HOW HARD FOR AN AMERICAN TO GET A JOB IN SINGAPORE

[reborngirl02]

Hi, my fiance is an American and we are planning in moving back to stay in Asia. Singapore is our first choice. He hold a bachelor degree in Computer Engineering Technology and PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. Would it be difficult for him to get a Project Manager job in IT field in Singapore? Your help / reply would be highly appreciated. Thank you very much.

[zzm9980]

Well, it will depend on how many years experience. I'd suggest doing a forum search (upper right corner) and looking in the "Career" forum. I've seen a few posts from a user named "Strong Eagle", so search for him as the username. He's posted exactly about IT Project Managers, criteria that matters, and expected salaries.

My personal advice is to start hitting up the 'jobs' section on as many large US Companies as you can find, and see if they have open positions in Singapore. You'll have much better response and luck than if you just engage in random headhunters and local firms. If that fails, monster.com.sg seemed to have the "highest quality" positions posted, at least for the IT fields I searched for when looking.

[TFNG]

How many years of experience does he have?
Does he qualify for a PEP?

Are you Singaporean? If not, where are you from? How difficult will it be for you to get permission to stay/live in SG? (hint: if you are from another SEA country, it could be a challenge)

How much money have you budgeted for living while looking for a job?
Singapore is not cheap. Getting hired may take months. Jobs are difficult to come by.

In the finance industry, the trend in SG is to offer six month to one year contracts. Why, everyday people with years of finance experience are arriving in SG because they have been made redundant in the US, UK, AUS, Paris, Germany, Japan. This, coupled with India being a short plane ride away with hoards of IT consultants with a master’s degree from a prestigious university that would be willing to work in SG for half of what you BF would want, makes finding finance (hell, any) IT work in SG challenging for all but the uber qualified.

I don’t want to crush your dreams, but you and your BF need to manage your expectations about job prospects and life in SG.

[sundaymorningstaple]

This, coupled with India being a short plane ride away with hoards of IT consultants with a master’s degree from a prestigious university that would be willing to work in SG for half of what you BF would want, makes finding finance (hell, any) IT work in SG challenging for all but the uber qualified.

You learn quick!