"Most of the reasons that are making me contemplating is also because Singapore's economy is apparently better and my family worries that I won't be able to get a good job in Canada, and thus Singapore may be the better choice."
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| What is the correlation between the Singapore economy and Joy's job prospects? |
Okay, let me begin on the right note: I'm sure Joy's dad isn't trying to fuck her up, he is just clueless, ignorant and doesn't understand how the job market works. The strength of the country's economy is totally irrelevant - take any developed first world country and you will find plenty of employment opportunities there. It is only in war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq where the economy is so devastated that people have no jobs because the factory they used to work at has been bombed last month. In the case of comparing Canada and Singapore, Now you can split hairs about GDP/GNP/GNI per capita, costs of living, standard of living, how fast the economy is growing, etc - but the fact remains that both countries have pretty healthy economies and it is not like Canada is stuck in a deep recession and things are falling apart there: quite the contrary. Go to any major city in Canada and there are plenty of opportunities for young people who are looking for a job. It is really only in the countryside where opportunities are limited.
Unlike Singapore, Canada is blessed with so much natural resources and land that Canadians do not need to desperately work so crazy hard the way Singaporeans do improve productivity. In Canada, the land gives in so many ways from valuable minerals to forestry to fossil fuels to some of the most stunning, beautiful landscapes in the world that attract millions of tourists a year. On the other hand, Singapore has none of the above: no natural resources to speak of, a few tiny patches of forests still remain but for how long, I wonder, before they cut them down to build more HDB flats and instead of the Rockies, you have Bukit Timah hill. Oh and whilst Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, in contrast, Canada is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. That means far cheaper housing for young people looking to get on the property ladders in Canada, whilst Singaporeans spend a lifetime paying off a mortgage for a tiny HDB flat. I could go on, but it is pretty obvious that the odds are really stacked against Singaporeans trying to make ends meet whilst things are a lot easier for Canadians.
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| I clearly think that life in Canada is better than in Singapore. |
It is pretty evident that I think Canada is pretty awesome and that Singapore sucks in comparison. Let's put all that aside for a moment and let's look more closely at what Joy's dad said. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt that he has looked at some statistics comparing Singapore and Canada (let's say GDP per capita or the growth of GDP) and it does reveal that Singapore's economy has performed better than Canada's in the last 12 months. So what? I'm perplexed as to how the hell that is going to help his daughter find a (better) job in Singapore. What irks me is the way some people draw correlations between some statistics and their personal situations, when really, there is very little (if any) correlation at all. The questions we are trying to answer are these: will Joy be able to get a good job in Canada? Will she able to get a good job in Singapore? Well, let's discuss that issue and find out what the future lies for Joy.
Joy's ability to get a good job depends on how employable she is: does she have a useful degree from a reputable university? Has she focused on one area of expertise which will lead to paid employment or has her education been too general? Has she had any interesting internships and useful work experience? Does she speak any foreign languages - if so how many and how fluently? What kind of soft skills does she have when it comes to dealing with people? What is Joy like in an interview: does she rise to the occasion or does she get nervous and mumble? Is Joy proactive when it comes to networking with people within her target industry or is she quite passive? Is Joy the kind of person who knows how to make friends easily or is she very shy and a loner? Has Joy traveled a lot over the years or has she had a very sheltered upbringing? Is Joy lazy or hardworking? You can see from the hyperlinks that I have blogged on each of those topics as they are such important factors to determine just how 'employable' a person is.
But let's consider Joy's father point for a moment - does he have a point? If an economy is growing strongly, sure that means that companies are making money and being able to hire more people, right? Surely that is going to help a young person find good jobs, right? No, it does not work like that. Whether or not you can find a good job depends really on one crucial equation: what kind of skills do you offer as an employee and is there any demand for your kind of skills at the moment? Let's the example of a volleyball coach: it really doesn't matter how good or experienced a volleyball coach you are, whether or not you can make a living from this profession depends on whether there is a demand for your services. If you are in a country where very few people are interested in volleyball, then you're in trouble. It has nothing to do with whether the country's economy is strong or not, whether the country is rich or poor: it boils down to whether or not people are willing to pay you to teach those volleyball lessons. Does Joy have useful skills to offer in a city like Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver? By that token, are her skills actually in demand in Singapore? That is far more crucial in determining Joy's employment prospects than the relative strengths of the economies in Singapore and Canada: it is a simple matter of supply and demand. Is there a demand for the skills you are supplying?
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| Do you need a volleyball coach? |
Let's imagine she has a twin bother called Jay. Now Jay was lazy in his teenage years, he hung out with his friends at the mall, played computer games instead of getting internships or part time jobs during his holidays. His grades were way below average and he ended up getting a crap degree from a private university not worth the paper it was printed on. Jay's employment prospects are dismal at best - he can't even get an interview to work in a fast food restaurant because he has no skills and no work experience. Now imagine if Jay's father said, "hey Singapore's economy is really strong, it is such a rich and successful country. Let's all move there and Jay would be able to get a good job in Singapore because the Singaporean economy is so strong." What do you think will happen when Jay starts applying for jobs in Singapore? Will he be able to work as a brain surgeon at SGH? Would he be able to work as an asset manager at the Bank of Singapore? Would he be able to work as a lawyer in one of the top law firms in Singapore? You can see where I am going with this: no, Jay won't be able to get a job in Singapore. Why? Because regardless of how strong Singapore's economy is, Jay is still an unskilled bum who has little to offer employers. There is simply no correlation between Jay's employment prospects and the strength of the country's economy.
Given the way I had explained Jay's predicament, it seems pretty clear that Jay would be better off training to a useful skill like plumbing or nursing which will set him on a clear career path, rather than try to find an easy solution by simply moving to a rich country with a strong economy. The fact that there are good jobs in a place like Singapore doesn't mean that someone like Jay will be able to get a good job in Singapore. Now why are some people unable or unwilling to recognize this? It becomes intensely personal when you start taking full responsibility for your ability (or in Jay's case, inability) to get a good job. Jay may have to face up to the fact that he was lazy, passive and foolish: he paid a high price for not taking his education seriously. Likewise, one may also tut disapprovingly at Jay's father, "what did you do to help your son Jay? How did he end up like that? What kind of lousy father are you? Didn't you make the effort to try to guide your child to a good career?" No, those are quite difficult questions to face up to for most people, so they go into denial mode. Jay's father may decide to blame 'the economy' as the reason why his son can't get a good job, as that then removes any kind of responsibility from him. It is a very cowardly way to deal with the situation.
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| Do you wanna blame the economy if your child can't get a job? |
The world is evolving, the job market is changing fast, the way big companies identify the best talents to hire is so different today from just five years ago. It is up to every single one of us to try our best to adapt to this new world in 2016. Our parents may care for us, they may genuinely love us, but if Joy is 21 today, then that means her parents must be at least in their 50s today (maybe even their 60s). They grew up in a completely different world - a world before the internet, before emails, before smart phones, before Twitter, before Facebook. I know because my parents are of that generation - I'm 19 years older than Joy, so you can imagine what my parents are like. My parents are not connected to the internet at all, they have basically stopped trying to use any kind of new technology that was invented after around 1995. That's their choice of course, but that simply makes them the wrong people for me to turn to when it comes to any kind of advice related to finding work in this day and age. Nowadays, I maintain a cordial, friendly relationship with them whereby I try to avoid talking about work, because I really don't think they can even begin to understand what I do for a living. We've not always had a perfect relationship, but things are pretty good these days.
That is something Joy will eventually have to realize: our parents may love us, they may have the best of intentions, but that doesn't always translate into good advice. The thing to do is to appreciate the kindness in their efforts, but simply assure them that you are going to get hold of the most accurate information that will meet your needs. I do this when my parents try to give me any kind of medical advice: clearly, they're not doctors and often give me wrong or bad advice! I do know that they are not trying to poison me or make me more sick - but instead of challenging them in a "I'm right ,you're wrong" manner that will only lead to a confrontation, I simply thank them for trying to help and assure them that I will seek the advice of a doctor. There is a delicate balance to be struck between being diplomatic with our parents and not following what is clearly very bad or wrong advice. By that token, no - Joy's dad isn't trying to mislead or sabotage his own daughter - I'm sure he loves her very much indeed, but it doesn't change the fact that the old man is really ignorant and simply has no clue what the hell he is talking about. It is up to Joy to take responsibility for her future, find the important facts she needs and make an informed decision rather than just listen to her parents.
From a purely pragmatic perspective, of course keep the Canadian passport lah! Can always apply for employment pass to work in SG. Am not sure if Canada allows multiple citizenship but it probably does. People generalize too much - the rest of the world is not like SG, a single zip code city state. I was at the Y and overheard a trainer talking about his son who decided to give up his SG passport and move to California to become an MMA trainer, and is pretty happy with life. Can't say the same for SGporeans. It was random to hear Singapore being mentioned here, haven't heard the dulcet Singlish tones for two years and counting!
ReplyDeleteWell Ling Ling, Canada offers so many more opportunities to a young person like Joy and what pisses me off is the fact that she had to come running to me for help because her dumbfuck of a mother couldn't be asked to look up the facts about what the rules are in Singapore, instead she puts undue pressure on her daughter based on half-truths, inaccurate information and pure stinking bullshit. Joy has gotta grow a backbone and politely tell her mother that she is 21 and can make her own informed decision as an adult (especially since her fucking useless mother is far more of a hindrance than any kind of help). Groan. It's so hard to be diplomatic with parents when they give bullshit advice but think they are being helpful. How can Joy politely tell her mother to shut the fuck up?
DeleteJoy is young. She may start an entry level job depending on her field. She may have to do volunteer work and build her portfolio depending on her resume. What has she done outside of school? Canadian employers are big on the well-rounded employee. Bottom line is she can afford to start from scratch if needed.
ReplyDeleteOnce she lands a job, she
Sorry, I had a mishap with my phone and did not get to finish my last post.
ReplyDeleteJoy is young and even if she has to start fresh and build her portfolio to land the job that she wants to get out of bed for day in and day out, she can afford to do her in her 20s.
Let's say she eventually get a $50 0000 a year job at age 25. Her quality of life is way better in Canada than in Singapore. She can easily afford a car. Even though housing has become ridiculously expensive in Vancouver since the mainland Chinese investors are driving up house prices (sore topic), she can still buy a house in the suburbs, especially when she combines income with her future spouse. An $800.00 house gets her plenty of housing compared to Singapore. The forests and the green spaces will provide endless adventures for her children. Need I say more? I am talking about quality of life here.
Canada is not a poor country. Sure, we do not prance around in Pradas, and we have homelessness and other societal issues, but if you work hard and smart, the sky's the limits. Plumbers, electricians, mechanics, police officers, nurses, teachers, ... we all make decent living ank lead decent lives.
I make a fraction of the money my peers made because they went back home and landed cushy jobs at NUS, NTP, and private enterprises. However, I have the same lifestyle that their money can afford. They have money to go overseas to ski. My son just went skiing (again) yesterday. They have cars and houses. I do too. They have to work far longer hours than I do.
You need to make more money in Singapore to buy quality. I already have quality. I am only middle-class.
So, yes, Singapore is a richer country, but I have a richer life. What does Joy's father want for his daughter? Working to the bone to buy the luxuries of life, or an easier (not easy per se) life to have the same things? More importantly, what does Joy want? Aggravation from the PAPs and the lack of freedoms enjoyed by people in the free world or high teas at Marina Bay Sands?
which is why i decided at the age of 16 to emigrate to Canada. My entire life has been oriented to achieving this singular goal. By 2021 hopefully, I will easily qualify for Canadian PR without having secured employment in Canada. Obviously it'd be better if I do manage to get employment beforehand, and that will give you a couple of extra points anyway. I'm currently in the process of acquiring the skills the Canadian economy needs lol, and i'm confident that i'll be able to get a job after getting PR with this degree.
DeleteTbh its not that I hate singapore. Well, the weather here is shit. But the main thing is it just sucks to be single here (i dont think anyone is going to marry me haha). You have to live half your life before you're eligible to buy a house, and its also a very crappy house (a hdb). I have been looking at condos in Toronto and they're pretty cheap in the suburbs? And who cares how far it is if you have a Mercedes A45 amg or a BMW m3 e92, both of which cost cheaper than a camry here. and plus there's so much more to do in Canada. Just like any other large country, there's bound to be a lot more to do/see apart from endless nauseating concrete towers and shopping malls.
"You need to make more money in Singapore to buy quality." no better way of putting it.
So yeah, a few more years.
Where do I even begin when it comes to the comparisons?
Delete1. Canada has Justin Trudeau, Singapore has the fucking PAP.
2. Canada has great weather and 4 seasons, Singapore is stinking hot everyday.
3. Singapore is full of PRCs and more are coming.
4. Singapore is painfully overpopulated whilst Canada is very sparsely populated.
5. Canada has so many diverse cities offering young people so many opportunities whereas Singapore is still a very small country at the end of the day and the job market is so so limited.
Need I go on about why Singapore sucks balls compared to Canada?
Actually, Singapore really sucks. The weather, the government, the smugness of some people, the constant social comparison of status, the Singlish, the restrictions, the crowds, the concrete jungle, the education system, the HDBS, NS, the Ah Bengs and Ah Lian, .... Let me count the ways Singapore sucks.
DeleteWell, what frustrates me about Singapore is the smallness - like seriously, after having lived and worked in bigger countries, I get claustrophobic in Singapore at the thought of living in a small country like that. Your passport only allows you to work in Singapore and everywhere else - well you need a work permit. With my UK passport, I have all of my country + the whole of the EU (for now) and I can access so many opportunities from Paris to Berlin to London to Barcelona to Rome to Prague - that means OPTIONS - when I have so many opportunities. Take something simple like coaching gymnastics (which I still do on weekends), you wanna count how many gymnastics clubs there are in the EU? Or Canada? But the list of gymnastics clubs in Singapore is very, very short. So if none of them are currently hiring coaches, then that's it, I'll have to find another job to do and I can't get my first choice. But in a bigger job market, it's a lot easier to get one's first choice. Thus for a young person like Joy, being in a bigger job market as one is starting out one's career is just so much better because she can get her first choice, start her career out in the right direction and then do what she wants to do. One of my sisters in Singapore didn't get her first choice as she was interested in a fairly niche area and a bit like the gymnastics coaching analogy, well she just couldn't find anyone willing to give her a job to do what she wanted despite having the right skills and being really brilliant & talented; so she opted for her second choice, went down a different career path with a "what if" hanging over her for many years, she has often wondered if she would be happier and more successful if she did have the good fortune of getting her first choice. So people like my sister did get screwed by the smallness of Singapore's job market - she was 21, a fresh graduate with no work experience, there was no way she was gonna get a work permit at 21 to pursue her dream career in Australia, Canada or the UK at that stage then. If Joy gave up her Canadian passport, she could well end up like my sister! The thing is she then got married, had a child and her life's priorities changed somewhat as a mother, but still, I do know that she has some regrets.
DeleteThen there are people like my mother who are further victims of the smallness of the country: she has well and truly developed a frog at the bottom of the well mentality. She is terrified of the world outside Singapore, she is even afraid of going to Malaysia: so she is motivated by the fear of the outside world, that's why she is most happy to remain in Singapore - that's hardly a good reason, is it?
that describes my parents-they feel that singapore is safe, and other countries are not safe.
DeletePlease lah, yes Singapore is safe, that doesn't other countries unsafe - your parents are not being logical.
Delete@LFT I meant the new policy about non-EU students not being able to apply for a UK job unless they go back to their home country. Anyway, my advice is not to take advice from Singaporeans who intend to remain in SG. Don't rely on vague anecdotes and stories; do your own paperwork, there's no "pathway" with everything nicely mapped out. :)
Delete@Ling2 - that policy about non-EU not being allowed to apply for jobs is not new, that was around since the 1990s. There were loopholes though, it was like "don't bother applying cos you'll need a work permit and it'll be rejected as you don't have any work experience which is a criteria, the system has been set up to ensure that you do fail to get that work permit and will then have to by default return to your home country." There were those however, who took advantage of other interim visas to gain the necessary work experience in the UK in order to then get that work permit, then settle in the UK eventually. None of these routes were easy of course, but there were loopholes and there still are some loopholes. This current government has plugged up quite a few of those loopholes though.
DeleteBut if you do have the work experience, then it is not difficult at all to get that work permit as long as you have the right skills. There are so many ways and means to do this, there isn't one simple 'pathway' as you say.
Alex, I have to agree with you on the work permit issue in UK. Even without work permit you can still work in UK using your social visit pass.
DeleteI have seen a lot of Malaysian going to UK and Japan to work using only social visit for 5 to 10 years. Majority are now retiring comfortably in Malaysia with bungalow houses.
Social conservatism and an aversion to risk taking is what characterises the 'older' generation. Boomers who were spoonfed on LKY-era stability and conformity see no reason to take the plunge. For them it is a no brainer. But the world has changed.
ReplyDeleteActually LIFT, I'm surprised you didn't mention it, but if she's got family in Singapore, picking a Canadian passport over her Singaporean one is a no brainer. It would place her in the exact position as you with your British passport. She could still work in Singapore, but would be regarded as a FT. She could actually say 'Limpei is Foreign Talent'.
For the amount of travel that Singaporeans undertake, it's astounding how uninformed about international cultures they can be. Singaporeans don't really 'travel' per se but 'sightsee'. Understanding of languages and culture mean nothing to Singaporeans, which leads to misinformation and naive opinions about what the world outside the red dot is like. At best, countries outside the red dot are places to do nothing but take a buttload of pictures at and have glorified engagement proposals. Or partake in literal or figurative consumption.
Tingguang, hi - the problem is that her mother is convinced that she wouldn't be able to return to Singapore if she gave up her Singaporean passport. Now her mother irks me like hell - if you are really that concerned about your daughter, then for crying out aloud woman, spend some time and do some fucking research. Don't fucking live in ignorance woman, go talk to people who understand immigration laws, consult an immigration lawyer if your daughter's future means that much to you. But no, this daughter was from a previous marriage - she has remarried and thus cannot be asked to spend a bit of time (say an hour or two) to find out useful information for her daughter? Fucking hell, her mother sucks balls - she would rather inflict her ignorance on her daughter but couldn't asked to get the information? For crying out aloud, that information is not some closely guarded state secret, it is in the public domain and there are so many people she can speak to. Duh.
DeleteI did go work in S'pore in 2011 but things didn't work out for that company in Asia and they pulled the plug on their Asian ops in 2012, so I never returned to work in Singapore. but yeah. It can be done.
Canada has a FTA agreement with the US, so by keeping her Canadian passport Joy would have access to the largest economy in the world that is right next door to Canada, rather than being an ocean away.
ReplyDeleteHow could any opportunities that Singapore offer remotely compares to what the US can offer? The diversity of opportunities alone in the US would mean as long as she tries hard enough she will be able to find a way to support herself rather than be pigeon holed in Singapore.
Exactly. Canada + America are vast, huge, immense - that means so, so many opportunities for Joy to explore at her leisure. The kinds of companies she can work for, the kinds of opportunities she can discover. The figures of unemployment, GDP, GNP, GNI do not account for the fact that you're dealing with a HUGE north American market vs a relatively small Singaporean market. We have more information about Joy's area of expertise now - it is quite niche market, speech pathology/linguistics/psychology: the number of opportunities for her in Singapore are going to be so extremely limited. She is much better off staying in a country where she may access far more opportunities.
DeleteFor once, I disagree with your increasingly anti-Singaporean stance. I too am Canadian/Singaporean who moved to Canada and eventually assumed citizenship. I had a job in a well-known financial institution that put me in the top 1% of incomes, and have also hired new grads so I am aware of the issues you refer to. I am relatively young, and have recently been contemplating where to permanently reside.
ReplyDeleteLet me break down some of your arguments which are incorrect.
1. "That means far cheaper housing for young people looking to get on the property ladders in Canada, whilst Singaporeans spend a lifetime paying off a mortgage for a tiny HDB flat."
The latest and most comprehensive study of income vs housing prices in global metropolitan regions puts Singapore's median house price to income ratio at 5.0. In Canada, Montreal is at 4.9, Toronto 6.7, and Vancouver 10.8. This clearly shows that housing in Canada is not more affordable, unless you live in a small town or jobless "countryside" as you mentioned. Source: http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf
2. "If an economy is growing strongly, sure that means that companies are making money and being able to hire more people, right? Surely that is going to help a young person find good jobs, right? No, it does not work like that."
The unemployment rate in Toronto, the economic hub of Canada, is 6.6% vs Singapore at ~2%. Now we can debate GDP/GNI/other indicators to death, but the fact is that a city with higher percentage of unemployed individuals will increase competition and make it more difficult for one to find a job. We can also debate the difference in work culture, employer demands, and skillset, but if you aren't able to change your current CV, moving to a less competitive environment may help.
3. "Canada is pretty awesome".
Yes and No. Marginal income tax of 50% plus sales tax of >10% effectively means that my real tax rate is close to 40%. But this funds free healthcare, education, and social services, you say. Have you experienced the wait times for non-emergency hospital or even primary physician care? But you can buy a car! Yes but driving ends up consuming an unnecessarily large portion of your day since everything is far away, and public transit is not an option outside of the downtown core.
My point is that there are pros and cons of living in Canada/USA. Canada has been great for me, but I was working long hours and getting heavily taxed to subsidize the socialist government's policies. This country is amazing if you are unambitious, want a comfortable 9-5 job and a middling lifestyle, and go home to a small suburban townhouse that is 90-120mins away because you have been priced out of the nicer areas.
I have since left Canada and am happy with my decision. Would I have been better off in Singapore? Maybe not, I have been very fortunate. But its not a straightforward case of Singapore sucks, everywhere else rocks.
Dear 050107,
DeleteThanks for your comment and allow me to contest your points.
1. Property prices
If you want to buy a piece of prime real estate in the downtown centre of a big Canadian city, sure of course it is gonna be expensive. But what Canada offers is CHOICE: poorer people with limited budgets can have the option of moving out to the suburbs where property prices will fall away substantially as you move further & further from the centre of the city: what options do poor Singaporeans have? Move to Malaysia or Indonesia? Even when you go to the margins in Pasir Ris, Woodlands or Boon Lay, Singaporean property prices don't really fall away as dramatically as they do in Canada (or any other big city with a real concept of 'countryside'). That means that lower income Canadians will have a decent home out where the property prices are lower and just have to contend with a longer commute to work - which is a compromise I grant you that, but what can lower income Singaporeans do? They are stuck at home with their parents, way into adulthood, literally waiting for their parents to die to inherit the house as they cannot afford one of their own. The rich in Singapore can buy fancy condos of course, but it's the poorer, lower income ones who suffer the most.
2. As discussed, we can split hairs over statistics till the cows come home, but my point is that we need more information about Joy's CV and situation before we can make any kind of judgement about her job prospects - it is about her, we're not talking about the Canadian or Singaporean economy per se. That's why I attacked the logic of her dad's argument. Furthermore, being so big, Canada offers far more choice in terms of career choices - she can move to another city, try to train for a different industry, explore the multitude of options before her - whilst in Singapore, you are constrained by geography to certain paths. In any case, simply looking at unemployment statistics is misleading as you do not take into account the quality of the work: someone who is working 14 hours a day, picking up cardboard boxes for recycling for peanuts is employed, but is that a good job? No clearly not. Joy is young, she is 21 and clearly eloquent - her parents have money: she has the opportunity to undertake training that will lead to a clear career path in an industry where she can get a decent job, but that depends on her making the best decisions for her education & training - the statistics of unemployment matter far less to her in this decision.
3. Did you even work in Canada or were you there as a student? Here are the stats about marginal income tax rates: http://www.taxtips.ca/taxrates/canada.htm They are lower than you've stated. But in any case, yes there is a welfare state and it is more socialist - you could have chosen to live closer to town if you were willing to compromise in terms of size and got a small apartment in town, but that's your choice and you have to live with the consequences, not blame the system. Can everyone live in big houses in the downtown area despite making modest incomes? Duh, find me that perfect country where you get stuff like that for free and I'll move there. The bottom line is that Canada ain't perfect but neither is Singapore but I'll take Canada over Singapore any day. It is pretty darn awesome - take the weather for example, the weather in Singapore totally sucks balls. Don't even get me started.
050107, you are misleading. I don't have time to reply with more details right now, but I will. I am thinking of getting out of bed to go to my "middling" job in the suburbs. My commute is 5 minutes away. It is nearly 7:30 am. I am still in bed. I have a pretty good "middling" lifestyle, no?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThanks for your comment Joy. I will write you a much longer reply later - I forgot that you're dealing with your mum and dad plus step parents. Geez that's complex, but the key is for you to act as an adult, make up your mind, arrive at an informed decision rather than just do what your mother or father tells you. You're 21, not 11. So it's perfectly okay to tell someone like your mum "thanks, but I know what I am doing."
DeleteLaterz, must dash.
050107: your post was misleading.
DeleteHousing may be expensive in Vancouver, but is it more expensive than Singapore? Let's not compare to the subsidized pigeon-hole HDBs which you do not even own because of the 99-year lease. Also, you don't have to live in Vancouver or other major cities as pointed out in other posts. You can live outside the major cities. No, no, no. The suburbs are not that far away. It's not uluburbs. Say you work in Vancouver but live in Burnaby, it's a short drive or skytrain away. You are also forgetting that not everyone works in the big cities. I have never worked in the big cities myself. My husband and I live and work in the suburbs. The suburbs are big cities themselves. I hardly drive to Vancouver, in fact.
Employment --- Joy is young and can worm her way into the job she wants. Speech pathologists make very good money! The unemployment rate is higher because we have people on welfare. People like AD, from a previous post,plan to live a welfare life or already do so. Most of us who actively seek employment do find it. My husband as an immigrant himself has been working since 1989. We have no connections and are not even highly skilled. Unlike you, we are nowhere near the top 1%. Then again, who is the top ONE % except a minute 1%? Jobs are there if you are realistic and ready to work.
Healthcare --- I like that I don't have to worry about medical bills and prescription costs. My job covers all my bills. And massages! As for family doctors, there are plenty. You just have to call around. If your surgery is not crucial, you may have to wait six-months to a year. I had two surgeries last year, both not life threating. One of them --- I was operated on in three months. The other in three weeks. Total costs to me --- $0.00.
Yes, I believe taxes are higher here. You get what you put in. I don't believe there are many people who actually pay more than 30% (25% to 30% is common). In fact, the richer you are, the more loopholes you can afford to avoid paying high taxes.
Driving --- My commute to work is 5-minutes. Few people drive 90-120 minutes to work. You arrange your life so as to avoid long commutes.
I don't consider Canadian unambitious at all. Most of us want to make money as much as Singaporeans do. We just don't want to and don't need to kill ourselves to make money just to parade around our maids and luxury cars and branded material possessions.
A "middling" lifestyle with a 9-5 job? I work 8:45-2:45 officially, but I would hardly consider myself having a middling lifestyle. I suppose compared to your top 1% lifestyle, it would be "middling". You said you were working long hours in Canada and paying heavy taxes. First of all, if you were the top 1%, you SHOULD be working long hours be it at home or at the office. That's why they pay you the big bucks! Secondly, you should pay more taxes, but I think you must not have had a good tax accountant. If you had one, he/she would have helped you use tax shelters (legit ones) which the rich can afford.
I would not trade my "middling" life for a fancy life in Singapore. I like it here. In the end, it's what you value the most. I value family time and my freedom. I value a life of quality. I don't ever have to own a Prada bag just to show off. My son is in a private school which my middling job could provide for. He has a pretty decent life, and we decided about 28 years ago that we would not raise our future child in Singapore. In that regard, our goal has been met. He is happy and has time to work and play. How many kids in Singapore can say the same?
Joy - I am going to disrespect your mum, no offence, but she sucks balls. It will take her just 30 mins to an hour to find out the right information about where you stand when it comes to Singapore immigration laws should you give up your S'porean passport and become Canadian. Yet your mother couldn't be asked to do that for you? For fuck's sake Joy. I thought my mother and I didn't have a good relationship, but your mum has hit a new low. Look, I even went out of my way to spend 2 hours helping my neighbour with something yesterday - and that's for a neighbour I didn't know that well, but I helped her out of the kindness of my heart and gave her my time and help. That's the lengths I will go to in order to make the life of a neighbour easier - your mother would rather live in ignorance and inflict her misinformation based on hearsay and speculation on you? For fuck's sake Joy, what kinda fucking stupid bullshit is your mother (and everyone on her side) up to? Is she that fucking callous that she can't be asked to get hold of the right information or is she that fucking stupid that she doesn't know how to get hold of information like that in this day and age?
DeleteEither way, please don't convey my opinion of your mother to her - I think she's either fucking retarded or really fucking callous and cold. But you're clearly not close to her so why should you even take her opinion even half seriously (when we have clearly established that it is 100% pure stinking rotten shitty bullshit). Just say, "thanks for your concern mum, I'll speak to an immigration expert to find out what the situation is." That's what I do when my parents try to give me medical advice which I know is 100% bullshit, "thanks for your concern, I'll speak to a doctor to find out what the situation is." No point in picking a fight with your mum, but really - you need to dismiss her opinion as that of a raving lunatic.
Hullo 050107,
DeleteI'm afraid there are some things you failed to consider here. Some of which were already pointed out by some of the other readers. I'll address the ones that were not.
1. Property
Most property in Singapore is not freehold, but on a 99 year lease. Essentially, most Singaporeans are leasing from the government. Even if property were more expensive in Canada (which is contentious based on earlier points raised by others), at least Canadian home-buyers would own the place. Due to the lack of options, many Singaporeans are stuck with renting government-owned shoeboxes in the sky with depreciating values.
(Incidentally, this is the reason why I think the Singapore government is trying to drive up HDB prices circa 2010. But I digress. This line of discussion would be better served elsewhere.)
2. Job Opportunities
I'm afraid you cannot so easily discount the other factors such as GDP and Gini. Even having a lousy job counts as being employed. Unemployment rate is an extremely dated way of determining standard of living. Let's look at the stats:
Firstly, Singapore's median household income is lower than Canada's:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
And yet Singaporeans work longer hours:
http://statestimesreview.com/2015/06/16/singapore-maintains-its-no-1-ranking-in-longest-working-hours-in-the-world/
As a final nail in the coffin, Singapore's income inequality is higher:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality
See the narrative here? Singaporeans are working longer hours for lower incomes, with a larger share of profits distributed to those in higher standings as compared to Canada. Yes, there are more job opportunities in Singapore, but based on the numbers presented, they are - on the average - objectively inferior to opportunities in Canada (speaking in a pure financial sense of course).
3. Other factors
True, there are higher taxes in Canada. Obviously, higher taxes fund Canada's welfare system. On the flip side, Singaporeans have to "fund" their own "welfare" - it is called the CPF. The only difference is the Singaporean government is not transparent at all about how these monies were spent. This has been a hot political topic for the past couple of years.
Non-emergencies and elective treatments in Singapore's public healthcare system entails long wait times too. I return your question back to you. Have you waited in a Singapore polyclinic before? Have you ever tried getting a referral to a Singapore public hospital?
A suburban house, away from the hustle and bustle 90-120 mins away? Sounds like a dream to most Singaporeans. Yes, Canadians need to travel longer distances to get anywhere, which is a really good thing that they have much shorter working hours and affordable personal transportation. Also, would you rather drive for 2 hours, or squeeze into increasingly crowded (say hi to planned population increase) trains for 30 minutes (assuming the MRT doesn't break down), before walking another 15 minutes through sweltering, humid weather. Of course, it could be much worse when the haze comes around.
I agree with your closing statement. It has never been "a straightforward case of Singapore sucks, everywhere else rocks". However, you have picked a very poor example for comparison. You may have a point if you compare Singapore with cities in India, Africa or some God-forsaken eastern-European nation but Canada? You have got to be kidding me.
You make a really good point about the healthcare system BFL. Let me relate to you what happened to my mate Simon last weekend at gymnastics. He dislocated his shoulder whilst training and it is one of the most horrible, painful injuries you can have. Poor guy was just lying there in so much pain in his shoulder and we were like, okay dislocation: call an ambulance now. We started getting Simon's stuff together (shoes, phone, coat, bag etc) and I was trying to find out from Simon whom we could call to meet him at the hospital when the ambulance turned up (like what, 10 minutes ish? I wasn't counting as we were trying to help Simon.) They gave him morphine to deal with the pain and whisked him away to the nearest A&E dept and he was seen pretty quickly, x-rays done, they gave him powerful muscle relaxants: then popped it back in. He was then given the chance to rest whilst waiting for his brother in law to pick him up.
DeleteHow much did Simon pay for the entire process from ambulance to A&E to X-rays to specialists/paramedics etc treating him? Nada. Zilch. £0.00 - that's what our NHS is for. It is a safety net for people when shit happens.
BFL - may I ask you please: imagine if Simon is a Singaporean and had dislocated his shoulder in Singapore (and thus required the same treatment). How much would this have costed Simon? I imagine it's quite a lot and waiting times are far longer.
Yes we pay more taxes in the West but we get stuff back in return. In Singapore, the taxes may be lower but just pray you never have to go near a hospital or ever fall sick. You heard about the guy who got chucked in a corridor in a class C ward and still was charged S$122 for being left in the corridor? Yup, that's the Singapore system for you.
Here's the link http://theindependent.sg/tan-tock-seng-hospital-charged-122-for-class-c-corridor-hospitalisation/
DeleteHello 050107
DeleteI took exception with your condescending statement that Canada is a country suitable for people who are "unambitious, want a comfortable 9-5 job and a middling lifestyle." Get off your high horse which you bought with your 1% wealth courtesy of your employment with one of the top bank in Canada.
For the sake of argument, let's assume both Singapore and Canada are equally awesome. Then choosing Canada over Singapore is the logical choice for the simple fact that it is substantially easier to get a job in Singapore as a foreigner than the other way round. Moreover, Joy personal circumstances (deep connection to Singapore by virtue of having Singaporean parents) also mean that the good jobs that her parents crow about are even more attainable.
In reality, the Canada-Singapore parity is a laughable notion. The truth of the matter is that a Canadian citizenship is much more prestigious and coveted, and for good reasons elaborated above.
I suggest you wake up and smell the coffee, 050107.
Absolutely Dama Ah Cheng, quite a lot of Singaporeans would give an arm and a leg for a Canadian passport.
DeleteI found 050107's "unambitious Canadians" with "9-5 jobs and middling lifestyle" offensive. That suggests that unless you are in the elite 1% group in dog-eat-dog corporate world, you are mediocre. What a pompous nouveau riche ass! Btw, my friend, an immigrant from Africa, who became a Canadian citizen got into the RCMP and now makes six-figures. He works 9-5, has extensive vacation time and lots of benefits. He's not the 1%, but he's going to retire very comfortably with his hefty pension. Not quite "middling", trust me. Not bad for an immigrant from Africa who was not highly skilled when he applied for the job. In fact, he couldn't even swim! He had to practise swimming at our condo pool in Winnipeg, in order to pass one of the entry requirements. Goes to show that opportunities are there if you look for it and seize them.
Delete050107, you should stay in Singapore. Your tunnel-vision befits a "PAPs" lifestyle.
Alex, thanks for letting me rant.
Now that you have sparked my interest, I wonder what kind of reasoning fuels the thought behind that high GDP or whatever correlates to personal employ-ability.
ReplyDeleteA well-doing economy is not a cause of plenty job availability but rather one of the many indicators of a good job market. Having plenty job availability is one of the causes for a good economy, not the other way round.
Hi Weiping, the thing though, is that even if you are in a country with a strong economy, does that mean that you will naturally get a good job? No, of course not - so much boils down to what kind of skills you can offer, how talented you are, if there is any demand for your skills in that job market etc. It's about the individual, not about the macroeconomic outlook for that country.
DeleteSingaporeans love beating their chests about their economy whilst ignoring their personal circumstances. I used to deliberately irk my mother when she fell into this kind of mindset: you see, she can't read/write Chinese. So when she said, "be proud of your Chinese roots/culture etc" I would reply, "if you are so proud of being Chinese, why can't you read & write in Chinese?" You see? Singaporeans love attaching themselves to something that they can derive some kind of concept of pride/joy from whilst ignoring their own situations which may be less than perfect. I bet you the Singaporeans who are super proud of being Singaporean are stuck in grubby HDB flats with so many family members - they have little to be proud of personally, so they feel proud of their countries. The Singaporeans who live in multi-million dollar condos and drive expensive cars are not proud of their countries but proud of what they have achieved, "look at me in my penthouse and my sports car, envy me, be jealous of me, I'm so fucking amazing, look at what I have achieved, I'm so proud of myself, bwahahahahahahaha." You get the idea.
Better to be a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small one. Singapore's problem apart from having 0 resources is it is just to small and tends to be swayed easily by global trends.
ReplyDeleteI remember back in the 70-80s the Singapore government was concentrating on the manufacturing industry but by the 90s it was too unsustainable as land and labour costs started rising. Lots of my ex-colleagues were retrenched when huge manufacturing companies like Seagate, Hitachi, etc pulled out of Singapore. Then after that as early as the 90s they started focusing on the IT industry but with the lack of creativity and the increasing focus on outsourcing more and more locals shunned that industry and converted to other industries (like teaching). After that it was a very brief affair with life sciences and even that didn't go well since most graduates only qualified to wash test tubes unless they obtained a postgrad qualification. With R&D taking up to a decade to show results (if any) the Singapore government quickly lost interest. The Singapore government was also trying to position Singapore as a financial centre of Asia to compete with London and lured huge banks to setup operation with the relaxing of banking licenses and low corporate taxes. But since the financial meltdown of 2008 until now, finance has still not recovered and probably never will. Just look at all the retrenchments in the financial sector as more banks are starting to offshore more and more non-essential functions.
If you continue working in Singapore your future will be insecure and very bleak. I still can't believe the statistics that in the whole of 2015 only 100 or less jobs went to Singaporeans (http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/01/99-7-of-jobs-created-in-2015-went-to-foreigners/)
Do you want to continue living in a country with no job security where you probably can't afford to retire in the future? Who is to say 50 years from now the government won't increase the retirement age to 75 and won't let you withdraw your CPF if it falls below 500k?
Thanks Choaniki, very good points there.
DeleteWell I saw the writing on the wall long ago and got out of IT. A few others of my classmates got out of their successful careers too because they knew something was up. Like there is this one guy who is 50 years old and held various positions including the last he was a director at some company. He was willing to take a huge paycut to switch because according to him most MNC are moving out to China or neighbouring countries. Healthcare is the only current growth industry due to an aging population.
ReplyDeleteThose who refuse to see this or not willing to react will suffer in the end when they lose their jobs. PAP would do nothing to help them then.
I know a number of people from my generation (now in their 40s and 50s) who, when they had just completed University, were given the opportunity to choose between Singapore and the West (Australia, Britain, Canada or the USA) and they chose Singapore. But they lived to regret it.
ReplyDeleteMost often the reasons cited for choosing Singapore were: lifestyle familiarity, job security with a well-mapped future, close family members, good governance with effective law enforcement, and believe it or not, the weather (because they couldnt stand coldness in the temperate regions).
Honestly, I really dont think any of these factors are valid - not anymore, anyway. But to me, the most INSIDIOUS influence on Joy is family persuasion and I hope you will not fall prey to it.
Im not sure what your situation is wrt your parents and step-parents, but if they are trying to make you stay in (or rather, come back to) Singapore because they promise you will have a strong family support base/ network, and in return they expect you to be here for them once theyre old and frail, DONT give in to their emotional blackmail, or live in guilt for the rest of your life if you decide not to listen to them.
It's just not worth it.
You have only one life (and human life is short) so you need to live it for yourself. Dont apologise for that.
If youre forced to fulfil some heavy obligation due to a misguided sense of duty you will destroy not only yourself, but also the people around you.
Wow. And that's from a Singaporean parent in Singapore. Your son is so lucky to have such a good father!
DeleteIt is a shame Joy's parents aren't as enlightened as you!
Thanks:) but to tell you the truth, your writing was what opened my eyes. If only there had been a resource like this blog in the 1970s and 80s, it would have changed many people's destinies.
DeleteI did grow up in the 1980s too in S'pore you know. I was born in 1976.
DeleteThanks for the insight Chin, hardly anyone talks about this topic in a frank manner and it's a reason why there's so much resentment and toxicity in SG, which get passed on the next generation. Family is usually the biggest reason.
Delete... and with the UK's recent revisions to the policy for overseas graduates from UK universities and the minimum wage requirements, that path is now closed...
Delete@Chin, can you share the reasons why they regretted in the end?
DeleteLing Ling, I wouldn't say that the minimum wage requirement has closed the door shut on all migrants - it has just raised the bar of entry, that's all. Some people are actually saying that's not an entirely bad thing ...
DeleteIf it closed the door shut on all migrants, then the immigration policies are as good as turd. Why would any country invite migrants to increase their welfare expenditure?
DeleteChin: a misguided sense of duty was what my in-laws tried on my husband when we visited in 1995, after we had been here for several years. They tried to guilt my husband into returning to Singapore because he "owed" his mom to be there to support her emotionally and financially. Luckily, we had already renounced our citizenships. There was no going back, and we didn't want to anyway.
Delete@Weiping - look at Germany accepting over a million refugees and more, that's why the UK is thinking of leaving the EU and distancing itself from the migrant crisis brewing in the EU.
Delete@Di - I think you're talking about something else altogether: you're talking about undoing the process of giving up your pink IC. That would be tantamount to me walking back to the Singapore high commission in London and asking if I can have my pink IC and S'porean nationality back. No, that cannot be done.
However, what Joy could do, is simply to remain Canadian and go work in Singapore as a Canadian expat. There are LOADS of expats in Singapore - she can simply go live and work in Singapore as another one of them in the expat community. That would still allow her to be close to her family in Singapore whilst holding on to the better passport.
Oh, yes. Totally different. I was referring to Chin's comment about misguided sense of duty to stay. In my case, the idiots were asking hubby to return for good because they did not know we had already become Canadians. At that time, no one suggested we returned to work as ft. Joy has that option. I am saying she should not keep her Singapore citizenship out of duty or guilt. She should make her own choice for herself, not others.
Delete@Di : I think I will have to cross that bridge soon. I like what you said about "no going back" - of course can visit, it's not the end of the world, just that one can withdraw all CPF monies! It's not a clear-cut decision and it's great to hear it from people who have actually made A decision and not moan and grumble about it... it has an accumulative on young people - a former student said he wished he could just work as a 7-11 clerk in N. America. It's sad when SG's *precious* youth make such pronouncements, even though he could be dismissed as being silly and overly influenced by Western media etc ad nauseum.
Delete@Ling Ling, we took the road less travelled. It was exciting, scary, at times difficult, and most of all very satisfying. It's not for the types who like their comfort zones. No regrets, though. Good luck.
Delete@Ling Ling, we took the road less travelled. It was exciting, scary, at times difficult, and most of all very satisfying. It's not for the types who like their comfort zones. No regrets, though. Good luck.
DeleteHi Lim Peh
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask for your advice on a potentially delicate matter about work and professionalism. It is also related to the topic of this blogpost to some extent.
I have recently accepted a job offer at an MNC so I will be submitting my notice of resignation to my current company soon. I know my boss will definitely want to know which company I will be working at next, but I have my doubts as to whether I should give her that information (at least not until I am settled in my new company) for three reasons.
Firstly, my boss is overly attached to me so I am very sure she will be quite upset that I am leaving.
Secondly, my boss has quite an unpredictable temperament (which is partly why I am leaving my current company in the first place). It can be quite hard to tell what she might do with the information if I tell her where I am going next, e.g. whether she might suddenly become vengeful and bad mouth me to my new company.
Thirdly, my boss is a wealthy and well connected person. When you combine this fact with the fact that she also has an unpredictable temperament, all the more I think I should be careful when dealing with her.
So my two questions are: Should I reveal my new company to my boss? If not, how should I go about not revealing my new company without being rude?
My parents think that I should not reveal my new company at all. They think I should just say that I am resigning for personal reasons and leave it at that. I think this might work in a large company where your colleagues/bosses are unlikely to take professional moves personally. But my case is different because I work closely with my boss in my current company, which is an SME, and she is capable of taking things personally. I am not sure if I should take my parents' advice since my boss is so sensitive and I do not want to part with her on bad terms.
Your thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.
Hi there Maddie,
DeleteI have been in that same position before. And here's the worst part: I have also told a story about a former boss (we're going back many years, I'm nearly 40 years old you realize) and here on my blog which basically made him look really bad. Somehow he tracked it down (what? my former boss reads my blog, WTF?) - and a former colleague told me about it and I was like, oh well, damage done, too late; apparently my former boss got pissed off as it did tantamount to me washing dirty linen in public (not that I actually mentioned the company's name or any specific details) - but enough details were revealed that if anyone was really kaypoh and had too much time on their hands, they could dig up my profile on Linkedin and other websites to work out whom I was talking about. Yikes. Looks like I won't get a reference from him ever again! But you know what? There's that saying 好马不吃回头草 - so I just have to shrug my shoulders and say, too bad, even if I take down that piece, the damage has been done, I've burnt my bridges with that company but I was never ever gonna go back and work for that guy again. No no no, 好马不吃回头草 indeed.
The point of my story? Your current boss will track you down. It's not like you're leaving the country - Singapore is a small place (you are in S'pore, yeah?) and it's not hard to find you. You can't hide. You are going to have mutual friends who will spread the news. Your parents probably do not realize how hard it is to keep the news from your ex-boss if s/he is determined to find out and track you down.
Hence IMHO, trying to lie about it is but a futile exercise cos she's gonna find out anyway. Heck, imagine my shock when I found out that my ex-boss was reading my blog. How many have left that company over the years and does he try to spy on all of us years later?
Aiyoh. I hope that helps.
Hi Lim Peh
DeleteYes, I am in Singapore.
Many thanks for your prompt and thorough reply. I can definitely see your point and it's good for me to have an alternative view on this matter. So thank you.
Sorry also to hear that your ex-boss behaved like that. It goes to show that there will always be people who have a major chip on their shoulder and will go all out to give others a hard time whenever possible. The more sane among us will just have to deal with it.
Once again, thank you.
Hiya Maddie. No worries. Since you are in Singapore, I think the chances of your (soon to be) ex-boss tracking you down in the new place is pretty high - it isn't hard. Not unless you've totally changed industries, if you're still in the same industry - then face it. If she really wants to find out, she will. It is easy to stalk someone online or simply rely on word of mouth. For example, I am sure you are going to remain friends with some former colleagues when you leave this job - what are you going to do, lie to all of them as well? It'll be weird if you claim to have left to take time out for personal reasons then suddenly appear in another company within a short space of time.
DeleteAs for my ex-boss, good grief, it's been so long ago since I worked in that company. I did learn a lot of useful stuff there, I earned a lot of money there but I did stay there too long and it was time to move on. I'm glad I left when I did (in fact, I should have not lingered that long there). It would have been nice to have left on good terms, but it wasn't possible. He took it personally that I left despite him tempting me with a project in Singapore + a free trip to Singapore (from London!) - I still said no, if I wanna go to Singapore, I can just buy a ticket, I don't need to do this job just to go to S'pore. I was quite honest with my next boss about why I left and I told him point blank that whilst I was well paid there, I couldn't get along very well with that boss and that was why I felt it was time to go eventually. The new boss understood totally. And when I left that next job, the next boss again understood the nature of my relationship with my previous employers and even he said that I was overqualified, undervalued and underpaid in that job.
What is the moral of the story Maddie? The next boss you meet may be someone like me: ie. someone who has suffered a lot of shit in the past and has endured so much to get to where I am and trust me, I know what it is like to work under a crazy, unreasonable boss. Been there, done that when I was younger. So if you come to me (say you're applying for a job with my company) and you tell me honestly that your ex-boss was a psycho bitch from hell, my first question would be, goodness, why didn't you leave any sooner? How did you put up with that for so long? And if your ex-boss contacted me out of the blue to slander you, I would question why the hell she would do that. After all, if I have decided to hire you, I have subjected you to rigorous tests and interviews to determine that you're the right person for the job. I trust in my judgement indeed and if someone were to say to me, "don't hire Maddie, she's terrible, she was a disaster in my company" - I would question why that person would go out of her way to be so vindictive.
Have I made mistakes in my work before? Of course I have. But would my ex-boss(es) go tell my new bosses about those mistakes just to stab me in the back? No, they just wouldn't. Nobody is that crazy and it would reflect poorly on them if they did that. I do hope your next boss will be as sane and as sympathetic as me. If you came to work for me and your ex-boss came to slander you, I would tell your ex-boss to go away and stop bothering me - if she persists, then I'll tell her to go fuck herself up the ass with a great big durian.
I expect my employees to be honest with me - we've all screwed up at some point in our careers, myself included. I think it's a fallacy to imagine that you must present yourself as someone who's so freaking perfect and have never ever made a mistake in your life before. I'd rather hire someone who has made a mistake and learnt her lesson from it (so she'll never make that same mistake again) - that's better than hiring someone who hasn't ever made a mistake before.
Thankfully, I am a director today and running my own company. Phew.
One more thing Maddie: I blogged about the recruitment process a LOT on my blog, about how new companies are finding new ways to test candidates in 2016 (have a read please) - and the old days of CVs, references - all that is gone, gone, gone. Many more modern companies simply ignore all that and just start on a clean slate, they will test everything and make sure that you DO have the skills that you need for the job. I've told the story many times of my friend Chris who was the history graduate from Oxford - lovely guy, posh, dresses well, charming, clearly intelligent but totally useless at his job. Yet somehow, people saw the word OXFORD on his CV and assumed he would be brilliant at his job. Well, he was brilliant, just not at the job he was applying for and tried to do. Yeah those were the bad old days of HR practices.
DeleteI'm assuming that your new company has clearly tested you and have faith in their testing/recruitment procedures to know for sure that they have identified a very suitable candidate for the role they are recruiting you for: all that, without even speaking to your ex-boss. If they have done their job right, then they will be very happy with their decision and not change their minds even if someone slanders you along the way. You know, such is life - just be honest and upfront about it. If you came and told me about your ex-boss, then I'd be sympathetic and tell you about some of the other crazier people I had to work under during my NS time. You're not the only one who has been in this situation - have some faith in your new employers, they may be nice people (like me).
@choaniki, thank you for asking. Take an example of my friend from the 1980s (similar to your friend) who studied Econs/Stats in Australia & was offered a job there, but returned to be a trainee manager at one of our major banks. He climbed his way up to Vice President at one of the branches, stayed for 20 years then got retrenched.
ReplyDeleteSo he trained at NIE & became an English teacher in sec sch. Worked his way up again, became one of the Heads in the Discipline committee. But couldnt take the education system and school politics, so he quit and toyed with driving a taxi but dismissed it.
He's now working for himself, freelancing around with various small businesses, but has to cut down his expenditure a lot (gave up his car etc). This is not an isolated case and is a perfect illustration of the plight our generation is facing.
Let's put it this way lah CLT, I would be a bit more forgiving about your friend. Many of us try different industries and we do mid-career switches: some of us do so by choice, others are compelled by circumstances. I switched career paths twice, but each time I relied on the same set of core soft skills + work experience to allow me to hit the ground running in my new career ladder. I just took the lead in a major meeting yesterday for my new company and I did all the talking, my CTO just sat there and said nothing (I did turn to him to ask him to verify the timeline on a few tech issues, that's all), and it's still sales & marketing at the end of the day, just for a different industry now.
DeleteMy question though, is why did your friend try to retrain as a teacher instead of finding another job in banking? That would have been the most obvious thing to do (to me at least) - but maybe he wanted to try teaching as he liked it? Was he totally unable to get another job in banking despite having been a VP? When I left my last job, I toyed with the idea of going to work for one of the competitors of the firm I left, then decided at the end of last year to work for myself since the right opportunity came along.
I see similarities between your friend and myself - the only difference I guess is that I switched industries twice because I felt I had more to give, I wanted to try different things and each time, I was able to make a lotta money in each industry I put my hand to. Here's hoping that my new company will be just as successful. I have just had a meeting request from a big company we are hoping to get into bed with and form a major partnership with - so I am feeling very positive about 2016 right now :)
@CLT thanks for sharing. That is the sad reality of working in SG now unfortunately. I always try to talk with taxi drivers when taking them and I lost count of the number of ex-directors or bankers who lost their 5 figure job and end up driving taxis after being unable to find a new job.
Delete@LIFT believe me after 40 it is impossible to find a job after being retrenched. I have a close friend who sent out several hundreds of applications and only found a job after close to 1 yr of unemployment. 100 jobs in 2015. That is the sad reality of the employment market in SG. But 70% of the people keep voting PAP. Boggles the mind.
Hi Choaniki,
DeleteAt the risk of defending the PAP, I think that an evolving job market is a feature of our modern world, so it is not just the situation in Singapore you are describing here, but something that older people like me face. I am turning 40 this year, so I am acutely aware of this for personal reasons, obviously.
But pardon me for being naive about this as someone who is about to turn 40 but not yet: I have had so many opportunities along the way that I have had to turn down, so many offers for work in various industries given the range of skills that I do have and in having chosen to work for myself and start my own company this year, I have had the painful task of having to reject quite interesting offers of work. All this, despite the fact that I am gonna turn 40 this year - I am no spring chicken, I am an older man with a lot to offer in terms of my skills and work experience.
Thus I am somewhat surprised to hear that ex-directors who have attained such senior positions have fallen on such hard times that driving a taxi is the ONLY option left to them. Really? Like don't they have other skills to offer in terms of getting them a job where their skills are in demand? Are their ability to drive a car the only skill that is in demand in Singapore right now?
The crux of this article has been about how our ability to find a job is a function of supply and demand - whether or not there is a demand for the skills you are offering. Pardon me being naive, but I would have assumed that if someone has enough skills to reach a senior position as a director/banker, then that means that they done so through offering some useful skills that are in demand in the working world and that should enable them to get another job.
That's why I find that quite puzzling. Unless it is straight-up ageism that is at work here, otherwise I don't understand why this is the case (cos it's clearly happening - as you have observed.) Perhaps my optimism is based a little bit too much on my own (rather good) personal experience thus far in constantly being able to make loads of money as I get ever older. I'd appreciate it if you could enlighten me please as to what is going on in S'pore - as I don't seen to understand why this is happening. Many thanks. Arigato gozaimas!
Sidenote: as a freelancer, I always charge a lot more than my younger counterparts because I claim, yeah you can get someone in his 20s to do my job, but he would be fresh outta uni and wouldn't have the wealth of experience and knowledge that an older man like me as accumulated over the years. You're paying me more because of my seniority and my experience: you get what you pay for, I'm better because I am older.
DeleteAnd guess what? That works. I recently got hold of a contract for £97.50 an hour and a friend of mine who is 23 years old was doing something similar for £16 an hour. I thought I heard him wrong and said, "you mean £60 an hour no?" And when he said "no £16." I nearly fell over and I was like, dude, are you kidding me? Why are you even working for that kinda shitty money when you should be asking for more? He said that's all they were willing to offer him because of his inexperience and he was willing to do it to get some experience, in order to be able to charge more in the future.
So yes, younger people are discriminated against and are paid less (and thus cost less to employers) but otherwise, that doesn't necessarily mean that employers want to only go for the cheapest option: sometimes when you're choosing a contractor, you may pick the best, not the cheapest. I am currently renovating my flat before I can let it out after I move to my new home: I am NOT picking the cheapest contractors as I know they will do a shoddy job and I want the renovation to be done to a high standard as I don't want stuff falling apart after a few months. It makes complete sense NOT to choose the cheapest option - so I don't know why older Singaporeans are unable to capitalize on their experience as working adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Pardon me for being so naive, please enlighten me my friend. Thanks.
I do not know the details but the stories i have heard is always along the same lines. Being retrenched from a high paying job. Trying and failing to get another job in the same industry even after offering to taking a massive paycut. Trying to get an entry level job from another industry only to be told they are overqualified.
DeletePart of the reason i suspect, like you have mentioned, is supply and demand. There is a huge supply of foreigners (even highly qualified ones) willing to work for peanuts compared to locals. Most of the taxi drivers i spoke to came from either the finance of IT industry so you can see with increasing cutbacks and offshoring the demand is getting much tighter.
But that doesn't explain why even when they go into other industries like operations, etc they are still rejected. I suspect this is ageism, which happens to not be illegal in Singapore. So naturally companies will tell the candidates that they are overqualified as a politically correct excuse. When really they are discriminating against older applicants.
And another reason which i suspect but have only heard anecdotal evidence of is tribalism. It is no secret the majority of MNCs in Singapore are foreign. More often then not the hiring managers of that company would be willing to get an expat from the same country rather than hire a local. Japanese are infamous for it. I hear the Indians and Filipinos also have a reputation for it.
So all these factors, from ageism, to oversupply of cheap skilled labour, and simple tribalism are working against Singaporeans (even highly educated and highly skilled people) getting a good job in their country. But i guess there could be other factors at play. Still it really is hard to explain how only 100 out of 31k jobs went to locals. In any other country the labour minister would probably have been kicked out of office for those atrocious statistics.
Here are some stories and newspaper articles to show the difficulty of getting a job in current day Singapore. As for the real reason, i doubt the government is in any hurry to commission a study since their jobs are not at risk.
Deletehttp://www.singapore-window.org/sw09/090829ST.HTM
https://temasektimes.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/highly-qualified-risk-manager-who-earns-11k-replaced-by-ft/
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/highly-trained-middle-aged-and-out-of-work
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/taxi-talk/bouncing-back-retrenchment-six-singaporeans-share-story-080710976.html
http://www.transitioning.org/2011/03/02/retrenched-senior-manager-who-earned-7000month-switched-to-cab-driving/
I just don't get it - yes I've gone through the links you've provided: you don't get to be highly qualified and earn big bucks only to one day realize that the only skill you have to offer is driving a taxi: yeah there are good for nothing people who have very little useful skills to offer in the job market and they end up with shitty jobs. But for people who have managed to secure good, well paid, respectable jobs to end up in that position where there's suddenly zero demand for their skills, for them to turn to driving a taxi as a last resort - seriously? Say if my current business venture fails, I know I will have no problems reinventing myself and packaging up my skills in a way which can command a very attractive salary in London. My age (40) does not work against me here. so the whole argument about being replaced by cheaper FTs do not apply to me.
DeleteI always tell this story when discussing this topic: I have a friend who is a pimp for prostitutes and he deals with high end whores: starting price £250 but you get what you pay for. Some of his best prostitutes go for £2000 a night and we're talking top end. And then if you go low end, then you can get prostitutes for under £50, even £20 for some really old and ugly ones. So why do some prostitutes command £2000 a night and others only £20? Here's the answer: you're not going to have as good a time with the £20 prostitute. You get what you pay for.
So for the Singaporean companies who sack their senior staff and hire cheap FTs, well that's a false economy: that's going to the £20 old whore and expecting the same kind of experience as the £2000 top end prostitute can offer. No, you get what you pay for.
Choaniki - you've quoted articles written by Gilbert Goh, you realized I have written quite a few pieces to attack him? I really despise the guy's attitude. I do not agree with him on so many points - he blames everyone from the PAP to Singaporean society to Singaporean women: and I'm like, for fuck's sake Goh, grow a pair of fucking balls and take responsibility for your own fucking circumstances. What he said about Australians speaking better English than Singaporeans - I'm the Ah Beng from Ang Mo Kio, I speak 10 languages, I am a fucking Youtube sensation, I can out talk you in 10 languages - what's your fucking excuse if I can be eloquent in 10 languages but you can't even be articulate in one Gilbert?
DeleteThe man is a fucking idiot IMHO. Losers like him deserve to be retrenched.
http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/an-alternative-response-to-gilbert-gohs.html
http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/my-response-to-gilbert-gohs-attack-on.html
Hi Alex, this is going to be purely based on my personal experience.
DeleteThose PMETs that lost their jobs and could not rebuild their careers, in the first place, do not possess adequate skills to continue on in their industry. My mother, who is still currently employed as an engineer in Singtel, shared her workplace story with me that she has this coworker, who is literally technologically illiterate and yet, holds the position of engineer in Singtel. Singtel is unable to give this engineer the boot due to the employment contract that was signed many years ago.
In the past, people without the right skills in Singapore, are able to secure employment based off academic merits. Such are those PMETs mentioned. When the economy is well and the corporates are still making big profits, they can ignore the incompetencies of their employees. But when the industry starts to change, and there is a need to streamline all workflows, incompetencies get exposed and such PMETs get the boot(Software industry is one of the earliest to encounter this).
I feel rather offensive, when someone claims that they are a highly-trained software engineer based of their total years of experience, when all they just do is repeat that single year of experience many times without improvement.
Weiping, you get the gold star for hitting the nail on the head.
DeleteWhilst Choaniki has identified a trend happening, I simply couldn't figure out why it was so. And the list of articles he quoted simply pandered to playing the victim's card - and all this BULLSHIT about blaming FTs. Oh please. If you're so crap at your job that you cannot stand up to a bit of competition, then you deserve to be sacked. The job market has to run on the basis of meritocracy and if you cannot pull your weight, then you will be sacked. I have seen this in the world of sales where people were regularly culled if their sales figures failed to hit their targets. It is the survival of the fittest and your explanation makes complete sense if the recruitment process rewarded those with brilliant academic records but were ultimately incompetent at their jobs. (I am remembering my history graduate from Oxford friend who was precisely that.)
The system had major flaws in it and when hard times forced companies to pull their socks up and lose their deadweight, then of course the incompetent idiots are going to be retrenched. If the recruitment system was more efficient (as discussed recently), then companies would have never hired these incompetent fools in the first place.
In any case, I think it's dumb to blame anyone but yourself if you get retrenched. It is your cue to take a long hard look in the mirror and reinvent yourself, rather than play the victim's card. Boo-fucking-hoo, Singapore is a place where sympathy is in short supply. Nobody gives a shit if you are a taxi driver who used to have a good job.
I know you dislike Gilbert Goh but in these cases he is just the messenger. You of all people keep saying to not attack the messenger if you don't agree with the message. Unless, of course, you are claiming that he fabricated all those stories. This is a pretty serious allegation to make even against someone as like Gilbert.
DeleteThere is another characteristic I noticed in all these cases which I have not mentioned yet. Most of these people worked too long in their jobs and got too comfortable in their companies system. Against for me I have never been retrenched. The longest I held a job was 7 years, the shortest merely a year. I always sack the company and move on before they consider me obsolete and decide to replace me.
Here is a final story shared by my classmate, not Gilbert Goh, so the source is credible.
"Btw I met up a lady who had worked in HP for 23 years and recently got retrenched. At the age of 47, with two kids studying O level and A level. She had quite recently move into a new condo. Her husband work for SME. Initially she was keen at our DR course but the monthly allowance of even $2.5k cannot afford her life style.
She doesn't understand the current economy restructuring is different from 1997. A lot of jobs r going to be lost because MNC r moving out of Singapore. Everything is going into China. I don't how people like her is going to survive."
Hi Choaniki, you're 100% right that I totally dislike Gilbert Goh because he promotes the victim's mentality. I say people like him need to grow a pair of balls and stand up for themselves, rather than feel sorry for themselves. There's only so much self-pity can do for you in real life: has self-pity ever solved anyone's problems?
DeleteWeiping has hit the nail on the head: these people managed to get to senior positions in the past because of the way the recruitment process focused on academic smarts rather than real skills - the further these people get away from their JCs and university days as they approach their 40s, the more apparent their incompetence becomes: hence when times get hard, the companies naturally shred the dead weight first, rather than those who have the skills to help the company through the hard times. Gilbert's solution is for these people to feel sorry for themselves and moan about the situation.
What is my advice for them? Well, it is time to sit down and look at your skills, accept that times have changed but there must be something of value you can offer to the Singaporean job market. It may require thinking outside the box, it may require changing industries, it may require some retraining, it may require adapting to new technology: but the key thing is to accept that times have changed and to be willing to move with the times, rather than live in denial.
As for myself, I used to do sales in financial services before the big crash came - that was such easy money because I was good at sales and the commissions were super generous. Then the crash came, the government tightened up the regulations on what was allowed to be sold (and how it was sold etc), that just meant the party was well and truly over. I adapted, I changed industries but basically still applied my same talents to different kinds of roles: I know what I am good at (and what I suck at), thus I did my homework and research as to where the job market would allow me to be most successful and where I can find lucrative work.
So I've gone from someone making £10,000 a month in 2004 to someone charging £97.50 an hour in 2016 - do the maths, I'm not any worse off and I'm certainly not driving a taxi. (Mind you, I'll like to raise my rate to over £100 an hour later this year, just to boost my ego, but I'm afraid that would make me look too expensive to some clients. £97.50 seems like the highest amount I could charge and still come in under £100 an hour.) In any case, I will write more about this in my next article. Akan datang.
@choaniki this lady would have to downgrade period, unless she can miraculously come out with some great recipe set up a hawker stall and have throngs of singaporeans lining up to eat her fantastic food.
DeleteChoaniki, what can I say. It is the 70% who blindly vote in the PAP government to make the PMET suffer.
DeleteIf they have voted in the opposition, all these will not happen. Easy way is get out of Singapore where your value is appreciated instead of being forced to be the taxi driver.
@Kelvin Tan I am going to apologize beforehand if I sound like a dick.
DeleteLet me try and correct your statement.
Even if they have voted in the opposition, all these are still likely to happen. Whether voting in the opposition would help address the situation is an uncertainty as the problem lies with the mindset of the general populace.
Having said that, this is after all, oversimplifying the problems and issues at hand by simply putting the blame on someone(see Donald Trump's statements).
hi lift, do u have any ideas on how to celebrate a 21st birthday in singapore, for loners?(slight budget constraint, maybe 100-300 max for a chalet)
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Yuko, I am not one for parties. I remember my 30th birthday was a low-key event with a handful of close friends. For my 40th, I have no idea what to do yet. I don't really see the point of a chalet - with S$300. You could get somewhere like Thailand or Vietnam for around the S$100 mark (return) on a cheap flight and then spend the rest of the money on accommodation + food + fun. Find someone willing to go with you and have an adventure on your birthday rather than just a party. I regret not having done that more in Singapore when I lived there, it would have been nice to have seen more of SE Asia before I moved to Europe.
ReplyDeleteSame here. But I do not even celebrate my birthday. Every year, I will spend the time alone and do self-study
DeleteTo be fair, Transitioning (GGs co) isnt just about playing victim but also about helping the jobless adjust to a simpler life. This is commendable because you cannot expect a middle-aged guy to miraculously repackage his expertise into something equally in demand as his previous profession.
ReplyDeleteLIFT I think you missed the fact that Sporeans arent willing to pay extra for quality, especially in areas like sales/ marketing. Eg local ads in the papers- amateurish design, full of grammatical errors
Its not about taking the easy route, blaming FTs instead of finding other ways to contribute & stay relevant; its just that the avenues are either not there or are extremely limited.
SG is indeed a small pond & the mentality of SMEs is "we're NOT paying for this, if we can get it done cheap or free, however badly".
When the whole country thinks this way, theres just no room for the unique skills & perspectives that come with long working experience.
Just wondering, Weiping and Chin Lam, you're both from the Toh clan - it's a long shot but might you two know each other or is Toh a rather common surname?
DeleteI have commented before that Singapore lacks a culture of marketing & PR whereby people respond to blunt messages, whilst in the West, the markets are a lot more complex and PR experts are paid a lot of money to come up with far more creative methods to communicate complex messages to the market.
But let's turn the situation around, if 99% of the SMEs have crap marketing because they try to get stuff done on the cheap (or for free), then the 1% of companies who do pay for quality marketing are the ones who get noticed in a crowded market = they are the ones who will make money and thus set a trend.
I believe things will change slowly as Singaporeans start learning from companies in the West as to how things are done. It is a slow process of course, but change is usually slow in Singapore. The alternative is to move to the West, if you are not patient.
Alex, there are mainly 2 different Chinese surnames that translates to Toh as far as I know. I am sure that I am not related to Chin Lam. In any case, I ain't very close to my paternal side of my family.
DeleteOn the topic of marketing and advertisements, have you read about the Gebiz saga?
@CLT "When the whole country thinks this way, theres just no room for the unique skills & perspectives that come with long working experience."
DeleteIt's stems in with the cheaper, better, faster policy which has already been drummed into all of us. As a singaporean i too have this typical cheapo mentality and that will be why many domestic businesses will fail as there will be no way to compete with the world being cheap when our running costs are so high.
Everytime I bring my car for servicing, I always make it a point to pay my Mechanic and extra 10% as his work is good and I want to do my part to keep him in business.
Delete@Whowillbe, saying this honestly, i think you belong to the 0.01% of singaporeans. Admire you though.
DeleteWell Whoowillbe, I am moving house tomorrow and I have hired a driver to help me move the stuff - if he is good, I intend to tip him about 20%; ie. if he is happy to help me carry etc, make sure everything is secure, nothing broken etc. If he is crap, then forget the tip.
DeleteJust thought i use your blog to promote this. If you are from one of the banks being retrenched or in danger of losing your job do think of signing up for a mid-career switch. Healthcare is in super hot demand now. There is going to be 2 new hospitals built down the road, Sengkang and Woodlands Hospital. So lots of jobs for those who have the skills.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wda.gov.sg/content/wdawebsite/programmes_and_initiatives/L701E-ProfConversionProgramme.html
Interesting - by all means, I totally 100% support the idea of people who are willing to retrain and reinvent themselves to keep themselves relevant to the modern world as the markets evolve, but it does seem like quite a big step to retrain as a medical care professional. I'm merely comparing this to my own experience, where I applied the same set of core skills to a number of different industries: different roles, different products, different kinds of jobs but all still using the same set of core skills, playing to my strengths.
DeleteI wonder if I am just being somewhat naive and idealistic to say "play to your strengths and you'll be fine." I did that and things have been great.
Understood your point. Unfortunately in Singapore, the gatekeepers are more old-fashioned and look mostly at paper qualifications first. Which is why repackaging and remarketing yourself might not even get you an interview. I know it might work in Japan and Western countries where people aren't focused solely on paper qualifications.
DeleteSo this is still a choice. Just a very difficult route. But I like to take my inspiration from JFK who said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Then again it sure beats complaining on the Internet or driving a taxi.
Understood your point. Unfortunately in Singapore, the gatekeepers are more old-fashioned and look mostly at paper qualifications first. Which is why repackaging and remarketing yourself might not even get you an interview. I know it might work in Japan and Western countries where people aren't focused solely on paper qualifications.
DeleteSo this is still a choice. Just a very difficult route. But I like to take my inspiration from JFK who said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Then again it sure beats complaining on the Internet or driving a taxi.
Choaniki and Weiping, this is so so interesting and I will do a proper blog post on this once I have the time to breathe. It is 7:30 pm and I am trying to pack for my move - I am moving house on Sat and the clock is ticking and I am way behind. I wish I could take a nap but I am feeling so guilty at how slow my packing has been so far.
DeleteThe follow up: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/why-singaporeans-lack-killer-instinct.html
DeleteLIFT, i must say your blogposts are very interesting and it touches on many issues pertaining to us in singapore. I have a lot of admiration on individuals who dare to take risk and can maneuver in any kinds of situations, if more of us are like you, singapore can really be more outstanding.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words Leonard.
DeleteI really don't know where to post this but here it goes:
ReplyDeleteHi LIFT,
I am in a relatively tricky situation. I am currently studying in a polytechnic as an engineering student and I am less than a year away from applying for a university. Considering that my GPA is >3.85 and is more or less stabilized, there is a very high chance that I will be able to enter a lot of the courses that both NUS and NTU offer. I have a huge problem-I am gay and I’d want to move to America to have a chance of getting married and having children. I have two options:
1. Get into one of the above-mentioned universities and leave Singapore once I get the chance to, or
2. Get a scholarship to move to america to study and come back to serve a bond. (I am very aware that scholarships require extra curricular activities, I am working on my curricular points to increase my chances)
The problem with the second option is that my parents are very against the idea of me leaving the country for any reason and are hence not funding for an overseas education. I am also not out to them. I’ve already considered pursuing my degree overseas even before my polytechnic began. Also, the idea of coming back to serve the bond is another stressful thought even though I want to have a feel of the country before I make the big move.
I have a few pros and cons of each option:
Local university education
Pros
-No bond to serve
-I may be able to migrate out of Singapore much quicker than the second option
Cons
-I may not be able to have a good feel of where I’d like to migrate to before I move
-I might be pressured to marry by my relatives if I don’t move out fast enough (or my parents if they cause an uproar over my sexuality)
Overseas university education
Pros
-More familiarity with the country before I move (Including friends and connections that I make over there)
-I’ll gain more independence living alone
-I’ll open my eyes to more things at a younger age
Cons
-Possible restrictions imposed by my parents
-I may have to serve a very long bond (which delays my move by a long stretch)
I do have to serve National Service but I’d like to plan beyond these 2 years so that I can still prepare within the 2 years of serving and so that I wouldn’t screw my life over after my time in the army. I really want to move to America despite the discouraging comments from my parents about how introverted I am and how moving to america is really bad for me. The last thing on my mind is to get stuck here without being able to raise children of my own and never getting married.
I’d like to have some advice from somebody who has the experience in working overseas and I would also like to know if a degree from a Singapore or a degree from America is better for a job in America and what I should do to increase my chances of securing a job there (let’s say New York City for instance, with job experience not taken into consideration)
It’s been quite a while (1 year-ish) before I was able muster up enough courage to seek help by writing this.
I hope that I don’t sound dumb for writing this to you as I’ve always gotten the ”stay in Singapore” advice that many locals I’ve talked to have given me. Thank you in advance for reading this.
Hi Bram, I don't feel that I can do a reply to you justice this way - so bear with me, I will dedicate my next post to you. It'll be worth the wait as I give you the advice you need, okay? Thanks.
DeleteI have drafted 8 key points for you to consider - it is going to take me a few hours at least to fill in the details of those 8 key points. But I have so much to tell you - the key info I am missing from you though is what kind of degree you wanna do and what kind of career you are looking to embark on. You're so vague about that and that is actually really important you know.
DeleteOK for you: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/scholarships-immigration-usa-coming-out.html you may not like what I have to say, but I've given you plenty of food for thought.
Delete