Vulcann 6th Gear February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Read the following article from the ST Forum today. Basically IES will be fighting a uphill battle trying to encourage locals taking up engineering as a career. Stepping stone yes but to practice hardcore engineering until retirement maybe not for most. Sad fact is engineering is not that glamorous nor sexy a career as compared to say accounts or banking. Remuneration package is unattractive unless you are in a very specialised field say the oil & gas sector. Even PEs also pai tan with many consultancies in the industry all fighting over the few available jobs. From ST Forum: Efforts to revive interest in engineeringPublished on Feb 10, 2014 WE THANK Mr David Goh for raising an issue that is critical to the future of Singapore ("Revive interest in engineering"; Jan 30). It is true that we need to continue to pull in the brightest students into engineering, to keep our infrastructure robust, our economy competitive and retain a high quality of life. Compared with 30 to 40 years ago, it is a challenge now to get students to choose to study engineering, and to encourage engineering graduates to pursue engineering as a career. This is because the younger generation perceives engineering as a harsh and average-paying job that is limited to construction work. In reality, engineering is an exciting, promising and greatly rewarding profession. As global problems such as climate change and energy shortage become more serious, engineers are increasingly being sought after. Many new engineering disciplines, such as aerospace engineering, environmental engineering and biomedical engineering, have also emerged, offering a myriad of choices and opportunities to make a difference to the world. An engineering career can lead to great things. Many engineers in Singapore have gone on to become captains of industry. Mr Satya Nadella, the new head of Microsoft, is an engineer by training. To alleviate the shortage of engineers, the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), As the national society of engineers, has been working closely with government agencies to appeal to local young talents to join the profession, through National Engineers Day and other activities. We have also encouraged engineers based overseas to return and work in Singapore. In September last year, IES launched the Chartered Engineer Programme to raise the standards of engineering and the profile of engineers. Through this accreditation, we aim to give qualified engineers the salaries they deserve. In Britain, engineers who are chartered are paid as much as 40 per cent more than their non-chartered peers. With the support of industry players, we are moving in that direction as well. For parents with ambitious and talented children looking for successful careers and the ability to make an impact on the world, it is time to place engineering as a career of choice again. Joe Eades Council Member The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) (source: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/efforts-revive-interest-engineering-20140210 ) ↡ Advertisement 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kangadrool Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 If you have the talents, very strong in Maths and Sciences and most importantly PASSION, by all means go ahead and I encourage anyone to do so. I am sure you will succeed whether be a PE or captain of any industry (who does nothing related to engineering; many are). Please do not anyhow brainwash youngsters especially those who are just averagers in Maths and Sciences, with the lure of career prospects and money. It does nobody good. That's my message to our leaders and industry leaders. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shull Turbocharged February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Good and bad IMO. I'm an engineer myself in the heavy and construction engineering industry. If once can tahan the first 5-10 years in this line to gain the experience, the later part of your career can be rewarding, even financially. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chowyunfatt Turbocharged February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Same story many years back, Government try very hard to introduce Engineering for the Manufacturing Sector … Set up PEI, PGTC, German Institute, etc … It was a success in the beginning because Mould & Die, Electronic, etc … was strong in Singapore, later we slowly lost out to our Neighbors due to rising cost … History is repeating itself … 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sosaria Twincharged February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Totally agree with what Shull says. Although won't get fabulously rich doing engineering... at least can get a comfortable life. Important thing is to 'tahan' or withstand the early years. But it wasn't so much of a problem, as I recall, especially if single or married with no kids yet. Can really put in the hours at work. I think the youth these days want to enjoy life from day 1 they start working, and less willing to suffer the initial years - so engineering seems not so appealing. Nevertheless, as in any job, first few years as a junior rank, suffering is almost assured! Not just in engineering, but also banking, legal sectors - it's all a long, hard slog. If not willing to endure that, it's going to be difficult to settle in a job with long-term career. One thing that was not pointed out is that, as in any profession, those engineering-trained people who make big money are the really talented and gifted ones. Very rare. We have to accept the fact that not every engineer will fall into this category - but isn't it the same with every profession?? I don't think every banker, insurance or property agent, or lawyer is raking in the money or owns landed property... many just make enough for a comfortable lifestyle. So too can a person in engineering. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shull Turbocharged February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Totally agree with what Shull says. Although won't get fabulously rich doing engineering... at least can get a comfortable life. Important thing is to 'tahan' or withstand the early years. But it wasn't so much of a problem, as I recall, especially if single or married with no kids yet. Can really put in the hours at work. I think the youth these days want to enjoy life from day 1 they start working, and less willing to suffer the initial years - so engineering seems not so appealing. Nevertheless, as in any job, first few years as a junior rank, suffering is almost assured! Not just in engineering, but also banking, legal sectors - it's all a long, hard slog. If not willing to endure that, it's going to be difficult to settle in a job with long-term career. One thing that was not pointed out is that, as in any profession, those engineering-trained people who make big money are the really talented and gifted ones. Very rare. We have to accept the fact that not every engineer will fall into this category - but isn't it the same with every profession?? I don't think every banker, insurance or property agent, or lawyer is raking in the money or owns landed property... many just make enough for a comfortable lifestyle. So too can a person in engineering. Unless you choose to do purely engineer work (which usually is in a specialised field), many engineers will slowly switch to management role mid-career, and that opens up the route to top management. The experience gained during the earlier years, especially for those who do hands-on, is something which no other profession can learn from. It's easy to switch from engineering to finance, business or sales, but not the other way round. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Most new Engineers would rather become a teacher! I know of many! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcann 6th Gear February 10, 2014 Author Share February 10, 2014 Half my ex-classmates ended up as teachers. The other half? One a IT professional (from a B.Eng (civil)), one a businessmen dealing with IT stuff, one a trader turned car salesman, one a uni alumni staff, one doing proj management, 2 doing design & 2 PEs. Most new Engineers would rather become a teacher! I know of many! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vid Hypersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Engineering is not an easy field to excel in. The effort to returns ratio is sometimes not worth it. It's still easier to find the money in banking and finance. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Half my ex-classmates ended up as teachers. The other half? One a IT professional (from a B.Eng (civil)), one a businessmen dealing with IT stuff, one a trader turned car salesman, one a uni alumni staff, one doing proj management, 2 doing design & 2 PEs. wah!! 50% of a cohort! Thats a lot siak! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcann 6th Gear February 10, 2014 Author Share February 10, 2014 wah!! 50% of a cohort! Thats a lot siak! Must add that my course also included a chopper pilot, few regulars including a CO & some poly grads. All struggling to complete the course to get that elusive degree.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sosaria Twincharged February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Most new Engineers would rather become a teacher! I know of many! What can they teach? Because engineering is not considered a "teaching" subject, unlike having a physics or chemistry or mathematics degree, for example. If teaching at primary or secondary level, I think it's quite unchallenging... by the way, are primary, secondary and JC level teachers paid on the same salary scale, i.e. assuming they are degree holders, they have the same grade? IMHO, engineers generally are not so "social" people, so teaching - where some rapport or dealing with students is required - is like not a very suitable profession! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kangadrool Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 (edited) What can they teach? Because engineering is not considered a "teaching" subject, unlike having a physics or chemistry or mathematics degree, for example. If teaching at primary or secondary level, I think it's quite unchallenging... by the way, are primary, secondary and JC level teachers paid on the same salary scale, i.e. assuming they are degree holders, they have the same grade? IMHO, engineers generally are not so "social" people, so teaching - where some rapport or dealing with students is required - is like not a very suitable profession! teaching at ITE lor. Teach at poly the easiest option. BTW, engineering grads also can teach at Pri and Sec schools. Science like Physics and Maths are related. + am sure you would rather have your kids taught by local engineer teachers than FTs with strange accents, not to mention if the qualifications is dubious in the first place. Edited February 10, 2014 by Kangadrool Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 (edited) What can they teach? Because engineering is not considered a "teaching" subject, unlike having a physics or chemistry or mathematics degree, for example. If teaching at primary or secondary level, I think it's quite unchallenging... by the way, are primary, secondary and JC level teachers paid on the same salary scale, i.e. assuming they are degree holders, they have the same grade? IMHO, engineers generally are not so "social" people, so teaching - where some rapport or dealing with students is required - is like not a very suitable profession! DNT, Maths and i know of Engineers teaching Sciences (Physics and Chem).....no different! They will be trained in NIE on the relevant subject!Most teachers with a degree starts with the same pay (minus whatever adjustment the gov give) but usually after NIE roughly around 3.5ks. Annual increment is yearly (ceiling max at grade) and promotion to subsequent GEO level is somewhat fixed (unless u really corkup) the good ones(hardworking and efficient) and those angkat bola ones can becomes LH, SH, HOD. Those are management level...different ballgames! Edited February 10, 2014 by Eviilusion 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockngbrd Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 All go sell house better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxus-MIFA9 Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 (edited) Same story many years back, Government try very hard to introduce Engineering for the Manufacturing Sector … Set up PEI, PGTC, German Institute, etc … It was a success in the beginning because Mould & Die, Electronic, etc … was strong in Singapore, later we slowly lost out to our Neighbors due to rising cost … History is repeating itself … errrrr.............. I work with an engine beside, so can call me "engine-near" .... Edited February 10, 2014 by Picnic06 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg 5th Gear February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 IES is not doing enough to protect local engineers. So many Indian, PRC, Pinoy, Myanmar engineers are employed here. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_prince Supersonic February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Most new Engineers would rather become a teacher! I know of many! alot wanna go finance. mostly end up back office or become financial planner /RM type in banks. quite a lot end up selling insurance ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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