SkillsFuture course recommendations + learning for fun

[sharonkhoo]

@thebottomsupblog said:

I have finally completed my course!

Happy to share regarding these programmes and the actual employment leads that came about from them, if anyone is keen:

• Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-career-counselling/

• Specialist Diploma in Business Analytics (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-business-analytics/

• Generation Singapore Bootcamp: Junior Data Engineer https://singapore.generation.org/sctp-jrdataengineer/

I’ve taken them all; maxed out my SkillsFuture like a good citizen

Congratulations! You’ve really done a lot!

I’ve been a bit busier the past few months with travelling, volunteering etc. I’ll still be rather busy till about late-Oct. I plan to do a couple of EdX courses (Just noted that my annual subscription runs out on 16 Oct!). I was thinking of doing a couple of LinkedIn Learning courses (free and short!) on AI uses through NLB, but then found that I am unable to access even though my login and password are correct. I’ve reported it, and hopefully they’ll get back to me.

[thebottomsupblog]

@sharonkhoo Thank you

Btw I came across a video about a sewing studio (in an HDB flat), where they hold classes!

https://www.tiktok.com/@togather_sg/video/7678659884090543367?_r=1&_t=ZS-99KrW6Ljtpq

LinkedIn quite often gives a month-long trial for their premium membership, where I think you will also be able to access their learning courses!

For the next month or two, I’m going to focus on trying out pickleball and dance, for starters!

[sharonkhoo]

@thebottomsupblog said:

@sharonkhoo Thank you

Btw I came across a video about a sewing studio (in an HDB flat), where they hold classes!

https://www.tiktok.com/@togather_sg/video/7678659884090543367?_r=1&_t=ZS-99KrW6Ljtpq

LinkedIn quite often gives a month-long trial for their premium membership, where I think you will also be able to access their learning courses!

For the next month or two, I’m going to focus on trying out pickleball and dance, for starters!

I saw the add for home tutoring - still thinking about it…

I got the answer from NLB - I was using my library password instead of the default password (birth year!). My mistake. And LinkedIn Learning is free if you log in through NLB.

I’ve started swimming once a week. I can’t play anything that involves hand-eye coordination! And I gave up dance years ago - too uncoordinated.

[thebottomsupblog]

For anyone thinking about how to use their SkillsFuture credits, what courses are available, what’s popular, and how to manage studies, this might help

https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/your-questions-on-skills-future-mid-career-courses-and-career-conversion-programmes-answered

[mrchia]

@zac-s-mum

Hello,

May I suggest “Ai prompting” courses.

This is going to be a part of our daily life soon

[thebottomsupblog]

I was talking to my brother (he’s a millennial, works in tech) yesterday, and he mentioned that he hadn’t used his SkillsFuture at all. He would rather have his company pay for his training, as that also allows him to get time off for studies.

I’m on a 4-day workweek, but having done two specialist diploma courses in the last 5 years, it seemed to me that most people were working full-time while doing the course. In my most recent course (specialist dip in career counselling), there were a lot of counselling practitioners who wanted to explore a career counselling specialisation, alongside older individuals who were looking for a post-retirement career.

To be honest, it can be pretty taxing, with classes 3x a week in the evenings (typically 6.30 to 9.30pm). Worse if you have Friday night classes! I specifically picked courses that were primarily conducted online.

In terms of job change: it’s really not a linear process. Depending on your personality, skillset + network, your outcome could be vastly different from your classmate’s. It’s given me skills that I’ve used at work, for sure. And personally I love going back to school, which is not the case for everyone!

[thebottomsupblog]

So I just started drum lessons! I took lessons very briefly as a teen, and life just got in the way.

I think learning non-classical music is very different from the traditional/Singaporean approach to learning, i.e. go to Yamaha, take exams every year, etc. For music, some of us want to perform, play in a band, or simply destress by playing along to a backing track. Also, these kinds of lessons shouldn’t go on forever, and at some point we should be willing to graduate and self-learn.

I found a school that is set up by musicians, and since I have some musical training, this initial phase isn’t too tricky for me! In fact next week is only my second lesson, and my teacher said I can try learning to play Blur’s Song 2!

Cost-wise, I’m paying $330 for 4x45-minute lessons. Was quite shocked when my gf told me she pays $150 per class, to learn how to play the cello!

Anyone taking music classes too? Would love to hear from you

[thebottomsupblog]

A few days ago, my 40-something gf asked me about the BCG Rise programme:

https://rise.bcg.com/for-individuals/applied-ai-in-digital-transformation-change-management/

I know of peers who’ve joined BCG Rise. If others have firsthand knowledge about the BCG Rise programmes, please feel free to share!

As a start, you can check on the programme outline as well as the tools that you will gain familiarity with, and see if it interests you. You can also look on LinkedIn to see what the people who’ve completed these programmes are doing now.

From personal experience + reading forums: A common grouse about some of these mid-career switch programmes (BCG Rise, Generation SG) is that they focus a lot on soft skill aspects, such as reflection time, team building exercises, etc. This can be frustrating if you are quite competent in those areas + need more time to learn something technical.

Also, it’s good to find out how the training will be carried out. Is there a teacher or do you primarily learn from a platform like DataCamp. We all learn differently, so the online platforms may not suit everyone, especially if there is a lot of screen reading to do.

On the bright side: What such programmes may provide is placement support, so you may land interesting roles that might not ordinarily be possible. Again there are other factors that affect placement, such as age. But I think it really gives you a foot in the door; my own placement experience was transformative