After working for nearly eight years as an automation machine design engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, Raina Tay decided that it was time to upgrade herself for better career prospects. “I was searching for a short part-time degree course*. It just happened that PSB Academy was one of the few institutions that offered a two-year degree course in partnership with The University of Newcastle, Australia, which is a renowned institution,” she said.
During her course, Raina visited the onshore campus at Newcastle, Australia, where she could network with the lecturers and students. She enthused, “I had a wonderful time. We did our lab assignment, which is a graded module, with the Master’s students helping us.” She extended her stay and even got to visit some places of interest in the country.
After getting her Bachelor’s degree, big things happened for Raina when she decided to switch to a new job. Explaining her decision, she said, “I thought I should move on and do something else in a new environment. I applied for jobs and eventually got a design position in a Swedish company within six months after I graduated.”
In her new job, she worked as a design and development engineer whose job scope was to work with suppliers and reverse-engineers dealing with automotive bearings for motor vehicles. “I would check parts and drawings and approve the parts according to specifications. Due to the job nature, I had opportunities to travel and visit suppliers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and China.”
As a result of her work experience, she gained exposure to different aspects of the business. She elaborated, “I was exposed to company quality audits and learnt how companies operate for manufacturing. Having worked for five years in the design and development role, I was promoted to head a team of four in the product development team. My role changed to focus on developing the automotive kits for popular cars, primarily Japanese and Korean car brands running in Europe, so as to have good market coverage. Currently, I am heading the product development department, managing a group of about three to four people.”
Raina attributed her success in her current career to PSB Academy. “I’m glad that I took up their degree course* to pursue my dreams and gain better career prospects in my present company. The dedicated lecturers, who were mostly from The University of Newcastle, flew to Singapore to teach us in every module. I felt so privileged that we got the same teachers from the school in Australia,” she said.
The skills, values and knowledge that she gained at PSB Academy were also a stepping stone in her career advancement. Raina explained, “During my time there, I learnt how to study independently and use the resources to search for answers to solve problems. I also cultivated self-discipline to push for results when solving problems, especially in a university setting where lecturers are not always there for you.”
Raina added, “Teamwork and discussion with fellow classmates are also important to speed up some stuff in our work. While my design and engineering skills were acquired from my previous job roles, the degree course has enhanced my skills and given me opportunities to take on more responsibilities.”
Meanwhile, Raina missed the school life at PSB Academy, especially the time spent with her classmates. She reminisced, ”We studied from Monday to Saturday. We had many discussions together, and occasionally we even met on Sundays to do homework together. The time that I spent with my classmates were more than I had with my family. I can still remember the busy school life, trying to balance my time between my studies, job and family, but I was glad it was a fulfilling one
In closing, Raina has a word of advice for the current generation of students who are still pursuing their studies and will soon step into the corporate world: “Study hard. Though it may seem challenging at times to cope with so many things, it will all be worth it for a reason.”
*The Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (Part-Time) that Raina took, is no longer offered at PSB Academy.
PSB Academy is currently offering Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours), to find out more, visit HERE.
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