After finishing a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, 25-year-old Samuel Chan is ready to start a career – in banking.
The Nanyang Technological University graduate will join UOB Group’s Management Associate programme next month.
As an undergraduate, Mr Chan had an academic interest in engineering.
But when it came to jobs, he decided that the sector was not for him. “I felt that it was probably less commercial, less dynamic and less fast-paced than banking,” he said. And then, there is the pay. Industry surveys suggest that entry- level pay in engineering jobs is around $2,800 monthly, compared to over $3,000 in finance.
The job market for fresh graduates is seeing a mismatch between aspirations and employer demand.
This may mean tough competition in areas such as finance, and too little in those such as engineering, say experts.
“Our engineering cohorts each year do not enter the industry but seek opportunities in other industries, particularly in the finance field,” said managing director David Leong of human resource firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting.
Besides better pay, the finance sector is also perceived by some as being more attractive in terms of job scope and prospects.
On the Manpower Ministry’s list of degree-level jobs with the most vacancies, engineering jobs took up three of the top 10 places last year. These jobs were in the fields of civil, mechanical as well as industrial and production engineering.
The other positions in need of workers included posts such as management executive, teaching and software developer.
So while jobs for graduates are not scarce, it could be harder to get the specific one young graduates want.
Despite anecdotes of degreeholders having trouble in the job market, such candidates are a small minority.
Last year, 85.6 per cent of graduates landed a full-time permanent job within six months of their final examinations.
Written by: Janice Heng
Source: Straits Times
