How are Singapore youth hashing out their career aspirations?

In a world of greater flux, they don’t let rigid plans get in the way of seizing opportunities

- Tay Hong Yi Correspondent

She thought her first job out of university would be at a large multinational, working in software engineering.

But Miss Cheng Ruo Xi’s plans took a different trajectory when a friend alerted her to an opening at a robotics lab at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), where the former was in her final year of studying computer science in 2019.

The role involved developing small, modular robots that could be used as building blocks for larger robots, and Miss Cheng found palpable satisfaction in seeing a team come together to translate software into physical movement.

Five years on, and landing a corporate job is nowhere on Miss Cheng’s radar.

Instead, the 28-year-old is focused on growing Rosen Bridge, a startup offering robotics education services in both Singapore and China.

She and three like-minded friends co-founded the startup in 2023 to improve access to training for aspiring roboticists to ensure robots continue keeping up with recent artificial intelligence advances.

"I thought I was just going to work at a startup for a little bit and then, maybe, join a bigger company with the knowledge I had gained,” Miss Cheng said with a laugh.

Her experience shows how youth in Singapore navigate career choices in a world of greater flux and opportunity: mindfully striving for enriching careers, yet not letting a rigid plan get in the way of seizing the day.

To understand their career priorities and aspirations, The Straits Times commissioned a survey where 1,000 young Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 18 to 30 were polled by market research firm Kantar in September 2025.

The respondents comprised 203 full-time students, 56 individuals in their first job, and 702 experienced workers in their second job and beyond. The rest were either unemployed or serving full-time national service.