A Year on Exchange Abroad: My Four Small Regrets

I spent a year studying in Singapore, and looking back on my exchange, there are a few things I wish I'd known earlier. I wouldn't call them regrets exactly, more like small what-ifs, so I want to share my experience here to help younger students preparing for an exchange have a smoother, richer time studying or on exchange abroad.

1. Don't treat an exchange as just cultural exchange; it can also be a job opportunity

Many people assume you only get a chance to look for work abroad after graduating from college or when studying abroad for grad school, but exchange students can also try applying for local internships or jobs during their exchange. Quite a few exchange students actually stayed on after their exchange ended and landed internships, or even got job offers outright.

A lot of the time, students who didn't intern abroad didn't lack the desire; they “simply never realized it was an option.” If you go in from the start thinking “maybe I could find a job here,” the preparation you do during your exchange will be completely different. If you're a junior, try looking for an internship; if you're a senior, try applying for full-time roles.

Back then this never occurred to me, so I can't share much about job hunting during an exchange. But that's exactly why I want to remind everyone not to treat an exchange as just a brief stint abroad. Sometimes it can open the door to working overseas.

2. You can pick courses freely, but it's best to put down roots

Course selection during an exchange is very flexible, and back then the grades didn't count on my home university's transcript, so I happily tried courses in all sorts of fields: a little business, media, languages, and so on. But when the semester ended, I realized I hadn't built a solid foundation in any one field.

That's when I understood why universities put students in a major and have them keep taking related courses. When courses keep building on each other in the same field, knowledge gradually forms a sturdy structure, instead of drifting in the air like grass without roots.

My exchange lasted a year. After the first semester, when I noticed my knowledge wasn't stacking up in depth, I changed my course strategy for the next semester and deliberately concentrated most of my courses in one department. I found that the depth and solidity of what I learned in the second semester really improved a lot. So if you're planning your courses for an exchange, maybe my experience can help you find a balance between exploring and building depth.

3. Your network abroad and your network in Taiwan are really two different worlds

This isn't really a regret, more a small reality check to share with younger students. During an exchange you'll meet lots of friends from different countries, and the openness that comes from those cultural exchanges really did make the world and my horizons feel bigger.

But once your exchange ends and you're back in Taiwan, you'll find the network you built abroad is almost no use in Taiwan. If you'll be working in Taiwan, your Taiwan network is still a separate system.

That doesn't mean an exchange has no value. On the contrary, it's a very worthwhile investment in your life, but if you plan to build your career back in Taiwan, remember to keep up your network there too. Your network abroad and your network in Taiwan operate separately, and realizing that early will help with your future planning.

4. Start building your social media presence and personal brand early

It's normal to care a lot about what your peers think when you're a student, so some students keep a low profile on exchange and rarely share their experiences.

But looking back now that I'm working, my sincere advice to younger students is: use your exchange to build your personal brand. Start a public account and document what you observe, learn and live during your exchange.

As for why to build a personal brand, my view is very practical: it's for starting a business. Rich Dad Poor Dad is the book that first shaped how I think about money. The author says there are only two ways to get rich in life: 1. investing 2. starting a business. The first can make you rich, but only the second can make you super rich. If you come from an ordinary family without much money or many connections, building a personal brand costs little and can pave the way for starting a business.

Especially once you start working, a lot of things are hard to share publicly; people worry about company confidentiality or stirring up competition at work. By comparison, your student years are a relatively free time, and schools are usually happy to see students share campus culture and life, so this is the best time to put your ideas out there and document your life.

A quick tip: if you're running your own media to start a business, plan the product or service you want to sell before you start posting. Otherwise you'll have traffic but no product and no way to make money, and sponsored posts won't be a business's main revenue. Of course, if you're just doing it to document your life, you don't need to worry about any of this.

Conclusion

All in all, an exchange is a rare experience in life. If your school offers exchange opportunities, be brave and go for it. Make the most of this time to explore the world, get to know different cultures and get to know yourself again, and create some good memories for your life. After all, a big part of what life means is in the experiencing. I hope these four suggestions help you!

And thanks to Jason for building this platform so knowledge and experience can be passed on and shared~!