Job offer from HCL singapore

[rocky55]

Hi Friends,

I am around 4 yrs exp in software field. Recently i got an job offer from HCL singapore for 1 year contract with 4500 SGD package/pm. I am totally blank to decide to whether is this a good one or not. Can any one let me know in detail about
1) Is this 1 year contract offer good to accept or will i face any problems i join as contract employee?
2) Is the package too low for my exp?
3) Based on cost of living how much can i save per month? (Am a Bachelor and spend only for my basic needs)
4) Work culture in HCL?

Help me friends

[revhappy]

4.5K is low but not very low. Depends on how much is your Indian salary and how much you save there. As a Bachelor, bare minimum comforts and needs you will need 1.5k. I am too lazy to give you the break up, there are may posts in this forum so do some of your research on your own. Also google the internet for Sandeeps blog. That also has good info about cost of living, but I feel Sandeep's figures are very pessimistic and you can save more than what he suggests.

So yeah as a bachelor there is no way that you will lose money by coming over to Singapore from India.

With regards to culture in HCL, I am not sure. But will you work at their office or at their clients site? If its the latter, you need to worry about who their client is.

[rocky55]

Thanks for your reply:)

I am going to work with OCBC client. Do you have any idea abt that?
And being in a contract job will i face any issues in loosing my job like no client billing etc...

[sundaymorningstaple]

Thanks for your reply:)

I am going to work with OCBC client. Do you have any idea abt that?
And being in a contract job will i face any issues in loosing my job like no client billing etc...

As someone with many years in the headhunting and contract staffing industry, I can tell you that yeah, no client billings, you could find yourself out of a contract. Moreso today than in years gone by.

[rocky55]

Thanks yaar

Now i feel comfortable after hearing your suggestions

[revhappy]

Thanks for your reply:)

I am going to work with OCBC client. Do you have any idea abt that?
And being in a contract job will i face any issues in loosing my job like no client billing etc...

I am not sure about OCBC. Its a local bank and I would imagine you will work with many more locals than foreigners. Or atleast your managers could be locals. If you were working in one of the global banks you would find more foreigners. I could be wrong here. I not suggesting locals are good or bad compared to foreigners. There are all kinds of people everywhere. Other than that I wouldnt know much about OCBC.

Regarding contract, dont worry about it. Nothing is permanent here. During layoffs its the permanent staff that are fired as their costs are higher than contractors. Most jobs are on the pay rolls of 3rd party vendors and they offer renewable contracts and it is perfectly normal. If its a 1 year contract you will be employed here for 1 yr, for sure, unless something abnormal happens. Whether your contract is renewable or not you need to find out.

[metroguy]

Thanks for your reply:)

I am going to work with OCBC client. Do you have any idea abt that?
And being in a contract job will i face any issues in loosing my job like no client billing etc...

During interview, did you ask how this vacancy came about? that could have provided more insight into the work nature. Salary is not the only factor you need to take into consideration.

As I know someone who's currently in the same project as you may be joining (same employer, same client), i'd say..stay away if you can...$4500pm is too low for 24X7 type of work, no life.

[rocky55]

I thought first time entering in the country we can compromise on salary little bit but after u told about the client i am very much worried. I felt its good chance to get onsite exposure but 24*7 job i dono how ppl will suffer there.

They didnt commited me that u are going for this client but i got some clues that ocbc will be my client. Still am not sure. Once i got to know the client, if i ask for different client will they accept there?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Probably not. You are being sourced for one of two reasons. Either to replace someone who has had their fill of it or to fill a slot for a new contract. Either way, if you say no, then you are just cutting your own throat.

[revhappy]

I thought first time entering in the country we can compromise on salary little bit but after u told about the client i am very much worried. I felt its good chance to get onsite exposure but 24*7 job i dono how ppl will suffer there.

They didnt commited me that u are going for this client but i got some clues that ocbc will be my client. Still am not sure. Once i got to know the client, if i ask for different client will they accept there?

When I was in your shoes some 1 and half years ago, I had the exact same fears. I requested my vendor than I need to talk to my team lead at the clients place. When I spoke to my team lead my fears were rested as he said that most people leave at 6 sharp unless there is a release or something.

Now I really glad of choosing this job as I have 95% of the time left on time. The remaining 5% I might have stayed back by like 1/2 an hour, nothing more than that.

But I have heard some horror stories about another local bank that makes people slog until midnight in their IT dept and superiors use the F word and B word openly in office to scold their employees. If you get into a team/project like that, your life is screwed. Hence I am really wary of changing my job here.

But as I had done, you could request to speak to your future boss or colleagues at the clients place so that your get a feeler.

Mind you, even though your employment is with HCL, the only relationship b/w you and HCL is the salary that hits your a/c every month. Other than that for all practical purposes, your boss, your colleagues, your appraisal, your hikes everything is at your clients place. So just forget about HCL. Think about your client.

[rocky55]

Ok. Thanks yaar

[maasgar]

Hi,

I have a little question. Is $4.5K before taxes, or after?

[sundaymorningstaple]

In Singapore it's always before taxes as there isn't an actual PAYG tax withholding here. Your taxes are filed the following years between Jan 1 & 15 April and you are sent a tax bill at that time. To get an idea what your tax bill will look like you can use the tax calculators here:

http://iras.gov.sg/irasHome/taxcalculators.aspx

[rocky55]

4.5k is before taxes

[johnyd]

Hi Friends,

I am around 4 yrs exp in software field. Recently i got an job offer from HCL singapore for 1 year contract with 4500 SGD package/pm. I am totally blank to decide to whether is this a good one or not. Can any one let me know in detail about
1) Is this 1 year contract offer good to accept or will i face any problems i join as contract employee?
2) Is the package too low for my exp?
3) Based on cost of living how much can i save per month? (Am a Bachelor and spend only for my basic needs)
4) Work culture in HCL?

Help me friends

Hey rocky55 & everyone else on this forum,

I'm a Software Engineer with 4 years experience too. I'm based in Dublin, Ireland at the moment but I'm looking to make a move over to Singapore... could you give me a few pointers on the best way to go about applying/getting a job over there?? i've been looking on jobsdb.com and it looks like the software development industry is very strong at the moment!

thanks and best of luck in your new job!