If you're young and single ok. You have time on your side. If married or planning to soon, better reconsider, unless you have a good package. Definitely not downgrade in pay

I am sinkiebaharu....not new migrant. 14 years in Singapore already.

Here personal tax is so much, aftrr deduction like shit salary.

My friend story. He went to SG for 12 years and earning about SGD 6k. It is decent money after convert to MYR. However he said if given a choice again he will not go SG and will stay in Msia. Due to high earning he bought a 800k house in Msia, 2 cars for family members and high insurance premium. He did save money however parents and siblings knew he earn more and keep asking support from him. Until today he still remain as single. His life in SG for these 12 years mostly office and room. He rarely go shopping during weekend as his intention is to earn and save money. He went overseas trip once or twice a year with friends as a reward to his hard work.

But now at age over 40 he afraid he might lose his job as senior account executive due to high pay low level. Company may anytime retrench him and replaced with cheaper junior executive. He did tried to apply Msia job and seeking RM 8k salary but none of the company can offer him more than RM 6k. He said if he were stay in Msia at his age now he should at least a teamlead or manager with earning around or above RM 8k. If not due to high currency rate he will not commit to expensive property and will not commit to buy 2 cars for family members.

There are many people will say please go or stay in SG purely because of high currency rate instead of career prospect. I have around 10 friends (Malaysian) working in SG with degree or some got MBA, none of them position in manager until today. A common problem of people who work in SG is over commitment that cause them extremely hard to come back to Msia.

Ummm...the problem here is why after 12 years working in Singapore he still stuck with $6k salary? Never got any promotion, never look for a new job? Attitude problem?

Many people desire to go SG to earn big money but the truth is the earning mostly from exchange rate rather than high salary in SGD. I got other friends who worked in SG now and mostly in between SGD 5-7k and this is quite common. Only 1 friend salary more than SGD 10k because he was in US MNC while in Msia and then assigned to SG for regional role. These friends are in white collar industry and those who went SG for blue collar job their earning is about SGD 2 - 3.5k despite almost 20 years in SG.


People thought after working 10 years they may got chance to promote, yes from junior to senior but it is very hard to move up to management role even after 20 years in SG. It is because in SG there are people across Asia and some from Europe and US seeking career in SG.


In SG even if you were very hardworking but the opportunity is lesser to get promotion compare to Msia because there are many people work harder than us. In Msia if one is hardworking and serious about work it is easy to earn RM 4-5k before 30 and get promotion to earn RM 7-8k after age 35. Yes, this figure cannot compare to SGD even the blue collar job, but you are living together with your love one and enjoy your chill time with friends and family.

No. Not true. I was working in Singapore previously as well. Many of my malaysian peers are holding management position today. In fact many top management position in Singapore is helmed by Malaysian or ex-malaysian. Its an individual problem.

TS,

For me - I'd prefer a job that allows me to play a vital role in the growth and building of a company. Rather than telesales. Telesales hard to breakout to managerial position. Think in terms of its opportunities, career growth and networking - rather than pure incomely perspective.

Stay awhile if you must, but not too long. But ofc this is a generalized view - only you know what decision to make after your due diligence

If based purely on earnings and no other factors like family and such, I would strongly suggest SG.

You will never matched after conversion

I am not sure about your detail but what I share is the real case from my friends. One of my friend share with me, SG is good to make money due to exchange rate but not career advancement. In MNC they are prioritize caucasian follow by local Singapoean. There are some Malaysian stay in SG for long time and they got SG citizenship only they got promoted.

Some Malaysian thought they got good opportunity in SG, what is the special skill we got? Multilingual is not a special skill in SG because in the country they are mostly converse in English meanwhile there are many people around the world joining. Japanese in SG can speak Japanese and English, Korean can speak Korean and English etc. Malaysian mostly speak Malay and English or Chinese can speak Mandarin and other dialect. But it is not so special in SG anymore.

Speaking about competancy, Malaysian stand no advantage over local SG and also people from HK, China, Japan, Korea etc in term of hardworking, critical thinking and education background. In SG when stepping in age of 40 it gonna face challenging of retrenchment, even the local SG afraid of retrenchment due to high salary low position.

In Msia one only need 50% of effort compare working in SG can easily step up to management role due to Malaysia laidback culture and hard to find good quality employee. Though salary lower than SG (due to exchange rate) in management role, but job security is much higher and most important thing can spend more time with friends and family. Most if not all Malaysian who went to SG end up over commitment till they cannot leave SG and back to Msia. My friend's bro work in downstream worker earning SGD 3.5k, he bought a RM 800k semi-D in southern of Klang Valley and 120k car. He usually come back once a month for weekend spend time with family. He enjoy working in SG and comeback once in a blue moon but after got family and kid he find it difficult due to long distance and wife suspected with depression problem as 2 years locked down my friend stucked in SG.

Bangla came Msia to work due to exchange rate and also there is almost no job opportunity in Bangladesh especially for professional job. But Malaysia there are thousands of professional jobs with reasonable salary but people choose to leave. Many said because of better paid in SG but it was merely due to exchange rate rather than career advancement. Many people see the good thing of going SG but very rare we seen people talk about the price they paid behind like sacrifice spending time with family, stuck in a position long time in SG, no friend to hangout in SG etc.

With the SGD getting stronger, i think better stay in SG.

I guess it depends on the field or role as well as the attitude of the individual. I have many friends who have very successful careers in Singapore, earning from $20k/month to $1million/annum there.

can i tumpang this post? i'm also in a dilemma if i wanna go to SG or not for end of this year or next year.

my current pay in MY is about 25k and I've interviewed recently for a job exactly similar to what I'm doing now, just different firm and got an offer of about 15k SGD, I haven't negotiate for more yet, maybe can ask for 1k more. and i haven't try other firms which could prolly pay a bit more.

so the question is this, for my age of 31, the SGD offer is definitely above average pay in SG. and so does my malaysia salary, but i'm thinking about the long run and doubts on my head like:

1. annual increment in SG may be very little and promotion increment won't be as high as in MY
2. if i wanna buy a house or car in SG in future, it won't be cheap
3. i have a nice car and house in KL, but in sg, i have to stay in small unit of condo and take public transport (not sure if i am ready for this change)
4. i always believe that malaysia is a land of opportunities (one day i might meet the right person right time n boom gonna be very very super rich, but in SG, it will just gonna be working working and working to climb up the ladder only)

so above are my dilemma (point no.4 is the one that is really holding me back), but what is not my concern is that i'm not afraid of competing with the local sg peeps and the foreigners while working there.

would appreciate if someone can speak some sense to me and advices. thank you!

This post has been edited by callmecool: Aug 18 2022, 06:35 PM

You are doing so well in Msia. Do not see any specific reason to go SG, especially at such a heavy discount. You know your industry better, and you know you can shop around for better offer. So pass on this offer after giving your best and final offer. Continue seeking for 4. Entrepreneurship is industry specific. What’s commonly, at least in the tech industry, is build scale domestically, and raise capital in SG.

I studied in Singapore and worked there for 4 years to serve my tuition grant bond. Then, I was offered a position in KL with my Singapore pay. I came back for a while before going to Hong Kong. After spending almost 15 years overseas, kind of enlightened that I should spend more time with my ageing parents. So, I returned to Malaysia again when an MNC offered me a contract equivalent to my HK package.

If your skillset is always in demand and universal, your package should be the same regardless of locations. This is like iPhone, you pay the same retail price in KL and Singapore. If we indulge too much in the advantages of the 3.x exchange rate, then our mind-set is like the price of chicken rice, paying SGD 4.20 in Singapore vs paying RM 8 in KL.

I suggest you should get to know more expatriates in KL, a lot of them are getting the same packages they get from their employers back in US and Europe – even they are hired by local Malaysian companies. Coming over here, their employers pay for their accommodations, children education, car and etc.

So, if you are young, your parents are healthy, go and explore the world. One day, you will have the chance to come back here with the same package like what you earn in other countries.

Malaysian workforces generally reject employment in contract. Actually, most of the senior positions in public listed companies or GLC are on contract basis. For me, when I had enough capitals, I started my business. This would be very difficult if I stayed in Singapore. Over there, I probably had to pay for the expensive private property. Most of my uni friends are still working. When you are in Singapore, look at their fast food outlet, you won't be surprised to see many senior citizens working there as the cashier. But, back here, most of senior citizens stop work after 60 years old.

I met my wife and decided to settle here. Malaysia has improved a lot comparing to the time I returned, it is a great place to raise a family. Properties, health care, education, car are all cheaper than Singapore. My children studied in Chinese primary schools – they learn their culture and root. This is something you could not find in Singapore or anywhere else outside Greater China circles. My children studied in private schools – learn at their phases without pressures. This would be a luxury if you are in Singapore. Most people send their kids to government schools in Singapore. They have streaming – express vs normal. I guess Singapore government already realized something not right and this streaming process will cease by 2024.

At the places I stay, there are many Korean, Japanese and Mainland Chinese here. All are young parents and holding MM2H visas. I am sure they also have the same conclusions - properties, health care, education, cars, living expenses are all cheaper here. And, most importantly, they find people here are generally friendlier and relax. Only politicians want the people to hate each others. Once we ignore these politicians, this place is fantastic.

So, if you are 31, no harm to go out and don’t just set Singapore as the only alternative. Explore Shanghai, Hong Kong or other cities. Come back when you have gained the experiences.

This post has been edited by ongss: Aug 19 2022, 01:23 PM