Software Engineer with rich background, what do expect?

[bjornl]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The NUS masters is probably cheaper than the top tier universities in the world, and there is no other country to the world with as foreigner-friendly polices as Singapore. I, and increasingly more of my fellow Singaporeans don't appreciate the so-called foreign talents that are not actually talented, only cheaper to hire; but based on your resume (if you are telling the truth), you are indeed talented.

However, getting a well paid job may be challenging. I have friends who are first rate computer science graduates (on the Dean's list, first class honours, brilliant people) who are at best earning 100,000 SGD a year including all bonuses at the age of 35. Some are only earning 60,000 SGD a year, even at famous multinational corporations with stringent interview processes.

In general, Singapore is not the place for engineering and computer science people. We work very hard, we are good, but salaries are not high, and cost of living is very, very high. Think twice, thrice before coming at all. If you do come, have the courtesy to be friendly, mix with Singaporeans and learn about Singapore culture.

99% of the reason that I am coming in the first place is to mix with Singaporeans and try to integrate in Singaporean culture. That's sad to hear that Singpore is not the place for me, career wise. I am nevertheless moving over next week for my degree. I guess being your own boss is the way to go then, if I would to consider building a life in Singapore.

And, LOL. I am not lying about my work experience, I do not have a lot to gain by doing that.

Originally Posted by no1ne

What do you mean by foreign talents work "CHEAPER"?

It's a relative term. Assume that the average savings nett of taxes, expenses is ~S$10K annually which can be TT back to the following countries: India, Vietnam, China, Philippine and not forgetting MY.

Now, if the saving power of basic FT 'Husband and Wife' combined to be ~S$20K.
They work in SG for 10 years.

Perhaps 10 condo units, or 3 nicely decorated Bungalows with Maid will await them when they return to their motherland. [Let's not get started on the topic of cashing out their CPF, Profiting from HDB etc.]

Oh, I missed out mentioning the almost infinite lifespan of their soon to be acquired Merc/Beemer.

Perhaps, 'Pink IC' should start lobbying for 'local contirbution' taxes on Gross income earned by FT. Assume 3% special 'tax' goes into SG community pool to defray transport (PTC???), lower public amenity charges (public swimming pool), best of all goes into subsidizing core household items (rice, sugar, oil, petrol.........think MY, but the $$$ comes from FT only). We will love them even more!!!

Start the ball rolling.

Originally Posted by no1ne

What do you mean by foreign talents work "CHEAPER"?

if i'm an employer, i can easily employ a foreign programmer in singapore for 1.5k per month or less.

needless to say, i can easily employ a few of them and save costs.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

if i'm an employer, i can easily employ a foreign programmer in singapore for 1.5k per month or less.

needless to say, i can easily employ a few of them and save costs.

Very true. Those Indian national are very good in IT. They are willing to work for longer hours too, and are hardworking people accepting lower salary.

We Singaporeans got no fight. Haizzzz....

Wage across IT is pretty much stagnated due to the huge influx of foreign IT cheap workers.
Another major reason for low wage across IT sector in Singapore is due to majority of the companies to view IT as a cost factor than a profit generator. But having said that, should you wish to work as a software engineer in Singapore, it would be better to select wisely a company that emphasis IT as their core profit growth (though there aren't many of them).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Very true. Those Indian national are very good in IT. They are willing to work for longer hours too, and are hardworking people accepting lower salary.

We Singaporeans got no fight. Haizzzz....

That Indian nationals are very good in IT is just an industrial myth. Having dealt with many on various projects, I find that most of them can only talk but cannot do. I would rather spend 1.5-2x more $ on real capable people for my projects. It'll save a lot more $ (and headache) in the long run throughout the entire project cycle. Being hardworking does not mean being capable.

Originally Posted by bjornl

99% of the reason that I am coming in the first place is to mix with Singaporeans and try to integrate in Singaporean culture. That's sad to hear that Singpore is not the place for me, career wise. I am nevertheless moving over next week for my degree. I guess being your own boss is the way to go then, if I would to consider building a life in Singapore.

And, LOL. I am not lying about my work experience, I do not have a lot to gain by doing that.

Good luck then. I would be interested to hear your opinion on Singapore after a while. Perhaps your experience may be more positive, particularly if you can build up a successful business instead of being a salaried employee, Singapore is business friendly and things work well. Taxes are particularly low for high income earners, a maximum of 15% I believe.

However for the squeezed middle class its a struggle. Many Singaporeans would prefer to be overseas. I have friends overseas who are have an obviously superior quality of life and purchasing power, free healthcare provided by the state, and pensions. Life is so much easier for them. We Singaporeans can only depend on ourselves, the country is rich, but we are poor. Many are university-educated and hardworking, but are struggling with our low salaries and high cost of living. With large housing loans for our tiny apartments, 100,000SGD cars which we can only drive for 10 years, 42h (at least) work-weeks, cramming in the trains and buses in this tiny island, constant risk of so-called foreign 'talent' who are merely cheaper to hire, threatening our jobs. There is no hire Singaporeans first policy. Hardly any privileges as a Singaporean. The Singaporeans who can, will be looking abroad. I will go when I finish my obligations.

So it is puzzling to me, why you want to come here, you can probably make it in any other country in the world. All the best anyway.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Good luck then. I would be interested to hear your opinion on Singapore after a while. Perhaps your experience may be more positive, particularly if you can build up a successful business instead of being a salaried employee, Singapore is business friendly and things work well. Taxes are particularly low for high income earners, a maximum of 15% I believe.

However for the squeezed middle class its a struggle. Many Singaporeans would prefer to be overseas. I have friends overseas who are have an obviously superior quality of life and purchasing power, free healthcare provided by the state, and pensions. Life is so much easier for them. We Singaporeans can only depend on ourselves, the country is rich, but we are poor. Many are university-educated and hardworking, but are struggling with our low salaries and high cost of living. With large housing loans for our tiny apartments, 100,000SGD cars which we can only drive for 10 years, 42h (at least) work-weeks, cramming in the trains and buses in this tiny island, constant risk of so-called foreign 'talent' who are merely cheaper to hire, threatening our jobs. There is no hire Singaporeans first policy. Hardly any privileges as a Singaporean. The Singaporeans who can, will be looking abroad. I will go when I finish my obligations.

So it is puzzling to me, why you want to come here, you can probably make it in any other country in the world. All the best anyway.

Amendment, 20% maximum income tax. Its good to be a high income earner here. Too bad for the rest of us who due to the forced savings scheme (CPF), and high cost of living, can't live well nor retire well, even after so-called low income tax.

[JeanG]

Originally Posted by bjornl

99% of the reason that I am coming in the first place is to mix with Singaporeans and try to integrate in Singaporean culture. That's sad to hear that Singpore is not the place for me, career wise. I am nevertheless moving over next week for my degree. I guess being your own boss is the way to go then, if I would to consider building a life in Singapore.

And, LOL. I am not lying about my work experience, I do not have a lot to gain by doing that.

Hi BjornL,
I think you have made a smart choice coming to Singapore despite a lot of the negative feedback you've received in this forum. I wonder how many of the contributors went to Harvard or Yale or the other Ivy league schools mentioned by the unregistered guest?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Bjornl, why did you choose to come to NUS and Singapore to get a masters?

NUS is OK but is not one of the best and most recognised universities in the world. In terms of reputation, NUS cannot compare to Harvard, Yale, Caltech, Cornell, Cambridge, Oxford.... Outside of Singapore, NUS is not that well known.

Presumably with your resume (having worked for Google, you are probably good in your work), you could have chosen other better known universities.

Asia is where it's happening now. Most of the major western Universities are tying up with Singapore institutions to offer equivalent degree programs in Singapore: MIT, DUKE, Harvard, etc.) to address this growth.

Many of the Multi-Nationals are merging, restructuring and changing their strategies to align themselves with the sustained growth seen in Asia which is stagnant in the Europe in the US.

In response to the following quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

don't work in singapore. employers prefer foreign talents who can work better, harder,faster and CHEAPER than you do. this is because singapore does not host technology companies, mostly are sales functions here in sg.... u have better opportunities in US or UK where they are willing to pay big bucks for your skills.

There aren't that many companies out there in the US or Europe hiring at the moment, mostly for the reasons I mentioned above. Austerity and market trends are deterrents for the big players to hire full time employees leaving many highly qualified engineers without opportunities to make use of the skills and education they have developed.

The desire for and apparent accessibility of "Cheap" foreign talent addresses a somewhat unsophisticated level of development problem. Lots of people can just bang out code. There will always be a need for that kind of skill level, but there is often not a lot of creativity in this labor pool.

This category is not likely to have the ability to take a step back and really understand the bigger picture. That is what differentiates your standard cheap developer from a creative developer who innovates and leads.

BjornL, your's is a rather specialized background that could be considered valuable to the right company.
Our company is the distributor for Exalead in Singapore and when you have some free time after settling into your program, I would like to arrange for us to meet for a coffee and talk about your plans. Call me anytime @ +65-9125-0872.

the above is a sarong party employer..