Really that bad for engineers?

Originally Posted by ZoOq

Hi guys, I am glad that this thread do exist who engineers share the same sentiment and acknowledge how bad the prospect of engineer is being brought down by ft and understanding that SG is a financial hub where engineering is not much of value here. As I am looking at a bigger picture in 20 yrs time. Tats y, I juz quit SAF after being regular for 8 yrs, currently 28 yr old holding engineering degree with m5 and m9 certs. Wanted to move on to the finance or banking sector. No doubt it may not be guarantee I will be able to do well in this industry, but i would still give a try. Planning to first step into banking sales and currently waiting for my referrer lobang to revert. But yet the future path remain quite vivid for me coz I am rather new to the industry. Any advise for foresight or advancement of my career path should I set and aim for as i believe I can't be doing normal banking sales forever unless I am doing very well with work life balance in this line. Afterall, banking sales is more for youngsters. Best is someone who went thru my path could advise and share his/her story and see if banking sales exp could bridge to any other better career prospect in banking or finance sector such as business analyst.

Hi, from my experience so far. Banking sales basic pay is around 2500. Mainly base on commission for more pay, no bonus. If you keep have good sales record, u can rise up the rank faster and from sales switch to operation. If you does not wan such a high pay cut, u can consider sales in engineering. In engineering sales, it is harder to close sales but the starting package are better. interm of commission shceme, 1.5-3% of what you have sell, and got car allowance too (if you own a car, else now not worth it to buy liao).

Originally Posted by ZoOq

Hi guys, I am glad that this thread do exist who engineers share the same sentiment and acknowledge how bad the prospect of engineer is being brought down by ft and understanding that SG is a financial hub where engineering is not much of value here. As I am looking at a bigger picture in 20 yrs time. Tats y, I juz quit SAF after being regular for 8 yrs, currently 28 yr old holding engineering degree with m5 and m9 certs. Wanted to move on to the finance or banking sector. No doubt it may not be guarantee I will be able to do well in this industry, but i would still give a try. Planning to first step into banking sales and currently waiting for my referrer lobang to revert. But yet the future path remain quite vivid for me coz I am rather new to the industry. Any advise for foresight or advancement of my career path should I set and aim for as i believe I can't be doing normal banking sales forever unless I am doing very well with work life balance in this line. Afterall, banking sales is more for youngsters. Best is someone who went thru my path could advise and share his/her story and see if banking sales exp could bridge to any other better career prospect in banking or finance sector such as business analyst.

Do u know what kind of banking sales jobs exactly u want? There are so many different sales jobs in banking, cannot like that generalise.

Seems more logical for u to get an engineering sales job then wasting time doing banking sales. Your referer is what level in the bank? If is some small fry then what lobang can he get for you?

You should apply for jobs more to do with ur exp, u r quite old to go and apply for jobs suitable for ppl in early 20s fresh from school. What industry are you at now after SAF?

[ZoOq]

Actually my intention is to head in mortgage loan banking sales. But due to recent cooling measure, regardless is friends from dbs, ocbc, uob, citibank etc, all doing veri badly, comms cut and freezing headcount. As it dun seems to be a gd head-start, now trying standchart PFC which one of my friend is doing rather well inside. Might be looking into RM as well, but the learning curve seems veri steep esp when u do not have any sales exp. Some of the my friend give up within 6 mths but i do hear successful cases. So it really depend on individual capabilities. But if there are chances of moving to operation sector, will there be a major pay cut compare to sales? And where will u start from?

As for engineering line, I am also looking into oil and gas industry for sales engineer or project engineer, something to do with soft skills role. But again, is not easy to get in esp when our exp in rsaf is unrecognized no doubt I would say there is a lot of take away during my career in RSAF which is contributory to many industry. Anyway, care to share how much is Sales engineer salary PA (inclusive of allowance and bonus).

Any recommendation or if u all have any lobang, u can PM me =)

Originally Posted by ZoOq

Actually my intention is to head in mortgage loan banking sales. But due to recent cooling measure, regardless is friends from dbs, ocbc, uob, citibank etc, all doing veri badly, comms cut and freezing headcount. As it dun seems to be a gd head-start, now trying standchart PFC which one of my friend is doing rather well inside. Might be looking into RM as well, but the learning curve seems veri steep esp when u do not have any sales exp. Some of the my friend give up within 6 mths but i do hear successful cases. So it really depend on individual capabilities. But if there are chances of moving to operation sector, will there be a major pay cut compare to sales? And where will u start from?

Beside SAF what other exp u have? U say u left SAF so what kind of sales r u in now?

Whether u do home mortgage, bancassurance, investment or RM is not important because w/o any connection, you will still end up doing CB which IMO really cmi.

Is ur friend able to bring u in at least at the prefered or commercial banking level? If not then I say forget about this lobang as it is waste of time.

As for engineering line, I am also looking into oil and gas industry for sales engineer or project engineer, something to do with soft skills role. But again, is not easy to get in esp when our exp in rsaf is unrecognized no doubt I would say there is a lot of take away during my career in RSAF which is contributory to many industry. Anyway, care to share how much is Sales engineer salary PA (inclusive of allowance and bonus).

Any recommendation or if u all have any lobang, u can PM me =)

IMO it is best to downplay ur SAF exp which is irrelevant and emphasis more on ur pte sector sales exp. No point trying to BS abt SAF, everyone knows what it's like and interviewer will just laugh at you. You should go & target sales areas which more familiar to u instead of wasting time in something totally unrelated like O&G, there's too many ppl with better resume then you also desperate to get in.

[ZoOq]

IMO? enlighten pls.

BS abt SAF? lol ... I shall nt debate coz it will be endless... Juz take it as i nv include that line =P

ZoOq, if u want ppl to help then u also must be upfront.

So what is ur friend lobang? Is it in CB space?

What kind of industrial exp beside SAF u have? Is ur exp in engineering per se? What sort of O&G product lines do u have exposure to?

There is no point u keep telling ppl u just want to do sales and then when ppl ask question abt ur exp u dun want to elaborate.

He doesn’t have any experience at all. He quit RSAF recently and is now jobless looking for employment. More info https://forums.salary.sg/income-jobs/...on-career.html

Originally Posted by Unregistered

ZoOq, if u want ppl to help then u also must be upfront.

So what is ur friend lobang? Is it in CB space?

What kind of industrial exp beside SAF u have? Is ur exp in engineering per se? What sort of O&G product lines do u have exposure to?

There is no point u keep telling ppl u just want to do sales and then when ppl ask question abt ur exp u dun want to elaborate.

[ZoOq]

Yup I have no sales exp at all .. other than some m5 and m9 certs... consider zero exp... Nw waiting for interview in standard chart ... personal financial consultant ..

I have no O&G exp but just wonder do I stand a chance to transit into that industry..

Originally Posted by ZoOq

Yup I have no sales exp at all .. other than some m5 and m9 certs... consider zero exp... Nw waiting for interview in standard chart ... personal financial consultant ..

I have no O&G exp but just wonder do I stand a chance to transit into that industry..

Hi ZoOq, just to give you an intro to the banking industry, hope you'll find this info useful.

Contrary to what you think, banking sales is not only for "young people". What you're referring to are the financial consultants/personal bankers such as the Stanchart role. This is what we call the "mass market" whereby the clients are normal retail customers.

Most bankers in consumer banking start off as financial consultants/personal bankers for 1-2 years. Then they apply to become relationship managers (RMs) in premier/priority banking which serves clients with at least SGD 200k in their accounts. Within priority banking, there's an upper tier called the "Private Clients" segment where the more experienced RMs serve those clients with around SGD 1-5 million assets. And finally, at the top tier would be Private Banking, where the RMs (also known as private bankers) serve those with minimum SGD 5 - 10 million and above. So banking sales can be a lifelong career, and not only for youngsters.

Furthermore, there are different product specialists which advise/assist the RMs in their sales, such as the insurance sales, FX sales, advisors etc who also have sales targets to meet. All these people are under "Consumer banking"

Then there's corporate banking whereby the clients are SMEs to MNCs. In general, i would say it's slightly better to start off in corporate banking because you gain connections to the Towkays, CFOs and CEOs. It's also possible to cross over to consumer banking from the corporate side, but very difficult to move from consumer to corporate banking. Very experienced corporate bankers can also move to Private Banking or Investment Banking.

But remember one thing, there's no easy money in this world. As with all jobs, if you want to make it big, be prepared to work very very hard.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Then there's corporate banking whereby the clients are SMEs to MNCs. In general, i would say it's slightly better to start off in corporate banking because you gain connections to the Towkays, CFOs and CEOs. It's also possible to cross over to consumer banking from the corporate side, but very difficult to move from consumer to corporate banking. Very experienced corporate bankers can also move to Private Banking or Investment Banking.

Big question is how is he going to get into corporate banking??? I have never heard of any bank accept a SAF sergeant with no other experience or qualification to become a corporate banker to deal with CEOs and CFOs....