career as RSAF air force engineer ME4
 

Hi,

I just graduated from NTU. 2nd Lower. I am considering a career as above. Anyone knows how is it like? Prospects? Work-life balance? Annual increments etc?

Your response is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

heard fren say 1st 3 yrs work till quite late 7+, like wrapping up all the sai kang for the seniors, better have passion to serve nation rather than going for money, can work till 62-65, but can easily get kicked out cos turnover rate quite high and they hire too many, they don't have to keep u, if u work 3 yrs plus , u have sufficient experience to join dsta

Kicked out???? I dont know where u get your information from but the RSAF does not fire anyone, and are certainly short of ME engineers.....i know people within the force and they are always out on the look for engineers and sometimes have problems recruiting

have problems recruiting???dun bullsh!t

I got 2nd lower mech degree from NTU, I try to apply AEO in 2007, but got rejected 5x without any interview.......

NSF rank is CPL, pes A

really LOL, hahaha!!!!!

Once, I heard from a senior recruitment officer-in-charge saying only 2nd upper and above are interested.

They don't want just any Tom Dick & Harry with a degree to join as ME4 as it is an "officer" rank , AFAIK they look at your BMT results such as SIT test and leadership potential. Too bad their benefits and pay doesn't reflect this

It is true they are selective about who they recruit, just like any other companies, but they (the air force and other MINDEF agencies) have a limited pool of potential employees to choose from because they can only employ citizens. Many young graduates are also not choosing engineering fields so the pool is really small.

To counter that, I understand the starting pay for new grads (2nd uppper and above) are attractive - like close to $4K or more?

MINDEF / SAF do fire people but only due to mis-conduct such as fraud, corruption or leaking classified information.

Typically within the first contract, an ME4 will be promoted to ME5. ME7 (equivalent to full colonel) is like superscale grade earning above $13K per month. And with bonuses, the annual pay can cross $230K. Understand that the highest ME in the air force now is ME8 - equivalent to a BG.

I'm a reservist with air force ie. interact with many regulars there. Generally agree with this post.
Pros: Good work-life balance with attractive remuneration, generous leave/off-days and progression. Free meals and clothing. No need to worry what to wear to work. Good job security unless you commit serious offences like bedding the minors. Hard to find the same benefits elsewhere.
Con: Regimental lifestyle. Prepare to stay for life, as it would be a challenge to find equal pay/position elsewhere (including Civil Service) should you decide to leave one day.

You should try to avoid taking the ME path unless really no choice or cannot get in officer path. ME has very little career progression as this is suppose to be technical route, sort of like alternative for those with no leadership and management skill.

Normal deg grad go in at ME4 and retire at ME6, i.e. you will only promote twice in your whole life. ME8 and ME7 is almost no chance as each service has only 1 ME8 and 5-6 ME7. Although technically speaking ME4 - 6 are suppose to be equal to field grade officers, you will realise the respect, authority and prestige in SAF for ME is way below that of officers.

ME6 = LTC e.g. at least $11-15K. At my airbase, many MEs also hold important appointments (except combat types). Most regular grad combat officers also retire at MAJ or LTC ranks, except different retirement ages. What's the major diff here?