Hi all, i was a former PA staff, executive (but given some CM responsibilities zzz)... i was there for about 1.5 yrs, paid ard 3.1k (basic 2700 + 350 allowance) as diploma holder
The pay is good, but the work is absolutely horrible... you are the front-line sucker whom every resident will approach for their problems (be it lift breakdown, bed bugs, noisy neighbours...), and with the current No-wrong-door policy, you can't just direct them to the *correct* agencies; you need to follow up on their behalf. i have had people screaming at me cos both their
HDB lifts broke down
And then there is the problems of the grassroots leaders you have to support... its really heng suay here: if you kena good hardworking people, you will have an easy time, cos they very "zai" in organizing events and managing their committee people, but if you really suay (like me lol), you need to do EVERYTHING for them.
Think about this, each committee has around 15 to 20 volunteers, and given KPI by PA HQ to hit every year (usually pertaining to events and resident outreach), but if they can't meet it, HQ will not blame them (they are only volunteers!!), HQ will blame YOU by downgrading your performance grading. So if your committee sucks, YOU will get to achieve all the KPIs by YOURSELF. All the best to that!
Don't even get me started on the MP you have to serve... that is another can of worms by itself...
I do know CMs and CMEs who are still working in PA after many years, but i guarantee you NONE of them like their job... most are there cos they got mouths to feed, and as mentioned by some, the experience is not easily transferrable to other organizations...
Therefore, for heaven's sake, DO NOT JOIN PA!!