The Internship Race in Singapore

This relentless ladder-climbing mentality sends a powerful, and damaging, message: your worth is measured by your productivity, and your potential is defined by the logos on your CV. It creates a frantic sense of urgency, forcing young people to make career-defining choices before they have had a chance to understand their own interests, values, or aptitudes. The goal shifts from genuine learning to mere accumulation, transforming valuable work experience into a checklist item to be ticked off as early and as often as possible.

The reality is that resilience is also built by caring for a sick relative. Teamwork is learned on the sports field or in a community volunteer project. Dedication and discipline are honed by mastering a musical instrument. By placing corporate internships on a pedestal, we systematically devalue the critical lessons learned through family, community, and personal passion. This narrative tells young people that if an experience doesn't fit neatly under the "Work Experience" section of their résumé, it simply doesn't count.

This gatekeeping creates a deeply uneven playing field. Access to the most sought-after internships often depends on social capital—connections, school resources, and parental guidance. Students from less-privileged backgrounds may not have these networks. Furthermore, they may not have the financial luxury to accept unpaid or low-paying "prestige" internships, a significant barrier considering a notable portion of internships in competitive creative and startup sectors offer only a small allowance or are entirely unpaid. This dynamic entrenches inequality long before the first full-time paycheque is even earned.

The psychological toll is immense and increasingly visible. With mental well-being already a top concern among Singapore's youth, the added stress of securing the "right" internships contributes to a rising tide of anxiety and burnout. This pressure-cooker environment is a key factor in a documented mental health challenge, with Singapore's National Population Health Survey revealing that the prevalence of poor mental health is highest among adults aged 18-29. Young people are internalising the pressures of a corporate world before they have fully developed their own emotional coping mechanisms, risking entry into the formal workforce already jaded and exhausted.

This obsessive focus on being "job-ready" can also be strategically short-sighted. The future of work will demand not just technical skills, but adaptability, creativity, and critical thinking—qualities often nurtured through diverse, non-linear experiences. Indeed, recent global employer surveys consistently rank skills like communication, problem-solving, and collaboration above technical knowledge as the most critical attributes for long-term success. An individual who spent their holidays backpacking, starting a small online business, or volunteering for a cause they believe in may possess more of these future-proof skills than someone with a perfectly curated but narrow list of corporate internships.

For students and parents, the strategy should be one of depth over breadth. Instead of collecting internships like trophies, the focus should be on securing one or two genuinely impactful experiences that align with a student's budding interests. These opportunities should be a platform for learning and contribution, not just a line item on a CV. More importantly, it's crucial to reclaim the value of non-corporate pursuits and learn to articulate the skills gained from them. Leading a student club, organising a community event, or even mastering a complex hobby are all valid testaments to one's capability and character.

Ultimately, the goal is not to produce a generation of perfectly polished but burnt-out young professionals. It is to nurture well-rounded, resilient, and self-aware individuals who are prepared not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of learning, adaptation, and meaningful contribution. The true measure of a successful youth is not a premature entry into the corporate race, but the cultivation of a strong inner compass that will guide them long after the internship ends.