mga engineers in the philippines speak up!!

[retrojam]

san kayo graduate?

ok naman ba ang salary dito sa philippines?

[ezdriver]

not working as an engineer... but i have a license.

i chose to work in an IT field, not because i want to, but because i have to... that's the only choice left for me that offers a decent pay with pretty much the same opportunities to work abroad.

if given a chance for a career shift... i doubt it if i'll still go for an engineering job. for one, the pay sucks big time... unless you go for PNG or UNILEVER or some multinational giant.

i'm not sure of the scenario in the engineering field today, but during my time (around Y2K), manufacturing was at its low... not much opportunities...

[tina11]

i graduated with a degree in manufacturing engineering and i'm now working in IT. the pay is much better, there are more job openings and opportunities, and i can choose from a variety of specializations and career tracks.

are you still a student, retrojam?

[kixter]

I graduated as a Computer Engineer and I work as a consultant for an ISP... the pay is good since it is an american company and the benefits are great as well....

but i am taking up Cisco networking to try my luck abroad, where you can earn twice as much as you are earning now....

k!xT3r!!!

[ezdriver]

napansin ko lang na many engineering grads are shifting to IT field. hmmm... siguro baka yung mga engrs natin kasi jan di mahilig sa internet kaya di mashado pansin dito sa board.

pero kung titingnan kong mabuti, more than half of my friend in eng'g during college are now in IT. those who opted not to shift are now either the managers or simply supervisors. and many who were not that lucky to land such positions are cursing about the low salaries.

[chebyshev]

i'm an ECE graduate. licensed na din ako pero di ko naman nagagamit kasi wala naman ako sa telecoms. i'm currently in an R&D company. tinamaan ako dun sa post ni ezdriver. supervisory ang position ko dito pero relatively, mababa ang sweldo. madami din akong kakilala na nasa IT at malalaki na sweldo nila compared sa akin, pero personally ayoko ng IT kasi nababagot ako sa kakaprogram. no offense meant sa mga IT peeps dyan. i believe it's just a matter of preference. masaya ako sa ginagawa ko ngayon: hardware and test design. konti rin kasi ang R&D companies dito sa atin kaya limited din ang opportunities. like kixter, i want to try my luck abroad. plano ko rin mag-pursue ng graduate studies. para naman tumaas ng konti ang market value ko.

teka, bat mo nga pala natanong retrojam ?

[ezdriver]

chebyshev... uy, di ako nagpapasaring ha. sabi ko lang yung usual rants nung mga kaibigan ko. actually, they have been in that field for 5 years now, going 6. still their salaries are below the 2 decades mark. i know there are some who are earning quite well, but in a manufacturing setup (not managerial), this is the usual case.

swerte ka that you are assigned to R&D. very few companies have their R&D here in the philippines... mostly for implementation na lang yung nandito. so, consequently, the main role of the engineers here are more into the implementation of the processes developed elsewhere, usually sa motherland nung company. this is especially true if the company you're working for are into semicon industries, lalo na pag japanese. they see their people as merely technical people (aka "technicians"), and not necessarily engineers in their true sense of the word, hence, the low salary grades. of course, this is what my friend told me...

i haven't had any actual experience working in an engineering field... so i really can't tell if i'll enjoy it. pero yan talaga ang gusto ko gawin dati... actually hanggang ngayon... nakakafrustrate lang talaga yung sweldo kaya ayoko na mag-shift ng career.

[chebyshev]

it's ok ezdriver, no offense taken.

this is my first job and i've been with this company for more than 2 years already. sad to say, my pay is yet to reach the two-decade mark although medyo malapit na naman ako dun. but then, i still feel that is isn't enough to compensate for the work i'm doing here. kunsabagay, ganun naman ata ang feeling ng lahat ng employees dito sa atin.

i love what i do because the technology assigned to me is very promising. i get to learn a lot of things. yun nga lang, the practical side of me already tells me to look for a better-paying job because i need to save up for my future and that's why i want to try my luck abroad.

besides, i want to save up now kasi baka mainip na boyfriend ko kakahintay sa akin since nagrequest ako na wag muna kami magpakasal until i have saved some money for my self and my future family.

[chebyshev]

ooops, double post

[ezdriver]

uuyy.. actually, your pay is quite alright na rin if you'll compare it to others. kasi my former gf who is currently employed for more than 5 years already in a jap firm in laguna only receives about what you are receiving now (also close to 20). pasalamat na lang sya at sagana sa OT, and mababa ang gastos sa province kaya nakakasave sya nang maayos.

technology wise, maganda rin naman lalo na pag semicon. dami technical stuff na matututunan. add to that are the stints abroad. dami non. kakainggit nga sila e, they have been to different countries already, kahit months lang, as part of their training.

dito sa IT, there are opportunities... but they are VERY dependent on the company you are with. salary wise, they are much better though, can be almost twice as much as you are receiving currently. tapos after some years of experience, sheeet, dami ka na pwede lipatan, and pwede na mas malaki ang asking price.

yun nga lang, wala yung other "benefits" tulad sa isang manufacturing plants... ano yung benefits? dami operators jan di ba? her her her....

[uhm]

Hehehehe... working in a semicon now... not a very high pay but quite competitive na.

Pero daming benefits... Multi national company kasi...

Tapos you get to be exposed to lots of technologies, kahit na yung di pa na-release sa market, eh alam mo na.. parang ordinary na sayo.

[kixter]

tama kyo dyan... i got lots of friends and co-workers who are all board passers of ECE and yet they are working on IT kasi hiram makapasok sa mga telecom and the pay as well is an issue...

kung mag abroad naman, dapat yung experience mo muna talagang mataas na *** nde rin *** makapag abroad...

k!xT3r!!!

[the_BuGs]

Ako **** IT gustong mag shift ng Engineering Joke lang


Well, payo ko sa mga Engineering Grads,(Elec,ECE,Mech, at Civil) pilitin nyong makahanap ng werk sa mga engineering design company sa Pinas (fluor daniel,parsons, etc..) then after 2 years na experience sa Design (elec. & instr)... in demand na kyo sa Middle East laki pa salary.

[kixter]

Originally posted by the_BuGs
Ako **** IT gustong mag shift ng Engineering Joke lang


Well, payo ko sa mga Engineering Grads,(Elec,ECE,Mech, at Civil) pilitin nyong makahanap ng werk sa mga engineering design company sa Pinas (fluor daniel,parsons, etc..) then after 2 years na experience sa Design (elec. & instr)... in demand na kyo sa Middle East laki pa salary.

I agree.... in demand mga engineers ntin sa abroad kesa dito, ang tataas pa nang salary nila.... kakainggit tuloy yung mga board passers... ksi *** wala pang board eh....

k!xT3r!!!

[Switch_Engineer]

Hello pips I am also a licensed ECE working with one of the major telecom provider.Kung sweldo ang paguusapan tama lang sya sa isang pamilya.hehehe!!!kidding aside I am also planning to go abroad kasi with same amount of work dito sa pinas you could earn a lot sa abroad.Tsaka medyo mahirap ng umangat dito sa amin kasi kumpleto na yung slot ng mga bosing dito kaya for the next 5 to 10 years mukhang magiging same lang yung status ko ,kung umangat man siguro hangang supervisory level lang hay!Kixter hindi naman lahat kailangan board passer kasi karamihan ngayon sa experience na tumitingin.Gud luck na lang sa ating lahat.

[ezdriver]

tama... if you're really thinking of working abroad, experience counts very much... although it is an advantage if you are a licensed engineer, however, that license is usually only good in a local setup. sometimes you still need to get a new license when working abroad (if you really wanna be a licensed engineer in that country).

so better get enough experience first here in the philippines...

[pathosmelody]

hi. I'm a ChE graduate from UP and am working in one of those Multinational Design Firms. sana tama si theBugs na maraming job offers for experienced design engineers. Problem is, most of the time di pwede ang females sa Middle East Petrochem companies. Actually yun din yung plan ko, ipon ng experience para maka-apply abroad. Kasi super liit ng sweldo sa design ( Maniwala kayo mas malaki pa yung pay sa manufacturing, I should know kasi galing din ako sa manufacturing). Ang bawi mo lang sa design firms is pag-na-dispatch ka abroad for a project.. Oh, well. i'm giving myself five years ( uy three years na lang pala) and then I'll apply to my dream design company in Germany...

[the_BuGs]

Originally posted by kixter
I agree.... in demand mga engineers ntin sa abroad kesa dito, ang tataas pa nang salary nila.... kakainggit tuloy yung mga board passers... ksi *** wala pang board eh....

k!xT3r!!!

Nag wewerk kasi ako ngayon sa Engineering Company eh.... eto rin lang masasabi ko mga tsong wala silang pakialam kung board passer ka o hinde..... basta alam mo yung trabaho mo at yung experience mo.... Isipin mo naman yung Pinoy na Elec.Eng Board Passer eh ang position draftsman... samantala yung amo nilang engineer at designer nde board passer... at sa province pa na school nangaling mas angat pa sila........ karamihan na pinoy na nakukuha namin dito eh mga galing ng fluor daniel....

[the_BuGs]

Originally posted by pathosmelody
hi. I'm a ChE graduate from UP and am working in one of those Multinational Design Firms. sana tama si theBugs na maraming job offers for experienced design engineers. Problem is, most of the time di pwede ang females sa Middle East Petrochem companies. Actually yun din yung plan ko, ipon ng experience para maka-apply abroad. Kasi super liit ng sweldo sa design ( Maniwala kayo mas malaki pa yung pay sa manufacturing, I should know kasi galing din ako sa manufacturing). Ang bawi mo lang sa design firms is pag-na-dispatch ka abroad for a project.. Oh, well. i'm giving myself five years ( uy three years na lang pala) and then I'll apply to my dream design company in Germany...

Nyeh natatandaan kita... nde ka naman nagsubmit ng CV sa akin noon eh..... ok lang kung gurlash no...

[ziggyboy]

I think the main reason engineers are shifting to IT is because there aren't many engineering jobs in this country anyway.

For example, a family friend of ours from the US finished ECE in a "regular" university. What I mean is, it's not really one of those sparkling ones like MIT, Stanford, Univ of Calif, Priceton, etc....but still she works for Motorola and actually designs chips used in mobile phones. Do we actually have jobs like those here?

Some Filipinos are proud to say that we have Intel CPUs manufactured here...but that's just it...they're manufactured here, NOT DESIGNED HERE. These chips are actually desined by engineers in the US. What about Microsoft Philippines? Do we really have the hardcore programmer geeks working here? No, Microsoft software is programmed in Redmond, US...NOT here (once again). Microsoft Philippines is but a marketing company...they just sell American products.

Most of the jobs available here are the non-technical ones and therefore don't really need that many engineers...