Dead End. Need advice on career path.

Originally Posted by Rodon_Tan

Hi all,

I see that this forum has many successful individuals and a more mature crowd, so I thought it good to ask here for advice.

I'm trying desperately to find ways to increase my salary dramatically as my parents are retiring soon and the like.

I'm 29 this year. Below is my salary history:

1) When I ORD-ed from army, I got a job as admin asst ($1100). I had only O' levels back then.

2) Later, I switched company and salary went up to $1400.

3) Switched company after some time and salary went up to $1650 at new company (still admin asst).

4) After that, I realized admin job = no future, so I pursued private Diploma in art and now working as commercial artist in local game startup. Salary $2000.
It's well-known that the creative industry has among the lowest payscale. Some of my friends are even earning less than 2k.

I did some research and realized that being a teacher in Singapore can net you $4k - $6k after teaching 5 years. For new teachers, if you've degree and you get into their GEO 1 scale, starting pay is $3000+ according to MOE website. In terms of salary, it's an iron rice bowl and no need to worry.

However, to even stand a chance of getting that, I need to first get a degree from NAFA / Lasaelle, and their course and misc fees is approx $40000+.
Take into consideration the food / transport expenses during these 3 - 4 years of study, I figured I need around $52000+ (living with parents now).

Which means based on my current salary, I need to save up $1000 over 2+ years to get that amount, and that's excluding the NIE assuming I get accepted as teacher.

If I can become a teacher, my financial issues would be gone.

The problem is: if I pay $52000+ for a degree and MOE reject me as a teacher, then I'm totally screwed right?

I know being a teacher = love for teaching, but in this practical world, how is that really true? Teachers are like 90% admin + 10% teaching, based on the forum here (I don't mind stress as long as I get to teach art, which is my passion).

I can't study those management courses (business admin, marketing etc.) because I really can't take it. Tried it in the past but even flipping open the textbooks is a real torture to me. But with art (drawing etc.), I can do it from morning to night non-stop and still want to do more.

Seems that the average salary is like $4.5 - $6k among the hip and young adults here. I feel like a low-caste member of society when compared with these guys. In fact, I definitely belong in the same category as the toilet cleaners and construction workers.

Still single now; the major dating agencies reject me cos' of low salary! LOL
Dating nowadays seems more about comparing financial data and $$$ statistics before couples hook up.

If any kind souls here who has seen the world and experienced life can show me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!
Rodon

Art is very broad. which specialisation are you in?

Graphic Design? Animation? Interactive Media? Fine Arts?

Would you like to share with us your skill sets acquired in the Arts?

I would think that you should continue to specialise in your own field and try to build up your portfolio and when the opportunity comes, move to a bigger company.


You need your own area of specialisation and expertise. Maybe if your illustration is fantastic and you have a rich portfolio, why not write in to Imaginary Friends and see where that could take you?

[Rodon_Tan]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Rodon

See if you can get a job at a creative industry. Lots of work out there- design , layout etc. You have a talent. Don't let others say its not a pragmatic choice, you are screwed etc.

LOL, you need to read my original thread more carefully. I've a job in the creative industry, just that the pay is insane (in negative sense) and the job offers no security (game companies are coming and going like the wind)

Thanks for the advice, guys. Yeah, regarding the bank job thing, I've thought about that. Regarding getting a degree in those management fields etc., I've also did my sums. For me to get a degree, I need at least a relevant diploma + advance diploma in that relevant degree first, so all adds up to 5+ years as well and cost is again, around $50k, and there's also no guarantee of getting a job in the new industry that I'm jumping to, like what Unregistered says.

And there's the FT threat. I heard those white-collar management / banking / finance jobs are the ones that are under FT threats the most.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Art is very broad. which specialisation are you in? Graphic Design? Animation? Interactive Media? Fine Arts?
Would you like to share with us your skill sets acquired in the Arts?
Maybe if your illustration is fantastic and you have a rich portfolio, why not write in to Imaginary Friends and see where that could take you?

I'm majored in concept art for games, but it's mostly games graphical user interface (GUI) design I'm doing at my current job.

After consideration, I think I'm going to stick around in this job for a while more and see where it takes me, considering I'm only here for 1 year. I guess I should be considered lucky as there's many peers of mine who are still hunting for job after 1 year (Imaginary Friends is hard to get in.....this industry is like 500+ talented folks vying for 1 job )

I'm currently waiting for MOE to reply to see if they have an option for mid-career switchers to switch to teaching art. That way, I can accumulate several years of experience in this industry and then switch to be an art teacher. Still researching on this.

Thanks for the insight and wise words, guys!
Rodon

I don't think you make a good teacher.

Why consider a job as a crane operator? You can earn $7k a month?

How about a taxi driver, also $7k a month.

Singapore has so many high paying jobs, not surprising why property prices continue to rise and rise higher.

Property agents can make $10k a month, even better.

Originally Posted by Rodon_Tan

Hi guys,

Much much thanks for the honest advice here, really grateful.

Just wondering, but if I take a part-time degree, what are the chances of people hiring me when they see I'm 30+ and no relevant experience in those corporate jobs? Need to get more rational feedback on this issue, otherwise if I pay so much for a part-time SIM degree and can't find job afterwards, I'm still screwed.

Also, in terms of overall future prospects, does anyone have any recommendation for which part-time degrees to take up (except those finance and accounting-related courses).
Basically, any discipline is ok with me since all of them are the same to me (equally boring and robotic LOL).

I really need to get my salary higher, to around $3500+ before 35 if possible.

Much thanks!
Rodon

There is no guarantee in life, nobody can predict the chances of you getting a job after grabbing the degree. This is a confluence of macroeconomics, labour market and the particular industry or function demand few years down the road. But what you can know for sure is you will not be getting anywhere in your life if you stay on doing what you are doing.

You need to spend some time exploring and choosing something more tolerable for you. Nobody can answer that for you, but one word of advice, if you want to make it out there with good money, better be more versatile and willing to take physical & mental hardship in terms of studies and wiping out competition.

You need to move beyong the sloppy attitude of "any discipline is ok since all of them are equally boring and robotic". You know it than anyone else that you are seriously screwed, this is not the time to "LOL".

$3500 is a realistic and simple enough goal if you have approached your career pratically in the past, that is like the starting pay of many fresh grads or poly grads who have worked for 4-5 years. This sort of pay is just entry level executive, so to reach by 35 to me is very good chance, but you must be prepared to take the plunge and work hard from scratch.

Errr if you wanna give a shot at trying for teaching, instead of going to get a nafa/laselle degree etc whatever first then applying to NIE why not just apply straight for a diploma in teaching at NIE.

At NIE, they PAY you while you do your diploma, after that you start working as a teacher straight (abeit your pay is lower cos you have no degree only diploma). Then as a teacher, you do those part time UNISIM degree which is recognized and after that get bumped up once you finish your degree.

Originally Posted by Rodon_Tan

After consideration, I think I'm going to stick around in this job for a while more and see where it takes me, considering I'm only here for 1 year. I guess I should be considered lucky as there's many peers of mine who are still hunting for job after 1 year (Imaginary Friends is hard to get in.....this industry is like 500+ talented folks vying for 1 job )

I'm currently waiting for MOE to reply to see if they have an option for mid-career switchers to switch to teaching art. That way, I can accumulate several years of experience in this industry and then switch to be an art teacher. Still researching on this.

Sounds like an excuse to procrastinate.

Waiting and hoping your boss to give you a raise of 1.5k+ so that you can hit $3500 in an industry that 500 jobless ppl are fighting for 1 job? 3 words for you – wait long long

Waiting and hoping that MOE will come back and recruit a 29 year old guy without a proper degree and making 1k+ in some startup while thousands of mid-career also begging MOE to take them in? 3 words for you – wait long long

Better start planning bro, your job will be replaced by the millions of cheap Chinese & Korean gaming artists soon.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sounds like an excuse to procrastinate.

Waiting and hoping your boss to give you a raise of 1.5k+ so that you can hit $3500 in an industry that 500 jobless ppl are fighting for 1 job? 3 words for you – wait long long

Waiting and hoping that MOE will come back and recruit a 29 year old guy without a proper degree and making 1k+ in some startup while thousands of mid-career also begging MOE to take them in? 3 words for you – wait long long

Better start planning bro, your job will be replaced by the millions of cheap Chinese & Korean gaming artists soon.

Great advice, bro. I know some mid-career people with excellent degree didn't even get an interview from MOE. Some people really need a reality check.

I don't know much.

The most lucrative of creative industry is in the advertisement section. The bigger market nowaday is in emerging countries such as China. Thinking out of the box, maybe you can consider Indonesia or Thailand.

There are many stuff in creative industry that you can go into. Designing of jewelery is one of them. Or you may want to take a course in hair design and come back to start a hair saloon or design company like elim chew (?). Every industry has its way. It is not true that only a business and finance deegree will be useful. It all depends on how good you are in your trade and whether you have a vision and persevere towards that vision.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Great advice, bro. I know some mid-career people with excellent degree didn't even get an interview from MOE. Some people really need a reality check.

I heard of mid career taking 50% paycut to join MOE, but this is the first time I hear of mid career wanting to join MOE to get a 50% pay increase...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't think you make a good teacher.

Why consider a job as a crane operator? You can earn $7k a month?

How about a taxi driver, also $7k a month.

Singapore has so many high paying jobs, not surprising why property prices continue to rise and rise higher.

Property agents can make $10k a month, even better.

Are you the same guy who always say all these nonsense on forum? Please, stop it. It's getting irritating.



To TS, truth to be told, Laselle/NAFA is quite a useless cert.
Are you skilled in CAD software? Career as a CAD drafter can be quite stable. Constantly in demand. Peaks at $4k without much education. A friend of mine in architecture firm says it's hard to recruit, eligible candidates are hard to come by. Some more the boss wants Singaporean. You can try to go into that field.

I know of local poly people applying to MOE as art teachers. You can give it a shot as well since there are shortage of art teachers.

Or have you consider trying to make handphone games in your freetime?