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Liquid 06-07-2010 01:57 AM

Advice needed!! SPF Senior police officer vs. Private Sector
 
Hi guys.

I just graduated from NTU with 2nd lower class Honours.

I am in a dilemma right now.

Recently, I am offered a senior police officer position which offers me about 3.5k/month.

I also got another offer from a japanese chemical MNC which offers me about $2.8k/month, mainly doing sales of chemical products.

I am not sure which one to choose.. in terms of salary in the long run and also the prospect of both position..

Please advise... any inputs will be greatly appreciated..

Unregistered 06-07-2010 09:11 AM

i would ask you to take the MNC job (I am suspecting it would be hitachi). The chemical industry is pretty stable and you can use that to move to something else later. Police officer, on the hand, regardless of the high starting pay, counts as nothing in the real world. I suspect that you are not a scholar, so there is a glass ceiling for you. If you are content with younger scholars as your boss in the future, that is fine. Upside is limited as a police officer.

Unregistered 06-07-2010 09:17 AM

Congrates to you to have both positions been offered to you.

As a 2nd lower grad you get $3500 as starting pay, is this a new revision of salary? Last time I apply for senior police officer in 2007 july, the pay for 2nd lower with NS is abt $3380.

PS: I did not manage to pass the psychometric test, so no more SPO for me.

If you want a long term career till you retired, I would recommend you to sign on police, as the benefit are really good, got the police retirement account scheme. I think your salary of $3500 also havent include the relevant allowances you are getting (mean that your gross monthly salary could be from than $4000++), 1 bad thing is that maybe you are required to work shift, standby duty(especially on major event, ndp, yog, IMF...etc, work on weekend/ holiday.

Also the annual package is about 16 months for average performer for civil servant, of course good/outstanding gets more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for private sector, I don't know, from other forum, people do complained over work OT without OT pay because u are under 'executive grade' for a mere $2800...also sometimes you are also required to work in holiday/weekend....which is fark up. Also dunno your chemical company pay AWS?? How is your annual package for this company?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In term of annual package>>>SPF
If you like to jump ship alot >>>chemical company

Unregistered 06-07-2010 10:09 AM

Someone once gave the best career advice to me and I still practice it till today. In life, having options is more powerful than any amount of money or pay. In another words, pick something and work towards something that makes you 'marketable'. You want to work towards a stage in your life where headhunters are calling you on a regular basis. In the old days, the gratuity package for army, police or even some petroleum companies is sizable. These days, with the current cost of living, it is very little. Anything less than 200k S$ by the time you retire at 50 or 55 (I am talking about 25 to 30 years down the road) is not enough if you work in inflation and consider time value of money. The gratuity pay out has not kept up with inflation and jobs in the army and police are not as attractive as it used to be. To give you an example, 15 years a go, I knew of someone cashing out 150k S$ and that was sufficient to pay for his son's overseas education with some left for retirement. Today, 150kS$ will barely pay for 3-4 years education at some Ivy league tuition fees.

If I were you, I will pick the chemical sales job. you are still young, easy to change jobs and career direction if it doesn't fit you. Once you join the police and get used to 3500/month, it will be difficult to adjust to a lower pay if you decide to leave the force.

Unregistered 06-07-2010 10:20 AM

Another factor to consider is interest. It is difficult to sustain a job, if you are not enthusiastic about it, regardless of how well it pays. Of course, if you like police work, go for it. Liking one's work also makes it easier to excel in it.

Liquid 06-07-2010 02:10 PM

Thank you everyone for their advices. Really appreciate them. =)

Is it true that the private sector's compensation is going to be much more than police in the long run?

I heard salary increment can be quite little in the private sector as compared to police..

Is it true?

Liquid 06-07-2010 07:44 PM

Senior police officer salary increment and bonus
 
Hi guys

Anyone knows what's a civil servant, senior police officer in particular, annual compensation package be like for a average performer? 15 months?

Does anyone also know how's their annual salary increment? Is it like what I saw from other forums which is a healthy 200-300 dollars a year not including promotion?

Will appreciate any form of input!

Thank you!

Same same 06-07-2010 09:20 PM

Hey
 
Hi there.

I am also a fresh NTU grad. It sounds like you graduated from engineering? Anyways I have been working for just over a month now (started on 1st June) and I'm getting 3k in a US MNC. I am not sure about SPF, but when I was job hunting, the thought of being in the public sector never crossed my mind, because I knew that even though I had a 2nd upper, there would always be a scholar who would promote faster than me.

After 1 month of working here, I feel that actually being in the public sector isn't such a bad thing. In my company, I work at least 12 hours a day. My basic pay plus transport allowance plus overtime probably wouldn't match what I would be getting in the public sector. However, in terms of opportunity in career development, I still think that being in the private sector is much more rewarding. My work is challenging and it keeps my mind very active. I am put into situations which are far beyond my comfort zone. However, I think it must be put into perspective that I am only one month into the job and I myself am unsure if I can take this for a lifetime. Maybe it is possible to enjoy the same thrill of challenges and have a good pay package in another public service division like MAS or something like that.

Unregistered 06-07-2010 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Same same (Post 6427)
Hi there.

I am also a fresh NTU grad. It sounds like you graduated from engineering? Anyways I have been working for just over a month now (started on 1st June) and I'm getting 3k in a US MNC. I am not sure about SPF, but when I was job hunting, the thought of being in the public sector never crossed my mind, because I knew that even though I had a 2nd upper, there would always be a scholar who would promote faster than me.

After 1 month of working here, I feel that actually being in the public sector isn't such a bad thing. In my company, I work at least 12 hours a day. My basic pay plus transport allowance plus overtime probably wouldn't match what I would be getting in the public sector. However, in terms of opportunity in career development, I still think that being in the private sector is much more rewarding. My work is challenging and it keeps my mind very active. I am put into situations which are far beyond my comfort zone. However, I think it must be put into perspective that I am only one month into the job and I myself am unsure if I can take this for a lifetime. Maybe it is possible to enjoy the same thrill of challenges and have a good pay package in another public service division like MAS or something like that.

Does everyone in your company put in 12-hour workdays?

When I was in a government agency, I sometimes put in 100-hour weeks to deliver projects. But only the junior engineers stayed late. The senior guys get the good life. One of them even took regular naps in the office.

I now work in a foreign bank. Again, not everyone works late. It seems more of a choice. If you can deliver good work (and your boss appreciates that), it doesn't matter whether you work later or not.

NTU Fresh Grad too! 07-07-2010 04:43 AM

Hello!

I would say there're more doors that are still waiting to be opened for you, and for me, in the private sector. I did IA at one of the stat board and I found the job was simply unexciting, totally not challenging, and everyday life was cruelly boring, to the point that I took leave once or twice a month, so I only got a B grade for the attachment -.-"

By the way, I simply have a Pass degree. Yet, I was offered a 45K annual package, which is incredible considering my GPA/CAP, working in a foreign MNC. I was very happy that the company recognised my effort spent in participating in CCAs and part-time jobs, and offered me a great package based on my potential and capabilities, rather than grades alone.

Thus, knowing how profitable oil/gas/chemical industry is and how a salesperson's earning is highly dependent on performance (i.e. hitting/going beyond sales target), you can prove yourself worthwhile to the company in your own way... can you do that as a police officer?

Cheers!

Unregistered 07-07-2010 10:51 AM

a few comments:

1) not all public service jobs are the same. There are some interesting ones which have market value after working there for a couple of years. MAS comes to mind. maybe some statutory boards where it allows you to interact with various business sectors etc. Police and Army, however, counts as nothing in terms of relevant experience in the real world.

2) you cannot compare hours and starting pay for private versus public sector. Public sector will always offer better starting pay and offer better hours in the first few years. However, you trade initial lower pay for better opportunities in the future in terms of work experience and increasing your market value. There will be people who prefer stability, in that case, stick to public sector. If you take the bell curve distribution, your pay will always fall under the mean or median. It will never be possible to move up the curve if you don't take any risks at all.

3) think longer term and also think outside of singapore as well. Singapore is not the only place in the world with great jobs. Start thinking where you will like to be in a few years time and use your first job as a base to launch you forward.

Unregistered 07-07-2010 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 6433)
a few comments:

1) not all public service jobs are the same. There are some interesting ones which have market value after working there for a couple of years. MAS comes to mind. maybe some statutory boards where it allows you to interact with various business sectors etc. Police and Army, however, counts as nothing in terms of relevant experience in the real world.

The experience in the police force does count for something after you leave. You can join security-related firms such as Certis Cisco, or start your own security consulting company or be a private investigator.

NTU grad no. 3! 21-07-2010 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NTU Fresh Grad too! (Post 6432)
Hello!

By the way, I simply have a Pass degree. Yet, I was offered a 45K annual package, which is incredible considering my GPA/CAP, working in a foreign MNC. I was very happy that the company recognised my effort spent in participating in CCAs and part-time jobs, and offered me a great package based on my potential and capabilities, rather than grades alone.
?

Dude... ure pay is really good man. My annual pay with aws is only 44.5K. Give me some hint where you working at leh? or at least which industry?

Unregistered 22-11-2011 09:33 AM

PI?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 6434)
The experience in the police force does count for something after you leave. You can join security-related firms such as Certis Cisco, or start your own security consulting company or be a private investigator.

haha private investigator?

Unregistered 22-11-2011 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 18294)
haha private investigator?

why do you laugh? PIs can make a lot of money too.

Unregistered 23-11-2011 04:48 PM

wo6
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 6434)
The experience in the police force does count for something after you leave. You can join security-related firms such as Certis Cisco, or start your own security consulting company or be a private investigator.

Apart from those that you mentioned, there is a market for security/investigation related positions as well in the financial industry e.g fraud investigator, security manager (Regional or local), emergency preparedness, anti-money laundering, counter terrorist fundings, so on and so forth. These positions are highly sought after in financial institutions and most of them are highly paid...

Unregistered 25-11-2011 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 18348)
Apart from those that you mentioned, there is a market for security/investigation related positions as well in the financial industry e.g fraud investigator, security manager (Regional or local), emergency preparedness, anti-money laundering, counter terrorist fundings, so on and so forth. These positions are highly sought after in financial institutions and most of them are highly paid...

MBS hired a lot of ex-police. When you said "highly paid", it's at most 5k right?

Hermit 26-11-2011 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 6418)
i would ask you to take the MNC job (I am suspecting it would be hitachi). The chemical industry is pretty stable and you can use that to move to something else later. Police officer, on the hand, regardless of the high starting pay, counts as nothing in the real world. I suspect that you are not a scholar, so there is a glass ceiling for you. If you are content with younger scholars as your boss in the future, that is fine. Upside is limited as a police officer.

Hi Liquid,

Either (1) take the MNC job or (2) scout around for more options.

In NO case do you take up the SPF job. Not without a scholarship. You will be at the lowest end of the food chain and at every turn you will be reminded that you are lesser than the lowest scholar. At each posting and pay adjustment, more and more scholars younger than you will overtake you and become your seniors, or become your supervisor and eventually become your commander.

If you have not dreamt of becoming a policeman all your life, then just forget it. The good starting pay is a trap. You get stuck in lots and lots of paper work and bureaucratic reporting. In any case, policing is no longer what it used to be. Do not be fooled by TV roles and Hollywood. You do not fight for justice and the well being of victims. Even if you do, you do not get the credit. But you do see a lot of ugly things and how the system fails people in need of help. You will be disillusioned and disappointed.

<Unregistered> who replied to your first is right. There is very little upside even if you persevere and try your very best for 10 to 15 years. So my personal advice is: DON'T.

Unregistered 27-11-2011 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit (Post 18390)
Hi Liquid,

Either (1) take the MNC job or (2) scout around for more options.

In NO case do you take up the SPF job. Not without a scholarship. You will be at the lowest end of the food chain and at every turn you will be reminded that you are lesser than the lowest scholar. At each posting and pay adjustment, more and more scholars younger than you will overtake you and become your seniors, or become your supervisor and eventually become your commander.

If you have not dreamt of becoming a policeman all your life, then just forget it. The good starting pay is a trap. You get stuck in lots and lots of paper work and bureaucratic reporting. In any case, policing is no longer what it used to be. Do not be fooled by TV roles and Hollywood. You do not fight for justice and the well being of victims. Even if you do, you do not get the credit. But you do see a lot of ugly things and how the system fails people in need of help. You will be disillusioned and disappointed.

<Unregistered> who replied to your first is right. There is very little upside even if you persevere and try your very best for 10 to 15 years. So my personal advice is: DON'T.

Yup.. this guy knows what he's talking about..... I have struggled for 10 years... And there's no hope of ever becoming a somebody in the public service... They only look at your academic status to chart your prospect with the organisation... Better to join private.. becos even if you're not a scholar.. at least you still have a fighting chance...

Unregistered 27-11-2011 10:59 PM

Males should clarify about their NS obligations (reservist) before signing on the saf or some of the home team divisions. Don't blur blur sign on.

Unregistered 30-11-2011 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 18373)
MBS hired a lot of ex-police. When you said "highly paid", it's at most 5k right?

Read "Financial industry".

Unregistered 07-02-2012 09:04 PM

casino salaries
 
ex-police officer (also overseas scholar) became head security officer at local casino. his salary was $25k a month. how do i know? it was reported in the law reports of his divorce case with his full name. he was a graduate from oxford and a friend of my sister's.

Unregistered 07-02-2012 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 20488)
ex-police officer (also overseas scholar) became head security officer at local casino. his salary was $25k a month. how do i know? it was reported in the law reports of his divorce case with his full name. he was a graduate from oxford and a friend of my sister's.

Since it's public info, can you share his name please? Or even better, point us to the divorce law report. Thanks.

Unregistered 09-02-2012 09:55 PM

Casino security head
 
name is tan puay kern. divorce cases are only on-line for 3 months. do use google for interesting developments

Unregistered 10-02-2012 01:45 AM

the fact that you are asking for opinions on whether to join the mnc or spf with pay as a huge contributing factor to your choice of career proves to me that you are unsuitable to join spf.

people do not join spf to get rich. if you want to earn big bucks, spf is not the way to go. spf pay will allow you to have an above avg lifestyle, not a luxurious one.

to naysayers who feel that spf/saf personnel has no intrinsic value in th private sector, pls think again. they do formulate policies and look at global economic and financial climate vis a vis manpower/operational/security policies. not all police officers or soldiers are dumb and are unable to survive in th real world.

Unregistered 10-02-2012 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 20553)
the fact that you are asking for opinions on whether to join the mnc or spf with pay as a huge contributing factor to your choice of career proves to me that you are unsuitable to join spf.

people do not join spf to get rich. if you want to earn big bucks, spf is not the way to go. spf pay will allow you to have an above avg lifestyle, not a luxurious one.

to naysayers who feel that spf/saf personnel has no intrinsic value in th private sector, pls think again. they do formulate policies and look at global economic and financial climate vis a vis manpower/operational/security policies. not all police officers or soldiers are dumb and are unable to survive in th real world.

well, someone above just said tan puay kern ex-spf is now making $25k/mth in the gambling industry (also called IR). not rich, but richer than most of us.

Unregistered 10-02-2012 01:14 PM

My advice is to take the SPF job. I have tasted both public and private sector life. So what if the high posts are reserved for the scholars. For an average graduate, civil service offers a much better pay, work-life balance as compared to the average graduate slogging out in the dog-eat dog world of the private sector.

Trust me, you need more than ability and luck to earn big bucks in the private sector. Unless you think you are of exceptional calibre, it is better to stick to public sector.

Big bucks can be earned elsewhere outside of work eg through prudent investments, trading etc. Do not let work (especially so in private sector) suck up all your energy for other such money pursuits.

Unregistered 10-02-2012 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 20562)
My advice is to take the SPF job. I have tasted both public and private sector life. So what if the high posts are reserved for the scholars. For an average graduate, civil service offers a much better pay, work-life balance as compared to the average graduate slogging out in the dog-eat dog world of the private sector.

Trust me, you need more than ability and luck to earn big bucks in the private sector. Unless you think you are of exceptional calibre, it is better to stick to public sector.

Big bucks can be earned elsewhere outside of work eg through prudent investments, trading etc. Do not let work (especially so in private sector) suck up all your energy for other such money pursuits.

not all government agencies offer excellent work-life balance. i know of at least 2 that work their staff hard, where knocking off at 8pm is considered early.

even PM Lee once lamented he got an email announcement from a civil servant at midnight. the irony is that the announcement was something on maintaining work-life balance. he said this in one of his national day rally speeches.

Unregistered 10-02-2012 10:29 PM

was a junior officer in SPF for abt 8yrs & left as SSSgt. Got an office hr post in Div HQ & then Police HQ after 2+yrs on the beat. Got my degree when i did my part time studies in SPF. Left for corporate security related jobs & 6yrs after i left, i'm drawing >$10k now.

haiz2006 19-02-2012 12:37 PM

i am intending to sign on CPIB IO
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 20596)
was a junior officer in SPF for abt 8yrs & left as SSSgt. Got an office hr post in Div HQ & then Police HQ after 2+yrs on the beat. Got my degree when i did my part time studies in SPF. Left for corporate security related jobs & 6yrs after i left, i'm drawing >$10k now.

i am intending to sign on CPIB IO>>> any advice?
have to study law too, just afraid one day if i have to leave the service...where to head to?

Of course if CPIB treat me well, i will stay..all about passion.
Izzit really hard to enter corporate security related job aft years of service in the enforcement?

Anonymous 19-02-2012 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haiz2006 (Post 21018)
i am intending to sign on CPIB IO>>> any advice?
have to study law too, just afraid one day if i have to leave the service...where to head to?

Of course if CPIB treat me well, i will stay..all about passion.
Izzit really hard to enter corporate security related job aft years of service in the enforcement?

Study law as in taking a law degree? If yes and you do well there is always the legal service.

haiz2006 19-02-2012 09:20 PM

hmmm
 
anyone work in CPIB??

Unregistered 20-02-2012 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haiz2006 (Post 21018)
i am intending to sign on CPIB IO>>> any advice?
have to study law too, just afraid one day if i have to leave the service...where to head to?

Of course if CPIB treat me well, i will stay..all about passion.
Izzit really hard to enter corporate security related job aft years of service in the enforcement?

sorry i'm not familiar with CPIB. If u enjoy doing investigations & probably lotsa paperwork, i guess that job will be suitable for u. Esp wif all the recent cases they're investigating now, the workload may be quite high.

After u quit, i tink the banks will take in ppl wif your background/experience, esp for corporate investigation roles involving fraud, etc. Not too hard to enter corp security but it's also abt the rite timing. Good luck.

haiz2006 20-02-2012 06:48 PM

Hmmm
 
Not sure hows their working hrs .. Cannot b working whole day and investigate non stop right? There are so many cases to conduct investigation and officer need to sleep too..

And izzit really hard to find Job after years of service with cpib? Heard they paying out lump sum aft few years of service

puzzled 15-03-2012 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haiz2006 (Post 21096)
Not sure hows their working hrs .. Cannot b working whole day and investigate non stop right? There are so many cases to conduct investigation and officer need to sleep too..

And izzit really hard to find Job after years of service with cpib? Heard they paying out lump sum aft few years of service

Hi haiz2006,did you take up the job in cpib in the end?how is the jobscope like?

Unregistered 17-03-2012 11:09 AM

Still deciding....
 
theres a chance...

but wondering wanna join...no one in CPIB to give advice and they normally dont speak up after they are in..secretive

Unregistered321 05-08-2012 08:43 AM

cpio
 
I am in interested in being a cpio as well any info?

Unregistered1 05-08-2012 05:21 PM

Am interested in SPO and CPIO, any advise on the career prospect and if i leave where can one go which value the years of experience.

Hermit 07-08-2012 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered1 (Post 27351)
Am interested in SPO and CPIO, any advise on the career prospect and if i leave where can one go which value the years of experience.

To you and others who have been thinking about this route. My answer is avoid it if possible. The only post-police careers are limited to Certis Cisco security industry and perhaps bank credit card fraud investigation. Go find a real job and learn about the real world.

Unregistered_ 12-08-2012 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit (Post 27396)
To you and others who have been thinking about this route. My answer is avoid it if possible. The only post-police careers are limited to Certis Cisco security industry and perhaps bank credit card fraud investigation. Go find a real job and learn about the real world.

Contract is how many years before they review whether to re-contract?


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