prospects of a scholar

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It takes 5 years for a scholar to make middle management? Then what about normal 2nd upp grads? how long will it take to reach 6k region?

Total annual compensation?
If so, 3 years.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Total annual compensation?
If so, 3 years.

so a 26YO grad will receive 72k PA by 29/30 barring any screw-ups?

Nice...thanks for sharing !

Originally Posted by Unregistered

so a 26YO grad will receive 72k PA by 29/30 barring any screw-ups?

Nice...thanks for sharing !

u mean for scholar or for [normal people with 2nd lower/upper] will get 72k after 3 years exp in dsta??

Originally Posted by Unregistered

u mean for scholar or for [normal people with 2nd lower/upper] will get 72k after 3 years exp in dsta??

thats what i interpret from the poster right at the top. Scholars reach middle management maybe 80-100k? can anyone confirm?

I'm roughly in the same dilemma as the poster - I've an offer from a stat board (EMA) for an overseas scholarship to study maths and econs. But the thing is i'm not sure if i can transit to the pte sector after 6 years, and whether the experience will make me more marketable and is relevant. Say I decide to work in a bank after that 6 years, will i be able to utilize my skills and exp. in EMA analyzing energy trends etc to full use? And what will the remuneration be like in the pte sector after 6 years? Will my scholarship experience be of use? Im sorry if i offend anyone out there with my questions, but these are pragmatic concerns that have to be voiced out, if I were to consider my choices really carefully. After all its a 6 year bond.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm roughly in the same dilemma as the poster - I've an offer from a stat board (EMA) for an overseas scholarship to study maths and econs. But the thing is i'm not sure if i can transit to the pte sector after 6 years, and whether the experience will make me more marketable and is relevant. Say I decide to work in a bank after that 6 years, will i be able to utilize my skills and exp. in EMA analyzing energy trends etc to full use? And what will the remuneration be like in the pte sector after 6 years? Will my scholarship experience be of use? Im sorry if i offend anyone out there with my questions, but these are pragmatic concerns that have to be voiced out, if I were to consider my choices really carefully. After all its a 6 year bond.

You will not get a good job in the private sector after 6 years. Ask your seniors.

just a few comments on scholar making to pte sector transition.

what worked in the past is unlikely to work today and even less likely to happen in the future.
when singapore was still booming in the past, talents were in demand and banks or MNCs are willing to pay top dollar to lure scholars into the private sector. It is also true that in the past as long as you get a degree, getting a job is not difficult. Today, having a degree is not enough, you need the right degree, skills, connections, knowledge to get the job you want. Furthermore, singaporeans are more affluent today, kids can go to Harvard, Stanford without government scholarship and these people go straight to private sector right out from college. Add to the liberal immigration policies, companies can hire chinese/indian bright students from the best colleges in the world. What's the attraction of a scholar today? besides having an ivy league degree. I would say that it will be increasing difficult for scholars today to make the leap to private sector as compared to the past. If you fast forward to six years down the road, do you think a scholar is attractive to the private sector? unless your job experience is directly relevant, if not, transitioning straight to private sector will be close to impossible. Employers today, have access to global talents today, no one will hire someone just because he has an ivy league degree, wasting 6 years doing something that is not relevant.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

just a few comments on scholar making to pte sector transition.

what worked in the past is unlikely to work today and even less likely to happen in the future.
when singapore was still booming in the past, talents were in demand and banks or MNCs are willing to pay top dollar to lure scholars into the private sector. It is also true that in the past as long as you get a degree, getting a job is not difficult. Today, having a degree is not enough, you need the right degree, skills, connections, knowledge to get the job you want. Furthermore, singaporeans are more affluent today, kids can go to Harvard, Stanford without government scholarship and these people go straight to private sector right out from college. Add to the liberal immigration policies, companies can hire chinese/indian bright students from the best colleges in the world. What's the attraction of a scholar today? besides having an ivy league degree. I would say that it will be increasing difficult for scholars today to make the leap to private sector as compared to the past. If you fast forward to six years down the road, do you think a scholar is attractive to the private sector? unless your job experience is directly relevant, if not, transitioning straight to private sector will be close to impossible. Employers today, have access to global talents today, no one will hire someone just because he has an ivy league degree, wasting 6 years doing something that is not relevant.

in another words, don't use people who have made the transition to private sector as reference points. these guys/gals made it based on different labour market conditions in the past. the labour market conditions will be very different 6 years down the road.

Hi,
I think there are several things I would consider if I were in your shoes.
Firstly, it is the presence of a HUGE amount of scholars in DSTA. Given that these people are much more enthusiastic about defence science than you are, and that most of them are headed to CMU and UIUC (around the same league as UMich), it doesn't give you a significant advantage to be a scholar. Having to fight with 50 overseas scholars each year in such a small organization rather than the entire civil service (for ~50 PSC scholars), the path of a DSTA scholar will definitely be infused with more cut-throat competition. With that in mind, you also have to consider if you can get the jobs you want in DSTA when you graduate. Limited positions in certain areas, compounded by the influx of scholars each year is bound to produce disappointment as many will not get their dream jobs even within DSTA.
Secondly, the alternatives you have in Singapore isn't that bad either. At SMU, they give out scholarships which cover your entire tuition fees, laptop allowances, pay for an overseas trip and give you an annual allowance of $5,000. At NTU, the Nanyang Scholarship gives similar benefits. However, I'm not too sure about NUS. With the choice of a free education in Singapore, and the freedom to pursue whatever you want upon graduation is something that you can also consider.
The points I've mentioned above are just food for thought. That said, I'll be going to UMich this fall for engineering as well. We can communicate if you have decided on going!

To the posters above who mentioned GIC (and MAS) as the best scholarship as it would make it easy to transition into finance:

It's true that the skills you acquire at GIC (dependent on your posting as well, as you could be doing an internal job such as strategic planning rather than real investing) are directly relevant to the investing world. It will certainly be easier to make the case to the Goldman Sachs and JP Morgans of the world to hire you. Except that GIC (and MAS and Temasek) is a HUGE client for them. I know several GIC scholars who have secured job offers from the big investment banks, but when they submitted their resignations, their bosses found out where they were going and called up the managing director at the bank and threatened to pull GIC's business unless the offer was rescinded. Now if you're the MD at the bank, would you risk losing a huge client just to hire some ex-scholar? From my friends' experience, the answer was no, and their offers were rescinded.