Work as a (Sr) Network Engineer

[ravenbd]

Heya together
Well I just visited Singapore two weeks ago (third time now) for a week of work and am now thinking about trying to get a job in Singapore.

It kinda seems hard to even get contact to a good head hunter, which is something Im kinda not used to, in Europe they contact me

So I don't really have an idea where the hard points are on finding a job in Singapore (just guessing one of them are the three month notice time I got) and what kind of salary I can expect.
One for sure is, that I wont get the same I already have, but leaving Switzerland to work in another country for a few years is something I wanted to do for a long time now and as long as the job itself is something good (means challenging) it shouldn't be an issue with earning less than now, since I can always get back to Europe

There seem to be quite some (Sr)Network Engineer positions around (according to jobdb) and some interesting ones too, applied to two in the last few days but no answer yet.

I for myself am 31, work as an Network Engineer with 10+ years experience and a valid Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Certification in Routing and Switching. No degree but a diploma in IT.

I would appreciate any input on what to expect on salary, chances on a job or even a contact to a head hunter which actually answers
thanks a lot

best regards

Michel

[beppi]

Did you notice the remark "only Singaporeans and PR need to apply" on most of the job ads you replied to?
Well this is because to employ a foreigner, the company would have to prove to MOM that they cannot find a suitable local candidate for the job. Since there are plenty of well-qualified IT experts in Singapore, this would be difficult.
(And even if they try that, it's more likely for an Indian IT professional who costs a quarter of you.)
Also: You need a degree to get an employment pass, except in a few narrowly defined exceptions which probably do not apply to you.

Sorry for not being able to give you a more positive answer, but unless you have very specific niche skills that are rare in Singapore, you will not find a job here.

[Strong Eagle]

Did you notice the remark "only Singaporeans and PR need to apply" on most of the job ads you replied to?
Well this is because to employ a foreigner, the company would have to prove to MOM that they cannot find a suitable local candidate for the job. Since there are plenty of well-qualified IT experts in Singapore, this would be difficult.
(And even if they try that, it's more likely for an Indian IT professional who costs a quarter of you.)
Also: You need a degree to get an employment pass, except in a few narrowly defined exceptions which probably do not apply to you.

Sorry for not being able to give you a more positive answer, but unless you have very specific niche skills that are rare in Singapore, you will not find a job here.

I might have to take issue with this comment. Real 'senior' network engineers are hard to find. By this, I mean people capable of designing a regional network to serve end users and data centers, development of MPLS pathing, firewalls, etc, and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues such a latency.

People capable of doing this kind of work will definitely be paid more than $7000 per month, and as such are eligible for a P1 pass, where $$$ and not degree, make the difference.

[beppi]

SE: That's exactly what I meant with "narrowly defined exceptions" and "specific niche skills".

[ravenbd]

Did you notice the remark "only Singaporeans and PR need to apply" on most of the job ads you replied to?

hehe yes, I did notice those remarks, but I did not apply to those jobs, at least Im able to read and understand a bit
On Jobsdb there are maybe 30% to 40% of the jobs with that remark, all others are without

SE: That's exactly what I meant with "narrowly defined exceptions" and "specific niche skills".

According to the Cisco page (before they've decided to not show it any longer) there were 208 CCIEs in Singapore, which is not that much. Given that a company with CCIEs gets benefits from Cisco in terms of selling hardware.

Sorry for not being able to give you a more positive answer, but unless you have very specific niche skills that are rare in Singapore, you will not find a job here.

I prefer honest answers over "nice" answers every day

I might have to take issue with this comment. Real 'senior' network engineers are hard to find. By this, I mean people capable of designing a regional network to serve end users and data centers, development of MPLS pathing, firewalls, etc, and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues such a latency.

Thank you that keeps me hoping to find something fitting and not burying the idea of living in Singapore

[Strong Eagle]

Thank you that keeps me hoping to find something fitting and not burying the idea of living in Singapore

My experience is that a lot of firms here rely on 'imported' talent when it comes to doing the heavy lifting, like network architecture. Most commonly, the heavy hitters come in from the US, EU, and Oz. It costs too much to keep such staff on board when deals that need them are so few and far between.

Even though there is lots of business to be had in the region, if it's with an MNC, almost certainly the headquarters aren't in Asia, but rather EU or US. So, even if the deal gets started here, it ends up with the mothership and then the EU or US region starts working the deal.

[manutdfan]

Heya together
Well I just visited Singapore two weeks ago (third time now) for a week of work and am now thinking about trying to get a job in Singapore.

It kinda seems hard to even get contact to a good head hunter, which is something Im kinda not used to, in Europe they contact me

So I don't really have an idea where the hard points are on finding a job in Singapore (just guessing one of them are the three month notice time I got) and what kind of salary I can expect.
One for sure is, that I wont get the same I already have, but leaving Switzerland to work in another country for a few years is something I wanted to do for a long time now and as long as the job itself is something good (means challenging) it shouldn't be an issue with earning less than now, since I can always get back to Europe

There seem to be quite some (Sr)Network Engineer positions around (according to jobdb) and some interesting ones too, applied to two in the last few days but no answer yet.

I for myself am 31, work as an Network Engineer with 10+ years experience and a valid Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Certification in Routing and Switching. No degree but a diploma in IT.

I would appreciate any input on what to expect on salary, chances on a job or even a contact to a head hunter which actually answers
thanks a lot

best regards

Michel

Given what a CCIE would typically earn in Europe, even allowing for the tax differential, you should be expecting to earn enough to get a P1 employment pass purely on salary (a CCIE in the UK would typically earn at least around 55 to 60k which at current tax rates and exchange rates should give a take home pay of around SGD 7k).

I can recommend a head hunter - pm me privately - who works in the region, but he's based in Australia not Singapore. I can also put you in touch with an acquaintance who works here whose company does a bit of Cisco.

I got lucky - as a CCIE I managed to get a contract here but the role I have is as much management as it is about tech.

Having said all that, 208 CCIEs for a country fof 6 million is a lot - compare to the numbers in the UK with 10 times the people. While Singapore is a hub in region, for a lot of "Western" multinationals / Telcos from a network point of view it's very often the after thought and not where they deploy the strategic thinkers.

[ravenbd]

Given what a CCIE would typically earn in Europe, even allowing for the tax differential, you should be expecting to earn enough to get a P1 employment pass purely on salary (a CCIE in the UK would typically earn at least around 55 to 60k which at current tax rates and exchange rates should give a take home pay of around SGD 7k).

I can recommend a head hunter - pm me privately - who works in the region, but he's based in Australia not Singapore. I can also put you in touch with an acquaintance who works here whose company does a bit of Cisco.

I got lucky - as a CCIE I managed to get a contract here but the role I have is as much management as it is about tech.

Having said all that, 208 CCIEs for a country fof 6 million is a lot - compare to the numbers in the UK with 10 times the people. While Singapore is a hub in region, for a lot of "Western" multinationals / Telcos from a network point of view it's very often the after thought and not where they deploy the strategic thinkers.

Hey manutdfan
Thanks a lot for the answer
as far as I got the forum rules with that post I should be able to send PMs now

regards

Michel