EP -> SPASS

[MOCHS]

I believe construction workers are usually on work permits, not S-pass.

I know of Indian research assistants getting S-pass too even though they are paid at least $3K. Only PhD holders who are research fellows get EP, if I’m not mistaken.

[malcontent]

If they are still getting a pass, then what is the point? To weed out those who feel miffed?

It actually worked for a French guy in my office who last year was downgraded to S-pass… he was so miffed that he packed his bags and left the very next month. He ended up finding an even better job in Switzerland. I guess some people need a kick in the pants.

[Wd40]

If they are still getting a pass, then what is the point? To weed out those who feel miffed?

It actually worked for a French guy in my office who last year was downgraded to S-pass… he was so miffed that he packed his bags and left the very next month. He ended up finding an even better job in Switzerland. I guess some people need a kick in the pants.

Well, my situation is a bit of beggars cant be choosers. If I had the skills and the aptitude to learn technology and keep up with it, I would have left Singapore long ago. In my current role, my main value is because I have been with the org for quite a while and I have a relationship with multiple global teams and I do all the boring process related work which nobody is interested in doing. I have been looking for jobs for a while now and I dont get any calls. I recently got a call and the salary budget for the role is 9k and I am already making close to 11k lol.

The way I look at it, since I am already on the wrong side of 40 and most of my colleagues and even my manager are on average 5-8 years younger than me. Either I need to get into managerial level, which I am not really up for or I need to be a really good techie, which I am not.

So, I know my shortcomings and I view 11k salary as something which many locals with much better aptitude and ability than me, would die for. So, I am not dumb to cut off my nose to spite my face. I take solace from my networth and the fact that despite my age I am able to compete with my much younger colleagues. So I just plan to go with the flow as long as it lasts.

[malcontent]

If they are still getting a pass, then what is the point? To weed out those who feel miffed?

It actually worked for a French guy in my office who last year was downgraded to S-pass… he was so miffed that he packed his bags and left the very next month. He ended up finding an even better job in Switzerland. I guess some people need a kick in the pants.

Well, my situation is a bit of beggars cant be choosers. If I had the skills and the aptitude to learn technology and keep up with it, I would have left Singapore long ago. In my current role, my main value is because I have been with the org for quite a while and I have a relationship with multiple global teams and I do all the boring process related work which nobody is interested in doing. I have been looking for jobs for a while now and I dont get any calls. I recently got a call and the salary budget for the role is 9k and I am already making close to 11k lol.

The way I look at it, since I am already on the wrong side of 40 and most of my colleagues and even my manager are on average 5-8 years younger than me. Either I need to get into managerial level, which I am not really up for or I need to be a really good techie, which I am not.

So, I know my shortcomings and I view 11k salary as something which many locals with much better aptitude and ability than me, would die for. So, I am not dumb to cut off my nose to spite my face. I take solace from my networth and the fact that despite my age I am able to compete with my much younger colleagues. So I just plan to go with the flow as long as it lasts.

Yes, in your case you should stop questioning it and just accept it. You’ve already “made it” and have limited options and aspirations, so you can coast along… absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact, it beats the high stress jobs that a lot of people have… think of your job like an early retirement hobby and enjoy life.

[truthhurts1]

If they are still getting a pass, then what is the point? To weed out those who feel miffed?

It actually worked for a French guy in my office who last year was downgraded to S-pass… he was so miffed that he packed his bags and left the very next month. He ended up finding an even better job in Switzerland. I guess some people need a kick in the pants.

Well, my situation is a bit of beggars cant be choosers. If I had the skills and the aptitude to learn technology and keep up with it, I would have left Singapore long ago. In my current role, my main value is because I have been with the org for quite a while and I have a relationship with multiple global teams and I do all the boring process related work which nobody is interested in doing. I have been looking for jobs for a while now and I dont get any calls. I recently got a call and the salary budget for the role is 9k and I am already making close to 11k lol.

The way I look at it, since I am already on the wrong side of 40 and most of my colleagues and even my manager are on average 5-8 years younger than me. Either I need to get into managerial level, which I am not really up for or I need to be a really good techie, which I am not.

So, I know my shortcomings and I view 11k salary as something which many locals with much better aptitude and ability than me, would die for. So, I am not dumb to cut off my nose to spite my face. I take solace from my networth and the fact that despite my age I am able to compete with my much younger colleagues. So I just plan to go with the flow as long as it lasts.

Bro dont worry about the pass stuff.. can you share how was you able to save money and have such big net worth ?
I am here for almost 10 years and all I did is have a debt in 6 figures.. Now discussing with CCS to get a solution.
I will change my job soon so I will earn a bit more from next month

[sundaymorningstaple]

Bro dont worry about the pass stuff.. can you share how was you able to save money and have such big net worth ?
I am here for almost 10 years and all I did is have a debt in 6 figures.. Now discussing with CCS to get a solution.
I will change my job soon so I will earn a bit more from next month

WD-40 has been on here since he arrived in Sg. Go back the early days. He's never been bashful about the extreme frugality that he has used over the past years. I sure wish I had the "won't" power that he has exhibited all these years. I give the man props as he knows and accepts his limitations and did what was necessary to accomplish what will ultimately be an excellent retirement when he returns to India..

[Wd40]

Bro dont worry about the pass stuff.. can you share how was you able to save money and have such big net worth ?
I am here for almost 10 years and all I did is have a debt in 6 figures.. Now discussing with CCS to get a solution.
I will change my job soon so I will earn a bit more from next month

WD-40 has been on here since he arrived in Sg. Go back the early days. He's never been bashful about the extreme frugality that he has used over the past years. I sure wish I had the "won't" power that he has exhibited all these years. I give the man props as he knows and accepts his limitations and did what was necessary to accomplish what will ultimately be an excellent retirement when he returns to India..

Thank you Sir, you have been a great guide during the entire journey. This forum was my go to place to ask any questions even before I came here, I remember asking you about the cost of living, the tax rules etc. My first job here I was offered 5.8k a month in 2009, at that time I didn't even know where SG is on the map and after a lot of research here, I negotiated, rejected and finally agreed to come here on a salary of 6.5k. I am so glad I made that decision to come here and it all happened so easily and quickly. Things have incrementally become so much harder now, but I am still here after 14 years. Most people who came during my time have either converted to PR or have already left Singapore. I just hope to carry on for few more years if possible, until my daughter's college is settled, another 6 years to go.

[jalanjalan]

When I first moved here my salary was $1500 and I felt so rich lol. As I recall, EP those days was mostly based on whether got degree or not. Oh how times have changed.

read this yesterday, which I suppose explains it:
"Last year, 36.2 per cent of Singaporean residents aged 25 and over were university graduates, up from 4.5 per cent in 1990."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-ins ... nt-3707871

[Wd40]

When I first moved here my salary was $1500 and I felt so rich lol. As I recall, EP those days was mostly based on whether got degree or not. Oh how times have changed.

read this yesterday, which I suppose explains it:
"Last year, 36.2 per cent of Singaporean residents aged 25 and over were university graduates, up from 4.5 per cent in 1990."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-ins ... nt-3707871

Wow! I was 10 years old then, lol. 1990s must be a totally different era. But most foreign banks came to Singapore in the late 80s. This was around the time when there was Japanese stock market bubble followed by the Tiger economies boom followed by Asian financial crisis and then the dotcom bubble and bust.

I beleive there wasnt much Indian IT around that time. The foreign talent was mostly in banking(without the IT) from Malaysia, Indonesia and the westerners I guess?

[sundaymorningstaple]

When I first moved here my salary was $1500 and I felt so rich lol. As I recall, EP those days was mostly based on whether got degree or not. Oh how times have changed.

read this yesterday, which I suppose explains it:
"Last year, 36.2 per cent of Singaporean residents aged 25 and over were university graduates, up from 4.5 per cent in 1990."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-ins ... nt-3707871

Wow! I was 10 years old then, lol. 1990s must be a totally different era. But most foreign banks came to Singapore in the late 80s. This was around the time when there was Japanese stock market bubble followed by the Tiger economies boom followed by Asian financial crisis and then the dotcom bubble and bust.

I beleive there wasnt much Indian IT around that time. The foreign talent was mostly in banking(without the IT) from Malaysia, Indonesia and the westerners I guess?

The Indian FT tsunami started in 1999 during the run-up to the millennium as Singapore was hell-bent on creating a technology hub but were also fearful of a crashing of the computer systems that, at the time, controlled most of the world's money. Mainframes back then and still are programmed with Cobol. Singapore didn't have cobol programmers. The fear was that the millennium wasn't programmed into the change of the first number of the date-year 1999 to 2000. The tsunami hasn't stopped since and the local have had their fill.

[smoulder]

The tsunami won't stop until there is sufficient IT manpower from other countries. Or IT becomes a thing of the past - and that's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

The 90s is roughly the time when IT became a career to aspire to in India, when Indian IT engineers sprouted and then started to fan out into many other countries. Singapore is one of several countries where they moved to.

[malcontent]

When I first moved here my salary was $1500 and I felt so rich lol. As I recall, EP those days was mostly based on whether got degree or not. Oh how times have changed.

read this yesterday, which I suppose explains it:
"Last year, 36.2 per cent of Singaporean residents aged 25 and over were university graduates, up from 4.5 per cent in 1990."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-ins ... nt-3707871

Wow! I was 10 years old then, lol. 1990s must be a totally different era. But most foreign banks came to Singapore in the late 80s. This was around the time when there was Japanese stock market bubble followed by the Tiger economies boom followed by Asian financial crisis and then the dotcom bubble and bust.

I beleive there wasnt much Indian IT around that time. The foreign talent was mostly in banking(without the IT) from Malaysia, Indonesia and the westerners I guess?

The Indian FT tsunami started in 1999 during the run-up to the millennium as Singapore was hell-bent on creating a technology hub but were also fearful of a crashing of the computer systems that, at the time, controlled most of the world's money. Mainframes back then and still are programmed with Cobol. Singapore didn't have cobol programmers. The fear was that the millennium wasn't programmed into the change of the first number of the date-year 1999 to 2000. The tsunami hasn't stopped since and the local have had their fill.

My company had (and still has) mainframes running COBOL. I hated COBOL programming so much that after taking the class in college, I switched my major to Finance. During the run up to Y2K we hired four COBOL programmers from China to reprogram all of the 2 digit years to 4 digit. All four of them (3 guys and 1 girl) ended up migrating out of Singapore, mostly to Australia and Canada. In fact, I met up with one of them in Toronto during our last pre-Covid trip to North America, in summer 2019. He seems happy and has a good job at KPMG.

[smoulder]

The core banking systems today still run on AS400 or mainframes. That's why I find it cute when some new age (cloud proponents) IT guys who are not from banking think of "obsoleting" dinosaurs when they hear about these 2 platforms running in the banks. I have to explain that the hardware is the latest generation, but the technology dates back many decades.

[malcontent]

The core banking systems today still run on AS400 or mainframes. That's why I find it cute when some new age (cloud proponents) IT guys who are not from banking think of "obsoleting" dinosaurs when they hear about these 2 platforms running in the banks. I have to explain that the hardware is the latest generation, but the technology dates back many decades.

Sometimes the dinosaurs are good, harder to hack, more stable, etc…

[smoulder]

The core banking systems today still run on AS400 or mainframes. That's why I find it cute when some new age (cloud proponents) IT guys who are not from banking think of "obsoleting" dinosaurs when they hear about these 2 platforms running in the banks. I have to explain that the hardware is the latest generation, but the technology dates back many decades.

Sometimes the dinosaurs are good, harder to hack, more stable, etc…

Yup. Also, for anyone who's reading this and not quite sure what a core banking system is, to put it in layman's terms, it is where your bank account details and mainly your bank balance information is held.