I am currently 30 years old with 5+ years of working experience in the legal industry. For my current job I am drawing a salary of RM4600+. I work in Johor btw. I feel that I am somehow stuck due to my slow career progression so I have been thinking about moving to Singapore.

I found a potential job which offers SGD3.5k at most, which means most likely they will only be paying 3.2k (optimistic?). I know for a fact that if I move to KL I could land a job that would pay me MYR5k+. So the dilemma is should I go to SG for smaller pay (disregard the conversion) and start afresh or to KL?

Appreciate any constructive view. Thanks.

Edited:

Since some of you replied asking for more details before giving advice, i thought I should supplement more info:

1. Single. No plan to start a family. In fact no plan to get into a relationship. Can foresee myself single till the day I die.

2. My previous jobs include lawyer and legal editor. Now working as a legal exec (in house).


Update [15/06/2022]

Finally received an offer after months of job applications. Just to update anyone who read this topic. Thanks.

This post has been edited by weehournow: Jun 15 2022, 04:14 PM

I am in the same predicament bro. Moving to Singapore at 32…

shortest answer is Singapore

My opinion, go to SG.

Assume you are a JB or Johor native, so SG is nearer to your home base.

Exposure is subjective as depends on the cases you get.

Good luck.

What do you want in the long term?
To build your roots in a new country, or to use the shortest time to find the most money? Singapore is a new ball game, and you have to really be ready to start from zero, and be humble to learn everything again. Being a foreigner in someone's country, needs a lot of resilience and patience.

agreed and definitely sg for sure.

Of coz go to Singapore. After first job there, finding the next Singapore job will be much easier.
Also since u are in JB, another bonus for u.

U try to budget out 5 years’ earnings sg vs msia. After you realise you can pay off your home loan in JB in this 5 years, then the answer will be clear.

My hometown is in Muar and now I'm working in Senai. So it really is in the middle point of SG and KL.

This post has been edited by weehournow: Mar 1 2022, 10:03 AM

Ultimate goal is definitely financial freedom (or at least not having to worry about mortgage of healthcare cost once retired). Resilience and patience, then I should really move ASAP because I doubt I would have the energy to do both later.

This post has been edited by weehournow: Mar 1 2022, 10:02 AM

if you accept the social life there why not.. mind you.. it would not easy to work with singaporean.. they are very fast paced and high in result.

my friend work there for 5 years and salary is gooding (around 8k sgd) but he still eating alone everyday at canteen because all of his colleague are singaporean.
Note - he is friendly and talkative person

your choice

I am quite alright with eating alone. In fact, I have been eating alone for most of my meals after I graduated lmao.

But I get your point. You're saying it's not easy to integrate into the Singapore community? I think social life is really secondary to me as my current priority is really about work-life balance with extra ka-ching to spend. And I can manage work-life balance without much social life tbh...

Go Singapork. Don't look back.

When single, you can work anywhere. Easy decision unless you are the only child and having aged parents with some medical conditions.

Legal industry applicable to SG context? If applicable, just move to SG when really land and get job offer la. Just land a job offer first then you do further thinking. Disregard the conversion, pretty much what is costly in SG is rental of room and entertainment. At the end, see what is your goals and objective la..

Regardless of your industry, what is your job role / title?

SGD3.5K is in the middle of nowhere, not here not there. Worst if eventually you go for PR, 20% goes to CPF, you left with about 2.8K take home.

- rental - HDB common room with aircon 800
- public transport - 150 (depending on usage or distance, i take a higher estimation)
- meals - 30 x 2 x 5 = 300 - this is 30 days 2 meal each, in hawker, plus some breakfast, plus sometime eat out with friends and colleague - 600
- personal needs - 300
- entertainment - 150

total basic is 2k per month

Things to continue:
- $ for parent, $ for saving, $ for insurance
- Ok with just renting a room, most of the time you just stay in your small room?
- Ok for 3 meals eating outside
- Ok for nobody go out with you
- Ok to spend 4-6 hours for a return trip to stay in JB to save cost? 4-6 hours is the normal jam + queue + immigration for going in and out in normal day before covid
- Ok for having to always look at price of food and menu to decide what you gonna eat with your current salary?
- Ok to stay away from your family for 1 week? 1 month? 1 year? It will start with 1 week, then you hate the jam, then you will start going back Johor 1-2 time per month, then you have covid, I have friends staying 2 years straight before getting to come back
- If you buy house in Johor, you will have extra burden, if you dont buy, how you gonna start your own family?
- Every commitment in MY, everything you owe the bank still need to pay, like your car, house, etc. Willing to give up your car? But when you come back got extra car for you to use? If not selling, you ok to leave the car to rot in Johor?
- Ready for a more stressful and competitive life in SG? I'm not kidding you, Malaysia people working style is really relaxed and slow and calm compared to SG.
- You single? attached? have family? You think you can or you know you can handle long distance relationship?

Harsh questions to answer:
- How long you been working already? Why is your salary 4.6k at 30 years old? What exactly is the problem? not taking initiative? not competitive enough? not qualified enough?
- The same problem you identify now, will it impact your salary growth in KL? will it impact in SG? Which do you think you have higher chance of moving up?
- Even if you take the offer in SG, next time you try to move to another job, people will see, 30 years old, taking almost fresh grad salary, something must be wrong, either i low ball this candidate like previous company, or i reject him


All these questions are not to discourage you, just wanna make sure you think thru properly first, if you confident life will change for the better then i say go ahead. Never too late. Also good if you single and have no loan / commitment to worry about. If you are open for SG, maybe you can open up a bit more to any other countries, might as well right? But if you still wanna come back Johor often, then can keep the choice to SG.

This post has been edited by hungrygodzilla: Mar 1 2022, 11:55 AM

i same with u, age and working experience
but from kl
just married plan to have kids
but current income unable to feed my own enough bcz I already have huge commitments and debts (house, car, ptptn, cc)

I plan to work in SG so i can settle debt quicky, but many factors need to consider

if u are single, just go

Problem is with your friend. He might be friendly and talkative to you, but maybe he distanced himself from his SG colleague.

What if i tell you that it's easy to integrate into SG community, all the Malaysian I know that cant integrate, you know what's the common excuse? They just blame that all their colleagues are SG, but the real problem is always themselves, they discriminate SG people because they think that SG people discriminate them. I've worked in SG for more than 10 years, never in any company, big or small, old or startup will I have problem with SG and foreigners. And i never ever see any foreigner get outcasted, unless they themselves have some problem or is hard to mix with. We have meals together not just in canteen, going out for better meals away from office, good dinner, oversea holiday trips, game together, and also regular gathering after we left the company. If you cant make good friends with SG people, the problem is you.

Nothing is too late. Know a fella who move to SG around 40++. Now making big there. The key is yourself.

Confirm friend problem.
I've no such issues with my Singapore colleagues.
When I travel down to SG, they will offer accommodation and always insist on treating me meals.

Go to Singapore and retire after 10 years.

Confusing what you want to bring out ..?

That's right! But still so many Malaysian felt that they are outcast by the SG colleagues. Either they really in shitty company with shitty people, but most probably, I think it's their own self esteem problem.

lol
Meanwhile then earning 8k sgd still can’t make friend with singaporean lol

Depend on what u want , go Sg if u want migrate out of Malaysia. If u got Sg PR it's a good stepping stone to migrate oversea.

Did you find the job by yourself or a job agent found you.

If you rent a room in Singapore, it's going to be around SGD 600.

Why do you think you will be starting afresh? I dun think you will be starting afresh just because you are going to Singapore.

Actually, conversion of currency is important. For example, 6400SGD is still "higher" then say 9750MYR.

I think that 3.2 or say 3.3k is still > 4600. But then you do not have to pay rent etc when you are in malaysia.

I think you can save quite a bit if you really manage your finance well. But i dunno. Increment in Singapore is not very fast.

If can get S$4k+ then i will encourage TS to go for it. I think it's a comfortable ground. But by right, at 30, should be higher than that. But judging from TS current salary, anything above S$4k is really attractive for him. 3.2 - 3.3k is a bit not here not there, not too poor, also not too rich.

I dun think in Singapore, they actually pay 1 - 1.

Even if you compare the job postings.

A similar job in Malaysia will definitely be paid much higher then say in Singapore if you do not convert.

3K is tight.

This post has been edited by BrookLes: Mar 1 2022, 12:21 PM

30 is still very young tbh... once u gt 1st job, try work for 1-2 yr and then jump, it will be easier once u got PR

1. if u are planning to earn money for retirement in Malaysia, sure, but will u sad or worry ur family members as u cant come back for a very long time? cause this always stops a lot of people right now

2. if the job pay u $3500, it will be $3500, won't be as what u mention $3200

3. if you're not money spending person, trust me, U can save more than $2k

4. Singaporean, not racist if u r not the racist guy or a hot temper person

5. Pr can help u save more $$ when u retired and go back to Malaysia

I also come SG work when I was going turn 30's, the life is never been better then Malaysia

This post has been edited by TianJian: Mar 1 2022, 12:31 PM

how hungry are you? Legal professionals Supply > Demand in Sgp.

yep... sinkies i know only discriminate ceca or some ah tiong, they dont normally discriminate malaysian

Pls lah u think they will tell u this in front of ur face? It’s all subtle and wayang show. For sure below are their stereotypes on msian: stealing jobs, depressing salaries, weird Chinese kampung accent, horrible English, tendencies to backstab gossiping in office, transform office space to Chinatown speaking mandarin all the way, doing non-prestigious 3D jobs (hairstylist hawkers cleaners drivers u name it)

The hate towards ceca is worse off, as they access to professional jobs that some sinkie can ever dream of

Single, should go. I don't consider Sg as foreign. It is the easiest country to migrate for Msians. It's akin to moving to another abang adik place. If you don't like it can always come back, the transition is very minimal.

I think its whether that person is open to make friends or not.
I mean.. myself I have made new friends from those running events and what not.. I am MY citizen and they are true blue SG citizen since birth.

Some are so nice (back then I didn't make much money) to even treat me a meal. They all know I'm from KL.

I do not feel discriminated.. as a matter of fact in work, faster response is better than everything pending

On another point. is whether you can do as the romans do in ROME or not.
They would always use shortforms. TP = traffic police, plaza SGP = plaza singapura.
So you need to keep up with the romans in rome.

This post has been edited by ceo684: Mar 1 2022, 01:19 PM

Im sure there are some sinkies that discriminate msian.. like i said, "sinkies I know", not all sinkies..

it depends on what group of sinkies u mix with, low life sinkies sure hate u for "stealing their jobs"..

It is not too late to start a new life in Singapore at 30 years old.

Not sure about your marital status. If you are single, looking at the offer and your current condition, i would suggest to come to Singapore and build your professional career here. However, if you are married and with kids, you might need to consider about your wife and kid too.

More peanuts by 20-25% here, but in actual fact our peanuts have less disposable income and buying power.

1. TS, you plan to stay in Sg or JB?

2. You plan to work there for short term or long term? I know of ppl who planned short term but as their commitment increases, they are stuck there.

3. You plan to start a family? You gotta familiarise yourself with their school system when you enrol your kids there.

4. Your kids will be stuck there if they're schooled there. Can't even speak Malay wei.

depends on his actual job role and scope, the term "legal industry" is just too vague. A cleaner in a legal office also work in legal industry.

of coz you have all kinda people, some more gila than the rest. Those SG that like to say "stealing our jobs" are the loser group that is lazy and anti social and just purely keyboard warrior. Can't make it in life that's why blame everybody else. The ultimate goal to work in SG is to keep climbing up the career ladder, meet and be surrounded by better and smarter people.

TS, I moved to SG recently, on EP.

It depends on your commitments and lifestyle honestly.

1) At 30, probably most people will be looking at settling down with a partner and have children. 4.6k in Johor, with wife working also probably can lead a decent life with 1 child (assuming household income probably 7-8k in Johor).

2) But 3.2k in Singapore, don't dream of starting a family. Will die. You will lead a single life possibly until your 40s. 3.2k can survive in Singapore as a single.

3) 3.2k in Singapore is fresh graduate level, not really the salary for a professional lawyer but hey again, thousands of Malaysians cross the border for half that amount.

4) Going to Singapore doesn't necessarily mean you will be better career wise. Sometimes you shoot yourself in the foot. When u return to Malaysia, employers will benchmark against 3.2k, not 10k this is very important ya. Don't assume employers so generous will offer you 12-13k. They will look at what u get in Singapore, without conversion.

5) If you ok with staying single forever, yes you can come to Singapore.

6) See point 1 and 2. Need to ask yourself, where are you now and where you want to go.

If you have any questions let me know

This post has been edited by CoolStoryWriter: Mar 1 2022, 02:48 PM

Salary climb fast if you work hard. Just go if you get an opportunity. What’s there to lose?

1st Choice = Singapore
2nd choice = KL
3rd choice = JB

Others state, forget it!
These 3-States would be the Next Megapolitans cities for the next 10-years to 20-years at least due to its Mega-population concentrated!

If, border opens @ 1-March;

1st Choice = Singapore + JB
2nd choice =
3rd choice = KL

This post has been edited by Aligee: Mar 1 2022, 03:11 PM

Confirm SG la. 3.5k sgd - expenses i think u have nett 1.7k minimum. Thats like 5k ringgit.

If lucky you can jump to other sg company in few years, maybe salary increase 1-2k sgd.

Plus, u dont have ur own family yet. Whats stopping you to try? Worse to worse , u can come back in a year.

This

May be should consider back to muar with same pay less competition, better living

i would pick 4600 johor while starting other hussle/investment, but if really want to go sg
0.8 x ur current would be ideal

also take into account uu cant comeback anytime uu want with this covid situation & most probably more competitive n stressful working environment

Interesting questions. let me add in some comments.

1. TS, you plan to stay in Sg or JB? If TS choose to work in SG, then of course stay in SG, nowadays can no longer travel daily.

2. You plan to work there for short term or long term? I know of ppl who planned short term but as their commitment increases, they are stuck there. Very true, i agree with this. This happens to a lot of people

3. You plan to start a family? You gotta familiarise yourself with their school system when you enrol your kids there. Indeed, it is very different to start a new life in singapore as an individual vs a family.

4. Your kids will be stuck there if they're schooled there. Can't even speak Malay wei. yea, one can only learn 1 mother tongue (depending on your race) in school apart from English.

1. I plan to stay in SG. Definitely cannot tahan long commute time.

2. Plan for now is work for long term. TBH cannot see a future in MY with weak currency. I do have a house mortgage and car loan but both are manageable right now as I spend very little and is very thrifty.

3 & 4. No kid. No plan to build family. Single till dead let nurse abuse at old folks home that kind.

EP means SGD 4.5k above. Nice leh. If I go with that offer then sadly it's S-pass kuli status. Anyway I did speak to the headhunter about the salary package and he said he will discuss with the potential employer. See how it goes la.

But then thanks for your reply and opinion. Wish you all the success in SG

This post has been edited by weehournow: Mar 1 2022, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the reply. Appreciate the feedback.

Sure can ahh? Heard need min sgd5k salary

SG for better immediate salary.
After you famous, then up to u to choose where to stay for long term. Cust look for u then.

But i did surprised with the salary. i thought lawyer good pay man. Maybe when u r the firm partner?

i see all also salary high, me kuli 2k pay only at age 39 lol. i comehere when i am 36..

my roughly basic expenses= room 550 all in, food 5 per meal with own drink x3x30=450, transport 200, phone 30, the rest depends on you spend. if your salary 3.5k nett will save money faster la. anyone in sg near yishun wan lepak tcss can look for me. sienzz

This post has been edited by Eng_Tat: Mar 1 2022, 07:14 PM

if you're living in johor isnt it already automatic that you should aim for SG instead of KL?
just commute to SG via johor and kick back on that 6krm (3.2kSGD) job or does it not work that way?
at least your 50 pages passport will see some use compared to everyone else that has a 50 page passport but only use 3 pages at most before need to renew lol

Wait, so you are called to the bar here in Malaya?

You're okay with the idea of not practicing in sg?

The minimum pay for Employment Pass is now SGD5000. Not sure as a lawyer whether you can go under S-Pass with SGD2500 min. If professionals can be put under S-Pass I don't see what is the point of putting a minimum salary for EP which can be easily sidestepped by employers.

Edit: According to SG Website S-Pass is for mid-level foreign employees (eg. technician) so I guess not.

This post has been edited by Azzqech: Mar 1 2022, 08:13 PM

Not bad. Every month still can save around 770, can use to pay installment for housing loan at malaysia.

most likely your friend problem kek.

ts just go here to know more about working life in sg
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4211035

With ur profile n thinking, Singapore is a more suitable place for u.

Can look for me if u need to find a room in the west area. All the best in ur job hunting. 👏👏

Ts come take this advice. If u can live with this, the answer is clear.

No offence. It means your singaporean frens aren't the performance driven type.

Pretty clear they are high-performance people when they are Bank, MNC VPs or CEOs of their own company.
Problem I see many Malaysian is they feel entitled or they just sucks at making friends.

Of course not to say all Singaporean are angels. I personally met a few SOB chui Singaporeans but my experience with them has always been generally positive.

Yea I was called to the bar in Malaysia. I know that I could never practise outside of West Malaysia so I am fine with that idea.

As a Malaysian who has lived and worked In Singapore for many years I would say its not hard to integrate if you blend in. Singaporeans respect performance and ability. But it is a very materialistic society, not racist but people do respect money. Some look down on Malaysians and foreigners whom they think go there because they are financially desperate, or may resent those taking their jobs. But most will respect those who do well.
I would say though that 3.5K salary for a 30 year old isn't high considering the high cost of living. So you need to think whether it is worth it. For me it would be too low. You will have to lead a really simple life.

Done deal. Singapore will be a paradise for you. Push yourself, have the grit, and network you will do just fine. If you ever regret on 3 & 4, then I will have to edit my feedback.

A lot of thoughts went into these four questions. Worth highlighting again to TS. Take it as a 20 year forecast and actually mean it.

Yea, this is a truly materialistic society, where few will take a look at you if u are poor or with lower rank. Ppl generally look up to higher rank or the rich.

But I guess this is the case for most cities in the world, even in kl.

Lol on number 3 and 4. But don't worry, sgp gov has a good retirement plan for you after you have become the spr or sgp citizen.

Bro, what a waste men. If you working a normal job, then you can find way better income and prospect in SG. But if you are a lawyer, then you should go to KL. You must understand that you could much easier earn a good living in KL with a legal related job VS you in SG working normal. Yes, short term, with conversion, SG income higher, but i bet that is a higher chance that on long run you can earn more in MY. Not sure why you give up so easily.

I've not heard of shortage of legal position in SG la, unlike doctor and software engineer, and from my understand and limited friends working legal stuff, they worked like mad dog in legal industry, it is absolutely brutal and unhealthy.

Yea I do agree with you that it is kinda a waste to give up on my bar qualification. However I do realize that I am not well suited to continue to practise as a lawyer. I am not sure if you are aware that there is an exodus of young lawyers from the pracitising field, and I just happened to be one of them.

I still appreciate your feedback on this and to a certain extent I concur with your sentiment. That is why I am specifically looking for legal related work in my job hunt, so that I do not waste my degree and legal experience.

if your decision is firm, just move ahead with it and dont look back. Tomorrow is always gonna be better.

Yes there's no shortage of demand for legal related work. All company needs legal team. Maybe to also equip yourself with future demand like legal aspect related to cybersecurity space or distributed ledger tech

Just have a go and see if you like it there, what's the worst that could happen? You can use this as a stepping stone to getting a better paying job a year or two down the road so don't worry too much about the salary.

Go and experience the life there and see if you like it, even if you regret and end up coming back you are most likely in a better position financially.

You are young enough to give this a try but not for too long. Why not try it out for 2 years? Singapore is a land of opportunity. It is just that the lifestyle and cost of living are quite different. I moved there in my teens, adapted easily. My friends and relatives who went there to work as adults, especially after 25, didn't find it as easy to adapt. I would try to get an offer with higher pay or nego for that if I were you. Will you be on Employment Pass or S pass?

I asked my headhunter to nego for a higher pay. I will see if it is possible. However I do think I will most likely be under S pass as the salary threshold for EP is too high for the current job offer.

All the best whatever you decide. I am.sure you have heard the work culture there is quite different. Not much of work life balance. So long as you are mentally prepared.

Get in SG first and have a feel for it. Contract manager, in-house legal, you don't need to be in court for those

There work is work, in a way they're more productive as less lepaking around.

SG if you can save SGD500 = RM1500 already saving, every month!
Malaysia, don't think you can save that amount with Bangla Low-salary benchmark here!

If, you opt for PR after 2-years, you definitely can get higher salary as Singaporean & have more saving upto SGD1000 = Rm3000 /per month!
I had seen my friends done that, usually the 1st 5-years need to struggle abit, after that almost like SGreans already!
If borders & the JB MRT start in 2-years time, can save even more staying in JB, buy any JB Semi-D & having a HDB not a problem!

This post has been edited by LaSat: Mar 4 2022, 12:01 AM

Give it a go since you have this opportunity. Worst scenario, if you don't like it just come back

If you choose to stay = what will you get from Malaysia?

The last I checked, you cannot have any property overseas if you intend to buy hdb flat.

You are right. Anyway you can only buy hdb if you are a citizen or PR. PRs can't buy brand new, can only buy Resale unless married to a citizen and buying together.

I am aware of this. And even for resale flat, PR alone cannot buy, must at least marry another PR.

Earn sgd first, talk later.
You'll regret if didn't do it ASAP...

i from 84000 also. you still young , better try your luck in singapore, US , australia. sure u won’t regret. but remember one thing, singapore life very fast. even their escalator also fast than malaysia. if i were you, i will go. just don’t spend so much in geylang.

easy life. and boring.

Good for retirees

Reviving the thread to check in with on your decision.

Sidetrack, With the new immigration framework, I heard it's much harder for non-tech people to move to Sg. Do you have any insights on this?

Short answer: SG. Long answer: Singapore

Give it a shot of a year or 2. If it doesn’t work out, come back.

Welcome to Singapore...

Try first...if u like u stay...don like go back....but try first....3.2 is just beginner...u can start looking for other opportunities once in

but work culture not the same...here ppl more kiasu one....if hati tissue better don't....need to have thick skin a bit....

This post has been edited by Bossku_Johor: Apr 29 2022, 02:50 PM

I'm still studying and I currently have a diploma in mechanical engineering. I have a plan to work at SG for 3 months during my sem break as a technician. Is it a good idea ? . Your thoughts?

Legal editor? Mind elaborate more on your jobscope? In SG, most submission are done via E-litigation, online filing be it Divorce, Power of Attorney, Letter of Administration/Grant of Probate etc etc. Just be mentally ready to pick up new stuff.

This post has been edited by Xccess: May 18 2022, 02:21 AM

Go any enjoy and learn something there. Get some money maybe you can retired from your job do some small business back here later.
Just enjoy a diff lifestyle there, here unless you are getting over 10k paid or business here or less, working about same, only money diff.

All the above are correct. Hdb is a public housing, there are many rules to follow in order to buy a hdb, such as A hdb owner could not own a foreign property, only married min 3 year sgp pr can own a hdb., and one should fulfill some other quota requirement before he/she can purchase a hdb.

There are many other rules to follow before or after one purchases a hdb too. 😂