Singapore Expats

Hi all, I am brand new to this forum. I am writing this to seek some general opinions, and also maybe some help.

I am a local chinese male, 28 this year. I graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Communications degree. I then started work at a local bank, but then had to quit because my dad fell sick and I needed a more flexible schedule to care for him. Since then I have done insurance and currently I am in the real estate business.

My dad contracted stage 4 lung cancer back in 2011. For a few months, we kept it under control with chemotherapy and drugs which were on clinical trials. This worked to a certain extent, but now the cancer has creeped into his liver. These days, he is always complaining about pain in his back (right) and swollen feet and hands. He doesn't taste anything when he eats, and looks like he has aged so much.

I feel helpless. I have a job which is commission-based, and it is less than ideal because I can't chip in to help the struggling family finances. I want a desk job which pays me a monthly fixed salary but yet I am running into all sorts of walls just because my experience is only in sales. On the other hand, I do need a wee bit of flexibility to care for my dad just in case anything happens at home. Can someone please tell me what to do. I have banking experience, and also can do anything related to communications.

kenyl84 wrote:Hi all, I am brand new to this forum. I am writing this to seek some general opinions, and also maybe some help.

I am a local chinese male, 28 this year. I graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Communications degree. I then started work at a local bank, but then had to quit because my dad fell sick and I needed a more flexible schedule to care for him. Since then I have done insurance and currently I am in the real estate business.

My dad contracted stage 4 lung cancer back in 2011. For a few months, we kept it under control with chemotherapy and drugs which were on clinical trials. This worked to a certain extent, but now the cancer has creeped into his liver. These days, he is always complaining about pain in his back (right) and swollen feet and hands. He doesn't taste anything when he eats, and looks like he has aged so much.

I feel helpless. I have a job which is commission-based, and it is less than ideal because I can't chip in to help the struggling family finances. I want a desk job which pays me a monthly fixed salary but yet I am running into all sorts of walls just because my experience is only in sales. On the other hand, I do need a wee bit of flexibility to care for my dad just in case anything happens at home. Can someone please tell me what to do. I have banking experience, and also can do anything related to communications.

How about being a taxi driver? I heard that they can pull in 5K or so a month and can basically set the hours they want to work.

If they work FULL 12 hour shifts (and I mean working it) after fuel & rental they will be lucky to clear $3K/mo. This was in the newspapers back when the last fare increases were being bandied about.

i think you also need to be 35 or 40 years old to qualify for a taxi driver license.

kenyl84 wrote:I am a local chinese male, 28 this year. I graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Communications degree. I then started work at a local bank, but then had to quit because my dad fell sick and I needed a more flexible schedule to care for him. Since then I have done insurance and currently I am in the real estate business.

My dad... looks like he has aged so much.

I feel helpless. I have a job which is commission-based, and it is less than ideal because I can't chip in to help the struggling family finances. I want a desk job which pays me a monthly fixed salary but yet I am running into all sorts of walls just because my experience is only in sales. On the other hand, I do need a wee bit of flexibility to care for my dad just in case anything happens at home.

Can someone please tell me what to do. I have banking experience, and also can do anything related to communications.

first up, i'm sorry to hear about your father's situation.

did you go to ny state to study or did you complete your suny degree in singapore?

in general, i realize singapore employers don't like foreign degrees unless it's a "top ranked" one. i think the one thing worse than a foreign degree from a "i've never heard of that" university is a distance degree from a foreign university.

a bachelor's degree doesn't go far these days, and imo it merely tells the employer since you're capable of completing a degree thus you should be capable of churning out decent work as instructed poorly by your superiors.

if your family needs financial assistance to cope with your father's health, you should look to your local CDC, CC, RC or other GROs and get help. you can also ask the staff at the hospital or head to the business office to see what they can do to help alleviate the short term financial burden.

if you need someone to talk to, you may call SOS at 1800 221 4444. trust me, every body needs a listening ear from time to time. they can also dish out additional nuggets of advice on what else you can do to get help.

i assume you're not a super sales person - those people tend to make money pretty easily when they put their mind to it. there're people who are born salesmen, and then there are those who aren't. so if you aren't cut out for it, then you aren't.

as you're singaporean, i find it hard to believe that you cannot get a part time job - and i don't mean a a well paid job, but a decent part time job.

manpower is lacking in many sectors in singapore. look at what is available... you needn't be cleaning tables at the hawker centres; i know some customer service reps make decent hourly wages.

if you know your experience is limited to sales, then it may not be too late to get experience else where. we all have to start some where. but i would not jump in expecting a "good" wage.

you must also realize that you shouldn't expect to land a new desk job and still expect much flexibility over your personal life. i think singapore companies don't operate like that.

harden up. figure out what you want in life. spend quality time with your dad. talk to your family about how you can contribute. and keep the faith, whatever that may be to you.

JayCee wrote:
How about being a taxi driver? I heard that they can pull in 5K or so a month and can basically set the hours they want to work.

Good shout if you are you a really bad driver who ignores all aspects of the highway code !