Salary.sg Forums

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Guys, guys, guys......!!! If can get same as last year 0.8 is good enuff, cant expect more, our year end bonuses are too depending on economy.. So face the facts economy dis year no good, lets hope to get the same or more than last year, not less.. If less, cannot buy Shoei helmet, hahahahahahahah.........!!!!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The para in bold..... I'm not FT bashing but just presenting the hard truths.

It is no secret that every MNC (including Singaporean GLCs in overseas locations) want as many of their own kind in as executives and management in the regional offices. In most countries, governments protect their citizens by requiring MNCs to implement strict localization rules after wining multi million dollar contracts. Not so in Singapore, which is reflected in the World Bank's ranking of Singapore as #1 country in Ease of Doing Business.

Hence it is not that easy to rise to those executive positions in MNCs, especially as Singaporeans have to compete with 2nd tier Indian and Pinoy PMEs for limited management positions.

You don't have that problem in the civil service.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

One key thing when comparing salary of pte sector and public sector is that when working for the government, non-scholars generally have a much lower career ceiling compared to pte sector.

Sure you could get retrench and drive taxi when you reach your 40s in pte sector, but then you could also make executive level in a global MNC if you are good.

Contrast this to a civil servant, even if you are super fantastic in performance and CEP, you are at most going to reach senior director in your late 40s making 300k+ annual inclusive of everything. A similarly top performer in top MNC / bank would probably exceed 300k by late 20s or early 30s.

Pte sector is a winner take all high risk high return environment while public sector is a stable and steady job security place. The profile is quite different and hard to generalize which is better because a lot of times it really depends on your temperament.

My take is this: if you just want work life balance, stable job, not really that interested in money or have a realistic view that you are just average in capabilities, it is better to join the public sector. If you are young, willing to risk it all for the win, then go for the pte sector, but dun whine when you hit 40 and realise you are just another average Joe constantly under threat of being replaced by others.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why does the government need to clear the air on "how this whole thing works"? The government is just another employer in the context of the civil service, and civil servants (or public servants) are like all other private sector employees. Why should their pay schemes be made public to satisfy the public's curiosity. There's a case for making the pay of politicians or MPs transparent, since they are elected officers, but civil servants (and public servants) are not elected and owe nothing to the electorate.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My take is this: if you just want work life balance, stable job, not really that interested in money or have a realistic view that you are just average in capabilities, it is better to join the public sector. If you are young, willing to risk it all for the win, then go for the pte sector, but dun whine when you hit 40 and realise you are just another average Joe constantly under threat of being replaced by others.