First post here so I hope I am not focusing on anything that has been discussed over and over again before, have read many previous posts but like many would like to put forward my individual twist on things and chances of working in Singapore.
I am currently in a front office position in the investment management industry in Melbourne. I am 34 and also have some back office experience in my earlier days. My salary is 100k inclusive of compulsory super. I also received a bonus of 35k last year.
I have a strong desire to work in singapore, more of a lifestyle decision to experience a change in lifestyle but do not want this experience to damage my career or career prospects or financial situation in a big way. That is, if I could transfer to Singapore right away on a package which made me approximately no better or worse off either way financially when taking into account currency, taxes, costs including housing etc, you get the picture, I would not hesitate one second to take up such an opportunity.
I would love to get some feedback on the dilemna I feel I have.
The chances of my current company posting me there are virtually nil.
One option is to simply quit my job in Melbourne, jump on a plane to Singapore and try my luck.
Would like to get comments/answers/opinions on below.
1) I guess one question would be what salary in Singapore dollars would APPROXIMATELY make me financially no better or worse than my package described above? (I know this can vary on my situation and tastes etc - I am single, no kids, suppose I am an average drinker and diner at restaurants, I am not too fussy at all when it comes to acommodation - convenient location but small no fuss apartment would be fine). I know this can be a tough question but guesses welcome!
2) I could potentially be willing to spend up to a year searching and doing some travels in the meantime and necessary visa runs I guess too. What sort of chance in that timeframe would I have in securing such a job? Is there a salary level below my wishes above where I could be pretty certain I could get something reasonably quickly, like within a few months of arriving in Singapore, how much lower than my wishes? I could be prepared to work for effectively less by making this lifestyle change up to a certain point, I guess my concern is the scenario where I spend a year searching for jobs at certain salary levels and don't have any luck, and have to come back to Melbourne where I started after a good break but in a worse job, less cash and back to where I started.
3) Another option is keep working in Melbourne. I am in a position to travel to Singapore say every 6 months and spend a fortnight there on holidays. Perhaps I could go through agencies in Melbourne who could tee up a few interviews to go to on my Singapore breaks. (as I expect it is extrememly difficult to expect to get a job in Singapore without having face to face interviews there first). Of course then if interviews go well on my break then perhaps I can quit my job in Melbourne with a job to go for straight away. Is this second option quite a realistic one? Or are there issues/probs with this process that may make this way of doing things quite difficult?
Thanks in anticipation for the many many wise answers I am going to get!
cheers