NUS: Jobs Are for FTrash, Sporns Better Leave!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>And it's not like the govt is paid peanuts...

Oct 26, 2008
recession looming?

</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Young & unfazed

</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Recession? The young are not worried, with some overspending or running up debts </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nur Dianah Suhaimi

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A recession looms but anecdotal evidence suggests that there are young Singaporeans who do not expect the partying to end.

The last time the economy shrank was in 2001, with bleak prospects for new job-seekers. But the good times came back by 2004.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Mum and dad will provide...

Miss Lin says she has never once run out of spending money. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

For 20-year-old undergraduate Agnes Lin, the recession could just be academic.

... more​

Retrenched twice in U.S. so I'm back to find a job

Mr Ong hopes to land a job in Singapore, even if it pays less. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

Mr Marsk Ong felt he was at 'Ground Zero' when the credit crisis started to unfold in the United States.

... more​

TIPS FROM EXPERTS

Put aside at least six months' worth of monthly expenses as reserves in case of retrenchment.

... more​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>This time, though, many are predicting that the bad times will really hit hard. But belt-tightening may be a hard act for some, especially those aged 30 and below.
Young adults under 30, for instance, make up the fastest-growing age group of debtors in Singapore.
Of 507 people who went to Credit Counselling Singapore for help in the first nine months of this year, 18 per cent were under-30s, up from 8 per cent of 573 people in 2006.
The main reason was overspending. On average, each young adult owed $55,000 - to up to seven creditors.

=> Factored in the fact that Sporns need to serve NS and be in debt for their varsity school fees while FTrash have no NS liability and are given free scholarships?

More of them are running into bankruptcy. In the first four months of this year, people aged 30 and below made up 12 per cent of all bankrupts.
The Sunday Times spoke to 30 undergraduates and 20 young professionals below 30 years old. All but eight were unperturbed by the bleak economic outlook.
Arts undergraduate Derrick Tan, 24, said: 'So what if the economy is not good and I can't get a job? I'll just work as a waiter and live a simple life.'
Marketing executive Angelina Lim, 25, is sure her job will not be affected. 'I don't see people being retrenched in my company. Why should I fear for my job just because the stock market is not doing well?' the business graduate said.
Mr Leong Sze Hian, 59, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, said the young cannot be blamed for being unprepared.
'They are too young to have lived through a bad recession. They probably have read about it and don't know what it is or how bad it can get,' said the financial planner.
Economists warn that the full-blown recession will probably come next year when Singapore bears the full brunt of the global economic slowdown.
The 2001 slump had hit new graduates hard. In a 2003 survey, only seven in 10 graduates in the National University of Singapore's (NUS) 2002 cohort managed to get jobs. The figure was nearly eight in 10 from Nanyang Technological University's 2002 cohort.
All 30 undergraduates interviewed still expect to earn as much as their seniors.
But faculty staff are doing their best to see that they 'get real'. At Singapore Management University (SMU), graduating students are advised to be more pro-active in their job search.
Said Mrs Ruth Chiang, director of SMU's Office of Career Services: 'They may not receive multiple job offers now.'
NUS is encouraging students to adopt an 'open mindset' and consider taking up jobs in other industries or even venture overseas. [email protected]

 

[makapaaa]

Mum and dad will provide...

Miss Lin says she has never once run out of spending money. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
For 20-year-old undergraduate Agnes Lin, the recession could just be academic.
The Nanyang Technological University first-year student has never been in need: She carries a $2,000 Louis Vuitton handbag to school and uses only Shiseido cosmetic and skincare products.
She carries around the latest mobile phone and goes on overseas vacations with her friends where she would bust $1,000 on shopping alone.
Twice monthly, she shops at her favourite stores - Topshop, Zara and Forever21.
Mum, a private tutor, and Dad, a businessman selling polythene bags, pay for her expenses.
Miss Lin is aware that Singapore faces a recession but the news does not bother her.
She said: 'I think it is okay for me to maintain my current lifestyle. I may be spending a little bit more than my friends but I don't think I'm overspending.'
At the moment, she has her eyes on the latest mobile phone in the market, the HTC Touch Pro, which costs about $700.
Although her mother has said 'no' to her buying yet another mobile phone, Ms Lin has an inkling she will still get it.
'I think my mum will still buy it for me. My birthday is coming up!' she said with a giggle. She confessed that since young, she has never run out of cash. Her parents give her money whenever she asks.
Since she was 16, her monthly pocket money has been $500.
She has an older brother, also an undergraduate. The family live in a four-room flat in Marine Parade.
She thinks a friend of hers, who is left with $20 to last until the end of the month, is silly to consider taking up a part-time job to earn some extra cash.
'I don't understand why she cannot just ask her parents for money,' sighed Miss Lin.
She will enter the working world only after three years but she is already planning ahead.
With her first pay packet, she will buy a $4,000 Chanel bag. 'After that, I will probably get more bags and watches,' she added.
Nur Dianah Suhaimi



<TABLE class=whiteBg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Retrenched twice in U.S. so I'm back to find a job

Mr Ong hopes to land a job in Singapore, even if it pays less. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
Mr Marsk Ong felt he was at 'Ground Zero' when the credit crisis started to unfold in the United States.
The 28-year-old finance and marketing graduate from the University of Southern California was retrenched twice in five months this year while working in New York.
In March, he was laid off by the hotel corporation where he had worked as a marketing manager for three years. The company's share value had plunged when negative sentiment hit the stock market.
'I got really worried when I first heard about the hotel firm laying off people. It was particularly stressful for me because of the visa issue. I have to leave the country if I don't have a job,' he said.
He applied for a new job and grabbed the first one which came his way - an account manager position at an advertising firm. Said Mr Ong: 'But by then, I was feeling quite jaded about working in America and wanted to come home.'
Four months later, in July, news came that his father had died and he had to return home for good to be with his mother. Instead of quitting, he accepted the retrenchment package offered by the advertising firm. The company was already planning mass layoffs.
Like him, many young Singaporeans working in the US and Europe are seeking greener pastures in Singapore after being laid off from their high-salaried jobs.
Most had studied in those countries and had taken up lucrative jobs as investment bankers and finance professionals.
When economies were booming, many enjoyed five-figure salaries. Mr Ong, for example, was paid $120,000 a year by both companies which hired him. But when bottom lines were hit, finance professionals like him were the first to lose their jobs.
He said: 'Almost every month, I'd hear of friends being laid off and coming home to look for a job. Most of them work in the banking sector, as consultants and auditors.
'Asian economies are not so affected by the crisis. So I guess it is a good time to come home.'
He hopes to find a job here soon, even if it means having to settle for a much lower salary.
'On the bright side, I pay less taxes here and the cost of living is much lower,' he said.
Nur Dianah Suhaimi






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TIPS FROM EXPERTS Put aside at least six months' worth of monthly expenses as reserves in case of retrenchment.
Sign up for as many credit lines as possible while earning an income. If retrenched or if your business fails, you will still have some credit to fall back on. Banks will not extend credit to those without an income. Interest on credit lines is charged only when the money is taken out.




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[vamjok]

i want that bitch as my girl. i want to live off her

 

[Powerman]

i want that bitch as my girl. i want to live off her

Sorry, you're just a little too late. I'm already living on her, all expenses paid plus a fixed sum. All I have to do is to fuck her every night,well in other words, be her jigolo. She's enjoying every moment of it.

 

[vamjok]

can we share????

 

[middaydog]

all great mind think alike

 

[middaydog]

_ four-room flat ?

it is time HDB rethink its policy

 

[Powerman]

can we share????

Sure, why not?

 

[Frankiestine]

Once Agnes Lin parents biz goes bust, she has to go into FL to buy branded goods...

 

[snrcitizen]

Once Agnes Lin parents biz goes bust, she has to go into FL to buy branded goods...

That's for sure. She is nothing but a spoilt brat and the fault lies with her parents in bringing her up with wrong values.

 

[angie II]

can we share????

Sure, why not?

share as in DP rite?

 

[The_Latest_H]

The first woman comes from a well-to-do family, so its natural for her to feel that the recession won't affect her. Still while her bills don't scare her parents, it probably have scared most of the readers here.

 

[Neh_Neh_Pok]

LOL honestly speaking i don't really find NUS grads or students are so good, they only look nice on the outside, i think they're over-rated. I would rather choose some oversea or even private uni grads with positive good attitude whom have more potential.

 

[Conan the Barbarian]

That's for sure. She is nothing but a spoilt brat and the fault lies with her parents in bringing her up with wrong values.

Haha, I foresee lots of letters in the ST forums in the days to cum about her.

For someone living in a 4-room flat and mother has to work as a tutor, I don't think they come from a well to do family.

Maybe the parents scrimp and save to provide for her. One day, when they are old and need financial support, they will find that their daughter does not have $500 to give them as she is too busy spending money.

 

[vamjok]

if i had her as a daughter, i would consider myself as "fail".

 

[popdod]

'On the bright side, I pay less taxes here and the cost of living is much lower,' he said.
Nur Dianah Suhaimi

This is the key message to summarise for Singapore.
Simply put.....be grateful tat u r in Singapore...living standards is lower...whenever u compare to the apples......and not oranges.

But when compare to pay package/democracy ......u must compare with oranges and not apples.

 

[jw5]

That's for sure. She is nothing but a spoilt brat and the fault lies with her parents in bringing her up with wrong values.

The worst part is that by reading the article, it doesn't appear that her parents are very rich.
Spoilt rich brats have existed since the beginning of time, but it seems that we are now getting a new generation of spoilt brats whose families are not rich. Really sad.

 

[chinkangkor]

This is the key message to summarise for Singapore.
Simply put.....be grateful tat u r in Singapore...living standards is lower...whenever u compare to the apples......and not oranges.

But when compare to pay package/democracy ......u must compare with oranges and not apples.

These people come back because they are not able to renew their visa without a job. They come back not because they think S'pore is better. They come back because they have no choices left.

 

[snrcitizen]

For someone living in a 4-room flat and mother has to work as a tutor, I don't think they come from a well to do family.

Maybe the parents scrimp and save to provide for her. One day, when they are old and need financial support, they will find that their daughter does not have $500 to give them as she is too busy spending money.

You are right. Both parents are working their ass off so as see that both their children have a tertiary education.

During times like this, I am sure that her father's business will be affected and less people will spending on tuition. Yet, this child does not even stop to think but still determined to spend like there is not tomorrow and she is supposed to be a uni undergrad. Real pity education paid through the nose by her parents right up to tertiary level has gone to waste.

My guess is her parents have been too protective over her and never taught her the realities of life.

When her parents are old and cannot afford her lifestyle anymore, don't be surprised if she will sell off her parents 4-room HDB flat just to maintain her lifestyle.

 

[snrcitizen]

The worst part is that by reading the article, it doesn't appear that her parents are very rich.
Spoilt rich brats have existed since the beginning of time, but it seems that we are now getting a new generation of spoilt brats whose families are not rich. Really sad.

The trouble with spoilt brats in this new generation, I feel, is due to the parents. What their kids ask for, they get. No values were taught to the kids.

Quite many families I see here (referring to those less well off ones, as you pointed out), both parents need to work and maid is employed to bring up the children. Values are not taught to the kids and they grow up assuming that their parents will be their financial backers indefinitely. One day, their parents will be in a situation when they are not able to, or even worse, may not be around to pamper to their wants, then these kids' bubbles will burst.

This child under discussion, an undergrad, even believes money comes free flow from parents and she will be a huge problem to her family and herself.