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Old 29-05-2014, 12:18 AM
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Take Engineering, trust me. You do the sciences as electives or minors in uni.
Want to take a leap of faith? Make sure you end on the right side of the cliff. Life science degree from anywhere both local or private in a Singapore market means
a) Assistant researcher (Another fancy way of saying wash test tube)
b) Researcher (Obtaining funding, patents, grants)
c) Biomedical sales (As Per mentioned)

So lets look at it objectively.

a) Its a joke, you wont go anywhere with that. Your just an overqualified lab assistant. Want to try companies like GSK? They rather hire the bioengineers. ASTAR? Research based companies. You can get them, just not the job you imagined. The kind where you do real research and discoveries.

b) The best option. Problem is, need do postgraduate studies. This is a CONFIRMED thing. No 2 ways about it. And to do a masters in life science field, not so easy and it takes time and also, will be very very stressful during your research year aka PHD understudy (work and research at the same time, 18 hours minimum a day with only 2k allowance). Just to air a degree of caution, my lecturer told me research line is good and interesting...for a few years, just to get the knowledge. Never NEVER consider it as the endgame. You wont be rich or rather wont be where you think you'll want to be.

c)Not that there isn't any money in biomedical sales, or sales for that matter but you will be in the same river as insurance agents, housing agents. Selling products to customers. Lets be candid, most do not make it here.
http://www.soshiok.com/content/not-l...kills-go-waste
This couple are biomedical graduates. Had a chance of taste their fishball noodles, its not bad really. Didn't really used the degree to make fishballs. Downstairs my house btw, ru ji kitchen


You want to follow your interest then you better dam well know the fine line between reality and passion. Know what majors you gonna do. What field of research are you looking at. Cancer research? Pathological research? Stem cells? You need to know what companies are looking for and even what are the companies to look for. You better be sure you get a FCH if your going to get the interview for a masters programme.


My advice? Its simple.
Same reason why I wouldn't take applied chemistry but chemical engineering instead.
With an engineering degree, its an iron rice bowl albeit not on par with lawyers or medicine grads but there and then, if you do well with a good engineering degree, you will be looking at

a) The companies that bio science grads are looking at.
b) Top notch engineering firms like shell, bp, glaxo smithkline, Pfizer even.
c) Finance side, i.e, the banks, Citibank, BOA, Accenture, Barclays, merrill lynch, all of which are premier firms to work at.

Remember this.
A 5.0 life science gpa gets you the interview for masters.
A 5.0 engineering degree can get you the interview for McKinsey & Company.
And if your first job is at McKinsey & Company, your first house will not...or rather cannot be a HDB according to government law in accordance with minimum/maximum income.

Think carefully.
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