Really that bad for engineers?

For a diploma grad (no relevant experience) : 6 day work week with starting salary @$2k
Is it considered normal?

Originally Posted by qwerty1234

Hi all, I'm currently serving NS and planning to study Mechanical/Chemical engineering at a local Uni. I didn't know that the engineering sector in Singapore was this bleak until I read this thread.

After reading much online about engineering in Singapore, I still feel that a personal experience is what I need to determine for myself if engineering is for me. I would really appreciate if anyone knows where I can find job shadowing/ internship opportunities for ME&CHE!!

Please advise me on which field of engineering is better (ME/CHE)! Thank you in advance!

Are you a polytechnic student who studied mechanical/chemical engineering? If so, you should be able to get the internship easily. But if you later discover it is not for you, you will have a hard time changing your course of study.

If you happen to be an A level grad, then no one will hire you as intern, unless you have already spent at least 1 year in uni. Even then, as most courses specialize in their respective engineering fields in the 2nd year, you might have some difficulties in finding an internship. By the time you finish 2nd year, its too late.

Welcome to the Singapore system. It is not impossible but merely difficult to get what you want. You just need to keep applying and talking to people.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Are you a polytechnic student who studied mechanical/chemical engineering? If so, you should be able to get the internship easily. But if you later discover it is not for you, you will have a hard time changing your course of study.

If you happen to be an A level grad, then no one will hire you as intern, unless you have already spent at least 1 year in uni. Even then, as most courses specialize in their respective engineering fields in the 2nd year, you might have some difficulties in finding an internship. By the time you finish 2nd year, its too late.

Welcome to the Singapore system. It is not impossible but merely difficult to get what you want. You just need to keep applying and talking to people.

Thank you so much for your reply! I am an A Level grad and I certainly expected that it would be tough to get an internship as most hirers are looking for those with experience.

However, what do you think about the chance of getting a job shadowing opportunity? Do you know of any engineering firms that offer job shadowing? I would really wish for a greater exposure in the engineering sector.

Originally Posted by qwerty1234

Thank you so much for your reply! I am an A Level grad and I certainly expected that it would be tough to get an internship as most hirers are looking for those with experience.

However, what do you think about the chance of getting a job shadowing opportunity? Do you know of any engineering firms that offer job shadowing? I would really wish for a greater exposure in the engineering sector.

I do not know of any. A good place to find out would be to go for career fairs. Not only the ones held in public, but those that are held in polytechnics as well. You can also write directly to the HR in engineering companies.

What you need to do first is to have a clear idea of what kind of jobs you are aiming for. Do you wish to do those CAD mechanical design jobs? Automotive repair? 3D printing? Chemical process and QC?

I do know that you may not know what you want at this stage, but it is good to have at least some direction rather than "just gimme anything", which makes potential hirers difficult to assign you.

I will encourage those with the right aptitude to study Engineering. My first degree was actually in Physics but got a scholarship to do a Postgraduate in Engineering overseas immediately after graduation. I joined an Engineering consulting firm and rose up the ranks very fast to Chief Engineer after 7 years, not because of my specialist skills but because being uniquely Singaporean I was able to bridge cultures both East and West but also between the Japanese another Asians. Essentially my clients liked me. Unfortunately, As the nature of my work required me to be away from my wife almost 10 months a year, I resigned for the sake of my marriage. I was luckily approached by an MNC (oil and gas) almost immediately but I chose to not go into engineering but started at the bottom in the commercial function ad a sales rep. I do not regret this decision as I was lucky to go up the corporate ladder through the years. I now make about 600-700k per year. My years in Engineering aided me tremendously as it gave me an analytical mindset and the project management skills. Engineers are also not afraid of numbers and this aided me in my MBA and CFA which I did farely well. In fact most of my peers in senior management come from an Engineering background. Having a sound technical background also aided me when I led investment projects and also when I was seconded to head a global renewable energies company years ago. Don't ditch Engineering, it is an enabler up any corporate ladder. It doesn't matter too if you are a polygrad. Work hard and always continue to improve yourself. 3 years back when I was running a different department, I promoted my Regional Technical Manager to a full P&L business role heading up ASEAN and South Asia. I've not regretted my decision. He was a polygrad who upgraded himself to a masters degree and prior to joining my company worked his way up to Chief Engineer in a former GLC. He should easily be making more than 300k a year. So the moral of the story is Engineering does pay if you approach it in the right way.

It does not matter if you did ME or ChemE. There is still a healthydemand of engineers in the Petrochemical and Oil & Gas industry. Most youngers shun these industries even for Engineering careers as they rather not wear safety helmets as they prefer deskbound Engineering careers.

Originally Posted by qwerty1234

Thank you so much for your reply! I am an A Level grad and I certainly expected that it would be tough to get an internship as most hirers are looking for those with experience.

However, what do you think about the chance of getting a job shadowing opportunity? Do you know of any engineering firms that offer job shadowing? I would really wish for a greater exposure in the engineering sector.

Don't be shy, write in to companies like Shell and ExxonMobil. I am not going to tell you how. Go do your own homework on who to reach out to. You need to impress others with your resourcefulness and tenacity.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Accountancy and finance have good prospects and you can eventually end up in management, however the long hours are a bitch.

In engineering even if you put in long hours, you may not end up in management.There are just too many engineers(local+foreign) in Singapore,hence the lower salary than expected for most.

See my post above on "Engineering as a Stepping stone"

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I will encourage those with the right aptitude to study Engineering. My first degree was actually in Physics but got a scholarship to do a Postgraduate in Engineering overseas immediately after graduation. I joined an Engineering consulting firm and rose up the ranks very fast to Chief Engineer after 7 years, not because of my specialist skills but because being uniquely Singaporean I was able to bridge cultures both East and West but also between the Japanese another Asians. Essentially my clients liked me. Unfortunately, As the nature of my work required me to be away from my wife almost 10 months a year, I resigned for the sake of my marriage. I was luckily approached by an MNC (oil and gas) almost immediately but I chose to not go into engineering but started at the bottom in the commercial function ad a sales rep. I do not regret this decision as I was lucky to go up the corporate ladder through the years. I now make about 600-700k per year. My years in Engineering aided me tremendously as it gave me an analytical mindset and the project management skills. Engineers are also not afraid of numbers and this aided me in my MBA and CFA which I did farely well. In fact most of my peers in senior management come from an Engineering background. Having a sound technical background also aided me when I led investment projects and also when I was seconded to head a global renewable energies company years ago. Don't ditch Engineering, it is an enabler up any corporate ladder. It doesn't matter too if you are a polygrad. Work hard and always continue to improve yourself. 3 years back when I was running a different department, I promoted my Regional Technical Manager to a full P&L business role heading up ASEAN and South Asia. I've not regretted my decision. He was a polygrad who upgraded himself to a masters degree and prior to joining my company worked his way up to Chief Engineer in a former GLC. He should easily be making more than 300k a year. So the moral of the story is Engineering does pay if you approach it in the right way.

Wow. Im really impress by you. When you joined in commercial function as sales rep, u had to start from the bottom?

I have about 9 years of experience as a process engineer, can anyone give me an idea of the estimated pay from ExxonMobil or Shell?