He Quit Banking for IT. What Happened Next Changed His Career.

“Programming may not be your strongest suit.” 

The feedback caught Mr Tay Kok Choon off guard.  

He had already left a promising career in banking. An article about the growing role of computers in trading had convinced him that technology was the future. Curious about where the industry was heading, he retrained and moved into IT. 

The plan seemed sensible. 

Then he discovered something he had not anticipated. Turns out, programming was not his strength. 

So Mr Tay changed direction again. 

He moved into solutioning, product marketing, and public relations, where his ability to communicate, understand clients, and connect ideas proved more valuable than writing code. 

His career later took him into broadcasting and eventually to running his own recruitment business. 

What He Learnt From Getting It Wrong 

Discovering what wasn’t his strength changed how Mr Tay thought about potential. 

It also shaped the qualities he later chose to recognise through the Tay Partnership Interdisciplinary Prize at SUSS. 

Awarded to the top-performing team in the NIE499 Interdisciplinary Capstone Project, the prize recognises students who work across different disciplines to tackle complex, real-world challenges. They are assessed on their ability to collaborate, navigate unfamiliar problems, and apply knowledge beyond the boundaries of a single field. 

Those were qualities Mr Tay found himself relying on repeatedly throughout his own career. 

Those experiences also changed what Mr Tay came to value in people. 

“I used to think potential was about what someone already knew or how quickly they could master a skill. After that experience, I started looking at it differently. Potential is also about self-awareness. It’s about recognising what you’re not good at, finding where your strengths lie, and having the confidence to change direction.” 

His own education evolved too. 

In his 60s, Mr Tay returned to SUSS to pursue his PhD. By then, he had spent decades working across different industries and wanted something different from university: greater rigour and precision, and a way to bring his years of professional experience together with research. 

It was also a different relationship with learning. 

He had reached a stage where he could appreciate “learning for learning, and not just to get ahead”. 

Today, Mr Tay continues to run the recruitment business he founded in 2012 and remains involved with SUSS through mentoring, engagement, and support for students. Looking back, he says: 

“The biggest mistake is assuming you have to get it right the first time. Careers are long. Give yourself room to discover strengths that may not be obvious yet.”