Advice needed for a 30 yo male diploma holder for the next stage of his life / career
 

it's gonna be a super long post. so thanks to all for reading everything and offering your views / suggestions.

my info:
30 yo male diploma holder (from Singapore Polytechnic)
46k/pa (as stated in my IRAS Notice of Assessment)
currently employed in a ministry in the Civil Service. i thank my lucky stars bcos idk how i got the job when i said no to all the interviewers' questions LOL

O-level (L1R4): 22 points, (R5): 30 points with 4 credit pass in Eng / Chi / E-Math / Comb Sci. yes i know it's terrible, but back in the past, i had no one to guide me on how important studies is in SG due to our lack of natural resources, paper chase and rat race. i also didnt like to study for the sake of studying and furthermore it didnt help when i had an undetected medical condition which i think prevented me from studying to the fullest of my ability.

Poly GPA: around 2.5, lucky that my GPA wasnt shown on my dip and transcript.

my NS medical status: im currently Permanent PES E9L9 due to lifetime incurable sleeping disorder (one that makes me fall asleep uncontrollably in the day). i seriously think i have no more reservist / IPPT obligations as i gotten my Reservist Long Service Award (usually only given to ppl who have clocked 5 High Key ICTs or more)

with all the above info in mind, especially my results and medical status...what options do i have if im seeking a job that pays 4k/pm to 5k/pm at most (i just want higher pay but am not greedy to the extent of seeking 5 figures monthly)? below are the only possibilities i can think of:

1) stay at my current job with an annual increment of $120, which will probably take me another 7 to 8 years to hit 4k.

2) sign on as an uniformed personnel, which honestly i think i cant due to my PES status?

3) apply to be MOE teacher. but it would mean that i have to restart my paycheck all over again from $1800+ as i only have a dip and they would give me GEO2 scale.

4) try Oil and Gas industry? i dont have any lobang and i dont like long working hours so i think this option is out.

5) try working in banks? same as 4) i dont have business background and dont like long working hours. also absolutely hate auditing and accounting. guess this option is out as well too.

6) go for further studies? but that would mean i can only enrol in unisim due to my poor poly results and the fact that im only interested in Civil Service jobs due to its good work life balance.

7) be a professional gambler / trader? the most LOL of them all.

TLDR: just read the bolded parts.

what makes you think you can command a 25% to 65% increase in pay?

fyi, a typical local uni grad from civil service earns around 5k a month. and the median income for a 30yo dip holder is somewhere around 3-3.5k...

wat unique skills do you have that make you think you can priced yourself way above others who have the same academic qualification?

so assuming if i have ZERO unique skills, what would u recommend me to do in order to have a pay increase?

So in another word, you got no special skills, no network, unwilling to work long hours, no industrial experience, and weak academic qualification. But you expect employers to pay you well.

Put yourself in the employers shoe. Would you pay $10 for a hard boiled egg at a kopitiam?

Employers don't pay workers bcos they are charitable. They pay because the employees value add to the business. And how much you are paid is tied to how much value you add.

I would have recommended sales, but it is not for ppl who are not hardworking.

So my advice for you is to treasure your current job in civil service.

no special skills - mind stating what special skills are u talking about?

no network - i agree with u i have no network

unwilling to work long hours - i have seen ppl in senior positions with recognized degrees @ MX12 onwards working with avg workload n leaving on the dot. honestly i dont see them adding much value to the organization, just that maybe their academic qualification is strong? so i dont really know what are u talking about? i dont mind working long hours and half a day on wkend, but definitely not 12 hours daily, if that's what u meant. most, if not all of the MX12 in my organization dont even clock 60 hours a week. btw my definition of senior position = employee under degree scheme.

no industrial experience - having started from CS, sad to say i think it's quite difficult to bring forth my experience from CS to private sector. but it would be easier if one will to transit with exp from private sector to CS. feel free to disagree with me though...

academic qualification - i could enrol in unisim part time. but what's the point seriously if my future job cant even offer me higher than what im earning currently? pointless isnt it?

Just ask yourself, what makes you better than others in terms of skill? From the way I see, you dont have any technical skills, no softskill, no motivation to work hard(since u say u dont want to work long hours) and also dont want to upgrade yourself.

Pte sector, forget it, u will start from zero. Just stick to ur job

I think you have been in civil service too long and have a distorted view of how the world outside works. You make it sound as if working 12 hrs a day is some super jialat thing, in some industries 12 hrs a day is off peak only. And nobody in pte sector will consider a MX12 a "senior position", you are quite off base here as well.

You can't just sit around with no useful academic qualifications or marketable experience and just go online and expect people to teach you how to get a massive pay rise while maintaining the same sort of civil service go through motion every day.

Either up your socks and start being more hardworking and willing to take stress or just treasure and be content at where you are.

Here's my advice:

1. Stick to your current job. You are paid well based on your credentials (or lack of).
2. Find a high paying graduate wife, a person who is desperate to get married, esp those aged 35 and above.
3. Buy a cheap 4 room BTO flat after you get married. Cost only $250k. You can take a 25 years mortgage. Pay slowly.
4. Live happily ever after.

If it make u 'feel' better.
I'm also 30m in CS, <40k/pa.
Unsim graduate in MSO position for 5yrs+.
Unable to find suitable MX positions, most require 1st class, honours & more specialise degree.

Working >12hrs every other days is a norm for me due to workload.
+Ad-hoc weekends.
+Regular Shift with no allowance.
Have been striving hard, to learn skills from advance Microsoft Office, presentation to project management.
Plan to get more involved in committee project soon, hoping someday should a position open. will be capable enough to get the job.

U speak about MX12, avg workload, leaving on the dot & not adding much value to the organisation.
Well, its an unfair world. Just like I believed i worked harder, smarter & contributed so much more yet i'm compensated so much lower than you.

About the previous post's advice. 2 & 3 is not realistic.
2. Find a high paying graduate wife, a person who is desperate to get married, esp those aged 35 and above.
3. Buy a cheap 4 room BTO flat after you get married. Cost only $250k. You can take a 25 years mortgage. Pay slowly.


2. Better chances of finding a foreign wife.
3. Buy a resale 3rm flat with 25 yr mortgage or apply BTO 4rm with ur SG child.
then hopefully Live happily ever after.

U already know u could not go to lucrative industries such as banking, O&G. Due to ur pes status uniformed service is out. With ur lousy grades u think MOE will want u to 'mould' our future generation? And MOE teacher on average definitely work more than 12hr daily. It is lucky that u r in a safe haven of CS. U seem to be enjoying ur stay there after all.

I believe u already know what u want and just want to find validation here.

Consider part time UNISIM and hopefully ur organisation is willing to emplace u into graduate scheme and appreciate what u already have.