Why be an expert in Singapore? Seriously.
Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 7:00AM (Note: This was a blog entry which I wrote a while back before I completed my PhD program. I have made minor edits, but have left most of the writing intact. This entry highlights one compelling reason why I chose to work in the industry eventually. This led to a job search in Singapore, but ended up with me in US. But that's another story.)
My supervisor once voiced his concern when I started my PhD on whether I would be able to find a job upon graduation because I was not planning to study a more "popular" subject matter. Being fresh out of National Service and finally free to use my mind, I was eager to pursue my own interests and was not ready to kowtow to the perceived stifling of my academic life by such mundane economic reality. In fact, I was questioning his concern at the back of my mind - surely a computer science PhD would not have any difficulty in finding a decent IT job!
Due to stipulations of my fellowship, I am obliged to stay in Singapore for two years to work after graduation, but I was free to work anywhere, as long as it is related to computer science. So in my last year of my candidature, I started my job hunt in earnest. I prepared my resume and seeked out the usual suspects - I applied for industry and teaching positions first, and procured several job offers, each giving a fairly decent monthly salary as a first job. But, well, let's just say I was not tripping over my own feet to accept any of these job offers.
Incidentally, my wife started her job approximately the same time as I entered graduate school, and is thus rather suited to serve as a frame of reference for comparing job compensations between working after a Bachelors or doing a PhD before entering the workforce. After four years of working, she was moving up the career ladder, and was earning 25% more per month than the job offers I was getting. I like to point out that my wife is a Bachelors degree holder in a government job - so we are not talking about a really fast-tracked Masters in a blooming industry. Many a times I would hear about a supposedly "excellent", or "great" job offer from a local research institution or school, and would be informed that I was going to be paid a quarter less than my wife. The icing on the cake, the cream de le creme, the best part of it all, is that I would be drawing Bachelor's pay until my PhD degree is actually conferred. FYI, I was officially conferred my PhD degree in September after submitting my thesis in January. Let's just say I was not amused at this point in time.
The school does have much more attractive compensation, with a higher monthly salary as a postdoctoral researcher (although they do not pay annual bonus), a much more comprehensive healthcare plan, and the freedom to engage in any area of research. It seems like a no-brainer to stay in school if possible after a PhD in Singapore. However, postdoctoral research positions are contract-based for one to two years, and it does entail a need to secure a more permanent job after the contract ends. That means a tenure-track position, which is hard to obtain unless you are a super-star (but if so, you should be gunning for a position in an ivy league university).
I am disappointed at the job options of a PhD graduate in Singapore, and found them clearly lacking any attraction whatsoever. I find solace in achieving mastery of a subject matter after four years of research and study, but financially, it is a little disappointing.
Read and weep - Student to Professor: The Road to Tenure-Track [Princetonreview.com]
In a related thread, what makes sense in Singapore? People management.
People management is better rewarded than technical expertise. This differentiation between experts and middle-level managers in terms of rewards is an Asian phenomenon. Here, those who present the work seem to get the credit for it, regardless of who actually performs it. We live in a place and time where articulation is often mistaken for accomplishments.- Are you too smart for your own good?. Manoj Thulasidas. Today newspaper. Aug 25 2007.
Fast forward to today, and I am enjoying showing up at Google for work. I honestly enjoy the challenge and it pays well enough for me not to worry about money. I wished Singapore could have given me such opportunities there, but in all seriousness, I will never return to Singapore for a technical job.
Reader Comments (17)
u are right.. they don need a phd.. a phd u cant find a job easily
even u can find a job. ur pay may not be as good as those without phd degree
Well, the bottom line is that unlike CS PhD grad in USA who have the very wide options of choosing between Google, MS, Yahoo, IBM, Intel, Bell,.... and many well established industrial research labs, Singaporean CS PhD grads are not that spoilt with the wide choices. In fact rumours has it that in Singapore, PhDs are considered overqualified.
NTU, NUS and A* are the typical traditional choices PhD grads can choose from. And yes then there is the salary disadvantage as well.
Then Singapore also lack common-border with another developed country. Unlike a German PhD who can also choose to work in UK and France, and a Canadian PhD grad who can apply in USA, travelling to our nearest neighbour, Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand, would actually be considered a downgrade.
Good Honours and Master, and Decent PhD
Job hunting but having difficulty in finding suitable industry jobs for a long time...
Still struggling to find suitable jobs in Singapore...
A good article "Doctoral degrees - The disposable academic" by The Economist at http://www.economist.com/node/17723223?story_id=17723223.
Wish your family and you a Happy and Prosperous Year 2011.
Great article find. Thanks!
Best of luck with your job hunting, and a happy new year to you too.
I like your blog.
Still no luck in securing a suitable industry job after so long. There is very low industry demand for PhD. As mentioned by "NTU SCE PhD 4th yr, rumours has that PhDs are considered overqualified in Singapore...
That. Really. Sucks.
I have been agonizing a little over how to respond, but my general advice will be to try looking outside your area of expertise. I have a colleague here who was a physicist for many years until he decided to switch careers for monetary reasons. He thought that he would miss science a lot, but after chatting with him, it seems like he is intellectually quite content with the work that we do right now.
I agree completely with the views of this blog.
My niece obtained a PhD in Bio Sciences at one of the top Universities in the world in this subject. She Passed her Masters with distinction and has published many papers on breaking ground technology in drug delivery systems.
She is a proud Singaporean and wanted to return to Singapore and pass on her knowledge and experience. She was offered several posts in the UK at Oxford and Cambridge as well as posts in American Universities but she is determined to remain in Singapore.
Now one year later and no job, she is regretting the decision to come back home. Without exception, at all of her interviews, she is told she is over qualified and does not have relative experience.
Well done Singapore, nothing like driving away home grown talent.
In order to find an non-research, industry/business job in Singapore. Which will be more helpful? A Masters from a top US university or PhD from NUS?
This might be a bit futile here, and I'm a little late in reading this, as I'm defending next month;) but my partner graduated with masters last year and moved back and is bound to work in Singapore; I'm currently looking at my options there. I'm in biomedical field, already have a couple professors I'm interested in working for at A*star, but should at least give my time to ponder other options. Is there a good place to look for positions at biotech companies, etc?
Thanks,
Jane: My personal take? For technology jobs at least that are not research-based, Completing masters degree takes a shorter time (especially if it's only 1 year), and at the end of the day in the industry, your experience and career advancement counts for more if you have what it takes. On the other hand, NUS PhD programs are typically quite fast (they are quite merciless about graduating students, which is good) - 4 years.
Some articles on compensation based on the highest degree attained:
http://www.indeed.com/salary?cat=degree&q1=Bachelor's&q2=Master's&q3=Ph.D.&q4=MBA
http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_increased_earnings_income_bachelors_masters_doctorate.htm
A top-tier university also opens doors for your first job. (a PhD, even from NUS, helps too, but not as much in my opinion)
Russlush3: Sorry - can't help you much here. I am in CS, so I am not informed of the employer choices for the biomedical field.
The problem with our local culture is we expect to get higher studies and expect things to be created for us. One expect to be paid "x" amount per month simply because you get an academic paper? Did anyone ask themselves why should an unproven, unestablished PhD holder be paid more than someone with industrial track record? Truth is there is no reason why this should be the case.
Look at this list of brand names ..."Google, MS, Yahoo, IBM, Intel, Bell,.... and many well established industrial research labs" all these are founded by people with or without a higher education. If one is really an outstanding Bachelor, Master or Phd holder... Prove It! Start a company and bring it to establishment like Google or IBM. A lot of the well establish industrial research lab today was founded by Fresh College Kids.
touché. touché.
Now go forth and do that young one.
there are really a lot of opportunities in Singapore, especially among IT executives. it's important therefore to increase your market value through continuous learning. great article!
Pretty interesting and inspiring story. Getting the right job is really thought specially with all the competition right now. Singapore has become one of the most fastest growing country in the world specially in the IT industry. Executive Job Search
Well, i can't totally blame the system for seeing many PhD can't get a job. Many of them really think so high of themselves, thinking that the industry must reward them for their degree even at the first day of their work. I think a bit of modesty is required, not asking too high for your starting, and prove that you are good, then money will come gradually.
If i can pay a diploma holder to write a computer software, why should i pay a PhD?