Choosing the Right STEM Career and Graduate Employer

CHOOSE THE RIGHT STEM CAREER AND GRADUATE EMPLOYER

There are many good employers in Singapore, so how do you choose between them? Take some time to think about the sector you want to work in, the career you want to have and the life you want to lead.

Getting employed is one thing. Getting satisfactory employment, however, is a whole different ball game.

Most firms present a good mix of specialist and management career opportunities – each of which offers a very different type of career springboard. While this may not necessarily determine your future career pathway, it certainly does influence your professional growth as a graduate.

For this reason, it is important that you put some thought into applying to the right employer and position:

What are your priorities?

Do you want to develop your technical knowledge to become an expert in a particular field, or would you prefer to throw yourself into the thick of the action in, for example, a manufacturing plant?

What type of function suits you best?

Find out what you are most comfortable with. Perhaps a customer and productoriented role in supply chain management aligns with your personality? Or is a strategy planning-related position in project management a better fit for your temperament?

These are only broad guidelines for you to ponder over, however. If you are still unsure, you may want to try applying to rotational training programmes some companies offer. These are mostly offered by larger organisations, and they allow you the opportunity to “sample” duties across different departments, including commercial and technical ones.

Depending on the employer, though, the structure of these courses may or may not be role-specific. Some firms will want their graduate hires to experience the best of both worlds, offering programmes that cross technical and non-technical fields. Others are more particular, sorting applicants out into “streams” upon admission.

On the other hand, smaller businesses prefer recruiting directly into specific roles, so make sure you know what you are aiming for if you want to apply to such firms.

Choosing your working environment

Start by considering whether you are better suited for a fast-paced or researchbased working environment. Factories and manufacturing plants tend to be more exciting, requiring a lot of immediate attention and action. Inversely, the R&D and design departments provides more chances for you to work with technology, but are less speedy.

If you prefer to spend most of your working hours outdoors, look at positions that will require you to travel and perform your duties out of the office, such as the construction or oil extraction areas of work. If you are the type who gets bored by a desk-bound vocation, then you may want to opt for an area of specialisation that can sate your wanderlust. If you are the opposite of both, consider other fields, such as design engineering or statistics, which are mainly office-based.

The working environment may also affect the type of opportunities and projects offered. Larger corporations with structured training schemes will usually let you participate in big international projects, supported by a good network.

Smaller organisations, in contrast, are more selective with their projects, usually going for specialised niches. On top of that, less manpower at such firms means that you will be given more early responsibilities, which, in turn, translates to faster growth and more experience.

While this may mean that the learning curve has the potential to be quite steep, you may achieve early acknowledgement if you can pick things up fast enough!

What are you prepared to do?

Before you decide on who you want to work for, think about how far you are willing to go for your work – both literally and metaphorically. Consider these:

Are you prepared to move around the region for work, or travel overseas on secondments and long-term project assignments? How long will you be willing to do so?

Or are you more comfortable being rooted in the office, where you can build positive working relationships with your team members?

Oil and gas professionals, for instance, are usually required to be particularly mobile, and they can often be found travelling offshore to oil rigs and refineries.

Process controllers, on the other hand, may find themselves tied to a specific manufacturing plant, monitoring its operational efficiency day in and day out.

Think about the hours that you are willing to clock in as well; it is not uncommon for meteorologists to have to do shift work, while those involved in maintenance sometimes pull unusual hours.

If keeping ordinary working hours from nine-to-five is a priority, then perhaps other specialisations, much like fintech, may be better for you.

Obtaining additional professional qualifications

Another area of concern you may want to consider is the educational support you can get from your employer. Are you aiming to become professionally qualified as a chartered engineer? What about further studies?

Many recruiters do provide such support and opportunities. Be sure to clarify, however, as some employers are only willing to support your education to a certain level.

In addition, be sure to ask about alternative training opportunities – both internal and external – and other forms of sponsorship that can benefit you or help you with your career progression.

Make the match

Do not neglect the culture fit between yourself and your prospective employer! See if you can request a tour around the workplace during the interview process to get a feel for the company culture or the kind of work that inspired you to apply to this employer in the first place.

If you have the chance, try to speak with current employees or any connections that you may have within the company to get some insights. You can also use this time to observe your potential colleagues. More often than not, if you are comfortable talking to them from the get-go, you will be able to work well with them if you do get hired.