at 3.5k sgd, minus rental and basic expenses you probably can save 2-2.5k sgd per month. That's a minimum of 5.6k MYR savings per month.

I say go for it.

Don't forget there are huge influx of foreign talents from India asking for peanuts; all they want is a chance to work in SG.

I say even at S$2.5k just grab the chance. Minus expenses you should be able to save S$1k per month. That is RM2,800/month of savings. Stay in the company for 1-2 years then jump.

Just send your applications and resume in via email, some employers will go through initial filtering/shortlisting over the phone (usually to assess your command on English language and your personality). Once shortlisted they will ask you to come over for face-to-face interview. By then you will have sufficient time to buy your plane/bus/train tickets... some of my friends just make a day trip (midnight KTM train sleeper deck from KL Sentral to Woodlands, reach SG around 5-6am then go for interview in the morning. Sight-seeing in the afternoon then take the same train back to KL at night). Cheap and effective, if you have multiple interviews to attend just book a budget hotel for a few days.

To be honest most of the time my company turn down Malaysian applicants not because they are not capable... but purely just because some just do not speak decent English.

FTs willing to work for low pay (a friend of mine from India, 6 years working experience as a developer ask for S$2k. S$2k is already way more than what he earns in India). Local grads ask for S$3k+, company has no choice but to hire a few locals due to foreigner quota.

Malaysians used to be preferred in Singapore, but nowadays employers treat us Malaysians no different than other FTs. The Chinese, Philippinoes, Indians all willing to work more for less pay and we are competing with these people.

Yes you need to be able to converse in good English especially when you apply for "professional" positions like consultant, engineer... You can get away with half-past-six English if you apply as cleaners or bus drivers.

You will have absolutely no issue working in SG even if you do not speak Cantonese/Mandarin at all, if not all Philipinoes and Indians would be gone by now. No worries even rice stall owners speak English. Just need to tell them whether you are dining in or takeaway, point at your dishes then pay for your meal.

Used to be different few years back, Singaporeans were more tolerable with us as we speak similar language and share the same culture.
Malaysians used to be preferred over other nationals but this is no longer the case; qualification and experience being equal.

Find out what's the catch, e.g. if you need to pay to the agency.

no offense. I am in the same industry, S$3k for a 2.5 years employee is reasonable. I have friends from Myanmar/Philippines with 5-8 years experience being offered $3k by my friendly competitors. Usually market rate is $2-2.5k for juniors, and $3-5k for seniors.

I say take it, you can live a comfortable life with $3k in SG.

it all depends on how you manage your personal finance.

$3k is pretty normal in Singapore, if you are single you can easily save $2k per month after minus off room rental, phone bill and food. Some of my colleagues earn more but they choose to stay in condos and avoid dining at hawker stalls.

Just a comparison:
You earn $3k, you save $2k per month. That is RM70k savings per annum provided you spend prudently. Say even if you only manage to save $1k per month it is still RM2.9k savings per month if you wire your savings back to MY.

You can't just compare salary dollar-to-dollar. You earn MYR4k now, do you feel excited if you got an offer for IDR4k? Of course not right?

Take all your expenses into account, consider the cost of living in SG and MY and how much you can save per month then only draw a decision. Salary of MYR4k after paying off your student loan, car loan, meals, mobile... How much can you save? MYR500-1k? For that it is equivalent to earning SGD3k and save only SGD400... Saving of SGD2k per month is very doable which is already more than your salary in MY.

Even so, staying and working in SG most of the time means longer working hours and it will be projects after projects. In contrast I say working in MY is much more relaxed so in short you earn more, save more, but also need to work harder.

You decide.

Renting a room is easy, just search and decide there are plenty of rooms to let.
Find a room close to your workplace.

I still remember 8 years back when I first came to Singapore alone. Rented a room at Bedok (far from MRT) and I got a job at Jurong East. Everyday travel 2 hours to work on bus.

Renting a room now, never like sharing coz I stack my gold under my bed.

In SG competition is high, locals and foreigners strive to maximize productivity thus most of the time you are surrounded with eager minds and hardworking folks. Unlike in MY...

In Rome do what the Romans do. Owning a condo in SG is already a luxury just like owning a landed property in Klang area, let alone a "decent size condo". Like I said before, you dictate how you want to live your life, you control and manage your expenses.

I started off with $2k salary when I first came to SG and I manage to save slightly less than half my pay per month. Years later I bought my house, my car, got married. I have seen a few of my foreigner friends got carried away with luxury goods... iPhone 6 only cost half their monthly salary, a Prada bag only 1 month salary... We used to think these luxury stuff are beyond our reach.

A lot of my friends when they came to Singapore they complain about pigeon-sized houses, forced to take public transport (which they consider a disgrace when they drove Civics/Camry in MY). My property is not built on Sentosa Island, and my car is not a Coupe or convertible, and I still have my meals at kopitiams and markets. But I am confident to say I live a comfortable life.

For those who are on the fence,
- a bus driver earns $2-3k per month, but you work long hours and pretty much zero career growth
- a dish washer earns $3k per month, but You work 12-hours a day, 72-hours a week and $3k includes OT and allowance
- a taxi driver earns $3-7k per month, the less you sleep the more you earn

I made the decision to come to Singapore years back, when I was drawing RM4k salary and accepted S$2k job offer. It was tough but I have no regrets when I look back. Why not think from a different perspective: your first job is the stepping stone to explore a new world, bear with it for a year or two and decide if you want to get a PR, if you still find MY is better then pack and go. PR offers you a whole lot more opportunities.

This post has been edited by yrh0413: Aug 23 2015, 11:41 AM

Good luck and wish you all the best in securing your job in SG. Unfortunately employment of foreigners are so much tougher these days... I interviewed a few Malaysians for an opening in my company and MOM rejected all of them.

No, they all got AIDS. You are funny.

Few years back local citizens start to feel uncomfortable with the high influx of foreigners. Imagine entering the bus/MRT with majority passengers are Chinese/Indians, and try strolling down Orchard Road on weekends... Almost packed with Philippinoes. Locals complain FT (foreign talents, but more commonly known as foreign trash to the locals) grabbing their rice bowls thus new rules are enforced by MOM to limit and restrict the influx of FTs.

Nowadays MOM is OK to bring in FTs to work in construction and manufacturing line, but for PMET positions they are much tougher to get in foreigners now. Even if you manage to get a work permit/ employment pass there is no guarantee that MOM will renew your pass once it expires in 1 year. And I have a Malaysian friend got his PR application rejected twice.

Likely depends on your passport expiry, most of the time if your passport is valid for more than 2 years MOM will grant you 24 months EP.
If you really like working in SG I suggest you try applying for PR after 12 months, because I have seen enough cases where MOM chose not to renew EP when it expires. My HR department has to apply as work permit (renew annually) and there goes any chance of applying for PR.

Enjoy and have fun working in SG!

Hi Darren,

1. Most employers will put 24-months when they apply for your EP. However if your passport is valid for less than 2 years MOM will only issue up to 12-months EP. So it is at your advantage if your passport is pretty new. Your EP is issued by MOM to you as a permit to work with your employer, if you got fired or resign your employer is required to report this to MOM and terminate your EP. You get 30-days STVP (short-term visit pass) for you to remain in SG after that you will have to leave the country. Not an issue for us Malaysians as we can always take a bus to JB and return; you get 30-days stay in SG again. It happened to a few of my Philipino colleagues, where they hold EP and MOM decided not to renew them. My HR was forced to apply WP for them in order to keep them in our company. EP and WP are the same, SG government issue them as permits for us to work in their country. If they deem you no longer required in SG they can choose not to renew yours, they normally are firm in their decision no matter what reason HR writes in for appeal. In short, treasure your days in SG if you get your pass, its always a gamble when it comes to renewals.

2. Yes, but as Malaysians we are flexible we can move back to MY and come here again only for interviews. Need not stay here; loss of income and still pay your expenses in SGD is not recommended.

3. I am a SG PR, applied and got my PR 1 year after I came here (was holding an EP that time). EP = Employment Pass, its either valid for 1 year or 2 years and it has to be renewed. PR is valid for life, but you need to renew your re-entry permit every 5 years. With EP you can try your luck to apply for PR but not for WP. If you got a WP don't give up, when one day your salary is high enough your employer can help you to apply for EP and then you can try getting PR yourself.


So to my fellow Malaysians, try to apply for PR after 1 year if you really like working here. If not you may want to pray harder when it comes to your pass renewal.
Being a PR allows you flexibility to seek better job opportunities but it comes with its price too... like your next generation is mandatory to serve NS etc. Do think carefully.

This post has been edited by yrh0413: Aug 23 2015, 11:03 PM

Your employer can keep you with WP but that still subjected to MOM approval. Only EP and S-Pass holders are qualified to apply for PR.

Should be no problem I think, since you are still working in Singapore (under a local company).
I have friends who came back to Malaysia and they did not renew their re-entry permit... subsequently they lost their PR too.

Put it this way...

Keep your WP/EP/SP:
1. No CPF contribution, no EPF contribution. You have to manage and pool your own retirement funds.
2. Pray hard your pass gets renewed every time it expires.
3. Difficult to apply for credit card in SG.
4. Your pass binds you to your employer. When you go attend another interview your current employer will know someone tried to apply WP/EP/SP for you.

PR:
1. None of the problems above.
2. Your boys (second generation PR) have to serve NS.
3. CPF contribution is actually beneficial to us because you earn employer's contribution too.
4. At retirement age us Malaysians can surrender our PR and withdraw all CPF in full.
5. You can purchase HDB.


On the #2 note: I have a close friend he received a letter from MINDEF asking him to report for NS the moment he was granted his PR. That time he was furious he thought MINDEF must have made a mistaken then later on he found out his dad was a Singaporean PR 20-30 years back.

This post has been edited by yrh0413: Aug 24 2015, 09:51 AM