Job Discussion Forums

[Wish]

Been offered a job.
I'm single, 20something...
$3700 Singapore dollars, accomodation provided.
Roughly how much tax would I pay on this?

[Krakatoa]

You do not say where the offer of employment is. If it is in a scumbag "language school" I would be very cautious as the accommodation may not be very comfortable, . . . in a Housing Development Board (HDB) apartment which may require much removation to improve it to a suitable living standard.

If however, your future accommodation is in a proper apartment and not shared with some one who has annoying practices you may have something to go to.

However be very careful and read the terms of the offered contract as you may find that you are responsible for repairs to such things as the A/C and any other problem as may happen.

I am aware of one scumbag "language school" operated by Australians, who sell franchises to Singaporeans, has advertised lately for teachers in Singapore.

If this is the case and the job description is as a "reading specialist" you owe it to your self to check out the terms of the contract and make sure it does not violate the "Singapore's Ministry of Manpower's" labour act.

If the offered job is in a propper school (MOE) or Internation College then you may be on a winner.

If you have any concerns feel free to contact me by PM and I shall answer your questions to the best of my ability. I worked for one scumbag language school in Singapore for over a year.

Caveat Emptor.

[Wish]

The teaching job is actually as a dance instructor.
I haven't seen the contract yet, but have been verbally offered it by an agent here in Australia.
Believe the accomodation is shared another dance teacher who has been there for two years already. I don't know this teacher personally but know of her through the dance scene.
The job is 30hours a week, so the hourly rate is less than what I get here but I don't get 30hours of teaching a week here.

[Wish]

... have just been informed that accomodation is not included in the package. This obviously changes the appeal.
Thoughts?

[Shakhbut]

Edit

[Wish]

Have been teaching for five years while studying at university.
Now hold a double degree - not dance or education related.
So while not my first teaching job, my first overseas job and my first 'fulltime' job out of uni

[Krakatoa]

My recommendation is give it a miss.

Irrespective of some posts stating that a wage lower than S$4K is OK these posts are totally false.

Should you have any misgivings maybe you should go to "Sheepshead's" post relevant to Singapore and living there as it is really an eye opener!

Feel free to pm me for further details of the pitfalls awaiting you on such a mediocre wage. I do have over a year's experience on that Island.

Caveat Emptor.

[Wish]

Thanks for the advice.
I don't think I'll be accepting the contract.
When I worked out my hourly rate, it works out to be 1/2 of what I earn here an hour, for a much harder job.

[HappyHappyHappy]

$3700???? DOLLARS??

Man, I've been here 2 years, happily living (and slowly saving) on SGD$2500 a month, no extra benefits.... I'm well qualified and experienced, too... making $3700 would be so amazing... wow...

[Krakatoa]

You did not research your job or cost of living in Singapore.

Singapore $2 500? You must be living hand to mouth inorder to save any money or else you are using close to every cent to pay rent, pay utilities bills, buy food to cook at home, buy an elcheapo lunch or dinner and maybe even one or two bottles of Tiger a month or what ever your poison is.

Anyone who reads the entry of happyhappyhappy should read the post by "Sheepshead" and those who support their thread. Singapore is NOT a cheap place to live unless you are a spendthrift and a miserable person to associate with. No offence meant to the latest post!

[stilloutthere]

What are each of your standard of living? In the 80's Tokyo had a reputation as a place to make great money as an ESL teacher and save tons. However, most of the teachers lived in what they would have considered to be appalling conditions back home. Anyone who got an apartment of their own barely survived. People lived in gaijin houses, with shared bedrooms, and one bathroom for 20 people (and don't tell me I'm wrong because I lived in one of them for a month), with shared cooking facilities, ate a lot of cup-noodle, worked their primary job and a part-time job and did private lessons, rarely went out, and many of them loved it.

I've heard of a couple of teachers who actually lived permanently in hostel dorms. No worse than conditions would be in Tokyo, and it eliminates all that other stuff.

Is $4000 what you need for a lifestyle just like home? For that matter, in the US at least, it's rare for someone to get an apartment of their own straight out of a university. People share. In expensive cities people share more.

There is an assumption in most of these threads that everyone must have the standard of living that the posters want. They are looking at it as a permanent home. For those who just want to live somewhere different, what they need will be different, too.

As far as deposits, etc., go, again I had to have five months rent to get into an apartment. I am the only person I know who go their full deposit back. sheeps head may be accurate about need deposits, tenants responsibilities, etc. but I wonder where the idea came from that these are unusual?

[sheepshead]

Stilloutthere,

I accept your statement about Japan in the �80s to be correct even though it appears that you never worked in Japan. Is that correct? Twenty seven years or so have passed by. I have NO intention to argue that young people did love their lifestyle in Japan. However, Japan and Singapore are different countries and with different demographics.

You and others may be happy to throw away your privacy in accommodation. However, I for one am not prepared to do that again. South Korea was bad enough with having to share accommodation with smokers, and people who lived like animals who did not throw out their garbage on a regular basis. Singapore, on the other hand offers little choice of such cheap and nasty places.

There is little if any comparison from America to Singapore. Singapore is relatively �civilized� in comparison to many other countries. Finally, who cares about America? Only Americans!

There is no intent to say in my thread that rental bonds etc for accommodation in Singapore is unusual (which your entry is not in). My intent is that you are subject to a form of abuse which is not on the agenda in a �civilized� country. In one state that I can speak of with authority in Australia, only D-E-L-I-B-E-R-A-T-E damage can be taken from a tenants rental bond which is held by a government body. This stops deliberate abuse of tenants bond money. Further to this, one can represent themselves in court against a landlord/lady free if there is a legitimate reason. It would be interesting to see how this form of self representation in a Singaporean court would go! On the other hand, Singapore has legislation which protects mainly the landlord/lady and not so the tenant.

Yes! You do need at least $S4K pm to live there and live a decent lifestyle and save money for a rainy day. This is unlike living in what I could assume to be a similarity to a rat�s borough.

Any body who has lived and worked on Singapore will tell you that although the island is small it is an expensive place to live. Even employers will tell you the same. I have had several Singaporeans say it is not cheap to live there for either themselves or a professional. Why? Because of its small area it needs to import most of its food items: meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, and any other basic commodities you may think about. Luxury items such as spirits and some food types are very expensive. You should try $S100 for a bottle of rum, brandy, whisky etc if you like a spirit once in a while. How much do you pay for a bottle of spirits in America? How much is a bottle of spirits in Australia or New Zealand?

Finally, could I recommend Singapore to any person who is starting out in teaching English? NO! Why? Because it is primarily a country where English is the first language and their needs are for specialists or teachers with many years of experience. This is my opinion derived from living and working on Singapore for over one year.

[stilloutthere]

I haven't been on this board for a while. I lived in Japan for over 15 months in the early 90's.

My point is that you have a standard of living that you think is necessary, and that includes not sharing accomodation and being able to save money, and that is not necessarily the standard that someone looking for a couple of years overseas may need. To say that you must have x amount to be comfortable imposes your standards on others and may discourage someone from taking up a great opportunity. If, on the other hand, you posted that to have an apartment of a certain size, save 10% of your salary, be able to eat out, etc., you need a certain amount of money, then you are giving useful information.

I'm sorry you don't think Americans or America is civilized, but economically it certainly does qualify. I think the Australian damage law is interesting. So you could 'accidentally' knock holes in walls, destroy carpeting, or damage bathroom tiles, and as long as you claimed you didn't mean to do it, it isn't your problem?

[sheepshead]

stilloutthere:

Yes I do have a standard of living and it is not substandard! I expect to be treated as an equal and not as someone to be taken advantage of! This is, off course, when I go to educate the youth of that chosen nation in communication skills in English.

My choice of not sharing accommodation reflects my total dislike for those who smoke, and who consequently believe that they have a right to defile the air with cancer causing toxins in order to assail my health. There are more than enough warnings of cancer caused by inhaling even second hand smoke.

My stating that S$4k is what is needed to live a comfortable life style as minimum salary has been verified by other posters. Flame throwers, who, evidently, have very little experience of living with in the boundaries of Singapore may try and beguile the gullible. My personal experience has been related on my thread.

All the years of my life, it has never failed to amaze me the amount of people who read the words but not the message.

Australian Rent Law: Your comment shows to me that some people do not comprehend the word �accident� and the word �accident� which are interpreted differently with different meanings by members of the Judiciary and the concerned government of the state in which the alleged or actual offence has been committed.

Any real estate agent knows when a true accident has occurred and when deliberate and wilful damage has been done. My point was simply that �fair wear and tear� is costed to the land lord / lady. As a tenant, you or I myself would not be held accountable for such failed components. However, unlike Singapore�s laws which holds you to account for the replacement of every thing broken, even if you do not use it in your time at your selected place of domicile, Australian laws protect the tenant against corrupt landlords / ladies. Tenancy agreements in Singapore are read to mean that if something has decayed and is now unserviceable you MUST pay for its replacement. Like or it or not! Fair wear and tear is still your responsibility to repair or replace! Your corrupt landlord�s / lady�s benefit! Do you consider this to be fair?

If you want to, you may PM me for my interpretation on the word �CIVILISATION,� American, Australian, British or any other country on this earth.

Finally, in Latin, there are two words with a simple meaning: Caveat emptor which should be the byword for any person wanting to work in a foreign country. This afore does not mention the word �culpable.�

Caveat Emptor!!

[englishtraveling]

Is 3500 with housing and free schooling for the kid enough to have a fairly comfortable life there?
Does anyone know what a fair package would be at most international schools in Singapore?