It’s a bit hard to generalize what are the difficulties as there are many factors. A lot of these factors are the kind when you never experience yourself before you wont understand. The key challenges are

1. Pay too high – After 6 years your pay will be 3 – 3.4k, but the pte sector will view you as 1 level below a fresh degree grad executive that pays about 1.8 – 2.4k, so it’s a 1k+ pay cut. You might think you can take the pay cut as long as you have the passion and willing to work hard, but honestly by that time you already lobo 6 years, it is hard to motivate yourself to work triply hard while taking a 1/3 pay cut

2. Culture different – As a spec regular, most of the days are spent taking orders, going through SOP and wayang around here & there waiting for time to past. If you join the pte sector, be prepared to double hat, take on more work, get evaluated on KPI, performance appraisal etc

3. Become individual contributor – As spec regular, you will usually have many NSF under you to command and bark around. Going back to pte sector, you will be consider lowest end of food chain, no subordinates everything do yourself. It is easy to say I am flexible person, but most people I know who transit to pte sector find the experience degrading and hard to adapt.

4. Creative problem solving needed – Cannot just sit around wait for orders from CSM or officers, when you got problem the expectation in most company is to figure out yourself, a lot of ex-regulars base on my observation are quite lost and seem to hang around asking one boss to another hoping someone will tell them what to do.

5. Office politics - Much more complicated than in army since the stakes are higher (Army just simple taichi pushing work around) Ex-regulars are disadvantage becasue people in their age already have many years playing the game. This is a key reason why many ex-regular end up as property & insurance agent. They just cannot survive the brutal backstabbing.

rubbish. if you stay in the pte sector after 6 years you will just be a senior executive or assistant manager with no leadership role. by sign on provide opportunity for leadership skill leading 7-9 men as section leader or 30+ men as platoon sergeant. this sort of strategic leadership skill is highly valued by companies and allow to jump over the corporate ladder to senior manager position. senior managers is not about skills or years of exp, is about leadership capabilities.

Army is good life. stable, relax, one day 3 or 4 time tea break go canteen relac one corner. but most importantly is dont commit crime or do serious wrong things. coz if that is the case, i think you would kana condemm which means that's it for your career already. stagnant at one rank. stable 3,000 salary until you retire.

You want high pay may as well sign up for SIA cabin crew, bang a few chicks, fly around the world, live glamorous lifestyle, obtain free priority access to nightclubs and still get $4-5k per month. Of course not everyone can tolerate being a mile high waiter/waitress.

Or if you prefer hanging around in a stinky sweat filled army camp sausage fest for the same amount go right ahead. Just saying only.

hmmms, i guess everybody have different perspective against signing on. But thanks for all the information. One thing is bothering me, i made a phone call to SAF, and the told me that the specialist bond is for 4years. But on the other hand i seen lots of reports that says that you have to serve the minimum terms of engagement of 5years? Anybody know abt it?

6years, what rank can you achieve usually?

There is so many things to consider. The Pros and Cons. Rawrrrr!

In theory Mindef says you can achieve 3WO by 6th year.
In real life getting to 1SG, SSG or even MSG is more realistic. Anyway in my time (before 3WO was introduced) a lot of spec regulars were ending their contract at SSG (MSG if they're the garang type). I dunno what contract scheme that was but most likely the 6 year one, judging from their rank.

What nonsense are you spouting? A WOSE stay in army 6 years and come out get hired as senior manager because of the leadership skills? Please dont mislead others by coming out with this sort of nonsense. Even Captains who leave when their contract is out have difficulties securing a junior managerial job in the pte sector and you tell us a sergeant is going to be offered a senior leader job - go fly kite plz.

What about BG and MG?

i heard about it too, the 6years to 3WO. But i think it is more like once in a million uhh. I seen many regular stucked at 1SG, that made me hesitate. Anybody know whats the pay of a regular combantant 1SG?