Will it be a Job or a Masters?

This dilemma between a job or a masters came as soon as early February this year and as I was working on my thesis, I had several thoughts about what I will be doing in the coming months. I recorded the thoughts on 28th February in a journal I had and this was what I recorded:

If there is one word that will summarise my thoughts on this matter of what I would do after I graduate, it will be 'confusion'. Never in my life would I think that there will be such a dilemma after I graduate. When I first got into Linguistics, I thought that it would be a general degree that will get me to most jobs in the market place. While it is true that the degree is sufficiently general for me to get a place almost any where according to the lines of HR, PR, Marketing, Advertising, Editorials, In House Communications and perhaps even Journalism. But I do not know why, my passion for the market place has died. I cannot put into words how this change happen. Just a year ago, I was so sure that PR was for me and that PR was where God would put me to bring the good news into the market place. However, I am not so sure if today that is still God's will for me simply because I lost interest. Perhaps, it was the previous internship that got me scarred, but not exactly. I think I just did not like that there was no purpose to what I was doing while trapped in the market place. It seemed like all I could do was to serve clients and work till late nights. I saw no deeper purpose to what I was doing and I may not entirely like the whole media industry in general. But now what? What am I to do if I get myself out of PR? Would I try to go into a corporate communications job? I am so clueless and so confused.

However, in this same exact entry, I started verbalising a new option that might be God's directed path for me, though I was not very sure. The new option was to do a Masters. In all honesty, I have never thought of myself as one who will do a Masters and let alone pursue it immediately after my degree. I simply feel that I did not have the intellectual capacity to do so. Frankly, I do not know why such a thought would arise but I was never one who excelled greatly academically but one thing I find myself possessing that helped me through my school life is that of perseverance. I have failed many times in my study life but yet every single time, I persevered and God mercifully and graciously granted me results just enough to go on to the next journey whether it be Junior College or University.

This time round, I find myself amazed at how God led me to the idea of doing a Masters. While I was working on my thesis and meeting my professor almost weekly, there was a particular meeting with my professor that was especially long (close to 2 hours). In that meeting, my professor expressed to me and my other friend of an opportunity to do Masters or a PHD under NTU and told us that we had the potential to do so. Furthermore, she spoke of a scholarship that we could apply for which will allow us to study without paying school fees and asked us to consider about it as we will find it hard to come back to do a Masters if we worked outside. At that point in time, I consulted some others and everyone was positive and encouraged me to think about it for the job market in Singapore is quite bad especially in the PR industry.

After all these advices, I gave it some extra thought and I was increasingly open to the idea. I knew that I would still be good to go for a Masters as I was still passionate about what I was learning and I liked the entire process of writing a thesis though it was tedious. I honestly felt very accomplished now that I am done :) However, I worry many things. First, where will I get the money to study Masters if I did not manage to successfully get a scholarship and secondly, where do I go to study Masters? I personally felt that I need a change of environment since I have been in NTU for 4 years and I wonder if it will value-add very much if I continue doing my Masters with NTU. Those were thoughts that I submitted to the Lord for I knew His plans will always prevail.

Indeed, God leads. Over the course of a few weeks, God dramatically led me through series of events and now I am more than certain I will be indeed pursuing a Masters. And my greatest worry of financing my further studies have also been taken care by God. Currently, I am at my last stage of application of Masters in Linguistics in HKU. Looking at the interview response so far, I am 80% sure I will be accepted. Maybe my professors academic referral letters adds on another 10%. One of my professors, my thesis professor, actually told me that she is confident that I will be accepted. I am not sure where her confidence is derived from but nonetheless I am very thankful at how God led me through a series of decision making processes and the God-given courage to pursue this Masters with great confidence. Hence, I can safely say that in about a few months time, I will be leaving for Hong Kong, my birth country, to continue pursuing Linguistics.

Currently, I am very overwhelmed by God's leading and am very thankful at how everything falls into place with my current phase and events in my life. Indeed, all the glory goes to God including the successful completion of my thesis paper :)

For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

-Psalm 31:3