Here's the big difference with Canada.

It has lots of space. And a very small population relative to that amount of space and land. 35 million?

So it is way more pleasant just living here. You have open space, lots of personal space when you go to malls or supermarkets. Less stressful.

And of course because of the abundance in space, the cost of housing and cars is way cheaper.

Quality of life is absolutely better than in Singapore.

even with the crime stuff, granted the laws are lax, but by and large the density of people is so low, that the rate of crime is kept low that way. If you dont go to the downtown area, you're not going to see the homeless and druggies.

When everyone has to put up with each other close up - in MRT train, in shopping centres, in buses, basically everywhere, thats where flashpoints take place. Hot, humid, tired, stressed, irritated, then you have people talking loudly right next to you......singaporeans you will know what I mean. And with foreigners......speaking in foreign languages and accents......and difference in cultures and values.......close up.....proximity......ain't good.

In canada everyone has their own space. So you dont feel it.

dr canuckbub

Winning an Olympic gold in SG gets you $1 million. Winning an Olympic Gold in CAN gets you $15k.

I agree that Marijuana in the adult population is safer than alcohol. Adults also have better judgement and can decide for themselves if they want to use it. But what about in the adolescent population where children succumb to peer pressure more easily? Marijuana use (esp in adolescence) has been shown to lower threshold for psychosis, increased likelihood of dropping out of school, poor cognition and lowered IQ (cited from 2014 NEJM article).

If you send your children to public schools, they will interact with some schoolmates who are using these. Unfortunately, some will give into peer pressure and become hooked. If you send them to private schools, there is a lower risk but not insignificant. But then your 120k after-tax salary would not be enough to afford this.

In SG, even sending your children to mid-tier public secondary schools, your chance of exposure to marijuana or other illicit drug is almost zero.

I know people often complain about the cost of owning cars in SG. But IMHO owning a car is not really a necessity in SG. Rather, it should be regarded as a luxury since it is a depreciating asset and the public transport is so damn cheap and efficient. Relying on MRT/Bus and the occasional Grab taxi is more than enough to get around. No real need for cars.

In Canada (outside of Toronto and Montreal), if you don't have a car, you will literally freeze while waiting for the public transit, so cars are more of a necessity. Also, cars are cheaper and public transport is more expensive compared to SG, so the cost of owning a car vs public transport in CAN is not as significant.

My kids go to public schools. No problem with drugs from them.

As I said it is the upbringing. Stay away from drugs. With Fentanyl out there now it can literally kill you.

At the end of the day which do you want? Your kids to be informed and mature and make smart choices?

Or your kids to be protected in a coccoon and cannot make smart choices in life?

I take transit to work. Temp can be -40.

This whole freezing thing is over played. Seriously. Dont be ridiculous. You just need the right clothing. Yes it will be cold but you dont get -40 EVERYDAY. Most times it is 0 to -10 maybe? Sometimes -20.

I actually like the temp -10 to -20.

My kids went to public schools.

Yeah they see kids taking drugs but they know those are idiots.

It is all upbringing. Singapore is a nanny state we all know that. Is that better? You breed a generation who are protected in cotton wool. Scholar system where the generals can do no wrong but never make it to MNCs in the private sector.

False sense of security and achievements.

But I can see why most Singaporeans are scared of a lot of things. The most silly is cold. Lol!

I cant stand the constant unchanging unrelenting heat and humidity of Singapore! And people make it worse by having air con everywhere. What does air con do? Burns energy to push heat out from the inside to the OUTSIDE! So you guys are getting hotter! Unbearable! And all year round! Jesus!

To provide a different perspective as a doctor coming from a neighbouring country:
Life as a medical specialist is very comfortable. Singaporean doctors have very good work ethic and are very responsible, they dont try to tai-chi things that are within their scope (at least in my experience). They try to help you as best as they can, as long as you know your stuff and your patient's issues.
Cars are expensive but not too expensive for consultants. If you choose a regular Japanese car, you can pay it off in cash with less than half your yearly salary. Rents are comparatively cheap compared with other major cities. Condos can be expensive but HDBs are affordable, and alot of HDBs have pleasant interiors with comfortable surroundings. Medical care is expensive but as long as you're working, employer insurance coverage is quite generous.
Cpf coverage is sort of like pension, with cpf life. The portion deducted from consultant salary is almost unnoticeable. It is tax exempted and earns high interest.
I have managed to save about 60% of my salary, even with a kid, car and condo living. And at least 2 overseas travel yearly.
Food is cheap and abundant. Weather is hot and humid but good for skin and joints. Age less faster. The best upside for me is to be close to family. As my parents age I foresee they will be needing more attention and care.

If you are a medical specialist consult in any first world country you should have it good.

Please excuse my ignorant question. How does one become a consultant? Does an existing consultant have to retire before an associate consultant can be promoted? Thanks

It is based on departmental/hospital needs, rather than a fixed number of positions. In general most ACs will be promoted after 2 years of satisfactory performance and fulfill publication requirements.

MOH should change the structure of the healthcare system.

All the government hospitals should only see subsidized patients. All the A class wards and paying patient work should be moved to a "Private Hospital" setup separately but owned and run by the government. Sort of like a "NTUC" version of private hospital to challenge and compete with Mt E and Gleneagles. Open a few of these.

Churn out the specialists from the public hospitals and then give them jobs in the "Private Hospitals". Work sort of like the SAF system with their scholars and generals and Stat Boards.

Hi, would like a little advice from gps/locums. Currently still a mopex mo, but would like to locum during my off days. Was wondering if I should get medical indemnity insurance, and which company is the best? (Any advice from seniors or those who have locum during their ns days are welcome)

Any kind souls able to divulge the huge secret of how much RP, senior RP and principal RPs are paid here in singapore?

Full reg = get indemnity insurance.

Conditional reg = do not recommend you to locum unless you wanna switch career

Thank you for responding.

Is the publication requirement tied more to number of papers or impact factor (or both)?

Better get insurance. Private sector is way more dangerous.

One of the healthcare clusters is giving a full 1.0 end yr CVB to their staff. I am very interested to know how much we MOHH staff are going to get. They also receive it in December.
This cluster also gave 0.9+$800 mid year CVB when we only got 0.55.
MOHH is such a joke

Op here. Do most people get mps? Or are there any other options available?

Why do people here seem to think bonuses are their right? The same thing at the civil service forum. Cant practice abit more gratefulness? At least still got AWS

Depends on base pay. Some organisations base pay lower. So employees expect bonus and aws during the recruitment.

Some org base pay high so bonus not that impt

Depends on what the hr told them at the start.

It is a sinkie thing.

Spoilt.

Bonuses so little. Go to any private organisation their bonuses are do much higher then what government workers get

Doctors or lawyers or bankers get paid more with 10 years experience?

Top lawyers >> top doctors

Average lawyers > average doctor

Mediocre lawyer < mediocre doctor

Where “>” is greater than and “<“ is lesser than.

The standard deviation of doctor income is narrower.


Every medical graduate has a job even the mediocre ones, pays about 5k.
On the other hand lawyers may not even get tc especially for the mediocre ones.

However, good things dont last. A few years in, a senior associate will usually earn as much as a restructured hosp consultant.

When the top lawyer becomes partner, his/her pay is also more than that of a enterprising specialist in pte practice.

So it depends whether are average or not. Average choose medicine. Great calibre law is better

Law is better in general.

Also the top earners in Law are WAY out in front of doctors. Even the PAP ministers don't use doctors salaries as part of their benchmark for their own salaries. But they do use Lawyers salaries.

Absolutely right. lawyers are better in general.

The keyword is general. But you must consider the subgroup analysis.
If you are on this forum, chances is that you are mediocre, so medicine is a better prospect.
The bottom decile of doctor is earns better than bottom decile of lawyers.

Although i admit that the both median and mean salary lawyers are superior.

Bottom decile is bottom 10%. Means the crap. They deserve to be paid badly regardless what field it is.

Why would anybody even attempt to compare fields using the lousiest performers? Unless they belong to that group themselves.

I am certainly not in my bottom decile and cant ne bothered what that group makes.

Aim high or dont aim at all.

I'm an accountant and I earn more than the lawyers and doctors 100%

That's awesome. Congrats!

What's the mean and median salary for lawyers?

My understanding is that there is a huge variation, depending on whether you work for a local firm or an international firm.

Would like some advice from my gp colleagues. Currently a mo who just completed bond. Just wondering if I apply for a gp job outside with one of the large chain gp groups, what sort of salary should I be expecting? (Do I have to put my estimated salary just like any other job application in other industries or it's pretty much a fixed salary that they offer to all newbies like myself?). And any major difference between the different groups (eg rmg vs healthwayvs minimed etc) or they are largely similar?

Lazy to register for an account and new to this forum.
abit of B/G for myself. I've spent my student years roaming SGH on weekends and holidays just because i am IMG trained in aussieland.

Yes rumors are very true, I have friends who are denied jobs in SG for PGY1, I was lucky to survive the PEG interviews so I managed to secure jobs back home. ^(My friend had 40+ neuro publications under his belt)

No the situation will not improve over the years.
Let me do the math
The yearly HO (PGY1) spots is already maxed out around 6XX places.
NUS - 300
NTU -150
DUKE NUS- 80

That leaves about 100ish spots left

Not to mention those who gets through the PEG interview, I will put this number now at 50. (UK USA AUSSIE and everywhere else)

That leaves just 50 spots up for grabs.

Monash brings in around ?60 sg med students yearly and that is just 1 school alone...

So to answer your question, you will have to get a plan B and know that there is a high chance you cannot come back to SG.




BTW, waaa ^to the senior who talked about team 1 under dr chao and miss chng.
Couldnt tell that miss chng was a SARS survivor. << She is still she, very much alive and kicking ass in OT

MOHH Bonus
 

Does anyone knows if the MOHH provides performance bonus??
Like A grading = 6 months?
B = 4 months
B- = 3 months...

Correct me or fill me in !
Thanks

6 months of bonus? I don't think so!

I've been out of the system for over 10 years now.

But it is a joke. I remember a colleague lamenting about how he missed his A grading and his "bonus".

I asked what's the difference between the B and A in terms of bonus? He said it was like an extra half or 1 month of bonus?

I was like geez! You're talking maybe 7-8k in monetary value?

You bust your soul to work to get that A for an extra 7k? What are you gonna do with that 7k? Buy a house? A car?

Take it easy. Get the B. Spend more time with you family or even on trading stocks and make your 7k there.

It's not like in the financial sector where they write you a cheque for $200k as your bonus and pat you saying WELL DONE.

yes go buy your condo with that.

Bro it is harder to work in bank than hosp.
Bank far more politics, must show results.
Medicine is quite standard one, just study a bit, make patient happy.
Also medicine harder to get sacked.

Current MOHH MO here. Waiting for bond to end. Totally agree with this. spending time on stocks rather than busting my ass for that extra 1-2 months.

Yes that's why medicine pay is pathetic compared to at bank.

Starting pay of GS banker is what 10k?

Dealing with people is never easy anywhere. Better to go where you are paid the most to do same customer service suck up to people work.

s://.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3009099/reprehensible-singapore-doctor-who-said-canadian-judge

How did this neurologist amass almost $50m? Can't say that doctors don't get paid enough

The guy is 69 years old.

I will tell you how he did it. He invested in Property in Singapore.

That's the only way to do it. And in his generation that's how the doctors all got rich. Don't even need to be specialist. GP also can.

I remember an old time GP telling me how every year he would buy a Terrace house in the 80s. By the 2000s he had over 20+ houses. Each bought for about 200-300k. Can sell for 2m each.

The pay of GPs hasnt changed much since the 80s.

Thanks for the enlightenment. Your last sentence is so painful to hear...