Singapore Expats

Low Wages

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
Post Reply
Travailes
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:47 pm

Low Wages

Post by Travailes » Wed, 05 Sep 2012 3:47 pm

Can someone explain to me how you can survive on low wages in Singapore ! I was in Singapura Plaza yesterday and there was a job fair which was advertising lots of local jobs which all paid in the region of between $1200- $1800 a month. What hours are they required to work and what bonuses / perks are there ?

If we take a wage of $1200 (of which the majority where) that equates to $300 pw; $43 pd. Assume they eat hawker food 3 times a day at $3 a meal that leaves $31 pd to pay the rent, pay the helper, pay for household items, buy presents etc etc. Can someone tell me the secret as I could be saving a fortune !!
You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone gets to dance with the grim reaper.

User avatar
zzm9980
Governor
Governor
Posts: 6869
Joined: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 1:35 pm
Location: Once more unto the breach

Post by zzm9980 » Wed, 05 Sep 2012 3:58 pm

People taking those jobs live with their parents/extended families, or have subsidized rentals from HDB, which start at $26/month (yeah, no shit)

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument

User avatar
v4jr4
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 887
Joined: Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:28 am
Location: Chocolate Factory

Re: Low Wages

Post by v4jr4 » Wed, 05 Sep 2012 4:00 pm

Travailes wrote:Can someone explain to me how you can survive on low wages in Singapore ! I was in Singapura Plaza yesterday and there was a job fair which was advertising lots of local jobs which all paid in the region of between $1200- $1800 a month. What hours are they required to work and what bonuses / perks are there ?

If we take a wage of $1200 (of which the majority where) that equates to $300 pw; $43 pd. Assume they eat hawker food 3 times a day at $3 a meal that leaves $31 pd to pay the rent, pay the helper, pay for household items, buy presents etc etc. Can someone tell me the secret as I could be saving a fortune !!
For foods, a lot of tricks can be done, like, for example, buying cheap breads (like 1$ breads near closing time for some local bakeries), or cooking. Let's assume they can survive by taking 2 meals for each day. Let's assume they only spend 5S$ each day. A month = 150S$. Put the rent 400S$ (I guess we can still find it), and transport 100S$. No entertainment.

550S$ left. Well, for the miscellaneous things, let's assume 50S$, but not on daily basis (like, for example, toothpaste, soap, laundries, etc).

500S$. Save it.

Not a big fortune if you want to compare it with 200K S$ package, but for some people, it's still a pretty big amount :P
"Budget Expat"

User avatar
nakatago
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 8363
Joined: Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:23 pm
Location: Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children

Post by nakatago » Wed, 05 Sep 2012 4:11 pm

Rent HDB room.
Share with two other people.
Cook and pack own lunches.
Shop in home country.
Shop in JB.
Practically never eat or drink out.
Spend weekends watching videos on laptop.
Don't go to gym.
Jog instead.
Never take cabs.
Walk.
If too far, take public transport.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

User avatar
v4jr4
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 887
Joined: Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:28 am
Location: Chocolate Factory

Post by v4jr4 » Wed, 05 Sep 2012 4:17 pm

nakatago wrote:Don't go to gym.
Or use "outdoor gym" :P
"Budget Expat"

Travailes
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:47 pm

Post by Travailes » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:50 pm

nakatago wrote: Spend weekends watching videos on laptop.

They can afford laptops !!!
You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone gets to dance with the grim reaper.

User avatar
v4jr4
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 887
Joined: Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:28 am
Location: Chocolate Factory

Post by v4jr4 » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 1:25 pm

Travailes wrote:
nakatago wrote: Spend weekends watching videos on laptop.

They can afford laptops !!!
Yes. Cheap laptop, or second hand laptop. Or they brought it over.
"Budget Expat"

User avatar
nakatago
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 8363
Joined: Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:23 pm
Location: Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children

Post by nakatago » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 1:39 pm

Travailes wrote:
nakatago wrote: Spend weekends watching videos on laptop.

They can afford laptops !!!
I've seen Indian construction workers along park connectors watching videos on their laptops.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

User avatar
the lynx
Governor
Governor
Posts: 5281
Joined: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location:

Post by the lynx » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 1:50 pm

zzm9980 wrote:People taking those jobs live with their parents/extended families, or have subsidized rentals from HDB, which start at $26/month (yeah, no shit)

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument
Morbo, oh, Morbo. Haven't you forgotten that non-Singaporeans do these jobs as well? Travailes should be asking them instead because these people have to pay own rent, without privileges of subsidy on medical etc.

Travailes
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:47 pm

Post by Travailes » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 2:08 pm

the lynx wrote:
zzm9980 wrote:People taking those jobs live with their parents/extended families, or have subsidized rentals from HDB, which start at $26/month (yeah, no shit)

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument
Morbo, oh, Morbo. Haven't you forgotten that non-Singaporeans do these jobs as well? Travailes should be asking them instead because these people have to pay own rent, without privileges of subsidy on medical etc.
The majority of those rushing to complete applications were Singaporean.
You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone gets to dance with the grim reaper.

Leafable
Member
Member
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 1:45 pm

Post by Leafable » Thu, 06 Sep 2012 2:52 pm

the lynx wrote:
zzm9980 wrote:People taking those jobs live with their parents/extended families, or have subsidized rentals from HDB, which start at $26/month (yeah, no shit)

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument
Morbo, oh, Morbo. Haven't you forgotten that non-Singaporeans do these jobs as well? Travailes should be asking them instead because these people have to pay own rent, without privileges of subsidy on medical etc.
Hear of chicken farm arrangement? Its illegal but do exist.

User avatar
zzm9980
Governor
Governor
Posts: 6869
Joined: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 1:35 pm
Location: Once more unto the breach

Post by zzm9980 » Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:36 am

the lynx wrote:
zzm9980 wrote:People taking those jobs live with their parents/extended families, or have subsidized rentals from HDB, which start at $26/month (yeah, no shit)

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument
Morbo, oh, Morbo. Haven't you forgotten that non-Singaporeans do these jobs as well? Travailes should be asking them instead because these people have to pay own rent, without privileges of subsidy on medical etc.
I read 'local jobs' to mean locals applying for them. On second read, you're right, but apparently that IS what OP meant.

And yeah, anyone doing those jobs cheaper I just assume live illegally or in trailers owned by their employer.

revhappy
Editor
Editor
Posts: 1068
Joined: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 9:16 pm

Post by revhappy » Mon, 17 Sep 2012 2:10 pm

Locals can afford these jobs for all sorts of reasons; for example, the husband is the main earning member and the wife just wants to contribute to the family income so she could possibly work for 1200 or even 800$ if she thinks that earning 800$ is better than sitting at home and doing nothing at all.

Now just because locals can do it, doesnt mean a foreigner can do it or should it. Life would be miserable for you unless you are a contruction worker or something. But then again, if you were one, you wouldnt have the ability to come to this forum and type so well.
Last edited by revhappy on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40274
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 12
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 17 Sep 2012 3:05 pm

revhappy wrote:But then again, if you were one, you wouldnt have the ability to come to this forum and type so well ;)
I wouldn't be too sure about that. Look at the number of FDW here who have degrees.......
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

User avatar
ecureilx
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 9817
Joined: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 5:18 pm

Post by ecureilx » Tue, 18 Sep 2012 9:33 am

revhappy wrote:Locals can afford these jobs for all sorts of reasons; for example, the husband is the main earning member and the wife just wants to contribute to the family income so she could possibly work for 1200 or even 800$ if she thinks that earning 800$ is better than sitting at home and doing nothing at all.
Or staying at home and being a 'cost center' - you forgot that locals almost exclusively always eat out .. so .. the 800 to 1,200 can cover the meal ;)
Now just because locals can do it, doesnt mean a foreigner can do it or should it. Life would be miserable for you unless you are a contruction worker or something. But then again, if you were one, you wouldnt have the ability to come to this forum and type so well ;)
Well, in my experience, while the locals go for 'admin' 'hr' and similar jobs, so they can get off at 6 pm .. a lot of foreigners are more than willing to work for low pay ..

Like the Senior Analyst, who started at Bloomberg, for 1,600 $ salary, with more than 4 years experience ..

well, maybe the client got charged twice or thrice, but the poor bloke only got 1,600 and he was mighty excited and happy about that ..

So .. while there are expats who will not, for, say an Oracle DBA, even talk about it for less than 6,000 $ minimum, as I speak, one of the vendors I know engaged a pretty nice young DBA, for 1,800 - and get this - she does know her stuff .. and understood my requirements without any cross questioning and for the first time probably, I got a clean DB Instance delivered with minimum fuss ..

So ?? :)




(I hope I didn't throw a spanner into this discussion now .. )

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Careers & Jobs in Singapore”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests