1WO (Ret) Sathasivam Rajasegaran

In deciding what to do for his second career, First Warrant Officer (1WO) (Ret) Sathasivam Rajasegaran took the practical approach with a role that brings his military experience to the fore. He shares his story.

“I have always believed that learning is a lifelong process. So, when it was time to prepare for my military retirement, I attended numerous external upgrading courses and job transition seminars both in and beyond the SAF. But even then, I remained unsure about what post-military job would suit me.

However, I was always sure about one thing – I had significant experience and strengths, thanks to SAF’s holistic nurture. Specifically, having spent about a third of my 40-year Army career on operational-related duties and enjoying it thoroughly, I was sure I could contribute well to the operations field in the civilian world. With that conviction as a starting point, I worked on mapping out my job search journey.

I considered a few operations positions. One of them was with the Ministry of Education (MOE) as an Operations Manager (OM), for multiple reasons. Firstly, on top of my operational experience, I had completed many courses that reinforced my skills and knowledge to tackle the demands of the job. Some of my Army buddies, who were OMs in schools, also shared their positive experiences with me.

To know and hear about the job was one thing. I wanted to see it for myself, so I visited my OM friends in their schools to understand the job better. There, I got to observe some on-the-job action in managing staff and students and dealing with external parties such as contractors.

Two months before my retirement, I was called for an interview with MOE and offered an OM position at a school. Today, I help in maintaining general discipline at my school and am involved in estate management, safety and security, and logistics support. Some of my most memorable moments at school so far include sharing about the racial riots on Racial Harmony Day and being nominated for the MOE Service Excellence Award!

Looking back, as much as I was confident in what I had to offer, I was concerned about adjusting to civilian culture, and whether I would receive support from my colleagues. Fortunately, my fear was unfounded as my School Leaders respected and trusted me. It also turned out that my duties in training recruits during my last tour was a boon to my transition – interacting with young adults fresh from the civilian world was instrumental in helping me adjust my approach and communication to suit civilian life.

It has been over a year since I joined MOE, and I am still learning on the job. But as I said, learning is a lifelong process, and I am all for embracing it!”