As a member of the JC PDSN community, we face a few challenges.
(1) We do not have employable skills. JCs don't teach them. We are trained to be academics, not employees of a firm. So when we go to the job market even after university, we will lose out to other job entrants who have 'job experience' and are employees of companies.
(2) We are expected to go on to professions, such as law, engineering or medicine. However, in the some industries, there is a high barrier, especially for those with psychiatric conditions (which we might have but is definitely needed for the job). And many of us are not confident whether we would make good teachers, doctors or lawyers, with all their interviews. Despite our leadership training that we undertake before we go on to University, we are expected to reconcile society's expectations of a JC student to strive for such industries, with our own understanding that we may not even break into such industries in the first place.
(3) We cannot see the connection between high investments in degrees (which we presumedly do after JCs) and low pays when we come out to work, or even unemployment.
Some of us just want to build on our skill set and live a realistic, manageable lifestyle. However, presumedly because of our high test scores AND many of our parents' expectations (e.g. 'JCs=Uni=$$$', 'we think JCs give a better training ground for our children', 'my child cannot do Projects all the time!') we may shortchange ourselves by attending JCs, going on to Universities, and most likely achieve similar, if not worse employment outcomes than our counterparts in ITE or Poly.
I wonder whether it is discrimination against ASDs/PDSNs as a whole, or a lack of self-knowledge/self-confidence, that propel us to go on to JCs - and hope for things that never existed in the first place.
(1) We do not have employable skills. JCs don't teach them. We are trained to be academics, not employees of a firm. So when we go to the job market even after university, we will lose out to other job entrants who have 'job experience' and are employees of companies.
(2) We are expected to go on to professions, such as law, engineering or medicine. However, in the some industries, there is a high barrier, especially for those with psychiatric conditions (which we might have but is definitely needed for the job). And many of us are not confident whether we would make good teachers, doctors or lawyers, with all their interviews. Despite our leadership training that we undertake before we go on to University, we are expected to reconcile society's expectations of a JC student to strive for such industries, with our own understanding that we may not even break into such industries in the first place.
(3) We cannot see the connection between high investments in degrees (which we presumedly do after JCs) and low pays when we come out to work, or even unemployment.
Some of us just want to build on our skill set and live a realistic, manageable lifestyle. However, presumedly because of our high test scores AND many of our parents' expectations (e.g. 'JCs=Uni=$$$', 'we think JCs give a better training ground for our children', 'my child cannot do Projects all the time!') we may shortchange ourselves by attending JCs, going on to Universities, and most likely achieve similar, if not worse employment outcomes than our counterparts in ITE or Poly.
I wonder whether it is discrimination against ASDs/PDSNs as a whole, or a lack of self-knowledge/self-confidence, that propel us to go on to JCs - and hope for things that never existed in the first place.
- Note
- JC = Junior Colleges, or prepatory pre-University high schools in Singapore
- ASDs = People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- PDSNs = People with Disabilities and Special Needs
