Engineer Pay

[donny21]

sorry didn’t really elaborate my concern,
don’t really want to become a mech eng as I feel the industry is rather dead, scared don’t really have progression (is it true?)

Also, is it possible for a mech engg grad to land a job in a tech company? If so, what are the possible roles?

Originally Posted by jn1014

I’m planning to switch careers to the civil engineering field and am aiming to be a professional engineer (civil). I was hoping to get some advice as I’m in a dilemma as to which organisation to join.

For context, I’m bonded to the Government and have been offered jobs in the engineering teams at LTA and JTC. Both jobs offer in-house design experience: The LTA job involves the detailed design of an MRT station while the JTC job involves the design of infrastructure (roads, sewers and drains). Both jobs also require me to review design submissions from the consultants for other non-in-house design projects.

I’m currently leaning towards JTC because (I) there are more opportunities for private sector attachments to consultancies, (II) the organisation culture is less hierarchical (based on what I’ve heard), (III) there are more in house design projects available, although the design involved is less technical compared to MRT stations.

However, I’m concerned that the design of drains, sewers and roads would not be sufficient experience for me to qualify as a Professional Engineer, which is the aim of my career switch. Hence, I was hoping to get some advice from people in the industry on this as well as your opinion on which would be a better organisation to join. Thanks in advance!

If can design an mrt station, I believe sewage, etc shouldn't be an issue to you.

Originally Posted by donny21

sorry didn’t really elaborate my concern,
don’t really want to become a mech eng as I feel the industry is rather dead, scared don’t really have progression (is it true?)

Also, is it possible for a mech engg grad to land a job in a tech company? If so, what are the possible roles?

The discipline is not dead if you make the right connections with networking.

Talk to industry people, link up to them via professors and friends. You find your interest eventually through conversations.

This is a very flexible major that allows you to enter various industries from tech, facilities, design, pharmaceuticals, electronics, chemicals, o&g, sustainability.

Google, amazon and facebook are tech companies hiring lots of data center engineers, these consist of mostly mechanical or electrical engineers.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The discipline is not dead if you make the right connections with networking.

Talk to industry people, link up to them via professors and friends. You find your interest eventually through conversations.

This is a very flexible major that allows you to enter various industries from tech, facilities, design, pharmaceuticals, electronics, chemicals, o&g, sustainability.

Google, amazon and facebook are tech companies hiring lots of data center engineers, these consist of mostly mechanical or electrical engineers.

thanks for ur advice

Aiyah dont bother thinking about working in the construction industry - the progression is just too slow, businesses are squeezed coz engineers here are cost center (projects are awarded for the lowest price and consultants are squeezed in the end) and the return does not justify the risk. If something goes wrong ppl may get injured, u end up in jail and cant work for the rest of ur life in the industry..

i graduated from nus civil fch a few years back and worked in mnc consultancy for more than 3 years. Starting pay 3.5 in the first year and got an increment to 3.6 in the 2nd year. Worked my ass off and also tried bring some digital innovation to the company but still no recognition no bonus no aws. Only after i got another offer then they counter offer my salary to increase by 20% but would only increase in the next performance review which was 2 months away. Decided to stay and guess what! They even did not bother to bring up the topic for my increment during the review in the end. Sad industry.. Finally i was really fed up and decided to jump industry to tech and got 2x my previous salary..

So yea avoid this industry unless u really like it (i actl liked it but also got burnt)!!

[donny21]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Aiyah dont bother thinking about working in the construction industry - the progression is just too slow, businesses are squeezed coz engineers here are cost center (projects are awarded for the lowest price and consultants are squeezed in the end) and the return does not justify the risk. If something goes wrong ppl may get injured, u end up in jail and cant work for the rest of ur life in the industry..

i graduated from nus civil fch a few years back and worked in mnc consultancy for more than 3 years. Starting pay 3.5 in the first year and got an increment to 3.6 in the 2nd year. Worked my ass off and also tried bring some digital innovation to the company but still no recognition no bonus no aws. Only after i got another offer then they counter offer my salary to increase by 20% but would only increase in the next performance review which was 2 months away. Decided to stay and guess what! They even did not bother to bring up the topic for my increment during the review in the end. Sad industry.. Finally i was really fed up and decided to jump industry to tech and got 2x my previous salary..

So yea avoid this industry unless u really like it (i actl liked it but also got burnt)!!

Thanks for sharing man!!

Yeah have no plans to enter the construction industry. Previously I took a summer intern at a main contractor company just to gain more exposure, wow the people there are really under paid + overworked. Maybe that explains why there are mostly foreigners there.

Btw, how you switch over to the tech industry? I am keen in joining but my major is mech engg so I don’t know if there’s much relevance there. Would appreciate any advise. I’ll be graduating next year.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sad industry.. Finally i was really fed up and decided to jump industry to tech and got 2x my previous salary..

So yea avoid this industry unless u really like it (i actl liked it but also got burnt)!!

How does one jump from civil engineering to tech?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

How does one jump from civil engineering to tech?

Did a masters

[donny21]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Did a masters

you did a masters in something related to IT/computer science? wow that's a steep learning curve

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have owned a car since my first working year when my starting salary was only ~$3000 per month.
Now $8416 per month is more than sufficient for me to continuing owning a car.

Of course, I choose to stay in a HDB 5-room which I think is already sufficient. I do not see the necessity to stay in a condo.

When you just started work (in your first year earning $3k/month), how much did you pay for your car per month? I supposed it was a regular car (not weekend car).