On EU-based Job Opportunities
Why I think what I think...
I wrote this post on LinkedIn the other day and there is one response I’d like to further discuss on this blog. This is based on the original post here, which I 100% agree with.
My original post:
The said response:
I just wanted to clarify around this response.
I never said that people in EU are not happy with their lives. I also want those. Singapore is still behind in a way with regards to urban design and welfare (debatable, I know some people who will say differently!), but I think it’s pretty close, certainly better than the USA.
When I said “trapped” and “proud” — I meant that mostly about the companies who are based there and hiring. This is where the problem comes from. The feeling of pride that’s over the top, continue to sell that as part of the “job benefit” is wrong.
EU companies should benefit from more competitive offering for expats, and not rely only on factors outside the company to win the hearts of candidates. Of course, you can say, even without offering additional benefits or salaries, people are already lining up to move the EU. This is such a bad mentality and very arrogant. It reminds me of the time my ex-manager said at one “big-name” company: “You should be thankful you got hired here. So many people lined up and ready to be in your position.”
I applied to different opportunities in EU (and rejected every single time). It is a very hard market to get through, and if you do get through, visa process can be lengthy and integration/settlement can be more difficult (especially for non-western, non-EU citizens). Rejections aside, if you do get through, you already went so much. Wouldn’t it be fair to be given a bit more of a compensation? Salaries are very low, e.g. I interviewed with Booking.com for a design manager position and it offered shy of €100,000 annual salary even in expensive the Netherlands. With taxes and all probably I’ll get almost half of that. In Singapore, you can get the same or more, and if you’re a PR, the deduction is not that much, including taxes.
I am a big proponent of good urban design. Any of you who have followed me on Twitter/X would know. I also cycle for leisure. I like Singapore and moved here for its good urban design. I come from a very car-centric Indonesian city, and would never advocate for that.
Singapore is in many ways more advanced society than the US. The US has more money, but Singapore is more sane. It’s thus also unfair to compare or make US and Singapore the same and call them anomalis versus EU.
I think this statement/response comes from somebody who still thinks that EU has everything better than the rest of the world. They don’t. They might get most things right, but certainly not for everything.
As a Singapore PR, I also have some welfare benefits like CPF and Medisave. I am not sure how it compares to EU-based walfare, but maybe it’s close. In this case, if having a EU work visa entitles me to EU-based welfare, then yes they do win on that side. But saying that Singapore is an anomaly is such an ignorance.
That’s it. I’ll add more when I can.