Really that bad for engineers?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

May not be good to hear but look, its a simple case of probability.

If you are going to pay globally competitive salaries, like the foreign banks, then you are going to attract talent from a global base, especially given our low tax rates (i.e. a London IB banker will earn the same salary as a Singapore IB banker in a global bank, but the Singapore IB banker takes home a lot more due to the taxes differential). Its hard for 5 million people to compete with 1billion plus in India, and a few hundred million native English speakers in Europe and the US for these jobs.

Plus, its the same thing in HK and London as well. For some coveted foreign bank jobs, the majority of employees would be non-citizens.

So have to climb up of your little well and face the reality of the big world out there.

dont come and talk cocck. There are bunch of Singaporeans hand in hand with PAP to thumb down Singaporeans, justifying all sorts of racism against us by FT.

I has written 500 000 million lines of code. So I knew enough of the whole system. There are many Singaporeans who has written more than me. I have gone through more technicals intricacies than all those clowns in the bank sales team.

Tell Robert Walters to look for me. Stop accusing Singaporeans no talent

Singaporean need to be awake of the RACISM here. Those headhunter helping racist go and die.

From my personal experience I can say that the engineers who are there in commissioning, startup and project execution work of plants are not very technically strong.They are filled with a false pride. While the people who who are involved in basic designing aspects like feed characterization , crude assay , making energy, mass balance sheets , they are quite gentle and technically good and a lot to learn from.The same can be said about University professors and researchers who do industrial consultancy...they too are very good.The point is --if you are really passionate about engineering, "academia " and "higher education" are the good options too.And please dont say that "all those who are involved in operation of finished plants are fools". Sometimes they are more intelligent than the commissioning and project engineers.The real crux is that---Dont let the profiles like "commissioning,project manager," etc befool you.The real excitement still in the labs and your textbooks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Engineer are a respectable lot in Countries like USA, Australia and UK. The type of engineer that makes a lot are those who work in the Oil/Gas/Mining Projects, not those who work for the operation of the finished plant or in the office in Singapore. While the job is challenging, you do expect to relocate to new places once the project is completed. Hence, the sacrifice could be quite alot especially if you have companion, and even worse if you have family.

I have worked my way up from a Project Engineer, then Engineering Manager and now Regional Manager. Looking back it had been been alot of hardwork and sacrifice I have put in, but financially it has been lucrative. I am beginning to see fruits of the hardship and plan to retire in my early 50s while my kids continue their tertially education overseas.

Bottom line is Engineering is a good career if you shape it the way you want it to be, otherwise, like all other discipline it could be another mundane dead end career
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Obviously you are mistaken dude !!!
From my personal experience I can say that the engineers who are there in commissioning, startup and project execution work of plants are not very technically strong.They are filled with a false pride. While the people who who are involved in basic designing aspects like feed characterizayion , crude assay , making energy, mass balance sheets , they are quite gentle and technically good and a lot to learn from.The same can be said about University professors and researchers who do industrial consultancy...they too are very good.The point is --if you are really passionate about engineering, "academia " and "higher education" are the good options too.And please dont say that "all those who are involved in operation of finished plants are fools". Sometimes they are more intelligent than the commissioning and project engineers.The real crux is that---Dont let the profiles like "commissioning,project manager," etc befool you.The real crux lies still in the labs and your textbooks.

Does working in Project Management in Engineering (i.e. semicon) and the skillset acquired allow for an easier transition into other non-engineering industries?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Does working in Project Management in Engineering (i.e. semicon) and the skillset acquired allow for an easier transition into other non-engineering industries?

Of course... It will ensure a smooth transition into being a taxi-driver... Engineering skillsets is not valued in S'pore... It is the lowest-tier of all professions... If it's so good, why is everybody trying to get out...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Of course... It will ensure a smooth transition into being a taxi-driver... Engineering skillsets is not valued in S'pore... It is the lowest-tier of all professions... If it's so good, why is everybody trying to get out...

No. Says who? Lee Bee Hwa is very proud of her engineering title. She calls herself Er Dr Lee. Er stands for engineer.

How about commercial engineer? that one not technical at all.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Engineer are a respectable lot in Countries like USA, Australia and UK. The type of engineer that makes a lot are those who work in the Oil/Gas/Mining Projects, not those who work for the operation of the finished plant or in the office in Singapore. While the job is challenging, you do expect to relocate to new places once the project is completed. Hence, the sacrifice could be quite alot especially if you have companion, and even worse if you have family.

I have worked my way up from a Project Engineer, then Engineering Manager and now Regional Manager. Looking back it had been been alot of hardwork and sacrifice I have put in, but financially it has been lucrative. I am beginning to see fruits of the hardship and plan to retire in my early 50s while my kids continue their tertially education overseas.

Bottom line is Engineering is a good career if you shape it the way you want it to be, otherwise, like all other discipline it could be another mundane dead end career
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously you are mistaken dude !!!
From my personal experience I can say that the engineers who are there in commissioning, startup and project execution work of plants are not very technically strong.They are filled with a false pride. While the people who who are involved in basic designing aspects like feed characterizayion , crude assay , making energy, mass balance sheets , they are quite gentle and technically good and a lot to learn from.The same can be said about University professors and researchers who do industrial consultancy...they too are very good.The point is --if you are really passionate about engineering, "academia " and "higher education" are the good options too.And please dont say that "all those who are involved in operation of finished plants are fools". Sometimes they are more intelligent than the commissioning and project engineers.The real crux is that---Dont let the profiles like "commissioning,project manager," etc befool you.The real crux lies still in the labs and your textbooks.

The Balance

I have seen engineers from manufacturing plants that earn good $$. But it's in USA & Ireland. I guess the 1st writer was born much earlier since he is in the fifties where degree holders are far n few of that generation. He had a better chance than the younger generations where there are more degree holders n more competitions. I would say that commissioning and project engrs are usually broad in knowledge but the engrs decribed by the 2nd writer are those who have very good knowledge in a few areas and they are generally much specialised. I worked in a japanese factory for 10 yrs and I am in between. While I was younger I specialised in a few areas but when I chose the mgt path I went broad in knowledge.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

How about commercial engineer? that one not technical at all.

I went into the commercial side of engineering work 6 years after graduation/doing hardcore design engineering stuff. Looking into pricing, terms and conditions, contract management, etc.

It opened up a new world for me. Work there for 4 years before moving into business development. Have been here since and am still loving it.

To move into the commercial side, packaging is important. How you carry yourself, the confident you display and importantly the ability to communicate well.

Just my 2 cents for engineers wanting to cross over to the commercial side.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The Balance

I have seen engineers from manufacturing plants that earn good $$. But it's in USA & Ireland. I guess the 1st writer was born much earlier since he is in the fifties where degree holders are far n few of that generation. He had a better chance than the younger generations where there are more degree holders n more competitions. I would say that commissioning and project engrs are usually broad in knowledge but the engrs decribed by the 2nd writer are those who have very good knowledge in a few areas and they are generally much specialised. I worked in a japanese factory for 10 yrs and I am in between. While I was younger I specialised in a few areas but when I chose the mgt path I went broad in knowledge.

How much is the starting pay for a 2nd upper honor fresh graduate for project engineer job in civil service? For example LTA?

Does project engineer earn more than other engineers?