Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

techinasia.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 22 posts

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#11

Post by yomly »

p4wnc6 wrote: post #5
hitekker wrote: post #2

Good update on the Singaporean scene. One measure I wish that was included was salaries; are the averages getting better vis-a-vis NYC or the Bay Area? Money talks, as they say.

This is important. I had several interviews with some Singaporean companies and salary was always the limiting factor. It was absolutely nowhere close to what similar positions would pay in major US cities, let alone New York or SF. Yet cost of living in Singapore is fairly high. While there are some tax advantages, you also have to weigh the risks of such a long-distance relocation and visa issues, as well as the si…

>"that it's located in Singapore as means to reduce salary when they import a worker."

Having lived and worked there (and having a Singaporean father) this mentality does not surprise me at all. The national propaganda machine indoctrinates their citizens to believe it is the greatest most successful place in the world, and a curious kind of arrogance arises from it. This is not to say that other nations are not guilty of these practices, but I certainly notice it when I deal with Singaporeans

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#12

Post by throwaway60453 »

jernfrost wrote: post #9

I have entertained the thought of working in Singapore. It appeals living somewhere with bette climate, cheap to go out eating, big city etc. I live in Oslo, Norway and have a certain fascination for Singapore, it coincidentally having almost the same GDP and population as Norway, but a completely different society. I am not sure if anyone here could comment on some of concerns with working in Singapore. 1) What is w…

Singapore currently has one of the highest standards of living in the world, so bargains are few.

It is nearly 100% ethnic Chinese, and Chinese prefer family-managed companies, so you would have some culture-shock.

There are some web and ISP companies there, so that's your best bet for a typical cosmopolitan workplace.

Condos are over $1 million each for residents, so housing is expensive.

Anyway, it sounds like you need to do more homework before moving there.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#13

Post by whitegrape »

throwaway60453 wrote: post #12
jernfrost wrote: post #9

I have entertained the thought of working in Singapore. It appeals living somewhere with bette climate, cheap to go out eating, big city etc. I live in Oslo, Norway and have a certain fascination for Singapore, it coincidentally having almost the same GDP and population as Norway, but a completely different society. I am not sure if anyone here could comment on some of concerns with working in Singapore. 1) What is w…

Singapore currently has one of the highest standards of living in the world, so bargains are few. It is nearly 100% ethnic Chinese, and Chinese prefer family-managed companies, so you would have some culture-shock. There are some web and ISP companies there, so that's your best bet for a typical cosmopolitan workplace. Condos are over $1 million each for residents, so housing is expensive. Anyway, it sounds like you…

74% is a lot less than 100%.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#14

Post by erispoe »

An important point is the social conservatism of Singapore, which I suspect plays an important role in repelling a large number of people. I don't think it's a complete coincidence that startup hubs emerge in places that are relatively libertarian in regards to social values and open to counter culture.

Singapore sends a "not welcome here" message to many people: gays, hiv positive, marijuana consumers... As long as the country sticks to dictating citizens and residents how they should behave, including in private, they will have trouble attracting and growing an engineering class.

For a startup culture to emerge, you need to allow, and even welcome, experimentations off the beaten tracks. That's hardly compatible with social authoritarianism.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#15

Post by toomanybeersies »

jernfrost wrote: post #9

I have entertained the thought of working in Singapore. It appeals living somewhere with bette climate, cheap to go out eating, big city etc. I live in Oslo, Norway and have a certain fascination for Singapore, it coincidentally having almost the same GDP and population as Norway, but a completely different society. I am not sure if anyone here could comment on some of concerns with working in Singapore. 1) What is w…

I've been to Singapore a couple of times, so I can answer about transportation.

You won't have a car in Singapore, unless you are filthy rich, car registrations cost in the tens of thousands of dollars range.

The public transport is world class, the metro is great. I guess that's one of the big benefits of having such a high population density.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#17

Post by fieryeagle »

mrchess wrote: post #3

One of the most interesting things I noticed when living is Singapore last year was that a lot of engineers, especially computer programmers, fall under the IT category. There was no sense "software engineer" or "systems administrator" or "solutions engineer", etc. not in the way how it is in the US. They all just looked at me and said, "Oh, so you work in IT?" Then we talked about banking.

I silently added those who said that to a certain blacklist. Been through enough of 'Me - I'm in Software not IT. Them- But it is IT since you work with computer right?' ping pong matches. Ignoramuses, really.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#18

Post by fieryeagle »

p4wnc6 wrote: post #5
hitekker wrote: post #2

Good update on the Singaporean scene. One measure I wish that was included was salaries; are the averages getting better vis-a-vis NYC or the Bay Area? Money talks, as they say.

This is important. I had several interviews with some Singaporean companies and salary was always the limiting factor. It was absolutely nowhere close to what similar positions would pay in major US cities, let alone New York or SF. Yet cost of living in Singapore is fairly high. While there are some tax advantages, you also have to weigh the risks of such a long-distance relocation and visa issues, as well as the si…

That's both pleasant and disappointing to hear. Believe me, if they offer you S$90k base, that's already considered a fat salary.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#19

Post by fieryeagle »

jernfrost wrote: post #9

I have entertained the thought of working in Singapore. It appeals living somewhere with bette climate, cheap to go out eating, big city etc. I live in Oslo, Norway and have a certain fascination for Singapore, it coincidentally having almost the same GDP and population as Norway, but a completely different society. I am not sure if anyone here could comment on some of concerns with working in Singapore. 1) What is w…

1) Don't expect 9-5 work if you are in anything remotely high-impact like software or sales.

2) Hard to specify since it varies on the kind of company/sector. PM me if you have something specific to check.

3) Company pays for basic coverage, no International and maternity for 99% cases (take my own estimate with a grain of salt). There are additional packages you can buy on top of company insurance.

Labour cost for services is fairly high in Singapore too, not as high as North Europe but about as much as, UK and Germany.

Re: How dire is Singapore’s engineering ecosystem?

#20

Post by hhandoko »

markplindsay wrote: post #10
hitekker wrote: post #2

Good update on the Singaporean scene. One measure I wish that was included was salaries; are the averages getting better vis-a-vis NYC or the Bay Area? Money talks, as they say.

Absolutely. Singapore is great, and I've always been interested in living there, but the pay for software developers is too low. The cost of living is about the same for (non-PR, non-Malaysian) foreigners as it is in NYC. From my casual/infrequent research, salaries seem to be about half of what a developer in NYC would make. The income tax rate is lower, but that doesn't help much when you're still paying NYC prices…

Just to add, you might not benefit from the lower income tax in Singapore when migrating from the US due to the Double Tax Agreements between Singapore and US (i.e. you'd have to pay for the tax difference between the Singapore and US tax).
Post reply on HN