Career 02 (Apr 10 - Apr 12)

[millionairemind]

haha... when you make $100K a month.. it is difficult for you to understand how come the little ants out there cannot make $3.1K/month...

In certain countries, a bricklayer or a gardener (horticulturist) is a profession in itself... but in Singapore??? We just import ppe. from 3rd world countries at the lowest possible wages....how can wages at the lower end of the economic rungs for Singaporeans go up???

[winston]

Hmmm... If I call u stupid, by implication, it means that I am the smarter.

[kennynah]

but unfortunately....tharmanlingamsuguratnamthumbey doesn't know...

[profittaker]

there are fresh grad that still make less than 3k, because we have grad from other countries competing for the job.

haha... when you make $100K a month.. it is difficult for you to understand how come the little ants out there cannot make $3.1K/month...

In certain countries, a bricklayer or a gardener (horticulturist) is a profession in itself... but in Singapore??? We just import ppe. from 3rd world countries at the lowest possible wages....how can wages at the lower end of the economic rungs for Singaporeans go up???

[kennynah]

I don't see anything wrong with fresh grad earning lesser than $3k/mth. They shd b thankful that employers are giving them the chance to learn n gain experiences. Having a degree/diploma is not a passport to employers owing them a living.

The sooner young graduates get their attitude correct, the better it is for their career development

If I wana setup a bakery shop, I'll be very happy if breadtalk hires my services as a kitchen helper without any salary. But I know if I do this, it becomes very suspicious

[kennynah]

while i have my reservations about open leg policy of having anyone and everyone entering singapore to find work...the positive effect is the real challenge issued to all singaporean workers..to become skillful and knowledgeable in the respective domains..

it is unhealthy to protect singaporeans all the way from foreign competition... if we become too sheltered, we become like so many of our neighbouring countries... the government assures them work...they relax...they dont upgrade... they slack off....the entire country's productivity suffers....

but most importantly, we must not depend on any government to dictate the way we work and lead our lives... that mentality is immature and irresponsible... we and we alone decide what we make of our lives... the elected government push for policies that herd the nation forward...but when they screw up or no longer serve the people...they should not be in power anymore... or the people will suffer ultimately...

if a education minister doesnt have answers to key issues, he should not be at the helm... just as a CEO who cannot steer a company to constant profitability must resign or be booted out... the way, the people boot government officials out, is a vote of non confidence...something, we do not have becos it is a 1 majority ruling party... you see how precarious a situation we have cornered ourselves into? if you dont see it, you are either blind, brainwashed, ignorant or simply couldn't be bothered....

[millionairemind]

I don't see anything wrong with fresh grad earning lesser than $3k/mth. They shd b thankful that employers are giving them the chance to learn n gain experiences. Having a degree/diploma is not a passport to employers owing them a living.

The sooner young graduates get their attitude correct, the better it is for their career development

imho, I think the starting salary is not the problem.... fresh grads need experiences that they can keep under the belts for the 1st couple of years before they can be more valuable... I have worked with 1st class honors and masters students and am appalled by their lack of being able to apply what they learned in school to the field.

It is not uncommon for engineering trained grads who started out around 2.7K/month to be making 7-8K/mth within 8yrs of graduation while still working on the discipline.

One must prove one's worth before one can be worth more....

[profittaker]

yes, starting salary is not important, as long as the person can prove his worth, he will be paid accordingly, but there is element of luck and getting the right politics as well in order to be decently awarded.

Anyway, in certain segment of job market is structured to simply look at supply and demand. Employer doesn't look at real value the employee can deliver. For e.g. bus driver: long hours, repetitive task, risk of accident and etc.... the service and convenient they provide to passenger. Market don't look at all these factor before arriving at the salary for bus driver. Market simply see who willing to take lowest pay and that's the salary. Our local bus driver may get lesser and lesser in coming years because company bring in drivers from China and etc. There is Union in place that help prevent their salary from coming down, imho it just slow the drop in salary only.

I think most company applies similar mindset when a jobs can be replaceable. In this manner, employer look at employee as cost, not asset. If company treat employee as cost, they will try to reduce the cost. If the company treat employee as asset, employer will invest in employee to improve their productivity. My experience of working with local managers and companies, they tend to think employee as cost, not asset.

[kennynah]

welcome to capitalism 101...

in capitalism ideology, the owner of a business uses the employees' time and effort to generate profit, for which he pays a salary...an exchange of $$ for services...

whoever who can provide the services at the lowest cost gets the job... nothing too complex about this...

corrollary : the person with higher skillsets needed to complete the job more competently, gets a higher pay....

bus drivers.... change gears, step on accelerator and brake...open door, close door....there's nothing more that he needs to do...the job shd go to the lowest salary bidder..

[winston]

Is this what YOU really want?? by Christine Topjian

Just going about their day, trying to cover their bills...

Thats what most people do on a daily basis, just try to cover their bills.

So they go to their job, hope to please their boss(es) and then take home their paycheck. Shouldnt there be more to it than that??

Once in a while, someone might look up from the hussle and bustle of the proverbial "rat pack" and might say "Hey wait a sec, is this even what I want to be doing...because I dont feel terribly happy???"

The person may then realize for a brief moment that they arent happy but hey, the next set of bills that need to be paid have arrived, so back to it! Back to the grind.

Well, I was there once upon a time...and I hated it! I hated every moment of it! I then decided that something had to change and I did change it. The purpose of this article isnt to make anyone feel bad. It's to make everyone open their eyes and ask the question: Is this what I really want?? It's sometimes a scary question to ask because it may mean that the answer is "no".

I commend people for supporting their families and making sure their bills are paid on time. I just also ask you to take a moment and decide if this is the way you REALLY want to be spending your time, your money and most importantly, your life??

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/is-t ... eally-want