The economic situation in SG

nwpz · Post by **nwpz** » Fri, 31 Dec 2010 2:48 am

Hi guys

I have been looking for job opportunities in SG and KL for about 6-7 months. I have had a decent number of enquiries, and something that hit me is that the wage offered is lower than I anticipated.

The wage offered in SG has been 5.5k - 6k SGD. For the same work that I get 6k-6.5k SGD in Sweden. Not to mention the 5.5k Euro after tax that I was offered in Denmark.

I had a job offered in KL and the pay was 7k MYR.

5.5k SGD seems very low, and about 1.5k lower than what I requested.
The response I get when I mention my 7k SGD demand is something like "uuuh thats to much".

How is the economic situation in SG?

Should I take the low pay job and hope to switch to something better once I get there? The money isn't the important part of my move, but I do want to live a good life.

I am a specialist in IBM WebSphere and Tivoli products, something that is rare at least in Scandinavia. Maybe we are a dime in a dozen in SE Asia...

Cheers

ksl · Post by **ksl** » Fri, 31 Dec 2010 4:21 am

5.5k - 6k SGD is okay you can survive pretty well, tax is low here, not like Sweden or Denmark....The biggest expense is accommodation which can eat up 50% or more, so you may think about sharing. You can maybe find HDB apartment for 2K alone.
Master bedroom in a condo is about 1k to 1.5k food is cheap.

I'm from Denmark myself British though with 23 years in Denmark. Quite a good crowd of Scandinavians here, so you will easy collect the information you need. I have no idea what they pay for your kind of skill here, so hand around maybe some others can help you out.

revhappy · Post by **revhappy** » Fri, 31 Dec 2010 1:03 pm

5.5 to 6k is about the right salary you can command in the IT sector here, for the profile of a developer with ~5 yrs exp. For anything higher you will have to look at Investment banks with permanent position on their payrolls. Look at whether the company provides bonus. Some of them do offer like 2 months salary or more as bonus which is pretty good.

Coming from Europe, dont expect to get a huge upside from what you are already making, because there would be thousands of guys from India, Phillipines etc who would be happy to work at 5k so why would the employers want to shell out more, unless you are coming in at a higher level than a developer.

ProvenPracticalFlexible · Post by **ProvenPracticalFlexible** » Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:52 pm

nwpz wrote:Hi guys

I have been looking for job opportunities in SG and KL for about 6-7 months. I have had a decent number of enquiries, and something that hit me is that the wage offered is lower than I anticipated.

The wage offered in SG has been 5.5k - 6k SGD. For the same work that I get 6k-6.5k SGD in Sweden. Not to mention the 5.5k Euro after tax that I was offered in Denmark.

I had a job offered in KL and the pay was 7k MYR.

5.5k SGD seems very low, and about 1.5k lower than what I requested.
The response I get when I mention my 7k SGD demand is something like "uuuh thats to much".

How is the economic situation in SG?

Should I take the low pay job and hope to switch to something better once I get there? The money isn't the important part of my move, but I do want to live a good life.

I am a specialist in IBM WebSphere and Tivoli products, something that is rare at least in Scandinavia. Maybe we are a dime in a dozen in SE Asia...

Cheers

Without knowing any more details that you pass here (specialist is really relative term = 2-3 years user experience vs. developed the tools 15 years ago etc ), I'd say your Sweden - Singapore rate is pretty much correct. You'd expect to get a bit less than there.

On the other hand your Danish salary sound pretty high compared to you Swedish one, so why don't you take that one, if they offer almost double?

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:48 pm

Have you compared your take-home pay, after all taxes and deductions?
After all, that is what really counts for you and your life!
I am very sure SGD6.5k (before tax) in Sweden ends up significantly below SGD5.5k (before tax) here, and even EUR5.5k in Denmark might be lower in the end!

durain · Post by **durain** » Wed, 05 Jan 2011 6:15 pm

also compare how much a big mac is in sweden, denmark, malaysia and singapore. cost of living are so different, so lower pay doesnt mean worst off.

earthfriendly · Post by **earthfriendly** » Thu, 06 Jan 2011 3:06 am

durain wrote:also compare how much a big mac is in sweden, denmark, malaysia and singapore. cost of living are so different, so lower pay doesnt mean worst off.

A very pertinent response indeed. What about people who don't eat big mac? Like me. I would rather compare the price of char kway tiao to get an idea of my eat out expense.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 06 Jan 2011 6:49 am

earthfriendly wrote:
durain wrote:also compare how much a big mac is in sweden, denmark, malaysia and singapore. cost of living are so different, so lower pay doesnt mean worst off.
A very pertinent response indeed. What about people who don't eat big mac? Like me. I would rather compare the price of char kway tiao to get an idea of my eat out expense.

I reckon that would work if you could find a international chain that has a fixed economic model applied across the board therefore giving a equal footing with regards to ingredients & service standards, etc. and has outlets virtually around the world.

Wind In My Hair · Post by **Wind In My Hair** » Thu, 06 Jan 2011 7:41 am

durain wrote:also compare how much a big mac is in sweden, denmark, malaysia and singapore. cost of living are so different, so lower pay doesnt mean worst off.

You mean how much a latte costs. Starbucks is the new Mac

EF, durain is referring to Purchasing Power Parity as measured by the Big Mac Index. The Economist's July 2010 Index suggests that the cost of living in Singapore is 62% of Denmark's and 45% of Sweden's:

Sweden = SKr 48.3 / USD 7.2143
Denmark = DK 28.5 / USD 5.1041
Singapore = SGD 4.23 / USD 3.2877

durain · Post by **durain** » Thu, 06 Jan 2011 7:43 am

i google "char kway teow index" and come back nuthin. you do a google on "big mac index" and see what you get. you dont have to eat it to know what it is all about

The Ref · Post by **The Ref** » Thu, 06 Jan 2011 7:54 am

Wind In My Hair wrote:
You mean how much a latte costs. Starbucks is the new Mac

I see what you mean - both are considered good value but are really overpriced rubbish that is similar to food / coffee available in the same (questionable) level of quality world wide.

nwpz · Post by **nwpz** » Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:03 pm

I will be in Singapore 3rd-6th of Feb, and I feel that the whole trip will be a waste if I dont get couple of interviews with recruitment agencies or IT consulting companies.

Please, any suggestions regarding what companies I should contact, or who, will be very appreciated. I have a big list at home, so that is not of much help down here in Asia.

I am strongly considering taking a low pay job just so I can get started in SG.

durain · Post by **durain** » Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:53 pm

you probably get ZERO interview.......

... cause it is chinese new year!

JayCee · Post by **JayCee** » Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:34 am

Yeah, not the best timing

Post by **nakatago** » Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:50 am

it may be late to the party but check it, 'yo: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/tag/big-mac-index-2010

SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
Singapore Expat Forum and Message Board for Expats in Singapore & Expatriates Relocating to Singapore

The economic situation in SG

The economic situation in SG

Re: The economic situation in SG

Who is online