Why should it be any different? OK let's hypothetically imagine that there's a Singaporean who simply could not get a job in Singapore because he didn't have enough skills, work experience or training that matched any of the vacancies available out there. What makes you think that a company in America, South Korea, Australia or France would say, "wow, a Singaporean who is uneducated, unskilled and inexperienced - that's exactly the kinda talent we need, let's give him a job!" Now that I put it like that, doesn't it sound utterly ludicrous? No, these American, Korean, Australians and French would reject this applicant for the same reasons that the Singaporeans companies have rejected this guy. There really isn't that much difference in the recruitment process whether you're applying for a job in Singapore or abroad. Those who can get good jobs in Singapore will be able to access good jobs abroad too - those who can't get a job in Singapore are highly unlikely to be able to get one abroad by that same token. What did you expect?
2. The barriers of entry are a LOT higher for jobs requiring a work permit.
Perhaps many of you Singaporeans have never ever considered what it takes to apply for a job in a country like the UK, Australia or America. As a Singaporean, you do not have a right to work in these countries at all - so you will require a work permit even if there is a company who is willing to give you a job. There are strict rules governing whom these work permits can be issued to: they are for highly skilled jobs, not unskilled or lowly skilled ones and by that token, there are minimum salaries thresholds to be met, so if you are a brain surgeon who is going to be paid a lot of money for your unique skills, then you will have no problem getting that work permit. But if you want to apply for a work permit as a waiter on minimum wage, then no that will be rejected instantly. Thus it is highly unlikely even for a fresh graduate to get his/her first job in the West after graduation as work permits are usually given to those who are more experienced and earn more money. The UK government is about to raise the barriers of entry even higher to restrict the number of work permits issued. Compare that to Singaporeans looking for work in Singapore, there are no barriers of entry for them at entry level: thus it is far easier for a Singaporean to find a job in Singapore than abroad.
So if you are a highly skilled, highly educated individual with a lot of ambition, why should you limit yourself to Singapore? Why should you try to find a job as close to home as possible? Perhaps there are reasons to do that, for example, my sister once worked a few years at NTU - for those of you not familiar with NTU, it is in the far west of Singapore in Tuas. My mother was vehemently against the idea of my sister working so far away in Tuas and when I heard my mother protest, I almost thought she was joking. What's the problem? It's just Tuas, not Thailand, Tahiti or Tanzania. My mother thought that the very long journey to Tuas and back everyday was taking up too much time and that would impact on the quality time my sister should be spending with her son and it may lead to her getting not enough sleep, thus affecting her health. I told my mother that my sister's priority should not be trying to find a job closest to her flat, but her career prospects and development should take priority and if that meant working in Tuas or even further afield well so be it. So for people like my mother, never mind working abroad in London or New York, even working in the west of Singapore was too far away in her opinion!
Everyone has a unique set of skills and talents and the best job for you will be found in the place where there is the greatest demand for your skills and talents, where there is an opportunity for you to put your skills and talents to the greatest use and reach your full potential. Now some of you Singaporeans may be able to find an ideal job right there in Singapore - but others may not: say you are a geologist studying volcanoes. Well there are no volcanoes in Singapore, if you want to find a job to do with volcanoes, you will simply have to work in a country where there are volcanoes like Italy, the Philippines, Mexico or Ethiopia where your skills will be in great demand. Whilst you may love Singapore as your hometown, as the place where you spent your childhood, it may not necessarily offer you the best opportunities for you to to develop your career and all that really depends on where there is greatest demands for your skills and talents. And if your career prospects will be far better off abroad, if you cannot find the opportunities you need to further your career in Singapore, then you shouldn't afraid to move abroad to make your dreams come true.
Everyone has a unique set of skills and talents and the best job for you will be found in the place where there is the greatest demand for your skills and talents, where there is an opportunity for you to put your skills and talents to the greatest use and reach your full potential. Now some of you Singaporeans may be able to find an ideal job right there in Singapore - but others may not: say you are a geologist studying volcanoes. Well there are no volcanoes in Singapore, if you want to find a job to do with volcanoes, you will simply have to work in a country where there are volcanoes like Italy, the Philippines, Mexico or Ethiopia where your skills will be in great demand. Whilst you may love Singapore as your hometown, as the place where you spent your childhood, it may not necessarily offer you the best opportunities for you to to develop your career and all that really depends on where there is greatest demands for your skills and talents. And if your career prospects will be far better off abroad, if you cannot find the opportunities you need to further your career in Singapore, then you shouldn't afraid to move abroad to make your dreams come true.
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| What are your best skills? |
4. It is actually far harder to work abroad than to work in the country where you grew up.
I had a very interesting 2014: I had the opportunity to work in a few non-English speaking environments. Firstly, I worked with Google France in Paris where the business language was French, then I worked with Google Germany in Hamburg where the business language was German and then RTL in Köln which was even more German speaking than Google Germany! Now I have heard of a lot of Singaporeans who are paranoid about traveling to countries where English isn't widely spoken. can you imagine yourself working in France or Germany where you're expected to simply speak French and German like them and not use English to get your work done?
It's hard work. It's very hard work. Fortunately, my second language is French and I am fluent in French but German is my sixth language (after English, French, Mandarin, Welsh and Spanish) and whilst my German improved a lot last year after having worked two contracts in Germany, it was still a huge challenge for me to have to do anything in German instead of English. Take for example one morning, we were given a briefing document about a task we had to do - the document was in German and I struggled through the document and it took me about five minutes to read just the first page before I realized that there was an English version of the same document at the bottom of the stack of papers. That experience gave me a fresh appreciation of all these European migrant workers in the UK who are using their second or third language when they are are communicating in an English-speaking work environment.
And even if you can get past the language barrier (as I did in France, since my French is fluent), there are still cultural boundaries. Imagine if I put you in a room full of French or Russian businessmen and let's assume that they all speak English fluently, would you be able to make small talk with them and establish rapport with them over say a working lunch? At least if you are a Singaporean dealing with other Singaporeans, you will be able to read subtle nuances in their choice of words, their body language and you would know what buttons to push or what topics to pick to break the ice. To have to do that with someone from a country halfway around the world is so much harder - thus it is far harder to handle everything from a job interview to a business meeting to a networking function when you are out of your comfort zone, several time zones away from the country where you grew up. This means it is so much harder for a guy like me who grew up in Ang Mo Kio to have established a career in Europe rather than Singapore.
It's hard work. It's very hard work. Fortunately, my second language is French and I am fluent in French but German is my sixth language (after English, French, Mandarin, Welsh and Spanish) and whilst my German improved a lot last year after having worked two contracts in Germany, it was still a huge challenge for me to have to do anything in German instead of English. Take for example one morning, we were given a briefing document about a task we had to do - the document was in German and I struggled through the document and it took me about five minutes to read just the first page before I realized that there was an English version of the same document at the bottom of the stack of papers. That experience gave me a fresh appreciation of all these European migrant workers in the UK who are using their second or third language when they are are communicating in an English-speaking work environment.
5. Singapore is not always number one. Other countries may present better opportunities.
This was a conversation I had with my dad when I won a scholarship to a top university in the UK. He expressed surprised that I would choose to go abroad to study when I was already guaranteed a place at NUS. He said (in Mandarin, but I shall translate), "normally Singaporeans try to secure a place in NUS or NTU, failing which then they turn to alternatives abroad only if they cannot get into NUS or NTU." I then questioned him, "do you think the NUS is the best university in the world?" He then found himself going, "Yes but no but well... I am not sure. It is very good." Well the simple answer is that whilst NUS is a very respectable university, it is by no means the best in the world as it has a top 100 world ranking back in 1997 when I went to university - it has since climbed to 25. Which makes it an excellent university, but if you can say get yourself a place in a university ranked even higher than NUS, then you should go to that university instead (especially if you have a scholarship). So whilst NUS may be excellent in engineering & technology (world rank 13th), they rank much lower when it comes to the arts & humanities (rank 42nd).
6. Really, life abroad can be far nicer than in Singapore, so if you can leave, then why not?
Koh makes it sound as if life abroad is definitely worse than Singapore - well I beg to differ. As I spent my adult life in Europe, I was spared any NS obligation. I didn't have to squeeze onto the MRT in the morning and I hope you like Pinoys and PRCs, because the thought of growing Singapore's population to 6.9 million, mostly through migrants from China and the Philippines is not something I approve of. Trying to buy a car or a flat is expensive in Singapore - if you're a professional earning a very good salary, then you'll have no problems; but if you're not then you're screwed.
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| Life in Europe has been good to me. |
Life in the UK has been good to me - I particularly enjoy experiencing four seasons and winter is by far my favourite season. I love living in one of the world's most cosmopolitan and exciting cities and the amount of opportunities I have at my fingertips, at my doorstep are just astounding. Being in this position was something I had always dreamed about as a child. My mother was terrified of leaving the familiarity of Ang Mo Kio, she literally hated going on holidays and would count the days before she could go home - but all I ever wanted to do as a child was to get out there and explore the world. Why would I want to stay in Ang Mo Kio when there are just so many fascinating places out there in the world just waiting for me? I have seen so many fascinating and amazing places in the world over the year.s
7. International experience actually does look incredibly good on your CV.
Besides, there's a very good reason why Singaporeans would want to actively seek employment outside Singapore: they want to demonstrate how versatile they are in adapting to challenging environments, that they know how to handle business clients from all over the world and most importantly, they are capable of handling huge international projects that reach far beyond the shores of Singapore. Yes there are some Singaporeans with very big ambitions about their careers and then there are plenty who don't. There is a small photocopy shop near where my parents live in Ang Mo Kio, it is a small family run business whereby the old couple have pretty much passed the running of the business to their daughter. Now I mean no disrespect to that family, but would I ever give that daughter of that couple a job? If I needed someone to run a photocopy shop in Singapore, sure she will be number one on my list. But if it is to be a part of a team to handle a multi-billion dollar investment deal involving a few companies from different countries, then no way. I'm very sorry, no offence, but she simply does not have the relevant experience to handle anything on that scale - her work experience is limited to her parents' photocopy shop in Ang Mo Kio. Horses for courses.
I feel sorry for the undergraduates who have to start hunting for a job once they graduate - I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. There are so many young people who are highly qualified and competition is getting more and more intense. One way to get ahead of the competition is to demonstrate this international experience: it shows that you are well prepared to deal with clients and business deals originating from outside Singapore. Well, our young lady from the photocopy shop would be happy to deal with the students from the local schools in Ang Mo Kio, but would she be able to work say, in a place like Changi Airport where she has to deal with international travelers coming from all over the world? There's no doubt that some international work experience does look very good on your CV, so there are plenty of Singaporeans who are actively seeking work outside Singapore - not because they can't find work in Singapore but because they want to prove themselves in a more challenging, more difficult environment outside Singapore.
8. What you want may not be what others want.
Everyone has different priorities in life: it is important not to ever assume that others will want what you want. My mother got married very young and started having children the moment she got married, hence for her the priority has always been to find a job near where she lived so she could rush home as soon as possible after work to take care of the babies/young children. In fact, her career choice (that of a primary school teacher) was perfect in that context because of the relatively shorter hours back then (with her either teaching the morning or afternoon session). Her circumstances pretty much dictated what her priorities were and in any case, she wasn't a graduate and wasn't trained to do anything else apart from teaching at a primary school, so becoming the CEO of a big business organization was never ever an option for her. The path she took kept her pretty much in Ang Mo Kio for most of her adult life and she had no desire to venture even as far as Yishun or Bishan if she could help it. Thus for her, the thought of my sister working in Tuas was just unthinkable for her - I think she blocks out the fact that her son is working in all these exotic places. She knows where Tuas is, but she wouldn't be able to find Crete, Bratislava or Istanbul on the world map.
If your desire is to find a job in Singapore for whatever reason you have: maybe you have children or other family members you need to care for, maybe you have emotional ties to the place where you grew up or even if it is something silly like you want to eat authentic Singaporean laksa everyday of your life: that's your choice but do not assume that others will want exactly what you want. What makes you happy may not make another person feel the same way. My mother made the mistake of not realizing that her children had very different outlooks in life, hence our motivations when it comes to choosing our ideal careers were nothing like hers.
9. And just because you can't do it doesn't mean that I can't or shouldn't do it.
Someone like my mother (and probably 'Koh') couldn't live anywhere else but Singapore because she doesn't have the language skills, the social skills and the ability to adapt to conditions in another country. But let me show you how my mother makes the mistake by assuming that I am like her: not only have I studied at a top French university, but I have also worked for a French company in France. In both instances, I was in a French-speaking environment where speaking English was very much frowned upon. Being in such a situation would terrify my mother given that she can't speak French, so she cautioned me against both options - but of course, I'm not afraid of being in a French speaking environment. My French is fluent, it is my second language after English and is much better than my Mandarin. What is right for someone may be wrong for another person: hence you should never impose your standards on others.
10. Maybe I just want to go because I can, not because I have to.
And in my case, with my outstanding record, I could have easily got myself a job in Singapore - but I left because I didn't like many aspects of Singaporean society. I didn't like the way there was no real democracy in Singapore, that the PAP had full control over every aspect of life in Singapore. I didn't like the way Singaporeans failed to question the PAP and hold them to account, the way they put blind faith in the PAP to get things right. I realized I was in the minority in being this anti-PAP and I had no desire to try to change the system. I didn't like the pace of change in Singapore, I knew things were not going to change very quickly in my lifetime, so I chose to move to a more liberal and progressive country to spend my most productive adult years. So maybe you like Singapore enough to want to spend the rest of your life in Singapore - I say, good for you, but please don't assume that everyone shares your love for Singapore and we all have our own reasons for making our choices in life. By the same token, there are Singaporeans who are sick and tired of life in Singapore, but are stuck there because they cannot find a job in another country. Ironically, these are people who do have a job in Singapore but wish they were working somewhere else instead.
It does come across as extremely petty and stupid to assume that someone has to leave his/her hometown because of some kind of failure - like an inability to find a job. The fact is, as a highly skilled professional, I have plenty of choices: that's right, I have many options to choose from and I have taken full advantage of those choices by working in a range of countries: the UK, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Slovakia and even Singapore. Perhaps that's the kind of position that someone like Koh would never ever find himself/herself in - to have so many options and choices available to him/her and having the luxury to pick and choose which route to go down. My guess is that s/he is stuck in a dead end job in Singapore with little or no prospects, thus s/he cannot fathom what it is like to be in the position of a highly skilled professional with many options to choose from and thus s/he is judging me by his/her standards: big mistake Koh, very big mistake. Tut tut tut...
So that's it from me on this topic: I probably could go on and on and find you loads of other reasons why some well educated, highly skilled Singaporeans are choosing to leave Singapore instead of building their future in Singapore, but the bottom line is this: what business is it of yours to try to guess why these people leave? It comes across as sour grapes - these people left for greener pastures but you can't, so you're going to claim they left because they can't get a job in Singapore? How ridiculous is that? Oh they can't get a job in Singapore but somehow they have managed to land themselves very well paid jobs in the West? How utterly ridiculous is that postulation? Leave your comments below, let me know what you think about the issue of leaving Singapore for greener pastures. Thanks for reading!
Besides, there's a very good reason why Singaporeans would want to actively seek employment outside Singapore: they want to demonstrate how versatile they are in adapting to challenging environments, that they know how to handle business clients from all over the world and most importantly, they are capable of handling huge international projects that reach far beyond the shores of Singapore. Yes there are some Singaporeans with very big ambitions about their careers and then there are plenty who don't. There is a small photocopy shop near where my parents live in Ang Mo Kio, it is a small family run business whereby the old couple have pretty much passed the running of the business to their daughter. Now I mean no disrespect to that family, but would I ever give that daughter of that couple a job? If I needed someone to run a photocopy shop in Singapore, sure she will be number one on my list. But if it is to be a part of a team to handle a multi-billion dollar investment deal involving a few companies from different countries, then no way. I'm very sorry, no offence, but she simply does not have the relevant experience to handle anything on that scale - her work experience is limited to her parents' photocopy shop in Ang Mo Kio. Horses for courses.
8. What you want may not be what others want.
Everyone has different priorities in life: it is important not to ever assume that others will want what you want. My mother got married very young and started having children the moment she got married, hence for her the priority has always been to find a job near where she lived so she could rush home as soon as possible after work to take care of the babies/young children. In fact, her career choice (that of a primary school teacher) was perfect in that context because of the relatively shorter hours back then (with her either teaching the morning or afternoon session). Her circumstances pretty much dictated what her priorities were and in any case, she wasn't a graduate and wasn't trained to do anything else apart from teaching at a primary school, so becoming the CEO of a big business organization was never ever an option for her. The path she took kept her pretty much in Ang Mo Kio for most of her adult life and she had no desire to venture even as far as Yishun or Bishan if she could help it. Thus for her, the thought of my sister working in Tuas was just unthinkable for her - I think she blocks out the fact that her son is working in all these exotic places. She knows where Tuas is, but she wouldn't be able to find Crete, Bratislava or Istanbul on the world map.
9. And just because you can't do it doesn't mean that I can't or shouldn't do it.
Someone like my mother (and probably 'Koh') couldn't live anywhere else but Singapore because she doesn't have the language skills, the social skills and the ability to adapt to conditions in another country. But let me show you how my mother makes the mistake by assuming that I am like her: not only have I studied at a top French university, but I have also worked for a French company in France. In both instances, I was in a French-speaking environment where speaking English was very much frowned upon. Being in such a situation would terrify my mother given that she can't speak French, so she cautioned me against both options - but of course, I'm not afraid of being in a French speaking environment. My French is fluent, it is my second language after English and is much better than my Mandarin. What is right for someone may be wrong for another person: hence you should never impose your standards on others.
And in my case, with my outstanding record, I could have easily got myself a job in Singapore - but I left because I didn't like many aspects of Singaporean society. I didn't like the way there was no real democracy in Singapore, that the PAP had full control over every aspect of life in Singapore. I didn't like the way Singaporeans failed to question the PAP and hold them to account, the way they put blind faith in the PAP to get things right. I realized I was in the minority in being this anti-PAP and I had no desire to try to change the system. I didn't like the pace of change in Singapore, I knew things were not going to change very quickly in my lifetime, so I chose to move to a more liberal and progressive country to spend my most productive adult years. So maybe you like Singapore enough to want to spend the rest of your life in Singapore - I say, good for you, but please don't assume that everyone shares your love for Singapore and we all have our own reasons for making our choices in life. By the same token, there are Singaporeans who are sick and tired of life in Singapore, but are stuck there because they cannot find a job in another country. Ironically, these are people who do have a job in Singapore but wish they were working somewhere else instead.
It does come across as extremely petty and stupid to assume that someone has to leave his/her hometown because of some kind of failure - like an inability to find a job. The fact is, as a highly skilled professional, I have plenty of choices: that's right, I have many options to choose from and I have taken full advantage of those choices by working in a range of countries: the UK, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Slovakia and even Singapore. Perhaps that's the kind of position that someone like Koh would never ever find himself/herself in - to have so many options and choices available to him/her and having the luxury to pick and choose which route to go down. My guess is that s/he is stuck in a dead end job in Singapore with little or no prospects, thus s/he cannot fathom what it is like to be in the position of a highly skilled professional with many options to choose from and thus s/he is judging me by his/her standards: big mistake Koh, very big mistake. Tut tut tut...
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| That's me, am I anything like you? Well, why should I be? |
So that's it from me on this topic: I probably could go on and on and find you loads of other reasons why some well educated, highly skilled Singaporeans are choosing to leave Singapore instead of building their future in Singapore, but the bottom line is this: what business is it of yours to try to guess why these people leave? It comes across as sour grapes - these people left for greener pastures but you can't, so you're going to claim they left because they can't get a job in Singapore? How ridiculous is that? Oh they can't get a job in Singapore but somehow they have managed to land themselves very well paid jobs in the West? How utterly ridiculous is that postulation? Leave your comments below, let me know what you think about the issue of leaving Singapore for greener pastures. Thanks for reading!
I never really got it as to why people like that Koh are still harping on that "if you could have made it in Singapore, you would not have gone overseas". It seriously does not matter because it is a person's individual choice, and it reflects more on them--sour grapes (or crabs in a barrel). Living abroad can actually be better than Singapore, and if you have never done that before, you will never know if it is or is not for you. Till then, all the rest is just empty speculation.
ReplyDeleteAbout the claim that jobs are easier to find in another country than Singapore, that actually depends on the country itself and whether you even find it outside the country which you are moving to. Just like what you said, if a work permit or sponsorship for a visa is needed, the requirements are higher. Countries like Australia are by far probably more difficult to break into compared to the USA, because international experience does not really count in the case of Australia, and I find that a lot of times, many people were required to redo their training (for a degree or certificate course) all over again, so as to have skills recognized locally, and obtain an internship. I was kind of surprised that after the various posts that you have written about working and living overseas, there are still people like Koh who would not "let it go" and still want to prove that those who leave Singapore are "not good enough". He or she can say all he or she wants, but at least he or she should spell properly and write grammatical English before embarrassing himself or herself?
I'll like to see Koh try to get a work permit for a country like Canada or Australia - LOL!
DeleteWhen it comes to the IELTS English test, he/she would not even pass. You need a grade 7 across all categories to be able to get points to aid your application, and if you just want to pass, you need to get 5 all across the various categories of listening, reading, speaking, and writing! He probably would not get a 5 for the writing section, and once you get scores as low as 3.5 on one category, the general score would be seen as band 3 all across.
DeleteWhich reminds me, i once attempted some TOEFL questions and they were quite tricky. I guess i would probably fail now since my English proficiency had degraded lots since Secondary school days where i always scored As. In my previous workplace i mostly used Japanese and i converse with the SO in standard Mandarin so English usage has been quite little of late.
DeleteI have no idea how it works out for English proficiency tests in terms of determining your suitability for immigration, but IELTS seems to be more universally accepted than TOEFL, since Canada and Australia seem to actually insist that getting a 6 all across is the only way to qualify for migration over there. As for the USA, TOEFL is definitely more important but it does not test speaking unlike IELTS.
DeletePoints Number 5 and 6 are especially true. If I were to give up the chance that I had in Japan and stay on in Singapore just like that, chances would never have opened to me thereafter to move around. I seriously do not care that much myself when Singaporeans ask me how I can move around. I would like to ask them, "What about you? Wouldn't you love to experience life abroad yourself?" There is a catch to a lot of what you have said about life being "better" for a person if things go well for him or her abroad, and that is basically due to labor laws. Singapore's labor laws are still relatively slow on the front of protecting its own citizens, and in the case of being fired unfairly, there is simply no grounds for proving that you are unfairly fired due to the employer having chosen a cheaper foreign worker, or someone who he or she knows in his or her family. A lot of times, this has happened to people whom I know who were working in certain organizations, but got fired just like that because the boss found someone in his or her family to take over the job, or cheaper foreign workers (some of whom might not even be as experienced or skilled). Labor laws are actually comparatively fairer in the few countries abroad that I have lived in, such as Japan, Canada, and Australia, and not only is there a minimum wage to cover everyone legally, the boss cannot technically fire someone without having adequate legal proof that the person has committed a big faux pas.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kev, yes a lot of people neglect the fact that so much boils down to one's individual circumstances and goals - you need to look very closely at what each person's needs are, rather than make a blanket judgement on Singapore per se.
DeleteThis attitude reeks of an unrealistic, typically Singaporean hubris, & I can think of some reasons why Koh holds it:
ReplyDelete1. MSM likes to harp that we are No.1 in various areas, ie. Singapore is better for living & working than anywhere else in the world.
2. Many people from other countries are dying to come to Singapore, so why should anyone with the privilege to be born here actually want to get out?
3. Because of LKY's passing & SG50, there's been a lot of attention given to our history & how we clawed our way to the top, which is truly a near-miracle; Thus giving rise to the sensation that Singapore is somehow "chosen", special & blessed.
However, as you have said, sauce for the goose is NOT sauce for the gander. I take all the points you have given above, because youve been on both sides of the fence, whereas Koh obviously hasn't.
As a matter of fact while reading your article I kept reflecting on what I would have preferred if given the choice: Yes I would love to live & work abroad permanently, & did apply for several long-term positions but was rejected, so the longest stint I have had was a year in Melbourne.
What came as a greater revelation to me was the reason why your blog is so popular (& why I keep coming back to it). You haven't cut your ties to Singapore, & for someone who has been away 20 years, you are surprisingly knowledgeable about what's going on here, because you bother to follow our news.
You analyse our many recent crazy phenomena with a sharp & clear eye, an insider-cum-outsider perspective which is very refreshing, & you are very straightforward, honest, down-to-earth, accessible & approachable to your readers.
I think it is hard to find another blogger like that (eg "Singaporean Son" who lives in Australia; I used to read "Neurotic Ramblings" too, but theyve declared theyre no longer interested in talking about Singapore). Most people who have left Singapore for the West, simply never want to look back, or are too busy building their new lives to share any of their insights. Therefore, I just want to say Thanks & I really appreciate your blog!
Hi again, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Delete1. I never said that Singapore wasn't a bad place to live - but then again, I hate it when Singaporeans resort to the logic that if Singapore is good, then other places must be bad. It doesn't work like that. Other places can be just as good and dare I say it, even better than Singapore in some cases - a lot of it depends on what you're looking for. It seems ridiculous the way Singaporeans make sweeping statements about 'the West' or about 'Angmohs' when really, so much depends on an individual's circumstances.
2. Try telling that to Male Singaporeans who have to serve NS + Reservist whilst competing with FTs and migrant workers with no NS and no CPF.
3. With no disrespect to LKY, it still doesn't explain why 'Koh' is being so illogical about the issue of finding a job abroad - ie. if you can't find a job in Singapore, what makes you think that a company in the West will be happy to give you a well paid job? It just does not make sense!
As for keeping my ties with Singapore, well call it unfinished business. When I left Singapore in 1997, there was no Facebook, no social media (there was the internet but it wasn't anything like today) and it wasn't easy to keep in touch with folks from back home and by the time I graduated, I just stopped talking to practically everyone from Singapore apart from my family.
Then came the age of social media and I reconnected with many people - I currently have an old classmate from VJC staying with me for a few days and it is so nice to see him again and I realized, hey I actually did enjoy my time in VJC very much, there were some really nice people and I had made some good friends back when I was there. Not everything is bad about Singapore - yes I can't stand the PAP but I do have friends who don't support the PAP and for me, I guess it's a question of making sense of the past. I sat up late last time talking about my misgivings with my family with my old friend till very late last night and I did so in a mix of Hokkien, Mandarin and English - because I just knew that he could understand some things about my problems with my family that my British friends (however nice and understand) won't get because of the cultural context.
Hi Alex, now that I am getting a bit older and wiser, I do find that I am more charitable in cutting people like Koh some slack. S/He probably spent most of his/her life in Singapore and from the standard of written English, perhaps also squeezing with the migrant workers in MRT, buses and the heartlands. His/her outlook was shaped by exposure to people who move elsewhere to work is primarily driven by economic hardship in their home countries. Thus, this (mis)perception that those who work abroad must be so impoverished in their own hometowns that they have to head offshore. Much like our own ancestors did.
ReplyDeleteIn a place like Singapore where social mobility is low and people from different economic strata keeping within their own enclaves, it is not surprising why Koh will remark the way s/he did to you. I myself was relatively fortunate in that academic results, getting into top secondary schools and college, school fees and entry into a good university was never a worry. Until NS and stepping out into the wider working world, I myself rarely had much encounters with those coming from the non-academic strata. The converse could be equally true. Thus, I won't judge too harshly. The outlook differences is driven primarily be the relative social exposure perspective.
Instead, let us just be grateful that we were sufficiently blessed that we actually have the choice to choose going overseas to study / work / travel, rather than being forced to by circumstances. Koh may be one where circumstances do not even allow him/her to imagine that there actually is a choice to go abroad as an experience rather than for survival.
This article actually struck a rather poignant chord in me to have a more optimistic outlook on people. https://medium.com/@robobr7/marifel-the-woman-who-left-her-children-behind-to-look-after-mine-b16b0ad671cb
Hello Shane. Your evaluation of Koh is probably spot on - well the fact is that it's never ever that straight forward, you do not become richer simply by moving to a richer country. That is probably the case for your Bangladeshi construction worker: you would earn more as a construction worker in Singapore than in Bangladesh, but life is never that straightforward, is it? I have friends who have gone to work in places like Thailand, Philippines, China because there is a shortage of certain kinds of skilled professionals there and they are commanding very high salaries in those places because it is a simple function of supply & demand, whereas I actually know a Singaporean woman who married a Brit and couldn't get a half decent job in England because her work experience in Singapore was just not relevant enough to get her anything she wanted (but hey her husband is rich). So let's look at the individual's bank account(s), not his/her country's GDP!
DeleteShe should try blue collar jobs. I've heard driving instructors could earn up to 100k per annum.
DeleteShe can't even drive. And as her husband has a good job, she is happy being a stay-at-home mum raising their young children.
DeleteKoh: it is harder to work overseas than Singapore. We left because we were able to do so. Are you?
ReplyDeleteHahahaha Di, the thought of venturing into Angmoh land probably terrifies the hell out of Koh, so for him/her, having to work abroad in Canada where you are is a worse option than working in Singapore. Whether it is easier or harder is kinda irrelevant, when one option seems familiar and safe and the other is just downright terrifying for Koh. However, it isn't terrifying for us, we rather enjoy it in fact - that is where Koh is making a mistake, imposing his/her standards on us.
DeleteKoh was saying if people like you (or Kevin or me) were really that great, we would be working in Singapore. Does she really think that Singapore attracts smart people and the less great or less smart people have to leave to find a job? Or words to that effect. It just doesn't make sense. It takes guts and resourcefulness on our part to carve a life for ourselves in angmohland. Her standards are way off.
DeleteActually, the jobs that I got offered in Singapore were never that great anyway, even though a majority of them were lecturing jobs too haha. At least I got offered a part-time lecturing job for more than 6 grand every stint compared to what that Koh claims lol then to prove him wrong.......lol.....
DeleteIt is not even about working in "Angmohland" at all. I worked while doing my PhD in Canada, worked in Japan as well, and I was navigating other offers from China and an interview from Taiwan then. I could jolly well chosen to stay on in Canada as a sessional, but I had a full-time job in Japan and it was awesome experience. Even after leaving that job in Japan, it has opened up new opportunities to me, and I am pretty sure that if I want to go back to lecture in the former institution which gave me a stint in Singapore, it would be possible. It seriously has nothing to do with a person's ability, but everything to do with preference and what life calls a person to do. Koh seems to be barking up the wrong tree. From the sounds of the way he/she writes, it seems somewhat likely that Koh is not even that well-versed in English to venture into the west. If so, why demonize or make a place which you cannot move to to be so bad, especially if you have never lived there before at all, unless you are brainwashed?
I don't know if Koh is male or female - like so many Singaporeans, they take to social media anonymously.
DeleteIn any case, in any big city with a few million people like Singapore (population 5.4 million), you have everyone from super successful millionaires to really, really stupid people who are scraping by a living doing menial, manual work. You can't assume the calibre of an individual just based on the city or country s/he lives in, that's just plain silly.
It's so difficult to find a job overseas as I'm sure most of the more enlightened readers already know. Unless you are going overseas as some cheap migrant worker (Qatar construction worker anyone?) you need skills and maybe even a 3rd language. But then again if you want to work as cheap labour there are lots of positions available locally. You can be a live in maid or kopitiam cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI've tried time and again to get an internal transfer to work in the UK but that is near impossible since my skillsets are not unique and also my position is not in UK's job shortage list. In fact even China doesn't want you. If you do some goggling you will find lots of fresh grad ang mos go there to work illegally as ESL teachers. China doesn't hand out work VISAs and green cards like candy so they have to resort to this route (don't do this unlike you want to end up in pound ass prison before being deported).
So although there are easier ways to work overseas like short term internal transfers or working holidays, as a guide it is very much more difficult due to immigration and other controls to work overseas.
"If you are really that great you wouldn't have to leave your homeland just to get a job oversee" Sigh,,, comments like this display the level of ignorance among most Singaporeans. They read Straits Times articles about how the economy is not doing well in the EU and US, and readily believe that it's all chaotic over there. They use that to justify how great Singapore is, and people must be crazy to leave.
ReplyDeleteAyhtas, I thought that Singapore's economy is not doing that well either, just that statistics of unemployment and under-employment are marginalized or silenced so as to avoid any negative talk about the government and its policies? Some foreign businesses such as Wendy's, Borders, Franc Franc, etc. which were coveted businesses and brand names basically packed their bags and left after years in Singapore, simply because the costs of operating as opposed to the profit margins and need to maintain affordable prices were not realistic enough.
DeleteAre we having a recession here? Yes we are. Are things chaotic? Not at all. Things are just fine here and some people are better off than others - the more highly educated and highly skilled you are, the more likely you are to be okay during a recession. What's new? Am I telling you something startling new? No I am not.
Delete@Kevin, yes it's worse than you think. The supposedly very rich Al-Futtaim Group is restructuring stores in Singapore and closing several John Little and Marks and Spencer outlets. Even local chains like Metro are closing stores in heartland areas to focus more on the shopping belt. Lots of foreign known or not so well known brand retail stores have already closed down over the past 1-2 years.
DeleteWhen I was working in Japan back then, I remembered visiting my family during summer ('obom') holidays, and part of the visit allowed me to walk around the downtown belt. It might be true that new buildings are erected every few months, but the circulating stores in them seem to go in and out of business very quickly too. There was a recent joke which was cracked among my family about the way the news and media in Singapore always tries to mask the hard facts and truths, such as when they claimed that "the crowds that frequent the pop-up stores for Chinese New Year goods have hit a new high in terms of personal records, but the business is just in a lull" (that's the gist to be taken away from what they were saying in Chinese). My family has never really believed in the claims for the most part, and stated that these are pointing to Singaporeans' herd mentality in crowding around pop-up stores to try samples of foodstuffs and other things, but refusing to buy so as to save money!
DeleteNow that you mentioned Metro and John Little stores closing, choaniki, I would say, "Just as well!" Seriously, for the prices of the stuff sold there, which are marked up a few times, around 3 to 4 times, compared to elsewhere, you would probably decide to take a look there to know what it (anything you want to buy) is sold for, and then buy online. Honestly, it might even cost less with special services such as sample products, gifts and even free mail delivery service!
Shopping in Japan, S.Korea or even the US of A is so much more convenient. They have super fast and cheap shipping. You never have to leave the house! Even the goods themselves are so much cheaper due to lower operating costs and intense competition.
DeleteChina is quickly catching up with Alibaba and Taobao. Most of the Mainland shipping takes at most 2 days to reach you and while quality can be abit shady prices are so low you usually won't be bothered about it.
I remember that when I learned Korean in the international school in Singapore, the textbooks which you can get at the international school charged them at a price thrice what you would pay for in Korea! I did my Math accordingly, and bought the books via Gmarket Korea and after coupons, vouchers for new members and so on, I only paid around 85 Canadian or so, for 4 textbooks(including two workbooks), which were basically including shipping fees of approximately 20 Canadian at the most. That was cheaper than buying them in Singapore by 40 dollars even when I counted the shipping in.....
DeleteI lived in Japan for a few years as you remember, and things were mostly so fast, with occasional glitches in terms of me not being around and needing to request mailing once again on allocated times and days. But the Japanese value efficiency (although not always cheap pricing for goods :p since they share the same mentality as the Chinese that "the more expensive the better in quality the goods are"), and that is one thing which Singapore is somehow falling back behind on over the years.
On another note, I don't feel excited about SG50, or the SEA games and how well they are doing, and only minimally sad about LKY's passing (about an hour or so). I started getting really interested Singapore's issues and politics in 2011 and by 2015 I have just burnt out and no longer care. It's like no matter how you look at it, the big guys always win, having every single advantage in every way, even now on social media. Previously I would have shown lots of disappointments, frustrations and excitement, over events happening in Singapore but now I just felt "meh" and move on with my life. And considering I am just over 20, I feel that it's a horribly young age to feel that way. And the worst part is the people. Having different political views is one thing, but lack of passion is intolerable.I have spoken to a friend who supports the government and asked him about whether he can really support policies that bring in too many people, or having full control of the press. The look on his face showed it all, that he didn't consider them as issues. He started going on about how he and everyone around him wants more shopping malls and the government can give him that. I asked him further about "Isn't that a bigger reason to not support the government, since one party should not hold an entire country's future in ransom?" He shrugged and said "All I know is the people (which I guess really means him) want stuff, and government can give them stuff."
ReplyDeleteI really wished that I would have just been another Singaporean, convinced that everything is great in Singapore, perhaps that would have been a lot easier to handle. Limpeh, did you feel that way at my age? How do you cope with such things, especially in Singapore?
Tech/engineering is certainly not that good in SG. Would've stayed if it's that good.
ReplyDelete