Derrick Ko
Ever since I first dipped my toes into Singapore startups back in 2007, I’ve always kept an eye on its development. I had previously observed that the lack of engineering talent was limiting the startup ecosystem.
A great engineering ecosystem creates great startups.
Startup and engineering ecosystems are symbiotic. Looking back at the historical development of startup ecosystems like New York City, Israel and Silicon Valley, we can see that they were built on a bedrock of engineering talent. However, startups can’t single handedly create a great engineering ecosystem.
A great engineering ecosystem creates great startups. And that’s where we should focus the conversation.
For the past month, I’ve had the opportunity to understand Singapore’s engineering ecosystem at a much deeper level. In general, I’m pleased with our ecosystem’s progress. But I still remain cautiously optimistic. Let’s walk through it.
Industry
Singaporean culture has typically considered engineering a “non-ideal” profession, behind law, medicine, and finance. But I’ve definitely noticed a recent shift in that mindset. And even though this mindset has yet to fully evolve, there has never been a better time to be a software engineer in Singapore.
First, it’s clearly an engineer’s market. Singapore will face a shortage of 30,000 engineers by 2017. And second, there are plenty of opportunities at interesting companies — email me for suggestions.
This allows software engineers to be discerning. They have the privilege to do so and they should. Be picky — work for companies that value engineering, share personal values, and pay well. There’s no reason to settle for companies that treat engineering as a blue collar profession. We aren’t at that level of maturity as an ecosystem, and having a discerning workforce is the first step.
Grassroots
Singapore has its share of tech conferences in recent years — PyCon, RedDotRubyConf, DevFest, to name a few. But what surprised me the most was the grassroots vibrancy of the ecosystem.
I could spend every day of the week attending meetups on topics ranging from engineering to user experience design. This is a huge leap forward from just 5 years ago.
As this growth continues, I hope to see the community reach beyond the current demographic, and engage more frequently with our youth, our underrepresented, and our underprivileged. Efforts like Techladies, which is a fantastic to see in a nascent community. This is crucial to maintaining the diversity of our ecosystem.
Students
Students are the lifeblood of the ecosystem. I was pleased to learn that computer science is one of the most popular — and most selective — university degrees in Singapore at the moment. However, according to my friends at NUS Hackers, there are less than 10 students in the current cohort that will spend their 2016 summer interning overseas, which is disappointing.
