Jobs In Singapore For Foreigners
Singapore is the most advanced country in South East Asia, generally considered one of the First World nations. In Asia, it is on par with Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea in terms of living standards, trade and industrialization. However, unlike its Asian peers, many Singaporean residents are able to communicate in English. This factor, together with its geographic location between the Western world and the booming economies of Asia makes Singapore the Gateway between East and West. Singapore’s fate, despite many decades of industrialization, is still intimately chained to the rise and fall of global trade. The top jobs in Singapore are mainly related to the global trading economy. Foreigners earning the most money mainly work in finance, shipping and other fields tied to global trade. That is not to say there are no other jobs for foreigners in Singapore.
White collar management jobs
There are many foreigners working in various managerial jobs in Singapore. Some are posted to Singapore by foreign companies, working under expatriate terms and conditions. These management posts are normally filled up by Caucasians, Japanese or South Koreans sent by the headquarters of their companies. Many more were students in Singapore who worked in IT and engineering jobs before their promotions to management. Most of these foreign managers are permanent residents. Many of them are from Singapore’s neighbors – Malaysia and Indonesia, although there are a few from India and China as well.
White collar IT and engineering jobs
There are many white collar jobs in Singapore, especially in IT and engineering. A great many technical jobs in Singapore are done by foreigners who studied in Singapore’s universities and polytechnics. Traditionally, most of these students came from Malaysia and Indonesia, with a sprinkling from India. Nowadays, there are also many foreign students from China and Indochina (Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar, Vietnam). Once they graduate from higher education, these students then apply for jobs from Singaporean companies, which will sponsor them for an Employment Pass. A number of these Employment Pass holders will also apply for Permanent Residence after working in Singapore for a few years.
Biotech and pharmaceutical jobs
There are a significant biotech and pharmaceutical jobs in Singapore. Senior (doctorate) positions are frequently held by foreign-born and trained scientists, recruited and lured to Singapore by government-led initiatives. While this sector does not reliably produce jobs and income for Singapore, it is still an important part of Singapore’s economy. Whenever there is a boom in this sector, it provides for a healthy chunk of Singapore’s economic growth. However, foreign PhD holders who receive job offers to work in Singapore’s biotech sector should note that the Singapore Government has a very short-term outlook with respect to this field – unlike other countries which think and plan in terms of 15 to 25 years, Singapore makes plans based on a 5 year cycle. In other words, projects which cannot produce significant results within 5 years are likely to be canned.
Blue collar factory jobs
As part of Singapore’s long-standing policy of industrialization, there are many factories and many manufacturing jobs. Too many jobs to be filled by native Singaporeans. Even though Singapore’s manufacturing industry is moving up the value chain, there are still many so-called semi-skilled jobs being held by workers imported from Malaysia, especially the southern Malaysian state of Johore. Early every morning, these workers will ride their motor scooters and busses from their homes in Malaysia to their factories in Singapore, and every evening they will make the reverse journey home. In this manner, they enjoy the lower living cost of Malaysia while earning the higher pay of Singapore.
Domestic workers (maids) and construction laborers
At the lower end, both Singaporean and foreign families hire maids (the Singapore government officially calls them foreign domestic workers and charges a levy on the employer) to clean their homes and take care of their children. Normally, these are families where both the husband and wife work full-time in white collar positions and do not have much time to spend with their children. The maids are from either Indonesia or Phillipines. Filipino maids are preferred because they speak English, however the Indonesian maids work cheaper.
The construction and sanitation sector in Singapore also employ many foreign workers – this time mainly Bangaladeshis and the nationals of countries from the Indian sub-continent. Local construction companies like these men because they work hard for low pay. These construction laborers typically work for a few years, saving most of their salaries until they have enough to return home and start their own businesses or retire. Despite their great contribution to Singapore’s growth, there is an unjustified local perception that these workers contribute to crime.
Stepping stone to China
Except for the above-mentioned cases, Singapore is too highly regulated to make it easy to find jobs. Nevertheless, the effort may be worthwhile. For example, during the dotcom boom in the early 2000s, many Indian IT professionals used Singapore as a proving ground and stepping stone to the US. The best of them worked a year or two in Singapore before securing much better paying jobs in America.
For westerners, the reverse path can be used to gain a foothold to jobs in China. Get a decent job in Singapore while taking lessons in the Mandarin/Chinese language. At the same time, keep your eyes open and make contacts. For example, many companies that have links with the Singapore government (GLCs) have subsidiaries, branches and operations in Hong Kong and China. One of these would be the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), another would be the large IT company, NCS. One of the top online job sites for Singapore is JobsDB.