Working Life in Singapore V5
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 Mar 8 2011, 11:44 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010 
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hi everyone,
Might be working in Singapore this coming october... will be working in the DBS tower... Just wondering where you would recommend that I stay considering my budget for rent+bills is about 800SGD... thank you for replying in advance! |
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Mar 11 2011, 06:20 AM
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#2
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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QUOTE(vincentwmh @ Mar 10 2011, 12:31 PM) good news, salary requirement increased for EP... meaning less ppl, waiting time, faster process....hurrrray...  QUOTE(alaskanbunny @ Mar 10 2011, 11:25 PM) hehehehee, hope the new threshold will boost those currently having ep's salary... Is it really good news I wonder... I was offered a salary just above the old threshold D= and was supposed to go on EP but now X.X not sure what is going to happen now... Don't know if I should start looking for work back in Malaysia just in case this fall through ^^;;; don't plan on staying at home to plant mushrooms after graduating...This post has been edited by nicky87: Mar 11 2011, 06:20 AM |
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Apr 1 2011, 07:58 AM
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#3
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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Hmmmn I know this has been asked many times before in many different forms over the past few pages but I need to ask you seniors in the working world...
I am in a slight dilemma because I don't know if I should work in Singapore with a salary of $3000 in total on an S-Pass (because base is $2600... below the new threshold) or to work in Malaysia with a salary of about rm3700~ one is an auditing job and another is a management trainee job... I am fresh graduate and will get my masters soon... the latter job will require me to specialise into the telecommunications industry right away... but I found the interview very fun and exciting. However sometime in the future I actually want to end up in an investment bank... |
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Apr 1 2011, 11:03 PM
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#4
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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Thank you for replying!!!
QUOTE(seantang @ Apr 1 2011, 08:31 AM) On the question of whether you should be in SG or MY,... there are a helluva lot more investment banks in SG with much more banker jobs available. Yeah that's why I applied for the auditing job in SG in the first place... I guess it at the moment it's the who interview experience with the telecoms company which is making me think twice about it. QUOTE(gabLhowe @ Apr 1 2011, 08:55 AM) Haha, somethings in life you really have to decide for yourself... Yeah I know...1. Whether you want to specialise into one industry or not. Is that industry your interest? Do you think that your future career path in either industry is sustainable? But I think you may be able to swap from either job to another in the event that you have a change of heart. My recommendation would be to try investment banking first... better to slog it out (receive harsh training) first before returning to something supposedly milder. From there, you'll get a large range of opportunities will open out - then you can specialise. Also, interview was fun and exciting - is it the same beyond the interview room? IMHO lah. 2. If you will get your masters soon, do you think that your salary of $3000 is reflective of it? I'm not asking that you shld "fish" for higher offers but I think it's a bit low lah. I believe that there is growth in the telecommunications company which I was offered and that one is probably sustainable. Auditing is a job where I would stay there only for as long as I learn and then move on the greener pastures... hmmmn good point about the interview... will go and ask around my friends if they have friends in the same programme. Yeah I know it's not exactly a very competitive salary but it's a gateway into Singapore in my eyes more than anything else... besides you don't need a masters to do auditing ^^;;; that's more of a graduate's pay. This post has been edited by nicky87: Apr 1 2011, 11:04 PM |
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Apr 2 2011, 04:40 AM
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#5
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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QUOTE(mercury8400 @ Apr 2 2011, 12:31 AM) If you think yr masters is gonna to make a difference in giving you an edge in empoyment in SG (wheter its investment banking or just banking in general, you are making a huge mistake. Every tom d*** and harry has a Masters in SG. Unless its from the top tier ivy league unis the rest just isn't worth having because the most of the guys fresh off the boat from India (and believe me there are tons of them here) all have a masters degree from one uni or another. Its about experience. And if you want an investment banking job why even consider a telecom industry? Taht would seriously limit yr options in the future. Investment banking specialising in telecom? How small is the market for that? Get yr exp from auditing 2-3 years of auditing background then jump into an investment bank as an entry level position or alternatively jump to corporate banking now then chalk up 2-3 yrs experience then jump over to investment banking (i think there would be some leverage of exp in Corp banking) thank you for your reply [while this is just my two cents I think you could have worded your reply nicer... my masters is from a top uni (Uk's ivy league... the Russell group) not just any uni...] I already have a job offer in Singapore for auditing. I do not think my masters is going to give me an edge in employment in sg. I do however think that it did get me the interview. that said I do understand that it's the experience that counts when it comes to the banking industry especially investment banking where you handle people's money... I actually think it depends on how you think of the telecommunications industry is it just phones? just handphones? or does it include braodband the new breed of mobile products... As to why I am considering it at all is because I had fun talking about it in the interview also it's in KL with family and friends... As for auditing it would also depend on what I audit isn't it? I could be sent to audit shipyards and oil rigs... that a market that is even smaller than telecommunications... I just wonder if audit experience is really as good as everyone says it is. anyhows I appreciate your reply cheers mate  |
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Apr 3 2011, 05:05 AM
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#6
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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QUOTE(gabLhowe @ Apr 2 2011, 10:45 AM) What is the masters in? Maybe it's not so relevant to the job, hence not under consideration. But nevertheless, I thought that you could ek another 100-300 bucks in pay (furthermore you mentioned that it's from the ivy league). Try calling up and gently probe HR. But its just my own opinion... dont blame me if you overpoke and lose the offer Hmmmn well in general the basic pay is 3000SGD for entry level associates... but since I am a foreigner and don't need to like pay CPF they adjusted the basic salary down so that plus CPF they have to give us it's exactly 3000SGD equivalent to the local singapore grads. (I did try poking XD not too successfully but at the end of the day it's the experience I am after and I think 3k SGD should allow me to live a rather comfortable life?)  Auditing is good as it opens your eyes to many clients all the way down to the operational level, hence +++experience which is very useful. It's also notorious for work pressure, long hours and tight deadlines so if you ever jump ship, your new boss will love you. QUOTE(Aloong @ Apr 2 2011, 11:19 AM) I'm assuming ur pretty fresh here, i.e. less than 3 yrs exp. So lets forget about wat industry. Thank you for your input! It is very helpful! I was thinking if I could get into the finance/internal audit part of the business it might be the same as an auditing experience... cause the company is one which is looking to grow so they are doing alot of M&A's and I thought that would be good experience as well.I think auditing will help u skill sets in terms of due diligence, analytical, being deliberate, able to look into details, and of course able to understand and analysis financial much better (all as compared to mgmt trainee). Mgmt ind, depends on which dept ur located. If ur in finance/internal audit/operation, better take ur audit job. If ur in biz development, then u may have better skills interms of marketing, negotiating, interpersonal skills, etc, which would be better than audit. Bur later on to start in IB, the analysitcal/due diligence skillswould be required for a start for the first few yrs, before u the marketing/interpersonal skills is required. U need to prove ur self in being able to do the nitty gritty of the job first. QUOTE(seantang @ Apr 2 2011, 11:34 AM) If you want to be in investment banking, why bother with audit at all? Get an entry level analyst position with a bank straightaway. In terms of further opportunities or promotions, having 3 years of analyst experience will put you wayyy ahead of any former auditor with 3 years audit experience. The 2 are very different, even though dealing mainly with numbers. Uh it's because I am partially qualified for ACCA already have another two more papers to become an affiliate and working an audit job would allow me to gain member status where as working as an analyst I may not be able to gain full membership? one of the PERs of ACCA is to have done a full statutory audit and having an audit job I think is the only way to fulfil that.QUOTE(keelim @ Apr 2 2011, 02:37 PM) Nicky is trying to match his opportunity and aspiration. I presume the reason he landed himself in such a contradictory situation is because of pursuing Masters w/o having job experience. This is extremely common quagmire for fresh Master grad. Ivy leagues have been trying to prevent such situation by enforcing a certain amount of working experience before enrolling with your GMAT/GRE score. I'm a her =D anyway you're right... i am trying to pick a job which would lead me to where I want to be in the future rather than short term monetary gain... cause if I was looking for salary+benefits I think the management trainee job wins hands down simply because living at home saves alot of money. Sadly yes I am also without experience therefore I know that it is likely I would only get a undergrads pay which I am willing to accept for the most part I guess. Anyhows A BIG Thank You everyone!!! I think I know what I should do now... after I look up a couple of things... I appreciated the input! |
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Apr 4 2011, 08:18 AM
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#7
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Junior Member
189 posts Joined: Jun 2010
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QUOTE(seantang @ Apr 3 2011, 10:43 AM) Isn't that akin to wasting (or at best sub-optimising) 3 of the most important initial years of your career in a field that's suboptimal for your chosen vocation ie. investment banking, for a qualification that useless for investment banking? Wouldn't it be better to cut your losses (ie. ignore the sunk costs) and spend the next 3 years in an investment bank pursuing a CFA instead? QUOTE(seantang @ Apr 3 2011, 01:12 PM) That just means most just wasted a few years gaining sub-optimal experience. Unless getting older is no issue, this could be a significant penalty. Thing is with my qualification, despite what I have achieved now, my education background is quite what IB's like so to speak... I mean they have loads of applicants with strings and strings of A's... whereas I only started to excel after A-lvls... A-levels was a bad time for me in general I am truly ashamed of my achievement there... I have tried to apply for investment banks and am waiting for replies however now as things stand I only have an auditing job in singapore on one hand and a telecommunications management trainee job on the other... One of the biggest regrets of my career was that I spent the first 3 years in audit firms instead of joining the MNC I'm in now, right out of university. Although Big4 experience made it fairly easy to join any MNC I wanted, I found that despite my Big4 background, I still needed to spend 2-3 years to gain credibility within the organisation and build the relationships to convince the bosses that I was someone whose progress is worth their support. As a result, I was put on hi-po or fast track when I was 28, compared to my peers who got in when they were 24-25. On this route, you can get promoted every 2-3 years. Even today, I find that my peers ie. those in the same hi-po batch as me, are still 1-2 levels ahead of me. This can be frustrating as I have more experience. What's even more frustrating is that they are a few years younger and technically have more career time to get more promotions than I do. They can potentially retire 3-4 levels higher than me. I do question whether the 3 years of slogging in the audit firm is worth my while however it looks like its the best choice for now. Only human ties are holding me back from moving to Singapore I guess... ot looks like from your experience spending the three years in an audit firm could have been used in a better way as you put it. CFA is not cheap to pursue and I do not wish to make my parents pay for it... I would only pursue CFA should someone sponsor me to take it. QUOTE(Aloong @ Apr 3 2011, 10:08 PM) 1. i do hope u get wat i meant, cos i was trying to say if ur objective is to go into IB, better go for auditing, as compared to finance/internal audit. The latter tend to see a smaller pic and ur focus is only on one company for few years with unnecessary depth of experience. Yeah I do get what you mean. Thanks ^^2. Actually u still can get ACCA membership by working as analyst. no difference. U only need to work in audit/finance, if u wana be an accountant,with those MIA membership or if u wan to sign accounts. If u do have chance to get into banking as analyst, indeed better tho, like wat sean said. But bare in mind not any analyst job. make sure it's either front office, credit analyst or real analyst (as in research/equity/fixed incomce). Not those back office analyst level, like processing dept/finance dept/audit, compliance, etc. 3. Nonetheless, do finish up ur 2 last ACCA papers. CFA is very very tough. For IB roles, CFA is indeed more recognised than ACCA, provided ur are capable enuf to get one. as someone else said in the thread... I can??? because looking at the PERs it looks to be quite tailored to an audit firm. I will definitely finish the last 2 papers in ACCA I mean it's already within reach... not going to give up half way. Not in my character to do so... QUOTE(Samuelton @ Apr 3 2011, 12:59 PM) Hi, it takes weeks for firms to reply you be patient ^^;;; I waited from december to february before getting my first response!Good day Seantang Nice to know you I am new here and it is quite often to seen you always post some comment within the forum of job& street, especially more on here and the other. Can you guide me how to get into the good-environment firm in singapore( How about the big 4 in singapore and other well-know accounting firm)? if you don't mind, can I contact you personally by facebook? because right now I am desperately hope that I will be able to get the job in Singapore, despite I am going to graduate soon, but not later. And, generally, I have My CV sent to the firm through Job DB quite some days ago, and still not able to get any respond from them, will this consider be rejected by them ? At last, hope someone is able to enlightening me through "dark water" dilemma, as chinese said. Thanks you very much. |
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