[IT job] NCS Application Consultant

Originally Posted by zero_88

if my programming skill is bad, is it alright for me to join the position?

this position required good programming skill?

If you technical skills really bad then you only have very few choices aka NCS/ST/Accenture which is willing to accept and train people. From there on depends on how fast you learn and progress liaoooo..........

But usually for technical the end game is to work for tech company like google etc.... if not by your mid career you will switch to more non-technical role like BA/PM/SA as alot of singapore company dun value technical skills aka the outsource to ceca/india/vendor culture.

So after you build your strong technical skills, you will become a valuable BA/PM than those who only have the soft skills aka those who start from MA program........but then at that point will be you fighting against your middle mgmt who are usually not technically trained.....

Starting salary is around 3.6K~, which is on the low end for a fresh grad software engineer. Year on year increment is also only around 3-5%, just enough to cover inflation. Your real income won't change much unless you get promoted. Promotions and performance bonuses depends on how well you can sell yourself and your achievements. Standard benefits + some extras due to being a subsidiary of Singtel.

That said, even though the the starting pay is low, the entry criteria is ~very~ easy (relative to other tech companies), because their turnover rate for junior engineers is very high. I estimate around 50% of new engineers leave within 3 years, and very few stay for more than 5, so they are always hiring replacements. This is good for the people who maybe didn't do as well in uni (third class or maybe just a pass degree) to gain some practical work experience. As you gain more real project experience, your degree matters less and less, making it easier to find better opportunities elsewhere.

As for the work itself, that really all depends on the project you are assigned to. 90% of NCS projects are government contracts (if that matters to you). There are really slack projects where all you do is basic maintenance and ops support and you can just coast through every day. There are also really siong projects where you will OT and burn weekends constantly (they are also the ones where you gain the most valuable experience). Team culture and your manager's attitude will also make a big difference here. Ultimately, YMMV.

tl;dr NCS should probably not be your first choice of tech employers, but it's also not as terrible as most people make it out to be.