Advise Needed for Bioengineering grad

[Gan_Do]

Hi, I have just graduated with a 2nd Class Upper in Bioengineering in NTU and till date I still cant land myself a job for 5 mths already.

Initially I wanted to apply for Medicine in NUS-DUKE but after calculations, the monetary returns might not even be sufficient for me to buy a flat in the future. It was quite a painful decision to delay and then abandon the idea.

As such I tried applying for jobs such as Business Development and medical Technologists and all these have failed.

As I am 25 now, I am quite fearful of ending up in a low-paying position and career for the rest of my life. Time seems to be running out and I aspire to earn more than the common $3K to give my family a comfortable life. I do like people interaction (though not very fluent in people-dealings) and presenting ideas.

As such, can anyone kindly advise a career and how I should go about it? Basically I feel my degree has been more of a hinder when I tried to position myself for a career in business development. I can still go back as a process engineer though but I doubt their pay will rise fast enough.

Anyone with any fair advise? thanks

hey! i grad from Bioengin Ntu dec'08. was retained for an extra 1.5 yrs. lost interest in the degree upon starting. part of the pioneer batch in 03/04. i'm jobless for 1yr. cheer up and don't give up =)

Hello there. I'm rather concerned when i saw your post because I'm matriculating in the year 2011 in NUS Bioengineering. Is this a common problem for all your peers in the course?
Right now I'm having second thoughts about bioengineering. It seems to be a degree which is neither here nor there, not valued by employers.

the the NUS guy, change now. I am not sure how NUS Bioengineering is like but from what I heard during my time, the NUS bioengineering is terrible and worse than NTU such that their courses and modules are all totally unrelated to each other and they did not try to teach and establish between the link of other ideas.

I would recommend change of course, even chemical engineerings like my friend of 1st Class cant even secure a job

Hate to say this but since the joblessness state are mainly caused by the financial storm from the business and finance people, they are still the ones receiving help and government and there dun seem to be any way to punish them.

Take the plunge, take finance. I am seriously considering that now after I had gradauted in engineering.

UNLESS of course you are hoping to further into research PhD or NUS-DUKE which i have to say is very elitist and very hard to study in

Hi,

I am also a Bioengineering graduate from NTU. I sympathize with you, it's difficult to find a job as a Bioengineering grad as we are only partly qualified in everything.

My advise is to pursue another qualification that will help you to do a job that you like. If you like research, take a Master in Engineering in the specific area of BIE that you like to work on (e.g. Master in Mechanical Engineering if you like to do Biomechanics, or Master in Electrical Engineering if you like Bioinstrumentation, etc). If you like to do finance sector, a lot of my classmates took MBA or Master in Financial Engineering and it works pretty well for them.

If the idea to be a doctor appeals to you, applying to Duke-NUS is not a bad option. For now, the salary is $2600 + housing allowance ($800+) for the first year after graduation (equivalent to House Officer's pay), but it quickly jumps to $3600 in the second year after graduation (equivalent to Medical Officer's pay), and will rise again in third year. I think it's not so bad...

All the best for you!

Kind regards.

2nd upper allow you to join A*Star as research officer.
why not you join DXO mindef? Male with NS 2nd upper fresh grad getting $3600.
be a research officer in NTU is not bad too, you may also get free scholarship to study PHD.

company that you can join, JMS, GSK....etc

Don't give up hope!

Few advice
1. Widen your scope and manage your expectations. If there are 6 months or 1 year contract work that suits what you are looking for - just do it first, gain the working experience where you will have a better bargaining chip from there.

2. Consider lateral careers/other careers
Are there related careers for you to explore? How about Banking & Finance. I used to work in a bank where the credit department has a good performer and she is from chemical engineering!

3. Start networking with recruiters/your university career centres/professors
Ask them for any referrals!

Dont be pressured by peers, rather stay focused on your course. Remember, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Good luck and update us!

[keynesian slave]

Don't give up. They are right. Pharmaceutical sales in pharmaceuticals like GSK, Bayer pay pretty well. They even have car allowances as it requires you to run around to meet clients.

The downside is probably the fact that it is rather remotely related to your area of study. But I guess 1 step at a time.

hi i am also in bioengineering, hoping to graduate in 2011.
i am worried about my first job since i'll probably just get a pass for my b.eng.

i don't mind the sector since i don't mind trying out anything. i just want to clear my tuition fee loans as soon as possible by getting a job immediately after graduating.

even though i started out thinking really big about bioengineering, now i realised that we really are only partly qualified for everything. in the medical sciences, the hard-core science people are better than us. in engineering, the hardcore mechanical, electrical engineers are more adept than us.

any tips on what kind of jobs would be open for bioengin grads and what to expect as the first pay cheque?
thanks

i am in nus bioengine and economics double degree... is it easy to find a job? I am considering a masters in economics or bioengine in the uk... will it still be hard to land a job? if i dont do masters then i dont mind teaching economics as well. can i know if the pay scale is good?