ISN’T it the age-old question - what to study at university. Tech degrees were in high demand not too long ago. But recent global layoffs in the tech sector have made some reevaluate their degree courses. Yet fresh graduates of information and digital technologies courses still command some of the highest starting salaries amongst their peers. 

We did a deep dive with Jonathan Sim, lecturer of philosophy, National University of Singapore, Florian Breger, vice president, civilian government, global industries, IBM Technology and Ben Leong, professor of computer science, National University of Singapore. 

Although Singaporeans tend to lean towards a course of study that would in the long run provide the best salary potential and job stability, there was encouragement from our podcast guests to choose with passion.

Here are highlights of the conversations, edited and condensed. 

Jonathan Sim: Getting a degree isn’t just what happens in the classroom 

“We need to expand our mindset to understand that the degree isn’t just what happens in the classroom. A degree is also student life. (It is) a time to interact with professors, other students, other people and for the university to give its students opportunities to learn and grow beyond books. This is something that cannot be taken for granted. At the end of the day, how marketable we are is less about just the degree.”

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Florian Breger: A degree is just one check mark

“My personal opinion, you have to have at least two (types of) educations, technology or STEM education, and an arts education.So I would say my education was good, but I have still to learn a lot and I have to invest every week, five hours of learning on my weekends to keep up with what’s coming. Don’t stop when you have your degree, it’s just one check mark and then go on.”

Ben Leong: The point in school is to learn how to learn and think

“ChatGP doesn’t actually help people learn. I see it as a better, a more advanced version of Google. One of the things that we are grappling with in school is cheating. At the end of the day, it will come back and bite them because the point in school is to learn how to learn, learn how to think. There’s a process and methods.”