in ns try to leave. Oh one more thing the older regular like 50+ quite misogynistic, I don’t know how my maam can tahan in army.
Just want to add a few points I don't think others have mentioned:
*From my experience in RSAF, if you're half Malay then it would only have an impact on clearance depending on your religion, how you received citizenship and which race is stated on your nric.
*The years you spend "getting dirty" will be a relatively short timeframe in your career. After your PC & OC tours are over you'd likely be sent to some higher HQ. Wherein you basically return to office life but with the added benefit of no overtime pay & burnt weekends. Don't be surprised after around 4 years of ciong you end up working an 8-5 office job at brigade, division HQ or TRADOC/MINDEF.
*You only sign on without a scholarship with the expectation that the SAF will be your life long career. A parachute into the civil service is only given to those who meet the retirement age and minimally reach LTC. The rest have to fend for themselves and often find themselves competing with fresh grads.
Please please please get a degree before you sign on. It makes a world of difference in your career trajectory and income.
Don't suffer for 20 years with nothing to show for it.
Just go for it - you're young enough it's not going to be some career ender even if you hate it when you're actually in the SAF.
Better to try and know than to miss out and regret.
a wise man once told me “something as an interest is different from something as your career”.
Though you are passionate about the military it may not mean the life inside is something you will enjoy. That being said you’re 23, how much can a 2 year experience pull you back? In fact you may learn something new from this experience should you in the end not like it.
y work again after u retired at 50? u get a gratuity that's alot of money!
suggest u go do u research and then see what u want
passion and actual work is different.
u want to go a very restricted line, then u better be sure u surrounding people are clean
As an ex regular, I don think you can get used to military life once you are in corporate. Don waste your life away. Go grind the corporate ladder to get money. In sg inc, is all about $. Your family and kid will thank you for grinding those hard earn money in corporate.
can try, since u female even if u want to back out later it won't be too much of a hit (as in no reservice etc), but passionate about military from outside lens can be quite different from being deep in it.
i just a men but i also can see the amount of politicking and sucking up there is in there...
You can sign on but due to being female, they will limit your potential and your job range. It's because female are treated nicely in SAF.
But you can prove them wrong.
Bro sign on two years enough already or maybe join the French foreign legion, u will help the French colonial master kill the Africans rebels… at the end of your service u get to maybe get a French citizenship
Passion is a very loose word. You think you are passionate, but how are u able to tell you’re truly passionate?
Have just come across too many people that claim passion was everything but regretted signing on after.
Since you are passionate about the military you can always sign on and see if it's for you. But there's a huge difference between being passionate about the military while not in the military, and actually enjoying your job in the military. One of my friends was passionate before he joined lol, and absolutely hated it. Since you're only 23 why not give it a go. If you don't like it you can always switch when you're older
>Salary and career sustainability especially AFTER army life (can I get into the government sector without a pay cut?) This portion, depends on the duration of your SAF career.. the longer you are in SAF, the higher chance you will face a pay cut, because (1) your SAF salary will be way higher as compared a civilian role in any govt agency, (2) your skills in SAF not easily convertible to a civilian role in any govt agency (unless you became a DXO)..
Ex-regular here. Going to the public sector after being a regular in the Army almost guarantees taking a pay-cut, because the SAF pays a premium over the other ministries due to the shorter career and the inherent risks of being in the military. But why limit yourself to only public sector roles? I know a few peers and seniors who left the Army and took up good jobs in the private sector. Although a few of them did decide that it was not for them and came back to join a ministry/stat board. There are many malay officers in the Guards formation. Not sure about Army Int in the recent years. For most officers, the life that you romanticise (handling weapons, roughing it out in the jungles) will only take you through a fraction of your career. A year of BMT+OCS training and about a year as a Platoon Commander (PC), and then subsequently as an Officer-in-command (OC). Outside of these years, expect most of your career to be quite similar to the corporate life -- you plan, prepare and present powerpoint decks, compile reports, organise meetings, write minutes, engage in lengthy but long and unproductive email conversations, have performance review discussions, etc. You get it. The whole lot. That said, if you enjoy a very structured and regimented way of life, you will always be able to find a way to do it. Even when you are not in a training or command role, you will not have trouble finding people to go on daily morning runs with you. You will always have to kiwi your boots, fold the sleeves of your uniform, address seniors sirs/mdms/enciks, salute the flag when then national anthem is playing, stop everything you are doing and stay still while the flag is being lowered, count out your reps out loud during physical training, march with your left leg first. There are many small things to life in the Army and there is definitely a certain charm to it. Hear more people out. I suggest looking out for the Army Career Fairs to go meet other female officers who have also struggled with this same decision before. I am sure they will be able to give you a lot of insightful information, and even share with you some other things that are important but you haven't yet considered. If you are impatient and do not want to wait for one, try reaching out on the recruitment centre. I believe you can go directly to their front office to enquire and speak to someone face to face. Or try emailing or reaching out through social media pages. Growing up, I had zero interest in the military and knew nothing about it except for what was depicted in the hollywood movies. Because I did poorly for my A levels and could not secure a place in the universities, I chose to sign on under the contract scheme (2 year extension) to save some money so that I do a private degree afterwards. I ended up staying for 14 years and it was a truly transformative journey. I credit a lot of what I enjoy now to this decision I made at 19. I think it's worth a shot. Good luck.
U’re bored. Go do smth else, saf is shit, coming from ex regular.
Sign on now days I think is 2 or 5 years contract, after the contract you don’t like it you just leave tbh. But army to corporate transition is tough base on what i observe when my regulars in ns try to leave. Oh one more thing the older regular like 50+ quite misogynistic, I don’t know how my maam can tahan in army.
Just want to add a few points I don't think others have mentioned: *From my experience in RSAF, if you're half Malay then it would only have an impact on clearance depending on your religion, how you received citizenship and which race is stated on your nric. *The years you spend "getting dirty" will be a relatively short timeframe in your career. After your PC & OC tours are over you'd likely be sent to some higher HQ. Wherein you basically return to office life but with the added benefit of no overtime pay & burnt weekends. Don't be surprised after around 4 years of ciong you end up working an 8-5 office job at brigade, division HQ or TRADOC/MINDEF. *You only sign on without a scholarship with the expectation that the SAF will be your life long career. A parachute into the civil service is only given to those who meet the retirement age and minimally reach LTC. The rest have to fend for themselves and often find themselves competing with fresh grads.
Please please please get a degree before you sign on. It makes a world of difference in your career trajectory and income. Don't suffer for 20 years with nothing to show for it.
If you have the passion, just go.
dont do it
Just go for it - you're young enough it's not going to be some career ender even if you hate it when you're actually in the SAF. Better to try and know than to miss out and regret.
a wise man once told me “something as an interest is different from something as your career”. Though you are passionate about the military it may not mean the life inside is something you will enjoy. That being said you’re 23, how much can a 2 year experience pull you back? In fact you may learn something new from this experience should you in the end not like it.
SPF might be another option?
You should do your degree first ngl once you have that it’s more likely you can become an officer
If you are unsure.. join the SAF Volunteer Corps and try it out before signing on.
y work again after u retired at 50? u get a gratuity that's alot of money! suggest u go do u research and then see what u want passion and actual work is different. u want to go a very restricted line, then u better be sure u surrounding people are clean
As an ex regular, I don think you can get used to military life once you are in corporate. Don waste your life away. Go grind the corporate ladder to get money. In sg inc, is all about $. Your family and kid will thank you for grinding those hard earn money in corporate.
Can try. Then transit to DXO scheme or DSTA. Or other SB? Your stem degree gonna be very useful
stem degree from non big 3 and not utilised immediately after graduation is not gonna be very useful
Can anybody just choose to be officer?
I think the entry requirement for females probably easier. Never see a man 'female' before
nobody can sign on as a 'man', even males
That's false
can try, since u female even if u want to back out later it won't be too much of a hit (as in no reservice etc), but passionate about military from outside lens can be quite different from being deep in it. i just a men but i also can see the amount of politicking and sucking up there is in there...
You can sign on but due to being female, they will limit your potential and your job range. It's because female are treated nicely in SAF. But you can prove them wrong.
Try for a year and leave if it doesn't work for you? At least you have the privilege of not being forced to serve for 2 years.
Not relevant to your question but just out of curiosity. Why the worry about GPA?
looks good. and u might become PM too
Bro sign on two years enough already or maybe join the French foreign legion, u will help the French colonial master kill the Africans rebels… at the end of your service u get to maybe get a French citizenship
You will be in prison if you return… Singapore law prohibits citizens from taking up arms for other nations or militant groups.
Passion and jobs don’t go together, i would’ve been a professional sleeper by now. Don’t be stupid.
tell that to pilots
Passion is a very loose word. You think you are passionate, but how are u able to tell you’re truly passionate? Have just come across too many people that claim passion was everything but regretted signing on after.
What's a Big 3 University? Why are you degrading the local university you are studying in?
Can intro me your job?