Category: t_SG^US

(strictly? ) about the comparison. Used to be a tag

$100,000 personal income in the U.S.

Posted on by tiger40490
Among the working people in the US, how many earn more than $100k/year?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States shows that only 6.61% of Americans had incomes exceeding $100,000 in 2010. 
 
But how many people were surveyed? Apparently all of the Americans there were. US population is about 300 million. In total 244 million individuals aged 15 or higher received income in 2010 as recorded by the United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032011/perinc/new01_001.htm is the official data source behind the 6.61% statistics. That 6.61% percent means 13,970,000 individuals.
 
Goldman Sachs has about 30,000 perm employees. Most investment banks (or the IB arm of universal banks) employ many more. Morgan Stanley has almost 60,000. I would guess the combined headcount in the sell-side exceeds 300,000. I also guess Wall St + Chicago finance sector would support at least 200,000 jobs paying 6-figures. Silicon Valley + other high-tech regions may also support a similar number of 6-figure jobs. 
Like any large scale survey, I’m sure there are many major sources of estimation errors. Not sure which are the most severe —
* did the people being surveyed lie about their income, perhaps to reduce tax?
* did some people miss the survey altogether? 
* Were some people between jobs in 2010 therefore earned lower than their normal income?
 

gr8 convenience of SG (cf U.S.) – some examples

Posted on by tiger40490

Q: # branches of banks, telco, utility providers?
A: much higher in SG. Singaporeans choose online only because it’s cheaper/faster, not because no other choice. US is mostly online self-service or hotline. My wife and I had to struggle for a long time.

Q: how long do u need to wait on the hotline?
A: 95% below a min across all SG telcos, banks, transportation companies (like airlines), utility companies, government agencies
A: 95% above a min across all US telcos, banks, transportation companies (like airlines), utility companies, government agencies, medical insurers,

Q: minimum cost for a reasonable lunch
A: SGD 3 (I can get SGD 2.50)
A: USD 6 (I can get USD 5) on NYC street

I guess one of the fundamental reasons is the minimum wage accepted by (unskilled) workers. I guess around SGD $1k but in the US most won’t accept USD $1k.

Singapore job market — no hungry employers

Posted on by tiger40490

I always feel in SG, most high salary positions in IT are for managers. But I always focus on hands-on roles. In this space, I was told there are also high salary positions (comparable to Wall St) for hands-on developers, but i feel they are like beautiful girls — hard to get.

Most hands on roles are 30% (or 20%?) lower than  NY. The higher salary positions are rather selective. These Hiring manager generally prefers local candidates, unless …. I guess unless they really need some special expertise unavailable in Singapore (such as low latency?). They aren't “hungry” yet. No appetite for “big guns”.

One (fairly senior) recruiter told me my specialty in low latency, real time pricing … is a specialized skill not really required in Singapore. I guess she means most Singapore jobs don't call for such specialized skill.

Asia strengthening, U.S. waning? Not yet

Posted on by tiger40490

For a job seeker, the real effect is in currency. Don’t be fooled by the mass media —

Growth? Asia is probably faster, but revenue and profit volume still is a fraction of the US.

In term of brank, Wall Street is still considered a market more mature more developed, and a (imperfect) role model.

Most trading systems are designed in US or Europe. Very few senior dev roles in Asia.

Profit margin per deal is higher in Asia (Indonesia…) than developed, efficient US/Europe market. A “deal” can be an issue, a block trade or a sale of a trading model.

[09]u asked about goals + y I stayed]U.S. so long#Zhurong

Posted on by tiger40490
I don’t “say it loud and clear” because every year i have multiple changing goals, often spelt out in my blog or emails to friends. By the way, job satisfaction and enjoyment isn’t high on my priorities and not part of any serious goal. In comparison, long term career security is a bigger concern to me.
Why didn’t I return to SG? I  can give at least 10 reasons. Simple reasons include
* higher pay
* S’pore is a sturdy but tiny boat in the ocean. Fragile.

* i need internationally well-known companies on my resume. There are fewer in SG

* Chinese workplace culture and office politics is murky, complicated, dangerous… I fare better in non-Chinse companies.

* i felt GS was perhaps a more suitable place for me than most companies, given my “goal”.

On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 7:27 PM, Rong Zhu wrote:

俗话说，道(goal)不同不相与谋(strategy)。
Speaking of “strategic plan”, what’s your goal? strategy is only meanful when a goal is set, right? I don’t remember I ever heard you say it loud and clear, although it’s probably the most important thing that is pertinent. In other words, why haven’t you returned to sigpo when there seems so many troubles and inconveniences with life in US?

##gains]U.S.

Posted on by tiger40490

Thank God for the gifts, for giving me these opportunities —

* E for apple
* brank
* hardcore Java in a mainstream financial contexx
* financial dnlg
* western workplace culture
* contexx — mission-critial, large system design

j4sg — pub

Posted on by tiger40490

justifications to favor Singapore as long term base, ranked

* wife working legally and safely
* grandparents
* calibre (of IT professionals), elite
* own home

support network – big differences U.S.^SG

Posted on by tiger40490

When i need support, in S’pore i don’t feel i have no one to turn to, like most new immigrants to US do. Is that because i was in SG longer? Yes but also because US is geographically spread out…

In the “support” context, I feel most services are cheaper in SG — medical, taxi, food…

factor: convenience, esp. with public services… so i don’t feel in need of help. Also i was so accustomed to the Singapore environment and processes. See also https://btv-open.dreamhosters.com/2013/04/14/convenience-of-sg-over-us-some-examples/ — Singapore commercial (public? even better) customer service standard is much higher. GS internal service level is comparable.

factor: Easy to bring relatives over (esp. when having baby!)

factor: if we need, China is just a few hours away. (esp. for wives on H4!)

–> sugg: We’re too used to the convenience of Singapore. Need to adapt to new environments with DIY culture.

–> sugg: contribute to a local Chinese church in the US, but once you become Christian they may expect you to contribute and play a part.

1st month in U.S. most difficult

Posted on by tiger40490

Hi XR,

You asked what my headaches were when settling down in US.

long distance (ie between US cities) phone calls — u need to figure out how to reduce this high cost
similarly, international phone calls
public phone very expensive — few people ever use them.
We had no handphone initially. AFter i bought one, air time is quite high.
In many parts of US, nowhere to buy fruits and vegetables

taxi very expensive. If your company doesn't reimburse it, and you don't have a car, you must be resourceful or patient. Often you
must wait for some friends to give you a ride

in some places, u need to drive to buy anything

A lot of things are sold online at much lower prices than in stores, so most people would choose to buy them online. However, most
online stores ask you to fill in a US address for your credit card. In that case your non-US credit card won't help. You need to
apply for a US credit card. If you don't buy online, you may have to walk a long distance or pay higher prices.

Applying for anything (including at a bank) would require a social security number, which takes a few weeks.

Buses are punctual but rare and infrequent, often once an hour.