They say you can take student out of SMU, but you cannot take SMU out of a student. The SMU experience is one that you bring forward with you for life. Lim Yong Ciat, a graduate of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business majoring in international trading, is now back in SMU’s Master of Professional Accounting as a part-time student. He is an entrepreneur who specialises in outsource staffing, helping F&B and events company deal with the shortage of manpower.
Cheerful and candid, Yong Ciat shares his experience in the programme and life as a part-time student.
Hi Yong Ciat, perhaps you can share what you do in your current role and what made you decide to pursue a postgraduate degree?
I am tasked with the responsibility of handling the finance and accounting aspects in the company. I applied for the MPA programme as I think the technical accounting knowledge that I have will help my company grow. I was in the finance and accounting role and I needed to know the jargons. I think accounting is a language on its own and it is useful across industries. And most importantly, it is more relevant to my line of work.
Now that you are taking this programme part time, what do you feel are the main challenges you face?
The main challenge is to work out a good balance between family, work and study. Time is limited so I need to be fairly stingy with whom I spend my time with. It is all about time management. I basically have to give up quite a lot of time for myself.
What were your expectations prior to the start of the programme and how is your experience thus far?
To be honest, I came in with no expectations. Going in with open mind enabled me to get the most out of the course.
As for my experience, there is only one word for it - fun. It is definitely good to feel young again after being out of university for so long. The class has a good blend of "old" people like me and young graduates filled with aspiration and energy. We need to be reminded that we used to be like that once upon a time, and it reminds me to not stop dreaming and try to reach our goals.
Of course, I enjoy the interaction with the more senior students as they can share their wisdom in their industries with me. Learning is a lot more interactive as the classroom setting is more relaxed as compared to the corporate setting when everyone is more uptight.
After the course, my career plan is to expand the business overseas and eventually get it to IPO.
Any tips for working professionals thinking of pursuing their masters?
Think about why you really want to do the MPA and remember it. When the going gets tough, go back to why you started this journey in the first place. This will get you through. After all, tough times don’t last, tough people do.
