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I completed my MSc in Communications Engineering at Imperial College of London in 2001. I returned to Malaysia and took up a position as a lecturer with an Australian university's offshore campus in Malaysia and have been there ever since.

Thinking of moving to England under the HSMP. However, getting an academic job is difficult considering I do not have a PhD (had a PhD offer from Cambridge, but couldnt afford it). Intend to complete PhD, but after saving up a bit.

So, thought of getting a job in engineering, but many positions need experience. Thought of taking up a job as a graduate engineer, but people prefer to take fresh graduates (I have been working for 2 years).

Thought of forfeiting my academic tenure to come to England is slightly unnerving for me. I talked to my director, who is Irish and has worked in England. He says it's foolish to give up tenure and go to England with nothing in hand, looking for job which may never come (something to the tune of having a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush).

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? My commonwealth holiday maker visa has actually been approved until Jan 2006 (although I am waiting for my HSMP application result), and I could come to England looking for job, but is my director right? Do people find engineerig jobs in England, having come searching with nothing in hand?
Cheers guyz

I believe Chess and I are at least two 'engineers' on the board. There is also Joseph01 a regular poster on the board who is in the telecomms sector and has HSMP status. It may be worth going back through the board for his posts - sorry no search engine on here. You do not detail your undergrad degree which is useful to know to highlight options. Also you do not tell us when you applied for HSMP and your scoring criteria. Typically engineering in the UK is either private sector based or government sector based. The government sector is primarily infrastructure based e.g. highways and the rail network. There are opportunities here due to massive investment in this public sector but you highlight a challenge that you have no experience.

Private sector engineering has traditionally been manufacturing driven but that's going out the window as this is sent offshore. I am in oil and gas which has always been ok especially with the surge in global gas usage and current record oil prices.

Growth prospects in the traditional 'communications engineering' sector were dealt a blow by the failure of 3G technology to pick up (as well as the massive overpayments for this licenses by the winning bidders) and ongoing delays in telecom deregulation. BT still has a sizeable monopoly in the fixed line market and there are issues about broadband. Linked to the communications aspects are IT network issues and as you know investment in such has more or less stopped.

You may still get a job in the UK as an engineer but this will be at entry level. In terms of teaching not only is lack of PhD and issue but funding of UK higher education is a big problem at the moment with lecturers recently on strike over poor pay. It may be worth you looking into the Engineering Council website for a pointer on engineering careers and the Universities lecturers union website to get an idea of what's happening in that sector.

You can enter the UK on your WHM to facilitate job hunting because you will not get any joy outside the UK unless you have an in demand skill set. If your HSMP is approved whilst you are in the UK the HSMP Team may grant you a HSMP Leave To Remain visa in country. Failing that you can always apply for such at a British Diplomatic Post abroad not necessarily Singapore e.g. France is a nearby visa free option if you are a Singapore Citizen for such an application at the British Embassy in Paris if they accept your application.

Good Luck

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