Today is the last working day of 2017 although many are on leave but being an intern means having to be in the office. 2017 has been a huge year for me. From beginning to invest and getting an internship, I have learned many things and that learning is a constant journey. During this year, I have also started blogging more frequently and to pen down my transactions and personal experiences. I hope for 2018 to be exciting and for me to have more initiative to learn new things.
1. Started investing
This year I started getting into investing. Previously, in end December 2016 I started a regular savings plan (RSP) with POSB saver and I got to say that was my best investment so far as I managed to purchase Nikko AM STI ETF at $2.80 onwards which right now has allowed my portfolio to have gain quite a lot.
Next, around May 2017 I created a CDP account and a DBS Vickers Upfront Account mainly because of the lower transaction fees that I can get. So my first trade was SGX and I managed to snag it at a price of $7.22 (without transaction fees) which to me was pretty okay.
I have been saving money in a bank account before 2016 hence I became a little addicted after purchasing my first stock and I went on to purchase a few other counters. So I ended 2017 with 7 counters namely STI ETF, Nikko AM STI ETF, SGX, First Reit, Amara, Tai Sin Electric and Design Studio. Of course, going into the new year, I will be looking out for stocks to snag at a low/reasonable price and also with a certain level of dividend payout. I hope to of course increase my financial literacy level and understand more about fundamental analysis.
2. Manage to secure an internship
During my holidays this semester, I managed to get an internship as a human resource (HR) intern. The degree that I’m studying is in psychology and it allows me to also get into HR and I would like to widen my exposure hence getting an internship in a company as a HR intern has allowed to know the workshops and necessities of being in HR.
Also, as I will be unofficially graduating next year end so an internship will also help boost up my resume hopefully. To be honest, even though I am graduating soon and entering the workforce I am still very unclear as to what I want to do. I do feel lost and am just riding the waves that come along. So I do hope to have a clearer goal of my future in 2018 if not, I will still be search for the route.
3. Progressed to the next semester for my studies
This sounds really ridiculous and lame but I really am pleased that I managed to progress to the next semester and with quite satisfactory results. This is because the modules that I took the previous semester was really technical and mostly essay questions were tested hence at one point of time, I felt really stressed out and even thought I would repeat the module/semester because this module also has the highest failing rate. The lecturer also consistently reminded us that the passing rate was low and we all had to start early.
Well, I can only blame myself for not starting earlier with the revisions that’s why I faced immerse stress before my final examinations. Hopefully, next semester would be a better one where I will start earlier ( I always say that but you know how it ends up, haha)
Overall, 2017 has been a year of growth for me and my family has been well and healthy so I am exceptionally grateful for that. I personally feel that it is very important to give thanks and be appreciative to be able to appreciate the little things in life. I have learned that I should not take things around me for granted and that everyone and everything that has happened has a learning point for me. Going forward into 2018, I hope to brush up on my communication skills as I am rather shy and require time before I dare to speak my mind to people. Other than that, 2017 has been a wonderful and amazing year especially since I started investing.
Here's wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELL WISHES FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR!! LET'S ALL HUAT IN 2018👏👏👏😁
Hi,
ReplyDeleteTake it slow. Like what you shared, it is addicting to buy counters. In time to come, the addiction may wear off.
As your "senior" in psychology, do explore the various career options there are in psychology. I'm not familiar with HR, so I won't share in that direction. If you do follow the research pathway and become a research assistant, do note that it will be mostly be temp/contract jobs and there is minimal job stability. If you are heading towards the practitioner pathway (psychologist), you will face the some sort of issues as well. For both pathways, you need to "leverage up" and secure a Masters or a PhD (if that's what you want). Pay is "okay" (or "meh" if you compare to other industries).
Other ways to work as a "practitioner" is to work in children's home, social service centres, case manager, etc. A degree would probably suffice for these cases.
I have seen friends who enter into the private sector (I/O psych or consulting) where the pay is higher. There are others who enter in non-psych areas like banking (e.g. getting a degree just for the sake of meeting the typical job requirements of the candidate possessing a "degree.")
Hope this helps!
Hi! Glad to have feedback from a “senior” haha. I am also rather confused about the path to take too. Psychology is a general degree and to specialize would require a masters or higher. To get into clinical was what I envision for but after taking the degree I’m also considering other pathways hence trying to take as many internships to get exposure!
DeleteReally really thankful for the advice and it definitely helps knowing the various platforms I can go into:) I will update on my status time to time on this blog. Hope to talk to you soon and more often.