Engineering and Technology Careers are Not Valued - Singapore is "High Cost Low Tech"

Ok...Thanks a lot for the advice.

very interesting comments and observations..thought i would add my 2 cents as i did an engineering degree as well.
i did engineering as it was probably subconsciously ingrained in me since young that i should be an engineer. Prob that i do better in maths and science subjects in school led me thinking that as well even though i had more fun in humanities subjects. So i did electrical engineering in uni but took up a first job in IT. it's been 7 years since. my starting pay was just over $2K. I earn about $200K annually in total doing IT sales. I am sure I will definitely not be earning that amount if I were to take up an engineering job. My annual is significantly less than many folks in the finance industry but i am currently happy at what i am doing. Of course, i dream about the bungalows and the maseratis but i am contented for the time being.
In hindsight, (as I went through my academic career without much thought), i would have taken up Business studies in uni and focussed on reaching for a MBA or a CFA after graduation. The reason for doing this is that I could enter the financial industry. From a salary perspective, it would have been much more lucrative.

some advice for folks. 2 key criteria for success from academic perspective - Language and Maths. With a strong command of the language, you can be effective in communications i.e. hear and be heard. Maths is a no-brainer. What you actually study in uni will not have that much a bearing on our career anyway as I always believe the course work in Uni just kinda "learning how to learn". An inquisitive mind, a courageous heart and pure, unadulterated hard work goes a long way in career success as well. So if I were to go through uni again, I would choose something I would enjoy and easily excel in and spend the rest of uni time building up strong networks and basically enjoying that part of life. All this before the big plunge into working life.

jeepo,

What's the job scope of IT Sales?

IT Engineer,

selling product and services of IT vendors like IBM, HP, etc. Sales roles vary from account managers, territory managers, prodct managers, sales managers, business development managers etc. basically having a quota to fulfil by either direct selling or indirect selling via channel partners. discussing the job scope is another 2-3hrs of coffee talk. drop me your email and we can continue the conversation from there if required.

jeepo,

I am a software engineer with 1 yr experience. Thanks for sharing the job scope of IT Sales.

Anyway IT Sales do sound stressful if you need to hit a given quota every month.

very interesting and ALIVE discussion here.

I'm interested to earn more in my new job as sales engineer. Thinking of taking up part-time sales related or business degree so that few yrs down the road can have better prospect or easier to find another better paid job. Can someone recommend any degree & which Uni ? Currently in late 20s.

Thank you

i think it's great that you are proactive in furthering your career and capabilities. if you are thinking of a sales career, what you can do to jumpstart is probably gain more financial knowledge - understand basic finance, read annual reports, balance sheets, net present value etc. all these can actually help you put together a stronger proposal where you focus on return on investments, total cost of ownership etc rather than just product features.

pretty much, it depends on where you are right now and where you want to be. if you have a basic degree, you can work towards a advanced degree - be it a Masters, CFA or MBA. this can help to position yourself for more managerial roles. talk to more people in your target career industry to have more insights. basically, talk to more people across diff industries as well. you will find that you understand a lot more from diff perspectives and in the process you are also networking.
basically, if you are thinking through your actions, you should be fine. As i said before, nothing beats hard (sometimes smart) work, right attitude and EQ, except maybe a ridiculously rich uncle who names you as a beneficiary...

Thanks jeepo.

Totally agreed with you that instead of focusing on product features (which can easily replace by others), Focus on the return of investment and total cost of investment so that can have a stronger proposal.

I have a basic degree in mechanical engineering but I considering a business or finance degree as my foundation is not strong but yet I want to find courses that strongly use "Apply as you learn" teaching method. Currently my plan is to join the new company and learn the trade while try to figure out (talk to people in my target career industry as you have mentioned, discover my strong points and potential, find out available options). Hopefully after a yr, I can commmit to a course e.g.CFA

It is a no-brainer to choose a banking & finance carrer, rather than Engineering career -
(1) You spend only a quarter of the studying hours to secure that Finance degree, compared to a Engineering degree
(2) You start with higher pay and you get more money in shorter time, rather than slogging away in a factory with long hours
(3) You get to dress in nice suits and ties and work in swanky high rise office buildings in downtown Raffles place, compared to being shabbily dressed and getting holed up in a corner of Tuas or Jurong all your working life.
(4) Most importantly, you work alongside good -looking hot office babes as a banker , compared to being surrounded by male foreign technician all day long!!!

Just sharing my story.

Was in NTU Computer Engineering last year. Decided to drop after the 1st semester and enrolled into UOL Banking & Finance.

Currently still in my 1st year of undergraduate. I'm glad that I made the choice as my interest in IT dropped tremendously during 2 years NS and was really demoralized by the pace of technology. On the other hand, my interest in business/finance picked up ever since I was introduced to the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by RK. Never look back, I have since read a dozen more stocks/finance related books, I have never been more assured of my career direction than ever.

Current aim is to graduate with 1st class and pass CFA Level 1 (Self-Study).