Really that bad for engineers?

Sorry NTU senior. I indeed have not researched well enough. Thank you for the reply which made me realise more. I will research more.

To get into Banking front office. PFC is indeed the best bet.
(Money Market, FX, SWAP, DERIVATIVE) Trader, Treasury Sales, Structurer are near impossible to enter

Graduated in 2004. Was struggling on the choice between NUS Bizad and NUS Engineering back than. Chose Engrg because it's a professional 4-year degree, (was thinking I can learn the business side of things in the school of hard knocks). Was on the verge of dropping out in the 2nd year due to bad grades, but still managed to graduate with honors eventually.

Worked in MNCs all the way. Worked extremely hard in the beginning of my career. Midway in my 6-year career I got relocated to the US. Having a 4year Bachelors degree helps in me getting a working visa here. Making about 100k USD.

100k not that much after taking away the taxes, but the opportunity to work overseas has provided me with something that money can't buy. The americans are not really familiar with the schools in SG, but they have heard of NUS, which probably helped a bit.

I've worked with engineers from various countries and I would say that I've learnt the technical stuff from the asians and the business process stuff from the americans. A bit cliche I know, but probably because I started off working in asia, having my technical skills honed, before moving to the states where I got to expand my mind on the business side of things.

I was like many of you here, trying to switch to Finance/Banking for better pay back then I was in Singapore. That sector still is still attractive to me, not only in remuneration, but also the advantage I would get by equipping myself with a new skill. Engineering can then always be a fall back.

I have no "advice" to dispense, because I don't consider myself a high flyer. But producing innovative work has always been giving me the greatest job satisfaction. There's only so much that is there technically that you can learn, how you secure the fundamentals, twist the variables and give the entire concept a different spin is the fun part. That's why I would think no job is ever too boring, unless you have already given up on it. Even though I envy my friends in the finance/banking sector for their high pay, I am still grateful that I am given the freedom to have fun working on the things I like at work.

u r one lucky kid to be able to practice engineering in the very right place.

(Money Market, FX, SWAP, DERIVATIVE) Trader, Treasury Sales, Structurer are not entirely impossible to enter, you need to start progressively, because the entrance is located elsewhere. You may start off as a assistant dealer, sales associate, or simply doing ur own trades as portfolio. Afterall, trading is about buying and selling currencies. you need to have to be able to market currencies to your customer at your desired rate.

financial consultant is a word that is greatly misused these days, it can cover products selling insurance, selling cards, etc. if u r interested, see ur strengths and weakness and ask yourself wad u wan to do n where u wan to be?

do u like entertaining customers? - front office
do u like calculating risks and managing/marketing products? - middle office
do u like operations? - back office
do u like IT - tech support

let ur passion work money for u - not let money work ur passion.

My only passion is money.

Everytime someone says something positive about Work or Engineering, comes along a jerk whining about how Money is the only thing that matters. Singapore sucks at engineering and for most normal people, its not the thing if they want money. For a minority, its ok i guess

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Everytime someone says something positive about Work or Engineering, comes along a jerk whining about how Money is the only thing that matters. Singapore sucks at engineering and for most normal people, its not the thing if they want money. For a minority, its ok i guess

If you come from a wealthy family, you can say that you work to "pass time".

For most people, working is about earning money.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If you come from a wealthy family, you can say that you work to "pass time".

For most people, working is about earning money.

And work stinks when you can't find any interest in doing it.

The satisfaction that you get from money is temporary. Once you are used to receiving those money, you want more money. After that you want power. Once you have both, you want to live forever.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

And work stinks when you can't find any interest in doing it.

The satisfaction that you get from money is temporary. Once you are used to receiving those money, you want more money. After that you want power. Once you have both, you want to live forever.

Sounds familiar.

But the point is we need money to get those things that will give us satisfaction, things like food, clothes, education for the kids, maybe a car, a vacation and some luxury items like

What you were talking about applies to people who are at the top of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. No many people are there. Most of us are in the middle.

I started with an Engineering Diploma from Polytechnic, served the Army, worked 2 years, continued to finish my Bsc. Eng in California. Got a job with an America Corporation in Singapore. Have since worked in various Engineering offices globally. Worked extremely hard from the initial Project Engineer position to Engineering Manager in 15 years. I am now Regional Manager for Asia Pacific.

I never planned for all this to happen after my Engineering degree. The strategy is work diligently, build up a good network within the MNC organization and with a bit of luck.

I enjoyed the dynamism each Project provides. Family has been with me all these years and am looking forward to head the Singapore office in 3 years time.