Post: #1

Currently I am in Beijing and I am digging it. In fact, I like it so much that I don't really want to stay in the US after I graduate. I dont have much interest in Europe but I am interested in living in Asia.

My father's job requires that he travels all over the world. He has been to every country in the Western Hemisphere, most countries in Europe, and many Asian countries.

I told him of my interest to live in an Asian country and he said the ones that i would want to live in that speak English are Singapore and the Philippines. I researched a little here about Singapore and I'm interested.

I am 20 years old graduating in 2 years with a bachelors in Finance and Banking and a minor in Econ from a Midwest University. Next summer I have a couple big internship opportunities available to choose from. I know English (native), Spanish at an intermediate level, and basic Chinese (I can't read or write it though).

I have a couple of questions:

1) Where do I begin looking for a job in Singapore or the Philipines?

2) How likely is it that Singapore would hire a foreigner with a bachelors degree? Is this realistic or am I dreaming?

Singapore isn't set in stone, but I am most interested in it. It also has fantastic logistics to the rest of SEA. This by itself holds tremendous value.

Learning a new language in order to live in a different country (Ex: Learning Korean to live in SK) is NOT a big deal. I pick languages up fairly easy and have 2 years to really learn it.

I prefer not living in The States after graduation. I have seen many areas of the country that are cool but the average woman isn't my style. I want out.

Anyways, for those that have experience or knowledge about these things, please weigh in.

It's after 2:30am here and I'm peacing out for the night.

Post: #2

"And I, for one, welcome our new Asiatic overlords!"

Post: #3

How long have you been in Beijing?
More than six months?
More than a year?

Have you gone home at all?

You might think that you can see yourself in Beijing for the long term, but you'll be playing a different tune in six months, during the christmas season, or after some serious culture shock event.

Post: #4

(06-11-2013 02:12 PM)Hades Wrote:  How long have you been in Beijing?
More than six months?
More than a year?

Have you gone home at all?

You might think that you can see yourself in Beijing for the long term, but you'll be playing a different tune in six months, during the christmas season, or after some serious culture shock event.

Would really like to know this as well. I just came from Beijing 3 days ago after staying 2 months. I loved Beijing but I'm not sure if I would stay there long term.

Anyways, Singapore sounds very nice and I've always been interested in it. Would love to know about job opportunities for us young folks in a country like Singapore.

Best of luck.

Post: #5

Forget the Phils for a job. You'd only go there to either live it up and having a bang fest or to have your own company taking advantages of the human resources available there. For a job, Hong Kong, Singapore and China would be the place to look into. While you're in China, use that opportunity to speak and improve your chinese as much as possible, make contacts. Oh and get in touch with the elevatorlife boys at theelevatorlife.com They were exactly at the same position you are now a few years ago and now they're running 6 and 7 figure businesses there in Guangzhou.

Best of luck!

Post: #6

(06-11-2013 01:54 PM)Yano Wrote:  I told him of my interest to live in an Asian country and he said the ones that i would want to live in that speak English are Singapore and the Philippines. I researched a little here about Singapore and I'm interested.

I am 20 years old graduating in 2 years with a bachelors in Finance and Banking and a minor in Econ from a Midwest University. Next summer I have a couple big internship opportunities available to choose from. I know English (native), Spanish at an intermediate level, and basic Chinese (I can't read or write it though).

I have a couple of questions:

1) Where do I begin looking for a job in Singapore or the Philipines?

2) How likely is it that Singapore would hire a foreigner with a bachelors degree? Is this realistic or am I dreaming?

Very likely. Singapore has a very open visa scheme for graduates of recognised universities to work there, from 8 countries including the USA.

it's called the Working Holiday pass (WHP) and is run by the Ministry of manpower (MoM).

http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/p...fault.aspx

It offers a bit more freedom that the direct company sponsorship, but not much. it allows you six months to prove yourself, and if you're good you'll stay.

However, do not thinnk you can get away with expatriate loafing, as it often in other Asian countries. You have to bust your ass from day one, and the Singaporese concept of 'Kiasu', which means something along the lines 'keeping up (or keeping face) with others', typically has you in the office 12 hours a day.

You 'work hard cuz you have to have parity with others working hard'.

In reality, the locals talk on the phone for 3 hours a day and have 2-3 hour lunch breaks. The expats aren't always so lucky.

However what you can do is apply for you WHP, and then you are able to keep in dormant.

Then you arrive on the ground in SG on a tourist visa and shop yourself around to get a job. Once you've got a job, then you can activate your WHP.

You do not want to spend part of that 6 months, and waste some of that time, shopping for a job. That said, entry level jobs can be hard to find so you may want to go in with 12-24 months of some other practical skillset gained from experience.

Quote:Singapore isn't set in stone, but I am most interested in it. It also has fantastic logistics to the rest of SEA. This by itself holds tremendous value.

It's a good stepping stone to be honest. You won't get in HK other than senior/exec, and there may be a cultural leap in China, Taiwan and Indonesia. Singapore is a good bridge between east and west.

Quote:Learning a new language in order to live in a different country (Ex: Learning Korean to live in SK) is NOT a big deal. I pick languages up fairly easy and have 2 years to really learn it.

I find it funny to observe here 'yeah everyone in malaysia speaks enlgish', and that's far from the truth. other than say Penang and the inner areas of KL can this only exist, and you're still missing stuff.

Even KL outer regions (suburbs) such as Kelana Jaya, Shalam and Kelang you can not get by.

However singapore you truely can get by on English. That said, you're robbing yourself on self-improvement and knowledge by not learning chinese.. if in SG.

Quote:I prefer not living in The States after graduation. I have seen many areas of the country that are cool but the average woman isn't my style. I want out.

Anyways, for those that have experience or knowledge about these things, please weigh in.

It's after 2:30am here and I'm peacing out for the night.

Do it. Just do it.

The downside risk is putting yourself through a city you don't like for 6 months, whilst getting paid $3,000 per month. The upside is so much more.

In finance parlance, upside to downside is called assymetrical return.

Stay in the USA, or any western country, and you'll inevitably be drawn into fat, entitled women and suburban strip malls.

Escape that shit and just go.

Post: #7

I was in Singapore three weeks ago. I was at a food court saying some nice things about it to my girl. An American guy about 30 years old sitting at the next table with three empty Tiger bottles in front of him overheard me and told us he was thoroughly fed up with the place. He had been living and working there for a couple years, he had a good job, too.

He went into a long drunken rant about the shallowness, materialism and authoritarianism of the place. Seemed kind of miserable.

I met a few Americans and Brits working in finance there, should not be impossible to find a job. But Singapore does not seem like the kind of place to escape the worst things about America. America is pretty free compared to Singapore.

I suppose one thing about Singapore is that you can go to Johor Bahru or Batam easily if you need a break from the tidiness and control of the place.

Post: #8

Based on what people tell me about SG, it's a place where the government is very uptight and you can get busted for anything, but the US is starting to turn like that as well. Choose your poison, I would have to say.

Post: #9

(06-11-2013 09:02 PM)Sp5 Wrote:  An American guy about 30 years old sitting at the next table with three empty Tiger bottles in front of him overheard me and told us he was thoroughly fed up with the place. He had been living and working there for a couple years, he had a good job, too.

He went into a long drunken rant about the shallowness, materialism and authoritarianism of the place. Seemed kind of miserable.

That can be the outcome, I'd agree with it and SG is not for a guy like me either.

SG is basically a fiefdom of one of the most brilliant statesmen of the modern era, Lee Kuan Yew, with an assortment of nopotistic acquaintances.

However, they are a benign autocracy. What they have done is create a wealthy state that caters for the mediocre middle class' every desire. Quite an acheivement considering they were vastly poorer than Malaysia when they split away in 1966.

They have been helped vastly by being the centre for laundering away money from Indonesian oil money in part, but have made some wise decisions, they are extremely Keynesian in economic outlook.

But I'll reiterate, similar to Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", the vast populace is happy to settle for their middle class mediocrity with their health needs taken care of, guaranteed employment and more strip malls you can poke a stick at.

Serene to the point of sterile, with an overarching government to guide them along for future propserity with a gentle hand, and not so gentle if need be.

However as history shows, to get rich, you need many educated people, and eventually those educated people start thinking for themselves and want autonomy.

So the last decade has seen the decline of social taboos, oral and anal sex has been decriminalised in the last 10 years for example, and a newly built casino has brought in gambling.

But for a guy who likes to have wind blow through his hair, it can be somewhat stifling. it does however provide a good launch pad to jakarta, BKK, KL and HK.

Quote:I met a few Americans and Brits working in finance there, should not be impossible to find a job. But Singapore does not seem like the kind of place to escape the worst things about America. America is pretty free compared to Singapore.

SG is pretty free of ALL violent crime, no ghetto hoodrats ready to violently attack you because they feel affronted when you frowned at them saying "whachyou lookin' at cracka!".

It's pretty clean to most parts of the world, it's not exceptional to me but Australia is also a generally clean place.

Quote:I suppose one thing about Singapore is that you can go to Johor Bahru

I would really just regard JB as cheaper shopping and golf courses than what SG has to offer.

Quote:or Batam easily if you need a break from the tidiness and control of the place.

Batam is kicking on, I'm getting real good feedback about that place right now.

Post: #10

ive been in china for 2 years now and i dont want to stay longer than i have to. missibg thanksgiving, xmas, easter, 4th of july, and just generally my familys life (i have 2 cousins ive never seen) fucking sucks sometimes

Post: #11

I made the leap to Asia about 10 months ago and am real happy with my decision. So many opportunities out here, just got to choose the right one. Can be hard living here, and it sucks to so far from my friends and family, but I'm way happier than I was back in England, which was pretty depressing around the time I left.

Post: #12

It may be cold, but a Skype call once a month to my parents would settle my fix. I usually do the same while in school because they live away.

As for friends, I have a few close friends but the rest are expendable.

Really great info so far on Singapore and other Asian countries. I don't plan on living in Beijing. I like to see blue skies and the sun more than once a week.

When I leave Beijing it will be a total of 3 months.

I qualify for the WHP visa after I graduate so I am heavily considering applying during my senior year. Until then I am planning on studying Chinese outside of class.

Props to T and A Man. Really good info.

What are monthly expenses looking like for a single male with a modest lifestyle in Singapore?

Can I really survive there on 3k a month?

Post: #13

You can survive yeah. You'd have to share accomodation, and alcohol is hideously expensive there, even more expensive than Perth.

Along the lines of $USD15 per pint of beer, at last count.

Entertainment for the masses is shopping and cinemas, many of which are 24 hours a day. I remember seeing Constantine with Keanu Reeves at a 2am screening.

My info is about 6-7 years out of date, but your starting apartments would go around $1,500 per month.

So following guidelines here, makes your entertainment working out at a gym and taking languages lessons. Chinese, or if you already speak Chinese by then perhaps Bahasa Malayu/Bahasa Indonesian.