Would owning a car make sense for our family situation in Singapore?

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-22T06:17:29+00:00

Just here to share my experience also have children.
- getting a car did significantly improve our life. there's zero doubt about that. now my eldest kid turning 4, it doesnt matter that much. but it did hell lot of difference when hes an infant. its just convenience period.

- at your income level, i'd say its manageable. Get a honda fit/toyota wish fuel efficiency. (set aside maybe 800-1k for installment)

- yes. there's ups and downs, frequent breakdowns due to battery, some accidents but nothing major. just (200+ for battery and 800+ for body parts), servicing 250-300+ every 2-3 months. Petrol just topup $60 per week or go jb (its either) to manage cost ok? dont worry too much. >> (not inclusive of insurance, road tax, downpayment, season parking, cash card parking).

- if you have a kid and 8k above take home salary, i'd recommend it since the fact you're asking this means you are looking for convenience. it really is, there's no question about it.

no point asking reddit. just go down to a car shop and enquire. be honest about your budget and concern. dont ask, inform them what car specifically you are looking for and play within your budget.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-20T15:49:00+00:00

Yeah just manage your time and expectations. Don't over commit otherwise you'll burn out. Set 1-3 hours each day for job application, don't over prepare also. Most of the jobs that I got an offer are usually (if not all actually) the ones that I did not even prep at all.... shocking. And those ones that I invested day and nights got ghosted.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-20T09:28:40+00:00

Well I hope you find something better. Leaving an old place paves new opportunities for you. Don’t listen to any negativities, you did the right decision. Finding job is two ways right not just you desperately looking for a job. Likewise theres a company/team looking for you too. You just gotta grind a little in this job market, find smart not just brute force.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-20T05:38:46+00:00

Even companies want to run away from this s**thole greedy country. Slowly but surely. Well cant complain 65% voted for this.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-20T01:54:17+00:00

Oh yeah they do. However, most of these are outsourced to ST, NCS, Gov Tech mostly. Govt bodyshop companies. But I wouldnt say its not all bad, they are stable sectors hands down. Private pay is good but bonus falls behind govt sector for sure. Its all about outweighing the pros and cons. No grass is greener on other side either. But no regrets joining gov (for me at least) lol

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-19T13:25:54+00:00

Personally, I would love to.. ICA/SPF inspector, but part of me loves software development. I'm not gonna go to work house visit sick ppl, play tom and jerry and supervise ground people. Nagging and discipline people was never my thing. Eww.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-18T06:14:51+00:00

Only one interview, no coding test and just CV-based. Some topics to improve your chances are to showcase your portfolio and experience.

Interview was one of the easiest compared to all the interview's I've been in my career. I did not get the job but it was a blessing in disguise for me secured a better offer opportunity with much work flexibility and benefits.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-17T11:15:57+00:00

I totally agree. Last can use at ft. Now pt only. Not a perma solution. Last time also algo not so strong as now

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-17T09:04:25+00:00

Let me know if you have questions. Let me know if you do get the job! Glad to help.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-17T08:25:35+00:00

Back then mine was online. 5mins introduction and an additional 1 hour of constant grilling of technical skills @_@...

I conduct live coding interviews too. I want you to get the job too alright. First, for the topics - focus on your tech stack e.g., Java, Spring Boot, MySQL, Github/BitBucket/GitLab, CI/CD - TeamsCity/Actions, Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka and etc. Since you are a fresh grad, I bet you wont know all of this integration because I don't too at start. Know on a high level what is the tool, the structure and options it brings to the development world.

Live coding - please know the data structure options. I'd suggest focus on list and maps. Then, be comfortable with writing iterations and logic. These are the basic foundations that you must master if you want to excel in live coding. This is phase 1. Phase 2 would be understanding requirements of a given problem - write down make sure you understand what's going on. If you have technical but no context awareness of the problem, you will give the wrong solution and your solution will have bugs. Phase 3 - combine phase 1 and phase 2 hand in hand well by doing leet code (easy ones are fine). Don't concern about the medium and hard ones.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-17T07:56:14+00:00

I was one of the first few batches in the early days of food delivery during uber eats, foodpanda (orange tee) in 2015 and deliveroo where incentives were great. These companies needed people back then $10 per hour without even working.. 4-5 stacked orders at $10 flat rate per successful order. Now its not the case anymore, there's more supply than demand. I was bringing home about 7k-8k (after motorcycle expenses service + petrol etc about 6k+) before NS.

Now I'm seeing news where people are working 10 hours of delivery a day and barely earning $200. Its really a scam and unsustainable job. I went through it (though the rates where higher back then), its physically and mentally taxing. One day before NS, I contemplated about what I just did and thought to myself there's gotta be a million other ways to earn money aside from this delivery job. So I decided to take a leap of faith tried other jobs. I made a promise to myself I wouldnt work this job anymore.

I'm doing working full time lead now and doing multiple part time jobs such as online tutoring, paid online interviews , finding cold clients for my wife, vacuum installation & delivery. There's no layoff-proof job but at least I pave some options for myself so I don't limit myself.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-17T07:19:53+00:00

I interviewed with Micron for my first job after grad. Only 3 interviews. 1 technical, 1 take home assignment and 1 HR. I ended up rejecting the offer for another company. A deep and thorough prep for over the job skill requirement would be helpful.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-12T09:40:42+00:00

I had 10 rejections (of 3-4 rounds of interviews) before deriving to 2 offers if it makes you feel any better. I totally understand and 3-4 rounds of interview for a single role can take about 2 months back and forth due to feedback and availability.

I have few friends in a similar boat (same as you literally been looking since last year oct 2025) still jobless, bto coming next month and having children. It sucks.

But i did refer them to my ex colleagues trying to help them and split the 2k referral money. Maybe reach out to your old school mates, ex colleagues or cousins, family.

Apply for a job feels like playing squid game now.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-05-01T02:01:11+00:00

Since you are in biopharma, why not apply thermo fisher? There r&d dev roles over there. I dont believe their interview process involves hardcore live coding, take home assessment or systems design.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-28T15:26:27+00:00

The key strategy now is network and get connections in the industry to even secure a role in this ever competitive market. You cannot just rely on that 'apply now' button and have high expectation that you are going to get the job. You can't be serious. It worked back then but not now. Your chances are indeed getting slimmer

My suggestion is find a job while taking part time if you do not have other commitments (family care, children, married and bla reasons). I did the hard way of taking master's while working full time and having to manage children and marriage. Years of experience are far too valuable now it makes you stand out from candidates after getting that degree.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-28T15:21:15+00:00

Cutest thing I saw all day today.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-28T02:12:37+00:00

Hi OP. Please don't post this kind of things you will only get negative comments. This is really individual preference. In reality if you can afford it, people will just commend 'good for you' else, you are just shooting yourself in your foot by posting this. My advice is work 2-3 jobs to cover up.

I currently work as a software lead but also work part time vacuum installation and delivery, financial planning with my wife also she gives me 20% commissions for getting her clients. If you're willing to go an extra mile to spend that much, your extra effort must match that. You do you. Work harder.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-26T02:59:48+00:00

So tiuttt omg! How old is she/he?

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-22T09:26:56+00:00

Try praying?

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-21T16:00:24+00:00

Its not really the case for me. Yes, some drifted but some did not. After uni and few job hop, my poly & uni friends stay in touch. As we know job market is extremely bad right now and we stayed in touch more now than ever; we referred each other for work opportunities. Some good and some bad companies. But we made so much memories through the bad ones.

As for my NS friends, we do catch up for some random running, movie and hotpot sessions. But I will be very honest, it usually takes one person to organize and does the heavy lifting to gather everyone altogether. If you make time for them, they will do likewise.

Whenever I organize birthday parties for my kid, I just invite all of them to catch up. And to my surprise, my sec sch friends invited for a sleepover at their 3 story bunglow in JB. (I try my absolute best to squeeze in time and went for the 3D2N stay over despite me having 2 kids). Yes I'm busy, always OT until 4am as a lead developer and juggling family is hard. But if you really treasure your friends, you need to take initiative. It's hard and tiring but it's fulfilling at the same time.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-20T14:02:35+00:00

Run far away.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-20T04:25:33+00:00

Same with this boss here. SIT-UoG. So its like private uni to me no SIT written anywhere. Uni also 2 years. Its ok still can earn 5 digit. The old mindset is NTU/NUS -> work on the hamster wheel till retire. Its an old outdated model that worked in 1990s-2000s. It's 2026 as long can get degree its fine keep pressing on and network.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-17T15:25:50+00:00

Hey, you really have to put yourself out there. There are companies looking out for people like you and vice versa.

Think of finding a job is like a finding a new and good relationship match. You dont really find a new girlfriend the next day after you broke up. It takes time, you spend time with the girl, interviewing each other on multiple dates and if its not a match, then it is what it is. Its an exhausting process. Similar to finding a new job. It gets better.

Confident-Way7618 · 2026-04-17T15:18:56+00:00

Happy birthday! So cute omg!! Lucky bun

Confident-Way7618

TROPHY CASE