Hey all, noticed a lot of questions about wait time and interviews here, so I thought I'd share my own experience. I'm a fresh grad from SUTD with 2nd upper Hons, degree equivalent to mech eng. I applied for the position of armament engineer. Received an interview invitation roughly 2 weeks after sending in my resume, and my job offer 2 days after the interview. Even though G50 was submitted promptly, clearance took a whole month; I actually got worried they would backtrack on the offer due to the communications blackout during that period. I only recently got a call from
DSTA inviting my to sign in about a weeks time. My advice for anyone waiting for an offer is to continue job hunting in the meantime. Their HR efficiency is awful and if it turns out they're not interested in you, you just wasted 1 month or maybe worse.
Regarding the interview, it really isn't hard at all if you're even remotely prepared. I had a 3-man panel which included someone from HR and the directors I will be working under; atmosphere was casual and relaxed. Important point to note is that you really MUST show an interest in defense tech, and be prepared to show examples to prove it. Would recommend browsing thru Jane's Defense a bit before heading for the interview. Questions asked included "why
dsta?", "tell me more about the modules you learnt during uni", "what are you currently doing at the moment?". Basically, questions asked are simple but don't be stupid and go in without prep.
Regarding pay, I was offered 4.9k for my 2nd upper, which by all measures is extremely reasonable. However, like what many have said, skills transferability is poor and I dont expect I will be staying in this job for more than 2-3 years. My interviewer told me there's very little design or engineering involved, most of it will be project management. Despite all this, dont discount a job at
dsta because the economy is in the shitter right now and its only gonna get worse. An okay job is better than no job, and the compensation package is seriously nothing to scoff at.
tldr: If you're only applying now, expect to wait ~2 months before starting work if they offer you. Interview is simple but dont be an idiot. You won't learn much in the way of engineering at
dsta but its still a pretty good job for a fresh grad.
Hope this helps some of you out there.