When he was 18, Careershe’s founder Steve Xie decided to pick electrical engineering as his undergraduate course. But he did not actually choose it himself. Like many other students of his age, it was picked by his parents, because they noticed he liked to “fix electrical objects like TV, computer, etcetera.”

In an interview with e27, Xie highlights that this is a very common problem in Asian households where parents wish that their children pursue the common career path of being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Even the slightest interest shown by their child in these fields can be confused as an indication of their passion.

But is this the best way to make career decisions?

A significant chunk of students believe that the decision made by their parents is indeed correct – but only until they near graduation. This is because decisions are made with extremely limited insights.

“Most people realise what kind of jobs they want only in the third or fourth year [of university], or nearing graduation. After that, they suddenly get more clarity on the kind of major they should have taken,” Xie says, adding that this realisation is attributed to the generic nature of first- and second-year subjects in university.

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Despite completing his undergrad in engineering with NUS (National University of Singapore), Xie only discovered his true love for the business world after nine years of working with SSMC and HeidelbergCement Asia. He then decided to pursue an MBA in Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

While some realise have the liberty to make a quick switch after realising that they are not fit for the subject, many don’t. Enter Careershe.

Clarity before confusion

The idea behind Careershe is to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the different career options, outcomes, and the best university degrees towards the desired outcome to help people pick the right path along the way.

When a student signs up on the mobile platform, they can see contents on a range of different occupations from various industries, from aircraft maintenance to creative banding. They can further explore the options through videos and infographics, detailing information such as salary and work scope.

To put it simply, Careershe is designed as a “career encyclopedia”.

Apart from that, the platform also helps individuals to identify their strengths and weaknesses through different kinds of psychometric tests.

The platform currently operates in China and works as a subscription-based model which costs as low as US$25 in total for a year.

“Careershe focuses on two parts: The first is to help students identify the career of their dreams by providing them insights on a range of career options,” Xie explains.

“The next phase of our growth is to show students how to get there. We want to build a pathway for them where they can upskill themselves along the way so that they can reach their desired destination.”

Partnership with Oxford

In addition to raising a funding round with only a business plan in hand, Careershe says that it has become the first Singapore-based venture to emerge from Oxford University Innovation (OUI) startup incubator.

Chandra Sekar Ramanujan, Senior Licensing and Ventures Manager at OUI, says in a statement, “We are very much attracted to Steve’s vision for Careershe, as well as the thought and market research that has gone into developing the idea. We have supported Steve in validating his business model and connecting with Oxford University’s world-leading academic resources – notably in big data and AI. At this time we are particularly interested in promoting ventures and partnerships overseas.”

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The company has also been affiliated with the TusStar startup incubator programme which has incubated over 5,000 firms.

Having built the product, launched to the market, and gleaned insights from users over the past year, the company is now focused on raising funds from investors and seeking partnerships. For example, with schools in China.

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Image Credit: Careershe

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