Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Bro, to be perfectly frank, there is no real downside to engineering firms in general neglecting the "people at the bottom", as you put it. That's precisely why engineering is such a poor paymaster in general, cos if you don't like it, you leave and they can find a new and potentially cheaper replacement for you.
Yes, there is some frictional cost as the new hire gets up to speed, but the impact to the business is really negligible.
Why?
1) Because most of the engineering roles in Singapore are those of a manufacturing variety ie process engineer (which is a glorified maintenance technician) or modification engineering (sometimes glamourously referred to as design engineering). There's really nothing proprietary about the knowledge, so nothing lost when you leave.
2) Overseas engineers are potentially better, definitely cheaper, and harder working. Engineers from China and India are extremely well grounded in fundamentals, and those that come to Singapore are incredibly driven.
3) Most engineering jobs skills are not transferrable, so they know its hard for you to get up and leave for a better paying job.
Hence, think an attitude adjustment is in order here. If you want to get paid well as an engineer, you really need to look outside of the box and not do stuff that everyone else is doing.
Thinking normal thoughts like "let the company neglect me at their peril" or "i work hard and the company will reward me" will, unfortunately, never get you there.
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"new and potentially cheaper replacement" - We are all sick of hearing this, but i have to say it: There's no free lunch in this world.
"Because most of the engineering roles in Singapore are those of a manufacturing variety" - Strangely they are paid more than engineers who does actual product design and development.
"Overseas engineers are potentially better." - 'Potentially' is the right word. I've seen more crappy than good ones. Their more suitable as scientists than engineers.
"Yes, there is some frictional cost as the new hire gets up to speed, but the impact to the business is really negligible." - Engineering knowledge comes with experience. It cannot be passed on easily. Many specializations take as long as 3-4 yrs to train a new hire up to speed. The boat would already be long gone by then.
"Most engineering jobs skills are not transferrable, so they know its hard for you to get up and leave for a better paying job." - Engineers are jumping all over and across industries despite their specializations.
All in all, sg is just not the place for hardcore engineers. Either rise to management or work like a dog with low pay.