Further Thoughts to “The Life Sciences Conundrum”

Yesterday, the article “The Life Sciences Conundrum” (reported by Loh Chee Kiong) has generated many responses from both the MSM and the blogosphere. SGE received an email from one of our readers Chua Chern Pin, who suggested an interesting reference for the locals to obtain a global perspective on the issue of internships and we also discuss the bleak picture painted by Robin Tan (a life sciences headhunter whom I happen to know).

First, I refer to a private email (modified for the purpose of the article) by Chua Chern Pin. He refers me to the issue of passive Singaporean students in our earlier commentary. The reality is that local Singaporeans need to be more proactive and competitive against their foreign counterparts. For a first step, they need to understand that grades in NUS/NTU/SMU can only bring you that far. Sometimes, the employer does look for experience, network and drive in the student.

I will like to suggest this article from the IEEE Potentials magazine for mention in SG Entreprenuers. It highlights the value of internships and gives readers an idea of the importance students attribute to internships in the US context. It concludes by pointing out that evidence of leadership and ‘enterprising moves’ are more relevant to employers than grades alone.

I agree with you that the majority of local students tend to be too laid-back and are not competitive enough in preparing for the working world. I also think that many do not realise that they can pursue careers outside of their major. I believe we both hope that more local students will be more proactive and enterprising during their undergraduate education. Therefore I hope this article will help give them a global perspective, and help them understand the level at which they have to operate to compete effectively.

Thanks and cheers,
chern pin

Citation: Johnston, E.T.B., Editorial, Potentials, IEEE, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 3, Jul-Aug 2006.

Now we turn to the 2nd article of the day.

The second article is by Robin Tan from Today. For that matter, he also painted a pretty bleak picture for the life science graduates and concluded that being real estate agents might not be a bad career choice after all.

Perhaps, it’s a cultural mindset. In Singapore, people tend to think that if you study engineering, you will be an engineer. Of course, this kind of inference is normal because our education breeds specialization rather than diversity. A science undergraduate should not think of their own industry as the only career path, and for that matter, teaching. There are other possible career paths to pursue because the students in Science are trained to be rational and analytical. These attributes are required in certain industries which may not intersect with their major.

In a recent alumni gathering of science graduates in NUS, I met a life sciences major who is now a lawyer in the Ministry of Law. She did some work in life sciences and subsequently found her calling in law. As a matter of fact, no one seems to talk about patent law, which is another area in life sciences that is solely lacking in Singapore. In the area of patent law, a undergraduate science education is useful for the drafting of patents and the conversion course for patent law takes only 2 years. In the UK, law firms cut the shortfall by paying science graduates to do patent law. Believe it or not, our law graduates don’t like this subject but it is one of the highest paying jobs in town (because there is a lack of these people around).

So all is not lost, if the student does make an effort themselves to do their homework about the industry.

Life sciences headhunt

Recruiter on bleak prospects for non-PhD holders, how fresh grads can get into research