WPLN Assessment Test dated January 2018

I had written similar post on my experience on taking the WPLN assessment last year January 2018 but had lost the post as I stopped my service with wordpress and move to blogspot this year. This post is to highlight my experience when I went for the assessment so as to help all of you be mentally prepared.

There are five assessment to take for the WPLN assessment. They are Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing and Numeracy. After arriving at the centre, you will be sent to a room for a short briefing. Most of the test are MCQ - Multiple Choice Questions except for speaking and writing.

Please remember to wait for the "BEEP" sound before you proceed to answer any questions. Make use of the paper provided and use repeat so you have more time to double check and calm yourself during the assessment. Be prepared that it is quite noisy as people are talking here and there because they are attempting the Speaking test.

Reading
I cannot remember this part of the assessment.

Listening
This part is more of a listen and answer type of questions. Nothing much to advise. A trick is to repeat the questions so you have more time to double check on your answers.

Speaking
My killer section. This part is break up into 2 parts. First part is where a picture is shown to you and you start to explain what you see. A trick I learnt in primary school is to start explaining from top left and continue in an clockwise direction. Part 2 where they ask you to debate on a question. This is a good time to write down important details that you want to talk on the pieces of paper provided before attempting. Be sure to check on the volume and do a mike test so you can hear yourself clearly if not all will be in vain.

Writing
Straight forward composition type assessment. Take note of spacing and have paragraphs for easier marking for the assessor.

Numeracy
This is actually quite daunting. Question such as fraction, time, conversion and division came out. Be sure to study them if you forgotten about it.

Hope it helps.

March 2019 Report

This is my first post since I stopped my wordpress website. As least it is free here for a lazy blogger like me. Sadded by the lost of many post especially the WPLN Assessment test. I will do one at a later stage to help people who are planning to take it likely for property agent or as a grab driver.

My last tryout of job is being an interior design. Having full commission in the interior design trade is very taxing to my family. Although, I managed to signed 3 projects since my commencement in October 2018 which is considered very lucky for a newcomer, money are coming in slow. So after averaging all the months taken to finish the project, pay wise is more or less the same as my previous jobs but working hours are much more flexible. It is something that you have to invest time and effort to have referral business for this trade in order to succeed.

However, I am missing out on benefits such as paid leave, medical leave, childcare leave, cpf contribution from company which helps in paying for the HDB. Without those benefits, you have to plan very carefully on how you spend the commission received.

So I am back again to the 9 to 5 job. After about 2 years of running away from the 9 to 5 working life, I am contented. The jobs, the experience I received throughout the years are fulfilling. In the end if you have a family, it is more responsible to bring bread to the table.

I appreciate the support from my wife to allow me to run amok for these 2 years. I will continue to find my purpose in life but this time on the sideline, after my working hours. I guess this should be the right way for a family man to proceed.

Choosing a contractor or an interior designer for renovation

This is my answer to the question above. I would choose an interior designer for a very simple reason. I want to see the 3D drawings to ensure what I am paying to do is catered for. Lets start by answering some common questions.

1. Contractor are cheaper than interior designer? Not really true. Contractor are using sub-contractors to do the renovation, interior designer are also using sub-contractor to do the job. Contractor are cheaper as they provide less work. Interior designer will normally need to prepare and provide the illustration (3D drawings) so for you to visualize the final home. This is one "cost" that owner did not factor in. So better to take a look how the final product will turn out first than to regret later. Choosing a contractor means risking to renovate what you think it will turn out as normally they do not provide the illustration of the final product.
2. Choosing the lowest quote is a great deal? It will never be an apple to apple comparison due to the simple fact that they are using different group of sub-contractor to do the job. Workmanship, rates of the worker are all different so how to compare?
3. I know what I want to do so I choose a contractor? Without any drawings, how can we be so sure about the final outcome. It is a risk I would not take.
4. Going directly to sub-contractor is the cheapest? Not really true again. You are not buying a product but a service. As sub-contractors are now working directly with owners, communication of design and ideas become part of their job. So of course they are going to charge you for the time as compared to a contractor or interior designer asking the sub-contractor to just proceed with the work.
5. Why most quotation from ID firms are higher? This is due to the contractor is being a one man company. Meaning whatever profit margin they have is 100% to their pocket. They may not have a proper record of your renovation works which may face some problem if you need to trace back certain information. Designers shared their profit margin with the company as the company need to cover the cost for marketing, advertising, accounts, rental of showroom etc. They should have a proper documentation of renovation works done thus am providing warranty for the works.
6. I have chosen an interior designer so they should propose ideas for my home? ID and contractor to me are someone that execute owner's ideas and designs. My friend chose an ID firm with this mindset only to rejects their 3D drawings so many times that they finally understand they have to give their personal opinion and liking so the ID can work based on their preference. Kudos to the ID for the patience.
7. Ever see people sticking tapes all over their new BTO flats during the defects liability period. Remember one thing, our house is done by human not machines. Understand this point to make handing over a breeze. House not clean enough is not a defect.

A simple guideline for renovation. Choose someone you can trust to do the job and an experienced company in the trade to support the person you trust.

Sadly, that was not the case for my renovation as I chose a referral from my friend to do my renovation. Preferred another ID but he is unable to take up the job due to our tight schedule. This referral designer is not able to produce a carpentry based on a real design (not 3D drawings) given to him and did not even change the 3D drawings despite tell him what to amend. Just keeping rushing to commence and always saying should save cost here and there by not doing first and do later. I prefer an ID that help us to understand cost rather than an ID that tell you to "save" cost by not doing first.

These are some experiences I would like to share after I did my own renovation and been in the property management line for years. Hope this helps owners with their renovation.

September 2018 Report

After many months missing in action, it is time that I wrote an update. So, I quit my job again. LOL. I left around August 2018. Despite the higher pay, I cannot fit in the office environment. A warning to people that are planning to find out what they really want to do in life after working for years in the salaried environment. If you have been out in the gig environment for a while, it is hard to go back to a "proper" job of 9-6 and it can be detrimental to your family finances.

How about the property path that I had planned? Well, I finished the course and went for the exam and was fairly confident about Paper 2 but the results turned out badly. I failed both paper 1 and paper 2. The thing with the property agent exam is that we do not know what questions we do wrong. It will be relearning the whole syllables again and hope your understanding is of the exam standard.

During the exam, there was this one question that derailed me from this path. It was something like how to invest in property if you do not have enough capital. Answer? REITs because they are required to distribute at least 90 percent of their taxable income to their shareholders annually. That made me reconsider my decision due to the time and money needed if I am going to choose property agent as my career. As a new property agent, I have learnt that we will need to spend money in property portals to advertise property for owners and advertisement to market our service. You will also need to go for courses to clock your requirement so you can renew you licence. All these requires money. Time and money is a luxury that I do not have to do the job. If I have the money, I might as well invest in REITs to do the job for me.

Investing in myself is always a good investment. So after removing the property path, I started to think of what I have been doing so far in my property management career that is of benefit to the next path. Might as well do something I have knowledge of rather than venturing into the unknown.

Maintenance Coordinator - assisting customer with issues of the property they are leasing.

Property Officer - getting quotation to renovate and ensure units can be handed over based on customer's requirement in the agreement

Defects Coordinator - Spotting of defects and assist customer in rectifying the mentioned defects during the defects liability period.

Skills learned

Paperwork - checked
Coordination - checked
On standby for issues - checked

So what did I come out with? Being an Interior Designer.

March 2018 Report

One month had passed since I went back to a working life. My working attitude have really changed since. Not an ambitious guy who wanted to climb as fast as possible, not a guy that looked forward to the increment, not a guy that expect people to meet my working standards but certainly a happier guy.

Its only the first month of the job and I wanted to quit. HAHA. However, I cannot afford to do so now due to firstly my Uber rental car and secondly a family trip this year. With the Grab-Uber merger, Uber is now history. This is like a blessing for me as I never considered driving for Grab. Not so much to some Uber drivers that are now forced to job Grab. While news of Ryde and Go-Jek coming in as new competitor of Grab, it will need some time for them to stablise the private hire market.

Moving on to April, my real estate salesman course are starting. The real estate path. Back to my school days again this month. Working and studying night class are really tiring. Gonna give myself a pat for completing the Diploma course and will do the same for this course. Looking forward to clear the exam and receive my Agent Licence soon.

February 2018 Report

February is a great month for me. I started driving with Uber and got a rental car. I also exceeded my target income after I left my job last year. But all these comes at a price.

I had to start driving after I send Mini T to school, stop to fetch Mini T and continue driving after Mini T went to bed. I also had to work weekends and public holidays. Chinese Lunar New Year is one of them and working on a public holiday despite having high surge all day long sucks. I now do understand why most would rather just have a stable job. Well, at least I cleared my doubts and had tried what I wanted to after I left.

So I applied for a stable job again. Expenses increased by a lot as I still have to settle my car rental till end of contract which has 5 more months to go. This is very poor planning on my side. But I probably gonna get my own car after that as it is really convenient for a family.

So what is next? Having a stable job means I can now write my blog at 8pm instead of 1am. LOL. I can still have the time to plan and work on my next path. The property path which is going to start on April. That is my next plan. Till then, nothing exciting I think.

This 10 months had really given me a much clearer direction in life. Having the courage to try out things and taking the first step. I am blessed to have a wife who allowed me to go crazy these few months. Hopefully the property path can better blend into my life.

Uber Driving Guide

Driving for Uber had been really fun and exciting during this period of time. It bring me to many different places that I had knew existed despite being a Singaporean. However, I just do not like the job enough to be a full time driver. Haiz.

Have you ever felt that the job doesn't suit and you wanted to quit after working for few days? That is how I felt after the first week. It is a great job for those who loves driving. I have friends who can drive for 10 to 12 hours and still not tired.

Since I had decided to stop driving full-time, I wanted to make a driving guide for all new Uber drivers using my one month experience. LOL.

Uber Driving Guide

Basically, just minus off $100 per day for rental and petrol to get your earnings. There are two peak periods to push your earnings as a driver.

8am to 2pm. You can start at 9am if you do not like the traffic jams and 5pm to 12pm.

If you can work within this 2 peak periods, you are looking at around $250 - $300 per day or more on a lucky day.

Take note

*Events happening at Stadium or Expo (concerts, IT Fairs etc.)
*Lower vomit rate for night driving - Tanjong Pagar areas
*Remember which route to exit if you are travelling along KPE, there will not be any signal inside.
*There may be times where GPS hangs around CBD areas due to tall buildings.

Time	Average earnings per hour	Remarks
	Weekday
0400 - 0600	$20	Airport
0600 - 1100	$20 - $30	Stay around neighbourhood
1100 - 1400	$15	Clock for incentive trips at CBD
1400 - 1700	$10 - $15	Not much booking
1700 - 2300	$20 - $25	Town area
2300 - 0300	$20 - $25	Town area
0300 - 0400		Usually no booking
	Saturday
0900 - 1700	$20 - $25	Stay around neighbourhood
1700 - 1900	$20 - $25	Not much booking
2100 - 0300	$25 - $30	Town area
	Sunday
0900 - 2300	$20

Navigation Apps

Google Maps - Most flexible as you can see all your routes along the trip and choose the fastest or the shortest route to the destination. Dropping passenger at the correct side of the road. Waze have this issue of dropping off the passenger at the opposite side of the road. However, starting of the navigation may posed some issue as I had to repeatedly press the "Start" before navigation starts.

Waze - Recommended for night driving (we drive faster during the night) as it shows the speed traps location. Fast access to start navigation but every turns are very delayed so for routes that have to turn left and then turn right immediately will give you heart attacks.

Uber Nav - Fastest access to directions as you will not have to open another map apps to navigate. Does not show you the which exit number to take at the expressway which I do not like. Easiest for Uberpool trips. Take note that riders are supposed to go to the pickup or drop off location at the side of the roads to facilitate easier continuation of trips shown at the Uber app. But this is not the case thus you will sometimes not find the rider along the side of the road but instead at their block.

How to get 5* trips easily?

1. Greet all your riders - Hello, Bye bye. It is that easy. I don't initiate conversation to my riders as talking when driving can be quite distracting.
2. Do not miss your turn - If riders knew their routes, too bad for you. Apologise after the trip may get you better ratings 3* - 4* 
3. Accommodate your riders request - Remember that you are now in a customer service line. Just follow their request on routes they chose. Uber will make all the fare adjustment accordingly. 
4. Just accept the damn $0.10 cash fare - I read that drivers that say no to the fares due to pride or ego and even show their blackface to the riders. WTH!!! This is your money. Take it as they may have discount code. Uber will top up fares to minimum of $5. 
5. Ask for help if you need it and always confirm their drop off location - there will be riders that put their drop off location at A and want to stop at B. 

I give my riders 5*.

I hope that my guide can help all new drivers on the road. Lastly, drive safe.