DSTA (under Mindef)

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Can an above average engineer earn above 12k after spending 10 years in DSTA?

Not as basic salary, annual divide by 12 probably can

for dsta, understand that a g50 clearance is required but i see contradicting steps based on the previous posts.

Some get offer before g50 submission.
Some get g50 submission only and have to wait for clearance.

for the latter, did anyone have experience how long did you wait before an offer or maybe a rejection came?

[CorgiHamster]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

yeah engineer turnover is low. But given the pay commanded by dsta engineers, i think also difficult for most to let go of the golden handcuffs, so can tahan a bit

hahaha, procurement on the other hand, can only say they really deserve a lot better for what they have to deal with.

so non procurement roles is not so bad in DSTA?

Originally Posted by CorgiHamster

so non procurement roles is not so bad in DSTA?

it is not so black and white like engineer good, procurement bad. engineering population is huge, got some variance in experience across programme centres (and even within, all depends on superior). and also depends on whether you can handle the red tape and bureaucracy. if you can, might be good for you. if you can't, likely you will find it very miserable. like they say, in the public service, people either quit early on or stay forever, there's no in between.

plus, don't forget DSTA serves SAF. and I doubt I need to say more about what SAF culture is like.

the only thing that you can say for certain is the salary for engineers is very good, at least for the starting salary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

it is not so black and white like engineer good, procurement bad. engineering population is huge, got some variance in experience across programme centres (and even within, all depends on superior). and also depends on whether you can handle the red tape and bureaucracy. if you can, might be good for you. if you can't, likely you will find it very miserable. like they say, in the public service, people either quit early on or stay forever, there's no in between.

plus, don't forget DSTA serves SAF. and I doubt I need to say more about what SAF culture is like.

the only thing that you can say for certain is the salary for engineers is very good, at least for the starting salary.

What do you think about joining for the starting salary, pick up some tech experience, leave after 2 years? how much would my salary be by then assuming average performance?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What do you think about joining for the starting salary, pick up some tech experience, leave after 2 years? how much would my salary be by then assuming average performance?

leave for other public agency? might work out.

leave for private sector? no one is going to match your salary

unless you have some exceptional transferable skillset, likely any engineer who leaves will need to take a pay cut.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

leave for other public agency? might work out.

leave for private sector? no one is going to match your salary

unless you have some exceptional transferable skillset, likely any engineer who leaves will need to take a pay cut.

This is how dsta traps young engineers, high starting salary but 3-5 years down the road their peers outside start to overtake them and by then they would have no transferable skills to get out. If get out would need to take paycut and start from zero.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is how dsta traps young engineers, high starting salary but 3-5 years down the road their peers outside start to overtake them and by then they would have no transferable skills to get out. If get out would need to take paycut and start from zero.

Yup, the so called golden handcuffs. It is a big reason why engineer turnover is quite low as opposed to procurement (can't expect people to stay when you pay peanuts but thats of topic) It is still not the worst job with the current state of the job market, but if you are thinking about doing a short stint and leaving that is really not the best idea unless you have a solid plan for the next 5-10 years for your career trajectory.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I only got 5% increment for B grade, but including salary review around 10% annual increment

What do you mean by salary review?
Is it Every year have a salary review in addition to annual increment?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

for dsta, understand that a g50 clearance is required but i see contradicting steps based on the previous posts.

Some get offer before g50 submission.
Some get g50 submission only and have to wait for clearance.

for the latter, did anyone have experience how long did you wait before an offer or maybe a rejection came?

Bump. Anyone ?