MariaT wrote:It's hard for me to believe that out of thousands and thousands foreign people coming to work in Singapore, all their partners abandon their careers or refuse to come due to this mindset.
I've been moderating this board for about 14 years, and while I don't have any hard stats to give you, there have been many posts over the years from exasperated, disgusted, depressed, and demoralized trailing spouses who have been unable to continue their careers in Singapore.
The reasons are varied. Experience in a specialty that has little or no demand or that requires some sort of local certification. Unwillingness to pick up a spouse whose longevity is determined by the primary partner's career fortunes. Perception that you may be overqualified. Competition with the locals. And, as I have posted many, many times, the vast majority of people who come in on EP are transfers in, just like your spouse. It is very hard to find a job even if you are not a trailing spouse, as many who have wanted to come to Singapore to work have found out.
Again, volunteer work can lead into permanent paid work. You need to be ready to take a job that may not be as challenging and rewarding as what you used to do. My wife ran the information technology department at a large Houston hospital. After deciding she no longer wanted to be a project manager in my IT infra firm, she took a job at a small employment agency as a jill of all trades. Worked out well for her, as it gave her flexibility to do lots of other things.
I will emphasize again: It's not only trailing spouses who have a hard time finding a job, it's anybody who waltzes into Singapore cold and tries to hunt down a job. As noted, I've written about this. Search my threads to get an expanded version of why it is so hard.
Good luck. Others have done it. In fact, women probably have a better support network than men. Check out American Women's Association.
