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RiverMystic
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 6:41 am Post subject: University salary and conditions? |
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I have an interview with Nanyang Tech Uni coming up. It's for a postdoctoral fellowship, in a social-science related area. I'd appreciate a little inside info about a few things.
What kind of salary offer might be considered reasonable?
I've heard that working conditions are pretty tough in Singapore. Are unis generally the same?
What would be considered standard number of weeks of holidays per year?
Do unis provide housing, or housing allowance?
Thanks,
RM |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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Postdocs don't generally carry a "salary." You'll probably receive a stipend. Whatever it's called, you'll need to live on it.
If Nanyang (one of the nation's premier universities) doesn't provide on-campus housing, you can probably find a 2-BR flat to rent for less than S$1800 and a 1-BR for even less. If you want to go the really cheap route, you can find a room to rent in a shared condo or large flat for S$500 or less.
craigslist.com has become a very popular rental site in Singapore. Check out the current listings, under the categories "Apartments/housing," "Rooms/Shared," and "Sublets." A problem with Singapore is that one-year and even two-year leases are often required. Shorter-term rentals are a bit more difficult to negotiate and generally more expensive. |
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RiverMystic
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:59 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info, Henry. Whatever you call the cash, I suspect it'll be a big salary downsize from being a seconday teacher - probably 50% or less. University salries are pathetic these days, and hardly make doing a PhD worthwhile. One job I was considering in Taiwan was about 30% of my secondary school salary. I didn't do my PhD to go into uni teaching, but it would be nice to put it to some use. The position at Nanyang is quite a specialist field, so that's why I applied for it. I had a phone interview last week, and haven't heard back, so probably didn't get it. It's OK, as I have other options I'm just, if not more, keen about.
As for doing the cheap on rental, there's no way I'm bunking with some college kid to save a few bucks - I'm far too old for that! |
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wailing_imam
Joined: 31 Mar 2006 Posts: 580 Location: Malaya
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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5000-7000SGD per month.
Any less than that for a PhD is a joke.
Rental - two bedroom HDB flat SGD1500 a month with no probs. Rental prices are falling.
Party on. |
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RiverMystic
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Well, months later they are still running me through the selection process. Back for another interview in a month. They sure move real slow down south... However they are putting me up for three nights and four days, which makes me feel real important. Have no idea how many other people they are offering the same deal.... See ya all soon... |
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Polka Waltz
Joined: 28 Jul 2009 Posts: 2
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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I was a lecturer at NTU for nine years (three contracts.) On the plus side: nice, generally sweet, respectful students, very good money, decent leave (6 weeks a year) and good facilities. On the negative side: very unfriendly local colleagues (all seemed to feel threatened by the non-local faculty), not a great deal of autonomy in what you actually could cover in lectures, a total lack of intellectual curiousity from most people around (both faculty and students), and an atmosphere where most people tried to avoid doing any work at all. I enjoyed living in Singapore a great deal. I did NOT stay in campus housing as for me it is important to separate one's work and life. The campus is a fair distance in Singapore terms from the center of things. |
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RiverMystic
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:55 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for that, Polka. The lack of intellectual curiosity doesn't surprise me that much. Asian/Confucian education basically destroys that good and proper by the time a kid reaches high school.
The lack of work ethic? Not overly surprised. Despite the cliche that East Asians work themselves into the ground, I have foound the reality behind appearances to be a very different story. There's a lot of wasted time spent at the office.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the interview. I have a good feeling about this one, and my gut feelings are usually correct. |
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Polka Waltz
Joined: 28 Jul 2009 Posts: 2
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, the "trick" amongst a lot of the faculty and administration was to look busy, and failing that, to tell everybody how busy you were! The reality was precisely the opposite.
Having said that, I enjoyed my time there, by and large. My time there allowed me to publish a fair amount, travel to conferences, and pursue my research interests.
Good luck with your interview! |
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NYCME
Joined: 28 Mar 2009 Posts: 13
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:31 pm Post subject: With my qualifications |
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BA George Washington U
CELTA
Experiencing teaching and tutoring ESOL (mainly to adults) in Japan and New York City
Currently teaching Chinese immigrants in NY at a nonprofit.
Native English speaker from NY, USA.
Former newspaper reporter with publications (articles, not books; consumer, not academic)
--What can I apply for?
How can I apply for it?
How much can I expect to make? Benefits? |
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Solar Strength
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 557 Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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RiverMystic wrote: |
Thanks for that, Polka. The lack of intellectual curiosity doesn't surprise me that much. Asian/Confucian education basically destroys that good and proper by the time a kid reaches high school.
The lack of work ethic? Not overly surprised. Despite the cliche that East Asians work themselves into the ground, I have foound the reality behind appearances to be a very different story. There's a lot of wasted time spent at the office.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the interview. I have a good feeling about this one, and my gut feelings are usually correct. |
River,
How did you ever make out with your job hunt in Singapore? |
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March Hare
Joined: 16 Oct 2010 Posts: 21 Location: S. Korea
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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RiverMystic wrote: |
The lack of work ethic? Not overly surprised. Despite the cliche that East Asians work themselves into the ground, I have foound the reality behind appearances to be a very different story. There's a lot of wasted time spent at the office.
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Indeed. The massive overtime many of them put in would be unnecessary if they would just get more work done during regular hours. Don't people in this part of the world want to go home? |
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WantToKnow
Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 41
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:20 pm Post subject: Singaporean experience |
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I, too, found living in Singapore to be an excellent experience and was able to travel to present at conferences while there. Being in the office five and a half days a week (including Saturday morning) and not having a car were adjustments to my college/university teaching in the USA. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 778 Location: Hong Kong
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:31 am Post subject: |
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Polka Waltz wrote: |
Having said that, I enjoyed my time there, by and large. My time there allowed me to publish a fair amount, travel to conferences, and pursue my research interests. |
Sounds great!
How many hours a week did you generally teach? What kind of time off did you have during semester breaks? |
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