Choosing between A*STAR and DSTA

For people interested in a career in science and engineering, these are the two scholarships they are most likely to apply for. Chances are, if you can get one, you can get the other. It was a tough choice, really, since they both looked so good and offered exciting career paths.

For me, what really tipped the balance in my favor was the fact that A*STAR scholars are encouraged to do a PhD. I decided that since I really wanted to do a PhD, I might as well choose A*STAR. I liked the way they structured the PhD programme for their scholars. Counting from the time you sign the contract to the time you finish serving your bond, its 3 years for undergraduate degree + 1 year research attachment at an A*STAR institute + 5 years PhD + 2 years working at an A*STAR research institute + 3 years where you can choose from 4 career tracks. Quoting a piece of advice someone gave me at a (non-A*STAR) scholarship fair: "If you don't do a PhD straight after your bachelor's degree, you may not do it after you start working and get promoted". (Disclaimer: I didn't say it, nor do I think that applies to everyone.)

The choice to choose between 4 career paths two years into the 5-year-bond after my PhD was also attractive. There are four tracks to choose from: Research, Academic, Management, and Industry. So even if I decided I didn’t want to do research anymore then, I could still have a position where I could do something useful. By then, my thoughts on my career progression should be pretty set.

While I was on attachment at A*STAR. I decided I could see myself working there in the future. The strength in the biological sciences was also a factor - what if I wanted to crossover to bio next time? Even for bio haters, don't rule this out. Quite a lot of people start out in physics and ended up in bio at the postgraduate level - I know at least one such person personally.

In DSTA, its not so clear cut about whether their scholars end up getting a PhD or not. That said, I think DSTA is an awesome place to go if you’re not completely sure if you want to do a PhD, but like science and engineering! And they do really cool stuff too. You can always graduate and work first before deciding if you want to stick to DSTA or go do a PhD.