Moving to SG - Need some serious advice/counselling

[Aces_High]

Alright forum...I need help!!!

Here is my dilemma.. I hail from the garden city(bangalore) in India, where I currently work as a Customer Service manager for a mnc. For the last few months I've been considering immigrating elsewhere in quest of my destiny. My motivation to move out is because I've started feeling too comfortable with my current job and life. I believe in thinking progressively and have a progressive life. I find the idea of working, living and enjoying amidst new cultures, people and geographic locations very fascinating.
I've never been to Singapore before, nor have any friends or relatives there.
I have little over 5 yrs of exp in the IT enabled services domain and a team management expertise of around 4 yrs. I have hired, trained, managed operations for 24 x 7 tech, non-tech, research based projects in MNCs like Dell. I want to move to Singapore and start afresh with my gf who works as a Visual Designer in a top company. The things I need advice on :

1) I am considering coming to Singapore with an Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC) and search and find a job there within my stipulated 6 months. I need to get my gf along. Not just for sentimental reasons, but practically speaking...she has more potential than me and stands a better chance of finding a good job in comparison.
Even if one of us get a job, the other can continue with the hunt.

My question is...how feasible or practical is this? Can both of us apply for EPEC simultaneously and leave for Singapore to be able to live there together? Has anyone done this and pulled it of?

2) I am earning 1131 SG $ per month gross here which is exactly the same my gf earns. She doesnt have any financial commitments here. But I have a housing loan and few other things for which I have to ensure I leave enough money back in the bank assuming that it takes that long for me to find a job.

3) Though I have 5 yrs of exp in the BPO/ITES industry, I'm keen on starting off in a new domain. As I'm only a graduate in commerce, in India no other industry seems to be paying this much. Hence I'm stuck here as I can't get an equivalent pay in other industries. I would not be able to retain my manger's designation also..even if I get a break. But I would like to change this if I come to Singapore. I have no qualms about starting my career all over again, given the right break. I may be able to sustain a low scale job to start of with in Singapore looking at the SG $ conversion rate. I am absolutely open to working in any industry wherever I may get my first break...My 5 yrs of customer service, account management and business development with fair bit of project management skills have equipped me for most of the jobs...though excluding the highly skilled types.

4) If I'm flexible enough, how easy or hard is it to get employment in Singapore which pays atleast around 1.5 - 2 k a month to begin with keeping in mind that i would like to start off my career afresh.

5) Are there part time jobs that I can take up to survive and take care of my expenses? For eg: if you immigrate to Canada, till you get your PR, you can do a lot of part time jobs to make a good 2 - 3 k a month. Do we have the same going in Singapore? I have dignity for labor as I come from a middle class family and will take up anything and do it well. Though i doubt if i a part time job employee will be able to sponsor my Employment Pass.

6) Does the Singapore govt require us to carry certain amount of funds along? If so, how much?

7) I've not come across anyone in this forum who just left their job and moved to Singapore and then searched for jobs. Is this feasible, practical, advisable? I believe that fortune favors the brave. I'm very keen about this and would like to take this chance if others have been able to do it previously. Any Indians here who've done this?

Lastly, I apologize for writing such a long one...in this forum. This is my first post. And the more information I retrieved, the more I got confused. I would appreciate if any of you can give me your opinion, advice in this matter. This probably would be the biggest decision I would take and hence wanted to get my facts right. Please let me know if we can take this offline also...Thanks in Advance!!!

Keep on rocking in the free world

[jpatokal]

That's a lot of questions, so I'll only give you the briefest of answers. You'll find more discussion if you look around.

1) You and your gf will be judged on your own merits by immigration/MOM. If you both have skills, no problem, if you don't, problem.
2) Was there a question here? You know your own financial status better than we do.
3) Being a generalist gets you nothing, being a specialist gets you a job. I could see you doing a BPO-related thing where you help Singaporean companies (or Sg-based MNCs) liaise with their BPO ops in India.
4) That's about the minimum for IT jobs, so if you get any job reaching that range is easy. The problem is that you need to have a salary of above $2.5k to qualify for an employment pass; but as you have five years of experience, you should be able to aim for well north of $3k. Remember that living expenses are considerably higher than India though.
5) You're correct, EPs need a full-time job. Dependent passes can allow part-time work but that's not relevant to you.
6) Not as far as I know.
7) It's feasible but risky. Obviously the best option is to find your job from overseas (does your MNC have operations in Sing? Can you transfer?), but if as you say you don't know anybody, then you'll have to settle for second best.

[Aces_High]

Thanks or your quick reply. This forum's very informative. The intent of making my second point was to give an idea on the current income here in India...and for Indians out here to be able to scale me in sing market and income and give me a rough ball park figure.
Yes, I understand its a risk, but its a risk worth taking. Alright...so I have the forms downloaded and ready. How does this work? Once I send them to the singapore consulate in Chennai, the processing time seems to be 21 days. What if we get our EPEC in 21 days?
Would our clocks start ticking towards the 6 months we have? I mean...before moving in, I'll have to manage a few things back here, serve a one month's notice, etc. I would want to ensure the timing is spot on before I apply for this. The official website clearly mentions this certificate is not renewable. So I don't want to be in haste and have to call it off...just because I didnt plan this well. Thanks for all the info till now.

Running Free!!!

[ksl]

Ill be quite brief here and say that you have as much chance of earning 2000 a month, than the average unskilled driver come salesman, and i mean unskilled.

Question 3 that JP refers to: Of course your a specialist, if you think different, your just run of the mill, and will never break your virginity.

Never ever call yourself an expert, which many clever egositics, love to call themselves, you can be taken apart within minutes.

A real time example who thought he was an expert was a General practioner that had earned his status, has an expert witness. Now what can a GP be expert in? A GP in my opinion is a failed specialist!!! Flow with the wind, don't be to confident, just do your job and your best, otherwise there are people out there waiting to prove, that you are not what you claim to be.

The problem with careers and trades are that practical experience and skill rules, and not the education you paid a fortune to attain. Thats just part and parcel of the society we live in. You get very good & very bad qualified people, you have to prove your worth, earn money with or without your team, much more than you are getting paid or your team gets paid, otherwise the weakest link is out.

you should have no problem reaching 2500, because thats what your worth, right? So don't except anything less, you have a gf also to consider.

[Strong Eagle]

You mentioned Dell. Dell and several others are into managed services in a big way around here. The starting point would be to contact the MNC computer manufacturing and service companies to get more information... Dell, Lenovo, HP, Getronics, EDS, and Unisys immediately come to mind.

[Aces_High]

Thanks a ton guys... If one's not been to a different country, its slightly difficult to guage the industry, job market sitting back at one's own country. Over my last few years, I've been a part of tech support, IT support, Managed Accounts, Business Development along with handling computer vision related research based projects (my current job). The IT/ITES outsourcing wave in India is riding at an all time high. Not sure how the scene is in Singapore. This being said...the point I was trying to make was.... even if I do not end up with a manager's position with a similar kind of work profile in Singapore, I'm alright with it... I am keen on starting my career afresh and working my way up the hierarchy there. Also as I'm a commerce graduate, I would love it if I can get a break in banking/finance domain. To summarize the point I was trying to make...

1) I have the experience for level 2, level 3 managerial positions in certain ITES domains
2) I also have the required skillsets and desire to start of afresh in banking/finance, marketing or any other field if I fit in.
3) Would definitely target Dell, IBM, HP, ACCENTURE, HCL kind of companies there.

One of my main questions still remains...once I apply for an EPE as mention here : http://www.contactsingapore.org.sg/movi ... bity.shtml

Whats the difference between applying for EPE and then a social visit visa for 6months and applying for a social visit visa for 6 months directly?

So far so good folks..Thanks again! This forum rocks. People answer queries which have already been answered and are yet patient.

Rock on..

ps: Not everything I write in this forum is a question for which I seek an answer. I'm generally sharing info about myself and seeking guidance, feedback from all you Singaporeans out there.

Aces High

[jpatokal]

Whats the difference between applying for EPE and then a social visit visa for 6months and applying for a social visit visa for 6 months directly?

The difference is that you probably won't get the 6-month social visit visa without a good reason.