Job Offer Advise
 

Hi all,

I'm looking for opinions on my current situation.

I'm 32 this year with 5.5 years of working experience.

My current role is a quality engineer in a medical device MNC manufacturing pacemakers, and my current monthly salary is S$4,400 with 15% VB and 1 month AWS.

I got a job offer from a competitor MNC for a senior quality engineer role, and the monthly salary is S$6,750 with 2 month bonus and 1 month AWS. The $ increase in salary is around 50% which I understand is relatively large, however the caveat is that this is a 3 year contract position. Pretty unusual from my understanding to have a contract this long, as most contracts are 6 months to 1 year, but nonetheless it is still a contract position with no guarantee that it will be extended.

What do you all think?

I say go for it. Given your experience and demand from the competitor, I believe you'll do a good job. Even if you stay in your current role for "job stability", things may change very quickly given today's environment, e.g. retrenchment if the company isn't doing well.

I believe your competitor has won some contract or forecast a business opportunity for the next 3 years that need more expertise in the area you fulfill. I am sure your competitor recognizes the value you have been creating and the potential value you will create for them. The sudden surge in wage is to compensate the need for your sacrifice to take on a contract role. Contract roles in MNC normally pay better than permanent roles due to the uncertainty and expiry. As a contract senior quality engineer, making around 6k+ a month is rather normal. If you check statistics on Glassdoor, MNC senior quality engineers are slightly higher than 6K/mth averagely. So having 6.7K in the medical sector is reasonable considering your impact and challenges of your 'expire-able' employment.

I second the opinion from the other member that you should go for it because...

1. You are only 32 now so at the end of the contract, you will be 35 but even if you don't get an extension, you will still be 'young' enough to find another job relatively easily. Take a little bit of pay cut, you will still be reasonably compensated.

2. Employed in a competing MNC in the medical sector makes you remain desirable for re-hiring given the exposure and MNC mindset which many SMEs find valuable (If you unfortunately have to leave at the end of the 3 years) But I am sure you can find employment in another MNC provided the situation does not crash like Lehmans and COVID

3. 3 months before your contract ends, you can do an evaluation of your employment extension prospects and decide if you should prepare for an exit. Ample time to find new jobs with good planning. No one knows what is going to happen 3 years from now. But you can be sure that with your experience in the medical sector, you can continue to stay sought after.

4. Although I am not quality trained, I deal with a lot of quality engineers and some of those who are good, leave the MNC and start practicing as consultants, switch to 3rd party auditing to stay relevant and employed. An extra option you can consider if you are not extending. If opportunities don't favour your continuation as a Quality engineer, being in the quality engineer role, you can convert to project management roles by starting with a PMP certificate. Your experience and knowledge of the industry can give you a chance against competitors. Keep up with the ASQ CQE certification, Lean Six Sigma training if you can, get those lead auditors certifications of various standards and stay competitive during the next 3 years

Lastly, congratulations! I wish you the best in your future.

Kns, even my permanent job in a stat board also no have 13 month or 2 month bonus. I don't care if it's contract or temp, as long as pay me money can liao. I never stayed beyond 2 years anywhere anyway. Pls take the opportunity! Your old place dont appreciate you, they never raise your salary.

Thanks both, appreciate the feedback. I'm also a bit hesitant because there might not be a salary review or incremental pay raise for the contract job. But I think currently the benefits outweigh the risks.

Must finish the contract? Can consider leaving halfway through the contract and use the higher base salary to go somewhere better

But of course need see your commitments,

I don't have to finish the contract, I can leave anytime I want.

I admit that I've thought about that, but the base salary is already slightly inflated due to it being a contract role. From what I've researched before applying, contract roles typically are higher than similar perm roles simply due to the lack of job stability, and the additional risks that are associated with that.

If I do quit and move to another company, am I obliged to declare if my previous role was a perm/contract role?

Wow this is a really detailed and insightful response, thank you very much for taking the time to pen it down.

I do agree with your views regarding employability, so I think I shouldn't worry so much in that aspect.

I do have lead auditor certification for ISO13485:2016. ASQ CQE would certainly be the next step for me. Great advice!

Are you in the medical device sector as well?

You must be a fool not taking this offer. The overall package is 55% better than your current one, this is like life-time opportunity. And if you are interviewed with another company, they are not interested in if you are contracted or perm, but the length of service and what you do there.

Sounds like a good offer.

what's there to worry? 3 year contract is almost as good as permanent. by the end of 3 year, you'd acquired more experience and will start to look for your next step-up anyway. 50% increment is very rare and take the 3 year as added job security

Job offer
 

Given your age and the job offer, would say go for it.

Sounds really legit.

I guess I am a little apprehensive because I don't really know how contract jobs work. From what I've been told, there are some differences between the perm staff vs contract workers, for example no access to gym facilities, but the important stuff like medical insurance is the same.

Don't want to come across as someone just seeking validation or humble bragging. Thanks a lot for all the opinions given! I've decided to accept the role.

Like to hitch on this thread for advice.

Some years back, I stopped work for awhile and joined the current company, with nearly 20% paycut. I am with them for 2 years.
Work-life balance (WLB) is decent, and colleagues are fine too.
However the pay is stagnant. The company doesn’t give yearly increment and bonus is low.
I am unsure whether to seek better opportunities, and risk sacrificing WLB.
If I don’t look out now, I may be stuck with this company since I am already 40 years old.

So pay vs WLB, what do you advise? Thanks.

It's a little hard to say for sure as it depends on your commitments. For example, a sole breadwinner with elderly parents to provide and care for would probably prioritise higher pay rather than WLB.

For me, I look for jobs with regular office hours, and don't mind occasionally attending night calls. That's my personal tolerance.

Job Offer Advise (Govt)
 

1. Was recently offered a job at a quasi-govt company and I verbally agreed to the offer. $3000 base pay. Received the Letter of appointment today and was told to sign and return by 10 May.

2. Also received a call from a govt company today for interview on 10 May. From what I know govt companies pay more for fresh grads because of the MX scheme and so I am in a dilemma, of whether to go for the interview.

3. If I go for the interview and am offered, is it against the law to back out of the quasi-govt company even though I have signed? The contract does not seem to have any legally binding clause but just asking in case.

Please help a confused fresh grad out!

Dear fresh grad, is the quasi-govt company a GLC? GLCs do not pay well at all. I learnt this the hard way. I joined a GLC as a fresh grad with S$3k pay. Left after 2 yrs+ and joined another GLC. My experience in both GLCs are that the pay and increment are low. I am jumping out from my GLC soon.

Please go for the interview at the government. Do not worry too much about backing out of an offer. It happens more commonly than you think.

Contract positions can negatively affect career if you dont play your cards right. From someone whos been there...

Card to share more?

Thank you kind soul! I will go for the govt interview and then decide which job is better if I receive an offer :)

By the way, is NTUC group a GLC and are the career progression/pay increment opportunities good? (I am OP btw)

Is it ok to reject a signed traineeship offer?
 

Hi, I am intending to go into the data analytics field, so recently I took up a sgunited traineeship program and was offered for it (haven't sign, but HR expects me to sign by early next week). However, I also finished final round of interview for another program which has better career prospects, IMO, and will potentially expect an offer or reply next week.

If I sign this sgunited traineeship offer now and if the other company decides to offer me later, will there be any repercussions if I rescind my signed contract?

Reneging is an extremely distasteful action in my view. Anyway I wouldn’t sign the traineeship contract - it is just cheap labour you won’t be valued by the company. Doesn’t look good on resume as well.

If you know that you will be offered for the latter, don't sign it.
IMO, it is quite disrespectful and unprofessional to rescind on an offer after signing it. As you may downright be taking away a chance from someone who is very interested in that traineeship. Although this is practiced, it is against my ethics, at least for me.