PETALING JAYA, De 31 — With two little kids at home and a tiring day job working in a bank, there wasn’t much time for Jacqueline Liew to think about furthering her education and advancing her career.
Liew grew up in a laid-back town in Perak but soon traded that relaxed lifestyle for the hustle and bustle of Singapore to catapult her career.
Having worked in the Lion City for over eight years however, Liew came to realise that moving up in the banking field was not easy, even if you have the paper qualifications like a Diploma or a Bachelor’s degree.
“The banking industry is really competitive. Having working experience is not the only thing that employers will be concerned about, people will start looking into your background and your knowledge base,” said Liew.
Liew realised that the only way for her to move up in her career and obtain a higher, well-paid position, would be to further her studies and add more value to her resume.
But being a working mom put a damper on the whole idea as balancing between work and caring for her two-year-old son and new-born girl took up a big chunk of her time.
“I’m a working mother, I need to take care of two babies every day after work and it can be really exhausting,” said Liew.
“But I’m still lucky because my in-laws help me to take care of the kids while my husband and I are at work during the day.”
With little to no time to spend on adding value to herself and her work portfolio, there weren’t many options available for Liew to turn to, as even the possibility of taking night classes at a university would take up too much of her limited free time.
Determined to find a way to upskill, Liew scoured the internet for possible solutions on how she could advance in her career by furthering her studies, while working and caring for her children at the same time.
Luckily for Liew, she found an online course offered by INTI International University & Colleges that was specifically designed for working professionals, and immediately enrolled herself despite being based in Singapore, where there are no INTI campuses.
“I found the online course through the internet and chose to enrol in it because it is time-saving,” said Liew.
“I don’t have to travel and attend the course physically, making it easier to manage my time, which is so much more flexible.”
Liew added that her course, the Master of Business Administration — Learning Simplified (MBALS) programme, is conducted solely online, making it easier for her to juggle her personal and professional responsibilities while adding value to herself.
“I’m in my first semester and I can study anytime and anywhere as long as I have my laptop in hand. The coursework topics also relate to real-world issues which are familiar to working professionals like myself,” said Liew.
Studying and revising is also made easier for Liew because everything is online, including notes, assessments, and feedback from both lecturers and peers.
The programme also included a designated mentor, an academician with industry experience who serves to guide and encourage Liew in her studies and to help her stay on track in spite of her busy schedule.
This flexible learning means that she can concentrate and do her revision at home, once the kids are asleep or even on her commute home.
“I study about five to six hours a week, about one hour a day. I can revise on my laptop and go through materials like recorded discussion videos when I’m taking the train or at home before I sleep,” said Liew.
“A lot of the topics we study requires us to discuss and give views related to issues in our current economic and political market, which teaches us how to analyse and understand the market.
“It still is tiring managing work, studies and home life, because I can only study on the train or around midnight when the kids are sleeping, but it’s so flexible, so it’s all down to my own time management.”
Liew explained that although it can get tiresome at times, only having to study for one hour a day makes it easier for her because she has the option to plan her own study schedule.
Having the flexibility to manage her own time was the perfect means to aid her in her efforts of advancing her career while juggling her work and home commitments.
On top of that, she added that the MBALS course is largely based on coursework, with only 10 per cent of it being exams — meaning that there wouldn’t be a need to take extended time away from work or her family to study for a big test.
She even believes that other moms or working professionals are more than capable of enrolling in the course given the flexible learning schedule.
“I believe other mums can manage too, maybe they can do even better than me.”
To find out more about INTI International University & Colleges’ courses precisely catered for working professionals, CLICK HERE to find out more.
