[bcrdukes]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon this forum by chance and managed to browse a few threads regarding the job market and salaries in Singapore, mostly pertaining to the banking/financial industry. First time poster, so please bear with me.

I am a Canadian citizen exploring the idea of re-locating to Singapore for work, mainly due to lifestyle and climate. I am a 17 year industry veteran with a background in the telecom industry, specializing in finance/procurement, mobile and cable network engineering, deployment, and operations. I've lived the battle field and have gone the route of a non-technical role over the years in management, and have worked in three of the four major telcos in Canada and have traveled globally as my job required.

I am primarily interested in relocating to Singapore for several reasons:

1. Ease of transition.

Based on my research (of what is available to me) the telco industry is not that much different than of Canada, as in, the pace of technologies, skill sets, and government policies are similar (both past and present,) with Singapore having a slight edge over Canada (you don't have to manage a massive network coast to coast and the government doesn't intervene as much.)

2. Climate / lifestyle

The real draw to me is the climate and lifestyle; I do not enjoy living in a city with only hot and cold (Summer and Winter) both of which are just awful (I currently live in Toronto - centre of the universe.) I've visited Singapore several times, and each subsequent visit drawing me back more and more. I know that life as a tourist is much different than that of a resident, so I have to be realistic, and I'm hoping if any telco friends out there could help me out with some insight. I was envious of folks who would lunch outside Downtown Singapore, and socialize with their colleagues after work; no such thing where I am because everyone is busy commuting an hour and a half back home to tend to their families.

3. Salary / Cost of Living

Browsing through the forum, it appears there is a big salary gap in the industry between Singapore and Canada, but keeping in mind, a large chunk of our salaries in Canada are highly taxed due to our social system. I'm unsure of the living expenses in Singapore, but I expect they are much more than that of Vancouver and Toronto. I am hoping to set some real expectations for myself and not hype things up for myself.

I'm a long ways from retirement, so I'm hoping that the decision to move to Singapore will be a good one, regardless of whether I go bust or not. It's the experience that I'm after. Working and living in Canada can only get so exciting, so I'm looking for a new start elsewhere.

For any telco folks, if it means anything, I'm well versed with the usual players in the wireless market such as Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, and DOCSIS 3.0/3.1 cable players such as Casa, Cisco, and Nokia. Currently managing/leading a team of application support specialists including an offshore team, and experienced in managing contracts with vendors and vendor management as part of my time in finance/procurement.

I understand that telco will never be as sexy or comparable to that of banking in Singapore, but telco is where I grew my career, but I am open to suggestions to moving into banking/finance industry as well. Hoping any telco and/or IT friends out there in Singapore can help with some advice. Thanks in advance, and much appreciated!