Sign On: Officer. Got Diploma, Get Degree Better?Got Future?

• Winston nga93

  25 Jul 11, 20:05

  As far as i know, there are scheme A and B for officer's salary but if i sign on with a diploma and got a degree after that..will my pay be adjusted to the scheme B?? Will my pay be adjusted to those who are holding a degree also?

• Lokey

  25 Jul 11, 23:29

  As far as I know, SAF only recognised NTU, NUS and SMU.

  If you sign on as a diploma they would not let you do a degree, as this is irrelevant to them. I dont think they also let you disrupt for degree either, as you are already full-time employed. You can get a local merit award and do uni. This road is different from the scheme A and B.

• Winston nga93

  26 Jul 11, 16:26

  the local merit award is there any requirements? is it wise for me to sign on with diploma cert? pls tell me thx

• Delirious_prince

  26 Jul 11, 17:13

  Hi Winston nga93, 1) Not advisable to sign on with a diploma if you eventually plan to get a degree. As a diploma holder, you would only be able to sign on as a specialist or junior military expert. You will NOT be automatically converted to an officer or senior military expert upon getting a degree. I have a few specialist friends whom I know who got a degree and ended up leaving the service. If you are considering a field such as engineering, PM me for more info :) 2) Haven't heard of local merit award. But here are the requirements for local study award. http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/careers/job_opportunities/io/officer/scholarshipandawards.html QUOTE ----- Local Study Award [LSA] This study scheme provides you with full sponsorship of your studies at a local university. Courses Most Disciplines Institutions/Country of Study Local Universities Value of Award Study allowance Tuition fees and other approved charges Book and computer allowances Hostel fees [twin-sharing rate] Length of bond 4 years Requirements Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents Attempted 10 units of subjects in the GCE 'A' levels or Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent, e.g. International Baccalaureate [IB] Good Co-curricular Activities [CCA] records Strong leadership qualities Qualify for Officer Cadet School [OCS] Possess a strong interest in a military career UNQUOTE --------
• Winston nga93

  26 Jul 11, 18:57

  So no matter how hard i try i wont get selected for ocs during my ns period if i am a diploma holder?

   

• tarutaru

  26 Jul 11, 19:46

  Originally posted by Winston nga93:

  So no matter how hard i try i wont get selected for ocs during my ns period if i am a diploma holder?

   

  No lah, u can still go into OCS or SCS. Unless u kenna mono intake....

• Delirious_prince

  26 Jul 11, 19:52

  Ah, I stand corrected. Diploma holder who sign on as officers will be on Scheme A and Degree holder who sign on will be on Scheme B. I would suggest you check with Army Recruitment Centre (http://www.mindef.gov.sg/arc/ or call them at 1800-OUR ARMY (687 2769) ) for exact details on the officers' scheme. Yes, you can get selected for OCS or SCS as an NSF provided you meet the requirements.
• Winston nga93

  26 Jul 11, 20:10

  actually im 18 years old now and i know that i can apply now already but i still prefer to go ns frist and decide.  If i get into ocs and successfully graduate from there, my pay will be 2000-2500 rite? Will it increase after maybe 3-5 years? So when i go ns, i must be very siao on, pass every test well and also tell my pc that i wanna go ocs?  

• tarutaru

  26 Jul 11, 20:20

  Originally posted by Winston nga93:

  actually im 18 years old now and i know that i can apply now already but i still prefer to go ns frist and decide.  If i get into ocs and successfully graduate from there, my pay will be 2000-2500 rite? Will it increase after maybe 3-5 years? So when i go ns, i must be very siao on, pass every test well and also tell my pc that i wanna go ocs?  

  If u sign on as an officer, confirmed go OCS,

   

• Delirious_prince

  26 Jul 11, 20:29

  If u sign on as an officer, confirmed go OCS,

  Actually, you still have to meet the requirements for selection for OCS. Should you have signed on as an officer but fail to meet the requirements, your contract would be void. Same goes for SCS.

   

  actually im 18 years old now and i know that i can apply now already but i still prefer to go ns frist and decide.  If i get into ocs and successfully graduate from there, my pay will be 2000-2500 rite? Will it increase after maybe 3-5 years?

  The pay range for an officer is given on the ARC website which I shall not regurgitate here. http://www.mindef.gov.sg/arc/careers.html#careers=officer&sub=salary-benefits.

  Your salary would increase as you get promoted in rank and grade.

• tarutaru

  26 Jul 11, 20:52

  Originally posted by Delirious_prince:

  Actually, you still have to meet the requirements for selection for OCS. Should you have signed on as an officer but fail to meet the requirements, your contract would be void. Same goes for SCS.

   

  The pay range for an officer is given on the ARC website which I shall not regurgitate here. http://www.mindef.gov.sg/arc/careers.html#careers=officer&sub=salary-benefits.

  Your salary would increase as you get promoted in rank and grade.

  True, but put it this way, if u never sign on, the chances is unknown, but if you sign on at least if you meet the requirements you'll definitely go to OCS or SCS. Whichever TS choose.

• Winston nga93

  26 Jul 11, 21:20

  ohh so if I apply now as infantry officer, when i go ns they will treat me as a signed on person and straight away train me as an officer provided I meet their standard in ocs?

• lkidultkitl

  26 Jul 11, 21:55

  Originally posted by tarutaru:

  True, but put it this way, if u never sign on, the chances is unknown, but if you sign on at least if you meet the requirements you'll definitely go to OCS or SCS. Whichever TS choose.

  Uhhh, I'm currently enlisting 2 weeks later into PRC and I've got considerations to sign on as a officer after going in, but of course, experiencing life over there first.

  After reading all the above post, I'm still in confusion how the "signing-on process" go about. So, please enlighten me...

  1) If I really want to sign on, means I'll have to do so before BMT and they will assess me during BMT if I meet the requirements?

  2) If so, will I be able to apply/sign during BMT?

• Papayaman

  26 Jul 11, 22:31

  I am a regular now and have many friends who have gone through different education routes in their SAF career. Let me map out some of the routes you can take as a diploma holder thinking of signing on. Route 1: Sign on as a diploma holder as serve as a officer with diploma as your highest qualification. You will be placed into scheme A, which is the lowest paying officer scheme. I'm not sure how long the bond is, you can check it out online or call mindef recruitment. Route 2: Sign on as a diploma holder and get into a recognized local university, NUS, NTU or SMU, or any recognized overseas universities, Australia, US, UK or Canada etc. As long as you get a place in any recognized local or overseas universities, mindef will give you the Local Study Award (LSA) which provides you with school fees. Mindef will only give you the amount equivalent to local university rates, so if you're thinking of studying overseas, you'll have to top up with your own money. The LSA bond is 4 years. Route 3: Sign on as a diploma holder. If you did well in poly, you can try for the SAF Academic Scholarship (SAS) Local or Overseas. SAF will then pay for your university. If you get the SAS Local and want to study overseas, you'll have to top up like the LSA. If you get the SAS Overseas, then Mindef will pay your full school fees for an overseas unviersity and give you monthly pay. The bond for SAS is 6 years may it be local or overseas. Route 4: If you do extremely well in Poly, you can try to get the SAF Merit Scholarship (SMS). This is more difficult to get. if you want to know more about it you can ask. Hope this helps!
• Papayaman

  26 Jul 11, 22:37

  Oops i forgot to add. If you decide to sign on with your diploma without going to get your degree, you'll be placed into Scheme A. If you have a degree from any recognized university both local or overseas, you'll be automatically be placed in Scheme B. If you get the SAS Overseas, SMS or SAFOS scholarships, you can go for an interview to try to get into Scheme C. If you fail the interview, you'll be placed into Scheme B.
• Winston nga93

  27 Jul 11, 00:24

  I heard from my friends that there is a contract which is 50 years...is it true?

• Lokey

  28 Jul 11, 13:22

  Originally posted by Winston nga93:

  I heard from my friends that there is a contract which is 50 years...is it true?

  You go to NS BMT first. And see if you like milltary life. A lot of unforseen stuff may appear unexpectedlly. Such as you cannot bring iphone and laptop to camp, cannot keep long hair and etc.

• tarutaru

  28 Jul 11, 19:08

  Originally posted by Lokey:

  You go to NS BMT first. And see if you like milltary life. A lot of unforseen stuff may appear unexpectedlly. Such as you cannot bring iphone and laptop to camp, cannot keep long hair and etc.

  These are small issue, it's the regimental and politics after it.

• Winston nga93

  28 Jul 11, 21:37

  alright thx...but sim uni cert is not recognize by SAF?

• tarutaru

  28 Jul 11, 22:03

  Originally posted by Winston nga93:

  alright thx...but sim uni cert is not recognize by SAF?

  Should be, SIM is local isn't it?

• Winston nga93

  28 Jul 11, 22:31

  SIM is in singapore 

   

• Lokey

  28 Jul 11, 23:11

  SIM hold the course but it is awarded by other university.

  For example: Bac of Business (Marketing) is awarded by RMIT university. So the cert is printed with SIM and RMIT logo.

• Winston nga93

  30 Jul 11, 14:52

  Can i get local study award to go sim? cause LSA states most local uni but i not sure whether it include sim uni not....

   

• alize

  30 Jul 11, 22:11

  These guys are right. Why make a decision to sign away 4 years of your life at the age of 18, before experiencing a day of military life, when you can make a more informed decision after your studies.

  BTW you can get an additional bounty only if you sign on during BMT (not a day later). Repayable if you break the contract. That's something I would not be tempted by.

• Aberdeen

  6 Sep 11, 23:13

  Anyone knows if you can sign on to other vocations if you kena mono-intake?