Really that bad for engineers?

[freshjunior]

Hi all, I'm a 20 year old currently in NS and going to study mechanical engineering next year(NUS). I read through many of the posts and found many people talking about how engineering is a dead-end career, the low pay in singapore etc...

I'm quite worried that this is true but I really have a interest in this area and the sciences. (I did quite well for my A levels (5As) and so had the option to choose other courses.) Having said that, I don't intend to be an engineer all my life but just for a few years to gain some experience in the field, then move on to higher managing roles.

Originally Posted by freshjunior

Hi all, I'm a 20 year old currently in NS and going to study mechanical engineering next year(NUS). I read through many of the posts and found many people talking about how engineering is a dead-end career, the low pay in singapore etc...

I'm quite worried that this is true but I really have a interest in this area and the sciences. (I did quite well for my A levels (5As) and so had the option to choose other courses.) Having said that, I don't intend to be an engineer all my life but just for a few years to gain some experience in the field, then move on to higher managing roles.

study engineering, but get into a bank or do consulting.

Go read this thread in CNA forum before it gets deleted:
Channel NewsAsia :: View topic - dont waste your time being engineer or science students

don't waste your talent. Go business, finance or accountancy instead. why waste time and pursue something high risks low returns? In singapore, we leave the technical stuff to the foreigners so the wages are very suppressed.

Can u foresee urself working Abroad or going for Higher studies ? In that case, Engineering has opportunities. In Singapore, engineering work in mostly mediocre. But at the same time, these people in Biz Finance are not smart people. They earn well due to the nature of Industry. So its up to u. Do u have plans to explore . Or do u wanna work in Singapore and be a part of this Rat Race. Even if u win the rat race, u will still be a Rat.

Originally Posted by unregistered

can u foresee urself working abroad or going for higher studies ? In that case, engineering has opportunities. In singapore, engineering work in mostly mediocre. But at the same time, these people in biz finance are not smart people. They earn well due to the nature of industry. So its up to u. Do u have plans to explore . Or do u wanna work in singapore and be a part of this rat race. Even if u win the rat race, u will still be a rat.

i like this statement a lot. Is there a like button or something that i can press.

[freshjunior]

Haiz... not really into all these sales and finance stuff. Seems so boring to me. The only thing which attracts me is the pay =x

[freshjunior]

IN TODAY'S turbulent economic climate, one might expect everyone with a job in the financial sector to cling to it - yet plenty are up for a change.
...
Summary:
A survey finds only 53% of 200 Singaporeans surveyed are satisfied with their jobs. This is the second lowest - Japan has only a 47% satisfaction.

This points to a low job satisfaction and poor company loyalty in Singaporeans with more than half saying there were open to a job change at the right opportunity. Only half feel secure about their jobs.
-35% want a pay increase
-21% want a better work life balance

Research from another human resource consultancy shows that:
-a third of Asian employees - across all sectors - are frustrated in their jobs,
-16 per cent of the Asian workforce in general believe that they are effective in their jobs.

Due to a lack of empowerment and professional development.

Compare to UK:
-40 per cent of employees considered themselves effective workers.
= Higher job satisfaction.


Quote:
With all that stress, Mr Pan said it is not surprising to see people want to move out of the industry. He has even noticed professionals with financial experience of more than 10 years wanting a change.

'Bankers who have been bankers their whole lives are very exploratory at the moment, inquiring about opportunities in industries such as aerospace or hospitality,' he said.

'They seem to have quite a 'just get me out of here' attitude.'

http://www.asiaone.com/print/Busines...11-140681.html

Note: taken from a post in the BrightSparks forum

If you are willing to put a few years of hard work after Uni with crappy pay; then travel a bit and not bother too much about the 5C's in your 20's you will not go wrong with engineering.
The fact is an engineering grad is not an engineer, (doesnt matter what uni) you have to have experience, the instant gratification society we live in means that grad pay is important. Ask yourself after you finish a degree are you bothered whether as an accountant you get 1K more a month - where are those people in 10 years time. 90% of them will be on 3% PA pay rises tops. After 10 years experience my take home pay doubled every 2 to 3 years.
There is an enormous shortage of experienced engineers worldwide and this is only getting worse. I was a welder, then a QC inspector, (got my degree in mech eng and became chartered part time) worked as a project engineer, tried the corp thing and hated it, back to being an engineer. I now command a day rate of US$1200 per day (I am over 40) and continue to travel the world doing interesting and challenging jobs.
Up to you if you want a decent safe existence in singapore where you move from cubicle to office, to office with window, office with window and PA yawn yawn then go into banking but you will be up against 95% of other people
If you are willing to travel, enjoy the sense of accomplishment out of building things or making them work and find the whole corp ladder / rat race bizzare then go for engineering.

Originally Posted by JonathanSG

If you are willing to put a few years of hard work after Uni with crappy pay; then travel a bit and not bother too much about the 5C's in your 20's you will not go wrong with engineering.
The fact is an engineering grad is not an engineer, (doesnt matter what uni) you have to have experience, the instant gratification society we live in means that grad pay is important. Ask yourself after you finish a degree are you bothered whether as an accountant you get 1K more a month - where are those people in 10 years time. 90% of them will be on 3% PA pay rises tops. After 10 years experience my take home pay doubled every 2 to 3 years.
There is an enormous shortage of experienced engineers worldwide and this is only getting worse. I was a welder, then a QC inspector, (got my degree in mech eng and became chartered part time) worked as a project engineer, tried the corp thing and hated it, back to being an engineer. I now command a day rate of US$1200 per day (I am over 40) and continue to travel the world doing interesting and challenging jobs.
Up to you if you want a decent safe existence in singapore where you move from cubicle to office, to office with window, office with window and PA yawn yawn then go into banking but you will be up against 95% of other people
If you are willing to travel, enjoy the sense of accomplishment out of building things or making them work and find the whole corp ladder / rat race bizzare then go for engineering.

hmm im a mech enging student now at local uni, but after looking at some of the threads ard in forum saying how bad the pay of engineers are, it sort of make me sad lol.

i like engineering and its something i look forward to do in the future(i cant stand office jobs man), and one day i hope i can contribute wat i can as an individual to make this place a better place to live in with better technology.

but from some forums i saw the things they said is quite different from wat u mention? like the pay even after 5 years is only ard 3-5k? and ot for engineer dont get paid? and our job dont get appreciated by pple and stuff, and its not realli abt the money, but when pple only pays u this little it just goes to show how irrelevant we are to the company. i also have seen friends who have masters in engg just everyday stay in office surf net, though balonglong, but one day surely will kena axe like this rite lol. and how far can we go if we onli can be liddat...

i dun mind getting low pay at first, to me i feel job satisfaction is more impt. now wif all these pple suaning us engg i realli feel lost. i will like to hear more from real engineers(like you) who have experience and the expertise to go on far in ur career.

and u have gotten ur degree and started ur career quite sometime ago, during the engg boom period ba, hence for now will it be much more difficult for us engineer in this era?

and if we engineers realli get sooooo look down on in company, might as well design our own things and start our own biz.