Good-paying Jobs for Those with General Qualification?

For people who graduated with a diploma or Bachelor in marketing, business studies, general management, mass communications, English literature, history and other non-specialised subjects, are there high-paying jobs waiting for them?  

Are these vague qualifications even in demand, in the first place? 

People with these qualifications are known as “generalists”, and their qualifications fall broadly under the “liberal arts”, although these terms are rarely used in Singapore. 

From a quick survey of the Jobs Classifieds section in the papers, people with general academic qualifications are still in demand for jobs in: 

•  Sales and marketing, property and personal insurance
• General management (company administration, HR, consultancy)
• Teaching, training & tutoring
• Logistics and supply chain (although there are now specialised diplomas and advanced degrees in this field)
• Business and finance (an additional specialist certification in accounting, shares trading or financial services would be helpful)
• Jobs that depend on the gift of the gab, such as public relations, corporate communication and journalism  

Sales 

People in sales can earn anywhere from less than $2,000 a month to more than $20,000, depending on their enthusiasm, effort and human relationship skill. 

Sales covers anything that your employer wants you to sell – from used cars to million-dollar apartments. In some fields such as insurance, you may have to study and pass certain exams. 

General management 

There are hundreds of job titles under “management” that don’t necessarily require a degree. But you would need at least a polytechnic diploma in business studies or commerce. 

Although management is “general”, you should focus on, and in the long run, specialise in one area, such as Human Resources (which also includes head-hunting).  

Teaching, training & tutoring 

To be a full-time teacher under the Ministry of Education, you need both a general degree and an Education diploma (from NIE). The training can therefore be demanding, and when you’re actually working as a teacher, the hours are long and tiring and the pay not very exciting. 

Less-demanding jobs in this field are in training and giving private tuition. You would probably want to get a certificate or diploma in training, to show that you know correct training and presentation techniques. Many private commercial schools need trainers and lecturers, although the remuneration is nothing to shout about. 

Logistics and transport 

This is supposed to be a sunrise industry for Singapore but so far nothing much is happening other than an airhub being set up. In fact during the global downturn two years ago, logistics giant DHL retrenched hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide. 

Diploma holders may end up as storekeepers – a responsible but low-paying job. It’s a tough world in this field, and logistics and transport companies have very thin profit margins. 

Business and finance 

With a general degree, you can still land a job in this field, but you may have to fight like mad against others who have degrees in business, finance and economics. 

Jobs that depend on the gift of the gab 

Nothing much need to be said about such jobs. 

Cultivating soft skills 

Since you don’t know anything about Java programming, capping leaking oil wells or cutting up the brain, you should enhance your general qualification with some soft skills, such as:

• Self-confidence – being able to project a sense of confidence among co-workers and superiors
• Human relationship compatibility and a positive attitude
• Communication skills – able to write and communicate a message effectively, coherently and persuasively, using any presentation tool
• Networking skills – able to use and exploit the Social Web, social events and other networking tools 

Success, like happiness, is an inside job!