Sunday, July 29, 2007

Working in Singapore

In Singapore, for work, one can choose to work in the private sector, the public sector or to be an entrepreneur. Let’s talk about the merits/ disadvantages of all these 3 options.

Public Sector

Once considered an iron rice bowl for many, contract or temporary positions in the civil service are now no longer remote. The good thing is after some years of working in a contract position, the possibility of being offered a permanent position is high. However, with the recent trends occurring in the world, divestments, mergers of some government controlled boards are now no longer impossible. But these discontinuities may be still fewer as compared to those occurring in the private sector.

Public sector still has its many attractiveness for prospective employees: good work life balance, good benefits and bonuses. It helps to be a scholar in government organizations as the climb to the apex of your career is made far easier than the non-scholars who will rise, though not really to apex, and who will definitely take many years more.

Private Sector

One must be mentally prepared to slough it out in the private sector, doing overtime in this highly competitive private sector, where profits are the bottom-line and performance is the watchword.

It is far more exciting in private sector than in public sector where work is monotonous. The stability in private sector is however not taken for granted. Divestment and mergers come and go. Even for experienced veterans, if it is cost effective for a company to let them go in bad times, these hard decisions may have to exercise.

For private sectors, how high you go depends on your performance, though there may still be some scholars on a fast-tracked career path.

Entrepreneurs

It is easy and hard these days to set up business. Easy in the sense that one can leverage on technology and open up E- company with little start-up funds. Hard in the sense that in this highly competitive world, one needs really a very good business idea and plan to make it work!

Be prepared to put in lots of hard work being an entrepreneur. Failure rate is high but if you preserve, you may be one of the many millionaires in Singapore in time to come.

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