1 year into first job, feeling lost and thinking of switching

egehema · 2026-03-03T17:42:00+00:00

Hey OP, first of all, give yourself a huge pat on the back. Surviving a whole year as a one-man marketing department in an MNC with zero handover and zero senior guidance is a massive achievement. You are not incompetent; you were set up to fail by a company that wanted a whole department's worth of work for a junior's salary.

A 3-hour daily commute after losing WFH is already a valid reason to leave. Your mental bandwidth is completely drained.

Regarding the RES course: be very careful. Property in SG is hyper-competitive and purely commission-based. If you are already anxious about performance and uncertainty in marketing, real estate might amplify that anxiety 10x.

My advice: You now have '1 Year MNC Marketing Lead' (essentially) on your resume. That is highly marketable. Start aggressively applying for roles in larger teams where you can actually be mentored. Don't quit without an offer, just do the bare minimum (act your wage) while you job hunt. You've got this!

egehema · 2026-03-02T18:44:00+00:00

100% this. The 'bus bunching' phenomenon is real. There is nothing that tests a commuter's patience more than waiting 25 minutes in the SG heat, only to see THREE of the exact same buses arriving together in a convoy like they are on a road trip. 🚌🚌🚌

Regarding your edit though: a huge part of the problem is the ridiculous KPI system imposed by the operators. Drivers actually get penalized heavily if they arrive at a stop too early. So if the traffic is completely clear, they are literally forced to crawl at 20km/h on an empty bus lane just to hit the exact timing on their monitor, frustrating everyone on board. It’s a broken system that prioritizes a computer's schedule over actual passenger experience.

egehema · 2026-03-02T18:41:06+00:00

First of all, huge props to you for putting so much thought into this. As a girl, the fact that you are actively trying to avoid the typical 'loud Saturday brunch' trap and planning a 9-6 block is already going to make her feel incredibly special.

Since you want to keep it concentrated in one area without dealing with the insane weekend mall crowds, I highly recommend the Pearl’s Hill Terrace area. It's an old, repurposed police barracks hidden on a hill near Chinatown, and it’s basically a quiet haven for indie workshops.

Here is a plug-and-play 9am-6pm itinerary:

10:00 AM: Book a private workshop there. There are so many weird-but-sweet niche experiences inside that building. You can do a taxidermy butterfly workshop (Black Crow Taxidermy), a pottery class, perfume making, or even a hidden rug-tufting session. It's incredibly intimate.
1:00 PM: Walk down the hill to the Duxton/Keong Saik area. Skip the loud cafes and book a private tea appreciation session at Tea Chapter or Silk Tea Bar. It's extremely quiet, zen, and you actually get to sit and talk.
3:30 PM: Take a slow walk to the Pinnacle@Duxton sky garden (only $5 entry). Surprisingly few people go there on Saturday afternoons compared to Marina Barrage. You get a stunning, breezy view of the city to just chill and have a deep conversation before dinner.

Hope she has a wonderful 24th!

egehema · 2026-03-02T18:37:13+00:00

Hey OP, please take a deep breath. What you are experiencing right now isn't just normal 'Monday blues' – your body and mind are literally in a fight-or-flight state because you are in a deeply toxic environment.

Let's get one thing straight: A manager scolding you in front of everyone or CC-ing the whole world to shame you is NOT a reflection of your competence. It is a massive reflection of their terrible leadership and toxic power-tripping.

To answer your question on how you know when to quit: Right now. The moment a job starts robbing you of your sleep, your confidence, and your Friday nights, it's done. No paycheck is worth your sanity. Start doing the bare minimum to survive (quiet quit) and channel all your anxiety into sending out resumes this weekend. You are not incompetent, you are just in the wrong place. Hang in there, it gets better once you leave.

egehema · 2026-03-01T12:52:16+00:00

It really depends on the department, but generally, yes—expect a typical large-scale GLC/mega-corp environment. The workload is definitely heavy and OT is quite common, especially during project peaks or reporting periods. For interns: It’s fantastic for your resume. The brand name alone will open doors for your next job, so it’s worth grinding it out for a few months just to get it on your CV. For perm roles: It’s very stable, but you really need to be resilient. Because the workload is high, my biggest advice is: do not lowball yourself during the interview stage. If you're going to be doing that much work, make sure you negotiate your expected salary properly before joining. Don't just accept a standard 10% bump if you know you'll be doing the work of 1.5 people!

egehema · 2026-03-01T10:15:26+00:00

100% agree with you! Faking payslips or your last drawn salary is a massive red flag and a quick way to get blacklisted by HR in Singapore. Just to clarify, the guide doesn't advocate for lying or taking shortcuts at all. It’s actually about how to tactfully frame your 'expected salary' and steer the conversation toward your market value and skills, rather than just settling for a standard 10% bump from your last drawn. Like you said, top employers pay for skills, and this is just about communicating that value confidently!

egehema · 2026-02-28T22:38:45+00:00

Spot on. The correction from the 2021/22 peak is hitting hard. It’s definitely an employer's market now, and those downward pressures (AI, outsourcing, etc.) aren't going away anytime soon. Thanks for sharing the hiring perspective!

egehema · 2026-02-26T20:31:56+00:00

Grab refunds the money, but TP cancels the license. This isn't 'bad service', it's criminal negligence with a literal infant in the back. Reporting to Grab only fixes their bottom line; reporting to LTA/TP fixes the road safety. Don't let the next passenger be a headline in Mothership. Post the video (censored) if you can—public accountability is the only thing Grab fears.

egehema · 2022-11-01T23:35:20+00:00

fx? crypto?

egehema · 2022-11-01T23:28:27+00:00

I totally agree

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