IT JOBS /SALARY/ HOW TO FIND JOBS?

[jiannie911]

Hi all,

I have a masters degree in IT from one of the top universities in United States, along with 3 years of working experiences from top companies will be moving to singapore for personal reasons, anyone know what's the best way to look for a job there right away? and how much should i expect? currently getting 70k US dollars(entry level for newly graduates)

thanks

[Bremen]

Entry level for IT grads here is about 30k SGD per year. You might be able to get 40-45k if your qualifications are good.

Best places to look are jobsdb and jobstreet.

[jhkim]

Crap....I made USD 27,000/year after I graduated from University in NY. I knew I was getting ripped off!!

Anyway it all depends what you do and the demands of your skills....

Since you have a master...it should do you some good.....I think even SGD 70,000/year is a bit impossible.

Best is to get a job there from there before coming here. Once you reach here...you have much less negotiating power...don't quit till you have a secure a job.

[Merlion]

You say you are moving for personal reasons. Not knowing your status in Singapore if you are not a citizen or a PR it will be hard but not impossible. IT is different in Singapore than in the states. It is considered more of an engineering discipline rather than an art form. You will be required to take a test just to get to the next level of the interview process. It is also highly focused on financial applications like SAP and some manufacturing applications. Things like web portals and such are not a high priority as you can see from all those clunky .sg websites.

Be patient as it might take as long as a year to find work. It is also a good idea to take any position at any salary you are offered. There you can meet people and start the "networking" process. That is one thing that Singapore has in common with the states.

- One more thing since you have an MS degree you can teach at a Polytechnic right from the get go. That is something to consider.

[jiannie911]

just to add ... i'm a citizen of USA however I do speak perfect mandarin and have family members in sinapore as PR..
I do not have to stuck with IT positions, what are my options there? moving there in 2 weeks (emergency relocation), i don't think there's enough time for me to look for jobs before getting there.

my resume looks pretty good , speak 3 languages, newly graduate from grad school with some experiences, female , mid 20's , how much should i expect there? and how much do i need to have a good standard of living?

[jhkim]

err...are you single? Living with family?
If you are gonna rent some room in a condo....4000+ a month should give you a descent living....

Ability to speak english and mandarin is nothing extraordinary here and right now it is a bad time for an IT graduate.

Since you are gonna come here and then look for job...you will definately get a local package. errr..I heard university graduate here makes 2400 so I think you are looking at 3000-3500.

I am pretty sure there is a good job that suits you and pay you well. It just takes time. Since you are making an emergency relocation.....take time and get a job first and look gor more suitable one later.

Good luck!~

[BullDog]

Since you already have family here, fly over and start the job search in person.

You won't get USD$70K. You are very unlikely to get S$70K unless you have experience in a niche area in demand. But...

(1) Try the multinational companies first. I suggest the banks and big IT brands (eg. IBM, HP)

(2) Don't leave out the big consulting firms.

(3) Think how you want to market yourself. As a technical software/hardware person (and pit yourself against the thousands already here) ? You speak Mandarin well - that might take you into a bit of project management involving other Asian countries. How about your American accent (they love it here!) - try a sales position in corporate IT services such as telcos and ISPs.

[riversandlakes]

welcome one, welcome all. took me in total 2 months to find a job here. been here 3 months now. you didn't say what you do in IT?

well, most of the folks i know here have Masters, so that might or might not have a bearing.

US$70k for entry-level - damn...