[rubberbus]

Originally Posted by Female engineer

Hi,

While I was bonded, I requested to switch to a dept that had more relevance to Finance as I realized 3 years into my bond that I was not suited for the type of engineering jobs available in Singapore. Where I had studied in Europe, the technologies that I saw and helped develop were exciting and mentally challenging. Engineers are also much more highly regarded over there.

Once I made up my mind, I applied to only Finance jobs when my bond ended, and never gave up. It was not easy switching industries; I was already 30 when I completed my bond. When I left the stat board 2.5 years ago, my pay was 5k pm.

I had to eat humble pie at the new place. They did not cut my pay, but only matched it. Ppl younger than me were more senior than I was. I was 5 years older than the youngest recruit at my level. Many assumed I was just another pretty face ( to the poster above, being easy on the eye cuts both ways) and were condescending and made snide remarks. I persevered, worked hard, learnt what I could and believed in myself. The critics were eventually silenced. 2 appraisals later, my basic pay has gone up 50% so I guess I must be doing something right.

I do not regret choosing engineering. i've always loved Maths and Science and still do. The engineering education gives us an analytical and logical mind, which is useful across disciplines. We are also used to having to pick up things fast.

While I admit I do sometimes wonder what it could have been ( instead of taking up an overseas engineering scholarship, why not just do biz ad or something locally and get directly into the Finance sector sooner rather than later), I would like to think that the engineering education gave me the exposure( I come from a humble family background and my parents could never have sent me overseas). I would otherwise not have gotten, to deal with the challenges in my current job.

Since u are still studying I assume u are still young. Decide on what you want to do and go for it. Take up relevant courses or internships. Do not jump on the finance bandwagon because everyone else is, or because of some success stories from that sector. Technology does make the world a better place and we have engineers, amongst others, to thank for that. Make your choice for the right reasons.

Hope my experience helped. To each his own.

thank you, i will take my time and decide what i want to be.