What happened to Life Sciences?

Originally Posted by Husky

*work abilities include skills like knowing how to get recognition for your work and managing your bosses well.

In Singapore, soft skills are more important, things like business acumen, presentation skills, management skills, good spoken English, people skills, etc.

Of course, experience comes first, especially if you have a few big names in your CV.

Technical skills are least important.

Well all I can say is that my degree got me a brainless job, my masters got me a challenging career and hopefully a phd will give me a good retirement (job)!

Jokes aside, most reputable companies require at least a degree for you to get one foot into the interview. Without it, no amount of good business sense, sweet talk or hidden talents can be demonstrated. Pursuit of happyness is a nice movie. Not an exact representation of his life, but still, a nice movie.

If you have the opportunity, study hard, and be smart. Pick up soft skills on the way, but do not neglect former education. Unless you wanna go into direct sales, be a retail day trader, be a hawker/cafe owner, be a pilot, be an air stewardess etc etc etc

[Husky]

Originally Posted by phd wannabe

If you have the opportunity, study hard, and be smart. Pick up soft skills on the way, but do not neglect former education. Unless you wanna go into direct sales, be a retail day trader, be a hawker/cafe owner, be a pilot, be an air stewardess etc etc etc

I just want to share something with everyone. I have worked in retail chains before. If you go in without enough qualifications, starting pay can be as low as $800. Takes you years to even hit $2000. Not a fantastic career option.

It will be very different however if you own your own retail business. For that, the sky's the limit.

[adbie]

Originally Posted by Husky

I just want to share something with everyone. I have worked in retail chains before. If you go in without enough qualifications, starting pay can be as low as $800. Takes you years to even hit $2000. Not a fantastic career option.

It will be very different however if you own your own retail business. For that, the sky's the limit.

Nice sharing, but I think by "retail day trader", he meant trading shares, options, forex and so on as a day job. "retail" as in "retail investor".

On retail business, I'd like to discuss more on this as I have some close-to first-hand knowledge. Share we start a new thread on this topic?

[Husky]

Originally Posted by adbie

Nice sharing, but I think by "retail day trader", he meant trading shares, options, forex and so on as a day job. "retail" as in "retail investor".

On retail business, I'd like to discuss more on this as I have some close-to first-hand knowledge. Share we start a new thread on this topic?

Oops... sorry when I see the word retail, I think of retail stores... My bad.

Sure, what would you like to discuss? You can start the thread, I will join you later after my tea break.

[adbie]

Originally Posted by Husky

Sure, what would you like to discuss? You can start the thread, I will join you later after my tea break.

Here brother:
Be your own boss. How good is a retail business?

What Ah Keong said is very true for the life science industry. Specifically referring to hard core research work, you will need a minimum PhD degree to be allowed to exercise your own idea. Any degree less than that, you will have to follow other people’s idea.

Going back to the topic why life science is so quiet now… Let’s just say that the hype has quiet down because
1. the government has achieved the aim of attracting young talents to the field and
2. many foreign pharmas have started to set up base here.

So the challenge now is to see if the life science hype really can be a pillar of economy. By nature of the industry itself, that will take many years to materialize and to bear fruit. We will have to wait and see.

Many local venture capitalists are not use to the idea of “large capital, very long term investment” required in the pharmaceutical industries. Patience is a virtue in this game.

http://www.salary.sg/2009/what-happe.../#comment-5137

Originally Posted by Ah Keong

Well, the media talking ad nauseam back then did not promise big bucks, gleaming sports cars or luxury condos. If that particular fellow did not select his or her course of study base on their genuine interest, they have only themselves to blame. ‘Cleaning test tubes’ isn’t that bad a thing so long it aligns with your interest, ya?

By the way, I personally feel that an undergraduate degree no longer works like a licensure or somewhat in today’s context; it can only be seen as training for one’s fundamental intellectuality i.e. to read, write, speak and argue (rhetorically).

Less than 10% of most undergraduates (prob the ‘good’ honours grads’) make it through life very comfortably (in terms of remuneration) without a postgraduate education…. What’s everyone else’s take?

Define "very comfortably". I would say 100k per annum is "quite" comfortable.

[Husky]

Originally Posted by Ah Da

Define "very comfortably". I would say 100k per annum is "quite" comfortable.

I did my sums with my fiancee. If we want to have the following

1) Mid range condo

2) Decent Car (I personally would want to get an EVO, my fiancee prefers GTR)

3) Yearly Holidays

4) Dine out occassionally at nice restaurants

5) No kids. I don't like kids!

6) And still save a bit for retirement...

Yeah. I think a combined income of $200k pa is "quite comfortable".

[adbie]

Speaking from experience, ahem, you may change your mind about kids!

My brother also didn't want kids and justified with all kinds of philosophical, ethical and personal reasons. Guess what. He's now a proud and busy father of 3 kids. Three.

200k per family is also quite comfortable for me. But I wouldn't mind more.

My definition of "comfortable" is: (1) fully paid up above-mid-range condo residence, (2) a family car (odyssey or better) and a personal luxury car (lexus e300 or better) both fully paid up, and (3) at least SGD2mil net cash or cash equivalent.

It's not something I pluck from the sky. It's something achievable for me and I'm working towards it, and along the way maybe fulfill my other dreams.

Originally Posted by Husky

I did my sums with my fiancee. If we want to have the following

1) Mid range condo

2) Decent Car (I personally would want to get an EVO, my fiancee prefers GTR)

3) Yearly Holidays

4) Dine out occassionally at nice restaurants

5) No kids. I don't like kids!

6) And still save a bit for retirement...

Yeah. I think a combined income of $200k pa is "quite comfortable".