As an adult, he will know his priorities after considering all the factors. I am just listing out some of the not so obvious factors although cheek in tougue. He can ignore it if he thinks it is not impt at all. It's not like I am misleading him.

You should not question what is wrong with working in Tuas just because it doesn't matter to you. He is not you. He shld ask himself what is wrong with working in Tuas. If he thinks it's ok, then it's ok and he can ignore this factor.

I think you are in your early thirties and sounds like a very practical person. Try not to be too fixated on your thinking and learn to see things from different perspective. And refrain from calling people Chee Hong Kias because that is very rude and reflects badly on your upbringing.

No offence. I was just joking.

And taking up accountancy or finance will equip you with the financial analysis skills that you can use in your own investment, financial management skills set. At the very least, you will feel more confidence in picking up value stocks.

I was too young and stupid to look at the big picture, chose engineering and regrets it. Working in engineering industry has its attractiveness. I was so excited when I had my internship, my first experience at a construction project. The sense of purpose, a few hundred men working together to construct a structure that will remain for decades. Something you can show your grandchildren, and say "Hey, I helped built that!" There is also the sense of cowboyness and toughness, working in the wilderness. Some people can't even stand a day in the site!

All this is good when you are in your twenties. However, reality soon sets in:
- Working with a bunch of unqualified foreign morons, some who can't even write a full English sentence.
- Long working hours and days.
- 3 Ds, dirty, dangerous, demanding
- Tight schedules e.g. construct a chemical plant in 9 months.
- Unattractive to opposite sex.
- Your colleagues are most likely the riff raffs of society. Who else would want to work in engineering?
- Poorly paid if you consider the demands of the job.

Engineering can be suitable for you if:
- you are really interested in engineering. I have seen really dedicated engineers.
- you are a foreign talent from Western or Japanese companies. These companies value engineers and pay them well.
- your father owns an engineering company and he wants you to take over him eventually.

You are right. I did not perform up to expectations for all subjects, but there was a particular one which was far off what I had expected. I was not being unrealistic at all. The past year A level papers that I attempted for this subject, showed a consistent A for at least the papers of the past 3 years. Complacency maybe? That contributed to me, not meeting the "cut-off point" for a course like accountancy. Thank you for the questions that you have posted. They really set me thinking. I am also getting curious of the course which you took.

Yes. I am very sure that it is NUS mech eng and not a common eng. The entry requirements have all gone up.

nus mech eng (ABB/C)
nus eng science (AAB/C)
nus ba accountancy (AAA/B)
nus ba (AAA/C)
ntu accountancy (AAA/B)
ntu ba (AAB/B)

My two cents worth
 

My advice is to choose a course that you have confidence you will do well. In this highly competitive world where graduates are in abundance, your degrees are worthless unless you have a 2nd Upper honours and above. But having said that, the class of your honors is only a stepping stone. Getting a 2nd lower honours or 3rd class does not spell the end of the world. You can still succeed in the working world. Just that you will probably face a tougher time at the beginning compared to your peers whom have obtained better honors. Secondy, I would advise you not to buy into the general perception that courses like engineering are dead end whereas finance and accountancy promise riches and wealth. It is true that finance and accountancy can pay very well if you have what it takes to succeed. But behind every success, there is blood and sweat. And the most important point to takeaway is that not everybody gets there. I would describe finance and accountancy as a sugar coated cake coveted by too many eyes. The end result is that you will find yourself competing with an infinite pool of the smartest and most hardworking people. If you believe that you have what it takes to compete with the best brains out there, go ahead to pursue finance and accountancy. At the end of the day, you have to remember that every society will need people to want to work in all kinds of professions. It is not true that you cannot do well in engineering. And it is also not true that most finance and accountancy professionals get paid **** loads of money. At the end of the day, you can succeed in any fields. You just need to have the capabilities, dedications and stamina. Hope my advices helped.

That does make sense.
I don't think there is a banking finance course.
I was also thinking about the supply of graduates from these courses, being rather, you know, large. I hear people saying that accountants, though getting good paychecks, work long hard hours. Do accountants get a reasonable chance of promotion?

No, I dont have a very very very strong reason to pick Engineering :p

Hello. I did not actually look at engineering as something which I will be involved in. More of using mechanical engineering as a degree that will allow me to squeeze into other sectors. Thank you for giving me an idea of how an engineer, pursuing a career in engineering, will likely face. Hope you do well too! :)

In NTU, their business school NBS consist of two main streams. Accountancy and Business.
Within Business, you choose your specialisation. There is the most popular Banking & Finance, then there are other specialisation such as HR, Marketing etc.

How much research have you done in this area?

When you refer to "accountants", are you referring to accountancy graduates in general? Or actual professional accountants? Are you referring to auditors?

Audit has long hours but it comes in cycles. Pay check is pretty standard and progression is structured. Shall not dwell into details because this is pretty well covered and I don't want to spoon feed. You can search details easily.