Please share with us your professional life’s journey and at which point in your career did you aspire to pursue this certificate?

Though graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering degree in 2010, it was tough to secure a full time job in the environmental sector. That was when I decided to do a career switch to civil engineering and started job searches in the civil engineering field. I managed to find a job in civil engineering field and obtained my Resident Engineer (RE) certificate in 2015. Since then, I was aiming to be registered as a Professional Engineer (Civil) with the Professional Engineers Board (PEB). In order to fulfil my dream, I decided to pursue courses stackable to Specialist Certificate in Civil Infrastructure because this certification helps with my registration.

What were the challenges you faced when trying to complete this certificate?

Studying while working full time was not an easy task. One of the challenges I faced was the schedule of my lessons. Since these certificate courses were taken from NTU undergraduate degree programme, classes were mainly conducted during office hours. With the course timetabling clashing with my working hours, I needed to seek for my supervisor’s permission to attend the tutorials at work. It was also common for me to miss some of the tutorials due to work commitments.

How did you juggle family/working life with your studies?

Time management was very important especially when I have to juggle between family and work. To familiarise myself with the lessons, I practised the tutorials during my little free time on weekday nights. I also took on studying in the early mornings of weekends before members of the family wake, so that I could spend more time with them thereafter. Paying attention during lessons to better understand the subject matter taught also helped me in reducing the time needed for revision.

How did you find studying in NTU?

NTU professors were very approachable and would avail themselves to attend to our queries. In addition, NTU upgraded and improved their building structures with better space, so that the entire environment was more conducive for learning as compared to my study days at the university during my time. It was much easier to look for a space to study with the newly built buildings.

Will you recommend PaCE@NTU’s programmes to your friends and family?

I would recommend PaCE@NTU’s programmes and courses to my friends and family if they are looking to upgrade themselves. PaCE@NTU offers courses and certifications that are industry-relevant and can help them to acquire in demand skillsets to be more competitive. Some credit-bearing courses are even stackable to an NTU Master’s degree. Armed with certification from reputable universities such as NTU, they can achieve their goals better.

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