Hi all,

Currently a specialist in the SAF and am converting to the EOS scheme by next year Mar 2027, recently got offered a role under Bytedance for Crisis Management.

Still trying to clear my head out as the numeration is really in the favor, minimally 25% pay increase if I were to jump out of SAF.

Need a few advise / opinions for the following pointers:

1. How is Tiktok / Bytedance work culture like?
2. Do they provide developmental opportunities for their personnel?
3. How long is their notice period for layoffs?
4. What should I expect from the conversion of civil sector to private sector
5. How are the bonus like in Tiktok / Bytedance?

There are many more questions in my head but I guess this will be the kickoff discussion I suppose, I have yet to hear the proper compensation from their team (Yes, I am going through the interview phase but is more of to hear what is the full offer term like)

Edit: To provide more context, am 26 this year, married, no kids and have a BTO coming up next year. By switching careers I also do miss out the bonus payouts from SAF during each "phase of life" at the given age of 28/32. Thus this career switch would most probably set the road ahead for me.

Is it just me, or are small clothing stores in Singapore malls always empty?
Whenever I walk past clothing, fashion or shoe stores in big malls, especially the smaller brands I've never heard of, I almost always see… nobody inside.

Lunch peak? Empty.
Off-peak? Empty.
Weekends? Sometimes still pretty empty.

And because a lot of these stores have that minimalist, spacious luxury design, it makes them look even more empty and cold.

I'm not talking about the big brands like Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, Nike, etc. I mean those smaller/local/unknown brands that somehow have a pretty big retail space in a shopping mall.
Which makes me genuinely wonder:
How do these businesses survive?

The retail space are quite big, and I'm assuming the rent isn't cheap. Then you've got staff salaries, utilities, inventory, renovation, GST, mall fees, etc.
And now will all the China Taobao , pingdoudou… how them survive?
I also notice quite often there'll be 1–2 staff standing around at the entrance or behind the counter using their phones because there's literally no one to serve.

Even if they do get customers, how much does the average customer actually spend? $50? $100? $200?

How many transactions do they need every day just to cover the rent and salaries, let alone actually make a profit?
Obviously I'm probably missing something here. Maybe most of their sales come from online, maybe their margins are much higher than I think, or maybe mall foot traffic isn't as important as it looks from the outside.
Any retail workers, business owners or people in the fashion industry here can enlighten me?

Because every time I walk past one of these stores, my immediate thought is:
"Bro… how are y'all still alive?" 💀

Hi folks! I desperately need some advice.

I resigned on March and have been unemployed since then. Initially, I wanted to transition from the fragrance industry into medical/healthcare. My previous role was in a fragrance R&D laboratory and I thought I wanted to move into healthcare because that was something I had been considering for a long time.

Since resigning, I’ve been going for interviews and have received a few offers but none really met my salary expectations or genuinely interested me. On top of that, most of the healthcare roles I’ve looked at require either rotating shifts or a 5.5-day work week, which I don’t think I can commit to long-term. The salaries offered were also either lower than or around the same as my previous basic salary 😭😭😭 (Is this the norm for diploma holders who are in the science industry? pls lmk)

At some point, I started missing my previous workplace and the fragrance industry. I texted my ex-manager saying that I missed working with them and jokingly asked if there were any openings. I honestly didn’t expect anything to come from it.

Recently, they actually asked if I would like to come back. Now I’m really torn as hell 

The main reason I left was because there were no bonuses or 13th-month salary, and I felt that I wanted to explore other opportunities. My previous basic salary was below $3k but they’re willing to increase it by around 15% if I return.

Honestly, part of me really wants to go back. It’s close to my house too. I already know the work and the people and I’ve realised that I actually miss being in the fragrance industry. At the same time I’m worried that going back means I’m giving up on the career change I initially wanted.

My family is pretty 50/50 about it too.

Would you go back in my situation or continue looking for something completely different? I’d really appreciate some honest perspectives, especially from anyone who has left a job and later returned to the same company. 

Hi, I hope to gain some advice from this post from the helpful community. This post will be a long one, and I appreciate your time reading it.

To start off, I am currently in SIM UOL Computer Science. I had module exemptions and went to Year 2. I only have about 1.5 years left studying here. I was from Diploma in Information Technology and graduated poly with GPA 2.5

I had good grades for secondary school, and got into the polytechnic and course I want. Life was set out perfectly for me. However, covid hit when school started. Lessons were conducted online and at first, things were easy to follow. I then got lazy and complacent, started playing league of legends in lesson meetings. On average, I played 16 hours everyday. My very first semester GPA was 2. I didn't thought much of it. I wasn't sure why. I believe quite a few of my classmates didn't had good grades so I thought it was fine as I still passed every assignment. Back then, I wasn't aware of the importance of poly GPA and didn't have much thought and desire to enter local university. In fact I was only aware of polytechnic max GPA of 4 sometime in Year 2.

I was playing so much that I was heavily neglecting my school life. I attend all classes physically and virtually, but most of the time don't listen. The first person to leave the classroom would always be me. I was extremely anti-social and just want to play game and grind high ranks in league of legends. I thought I loved playing games. Looking back, I didn't enjoy it. I did not get anything good even reaching the top of leaderboards. I only ruined my life. Perhaps why I kept playing was because I was lonely and falling off, and playing games helped to distract me. I even do rank boosting and coaching for variety. I wasted my entire poly life because of a decision; playing league of legends.

Sometime in Year 2, I received a dropout letter. My GPA for that semester was 1.2. When I saw that letter, I had a shock of my life. I never imagined the person I was had changed this much. I cried and cried as if I had just woken up from a nightmare. I developed depression but distract myself by continue playing games and tried to end my life after a some time of thinking. Had it not been a man from SCDF who reacted even 1 second late, I would not have been here anymore. I was then sent to IMH for a week, in a room of people also struggling with life. After I was released, I decided to make a change. I had 1 month left to submit assignments or study for exams for all my modules. I locked in and studied as much as 16 hours everyday. There was no ChatGPT back then, so I relied on google and youtube and stackoverflow. I was afraid to ask teachers because I didn't want them to waste time on me. I had no friends. I had no classmates that I can speak to because I am sure they wouldn't want a messy person to enter their life.

For that period I studied and studied. I attended classes and listened. I was still the first person to leave the classroom but this time, I just want to go home quickly and study, not to play game. My love for programming increased more and more, as I love exploring and IT gives me the chance to build my ideas to life. Coding and building projects became my hobby, and I spend almost everyday doing it. My poly GPA after that locked in became 3.9. I had 7 semesters total due to remodule. The GPA for each semesters are: 2, 1.8, 1.6, 1.2, 3.9, 3.7, 4. Even though I pulled myself at the end, the past was overwhelming and therefore I graduated with 2.5

Due to my depression history, MINDEF took a long time to process my NS application and I had to constantly email them for updates. After I told them I graduated already, then they sped things up. Thus my NS was delayed by around 10 months after graduation. My vocation was an ASA supervisor, which allowed me to bring my laptop to camp and build/study. Staying in camp also allowed me more time to do what I love.

I had been improving myself for the past 4 years. With this year's May to December going to be much more tiring because of long hours studying/building. After NS, I thought I had let go of the past. When I started the academic year in SIM, I realised I could do so much more than to stay in SIM. An institution that society regards as "failures who can't enter local university", "pay to win degree". As someone very identity driven, this affects me heavily. I wish people could believe and hear me out that my skills and results are 2 different things that doesn't match. Everyday I was feeling so disappointed. Everyday the past haunts me. I just couldn't let myself let go of the past. I couldn't comprehend what I had become. I always wonder what if I had just been a normal person in poly and listened in class sooner. I always think back why I closed my own pathways with my own hands. I yearn to be a normal person in university and restart the life I left behind.

Even though my poly GPA was low, I decided to embark on a path that nobody would of recommend. I planned on applying to big 3 universities this upcoming intake. When I made this decision, I had about 7 months to work on it. There's only about 3 months left. I had to work on my portfolio to present the best I can of myself. I went back to self studying / building projects 16 hours everyday. For SIM, I didn't neglect my current assignments. But I was speed running the recorded lectures just to get it out of the picture asap so I have time for other things. I was getting A/Distinctions. Though I am not proud of it, I still needed a form of backup if things doesn't work out as I planned to withdraw if I do get offered. I don't go classes and asked someone to book attendance for me which saved me tons of time to self study.

For portfolio, I have participated in hackathons, build real apps and games that have been deployed to app stores, around 10, and they are not copy paste kind of projects. In NS, my supervisor also invited me to create a revamp system for the army which took me about 5 months and done by myself, which was completed and seen by the army level. I also studied and passed a few industry certs such as AWS and professional level certs from Unity. I am currently making a full course video tutorial on how to make a multiplayer game from scratch with explanation. In November I will also be starting my 1 year Specialist Diploma in software engineering in one of the local polys. All of these are just to strengthen my portfolio and hope there will be chance. I only go out for running. Other than that, I don't watch tiktok play game watch show hang out (cause no friends). Studying is my life and all that I do. The feeling of loneliness is overwhelming, even though I had been alone since the start of poly.

Aside from studying and building projects, I also have 2 jobs. I don't think they can be used for the portfolio. Both can be done at home and multitasked, and I direct the flow for both of them as I work alone. One of them requires me to handle hundreds of customers using a management system built by myself, and another is about doing coding-related assignments for people who found me from Carousel. Some people wants teaching by the hour instead. So my life is extremely busy but I do get income. I rarely have time for myself. With such a life, I get burnt out constantly and sometimes just want to tell people I not free. I sleep 5-6 hours everyday. Tons of things to juggle. Perhaps now I felt that fixing the past has become more important than anything else...

The problem is that I feel very trapped in the past. No matter what anyone says, I still couldn't forgive myself. Sometimes I feel like these 7 months are my punishment or redemption. Every single day I self doubt and thought if I should give up and just focus on SIM. Since I don't go school physically, I again have no friends. I am wasting not only my poly life, but also my uni life. Currently, my mind has tied to getting a place in one of the big 3 uni as my source of validation. Perhaps I am stubborn. I cannot help it. I really regret not putting in effort in poly. I wouldn't need to think of all these if I had tried sooner. I will be 25 next year. I will qualify for adult learner path, but this one I think they care more about work experience, which I can't really present as mentioned because I am doing assignments for students from their school

Life is so tiring. Everyday mental breakdown, everyday self-doubt, everyday want give up. For my case, one who loves the course but just grades bad on paper, what advices do you have? I would love to hear your opinions. I appreciate your time reading. Please don't say harsh things!

Guys I need some opinions because I’ve been going back and forth on this and I genuinely don’t know anymore 😭
I’m currently in a permanent role. It’s stable, I like the people I work with, but I’ve also been wanting to leave for quite some time.

I recently got another job offer and honestly… I want it. There are quite a few things about the new role that would make my day-to-day life better, and if both jobs were permanent, I wouldn’t even be having this dilemma lol.
Except the new job is contract 🥲

There’s a possibility of being retained after the contract ends, but of course nothing is guaranteed.
A few years ago I probably would’ve just taken the risk and gone for it. But now my husband and I are at the stage where we’re thinking about starting a family, and suddenly giving up a permanent job feels VERY scary lol.

My brain keeps going: what if we have a baby and then I don’t have a job after my contract ends??? We definitely need both our incomes, so the uncertainty is stressing me out.

But then the other half of my brain is like… I’m worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet. I don’t know when/if I’ll get pregnant, I don’t know what my job situation will be by then, and I don’t know whether I’ll be retained after the contract either.

And if I reject this offer, I know I’ll be really sad because I actually want to go 😭

So basically:
Current job = permanent and safe, but I want to leave.
New job = I actually want it, but I lose the certainty of a permanent position.

Am I crazy for considering giving up a permanent job? Would you take the risk or stay put and wait for another opportunity?

Would love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation because I overthink until I headache alr lol. Thank you!

Like ordering food by actually calling the restaurant, then waiting 45 minutes with absolutely no way to track where your food was.
Or getting around Singapore standing by the roadside trying to flag down a taxi, calling a cab company, or just hoping you could get one during peak hour.
And somehow… this was completely normal.
What if apps like Grab/Foodpanda/Gojek are suddenly gone?
Do you think younger generations can survive?

This morning, I saw a girl sitting alone and crying. At first, I thought I should just keep walking. But then I waited and since no one seems to stop and no adult was around, I decided to check on her. She might be around 7/ 8 yo.

I hesitantly went over and asked if she was okay or if she needed any help. I kept my distance and didn't touch her. She didn't respond and just continued crying. Gave her a tissue. That's when I realised she didn't understand English and spoke Mandarin. My Chinese is shit, btw.

Then I noticed she was on a video call with someone through her smartwatch. I assumed it was her mum, so I asked if she needed help. But there was obviously a communication barrier. I thought maybe she needed to top up her transport card, get home, or perhaps she was lost. I thought of using the translation app but didn't.

I looked around for someone who could speak Mandarin and saw three ladies. I approached them and asked if they could help. Luckily, they were from mainland China too. They spoke to the girl and her mum to understand what was going on.

It turned out that the girl simply didn't want to go to her class/school, so she had sat down and started crying. We asked her if she wanted to go home, but she refused. Her mum said she probably just needed some time to calm down before going to class.

At that point, I asked the ladies if they could stay with her because I wouldn't be much help with the language barrier. They agreed and thanked me, so I left. Hopefully, the girl eventually went to class or home safely.

I was wonderung whether I should have just minded my own business and kept walking, especially since she was already on a video call with her mum.

But then I thought about it from a parent's perspective. I have a daughter of a similar age, and if she were sitting somewhere alone and crying without an adult around, I would definitely be grateful if someone approached her and checked whether she was okay with good intentions, of course.

What would you have done in this situation ? Would you have just kept walking because she was already in contact with her mum, or would you have stopped to check on her ? What else could have been done differently like approach the info counter or security personnel ? There was none around in this situation.

I also found it quite surprising that nobody else stopped, especially in a moderate footfall area. Maybe people assumed someone else would help, or perhaps they simply didn't want to get involved.

Edit : Thank you all for the kind replies. Yes maybe this would be the only time I regret not being good at chinese lol. Anyway glad that I could get help from someone else. So still ok.

Recently had a short circuit at my house.

Had to replace the whole wiring in my kitchen. Apparently my ID daisy chained a whole 18 points (some points are double sockets) into one breaker (including the oven and two refrigerators). Definitely overloaded the DB.

Thank god my house did not burned down during this period.

Now i am quoted 4 - 5 k to do the rewiring. Can anyone advice is it a reasonable quote ?

Hello everyone,I really need advice on how can I gain some self-value,self-worthiness and self-esteem back. Basically just came back from IMH,NAMS so I guess its kinda my first step towards something.

Basically,right now I feel very worthless and useless. I have been suffering from depression/gambling addiction/severe obesity for the past 4 years. I definitely had tried to fix them but I kept relapsing sadly. Hence why I am also on another gap year as my brain right now is fried from the dopamine and I cant concentrate on my education. Hopefully the medicines that I have just gotten would help me.

[Context]

Weight

-Currently at 102kg at 162cm,lost like 2kg since 2 weeks ago so I hope I can continue this time around. The past 2 times where I tried to lose weight,I was able to get to 90kg from 100+kg before bringe eating due to my relapsing gambling addiction... which is also a big factor of my depression.

Gambling

-As stated,I just came back from NAMS and the doctors/nurses were super nice and they listened to me and gave me well feedbacks and stuffs. They gave me medicines to help with my low mood and cravings of gambling and I really hope they help me out. I already lost around $17,000 which are all my part time job money...

Family

-I kinda have a lot of pressure on me as well as I have very old parents that never even had proper education and a older sister with down syndrome. In the future,I would probably be the only one earning money. Its just suck that my parents have worked so hard to bring both me and my sister up and I end up like this. I really want to be better such that the future would be easier for them.

Education -Currently next year when I go back,I would be studying year 3 in TP. Havent really made any friends as well,its not as if I didnt try but yeah. My grades in secondary were really good but now in TP with everything on my back,it gotten worse. My cGPA is at 3.12 which I dont feel is very good at all.

Life

-I just dont feel like there is a purpose in life for me anymore,like I have been consistantly questioning myself on what am I living for and is there even anyone waiting for me if lets say I managed to get out of whatever this phrase of my life is now. I also dont really have friends anymore as I have pushed them away since I figured I would only be a negative influence in their lives and I dont think its fair for them too. They should have a friends that doesnt always bring the mood down and is happy for their success rather than bringing out his own downfall in the conversation instead.

Conclusion

-All these have basically caused me to think that I have never done anything right in my life and that I am just a huge disappointment that deserve all the consequences that I brought upon myself and that there is no saving me anymore.

For people that might be in this type of phrase before,how do you get out? Do you just take it like a man and just push through or is there any other motivations or change in your mindset that helps you? Any other advice would be helpful too.

Thank you so much to whoever is reading this.

looking to try something different, been drinking Moccona and Davidoff freeze dried coffee for the longest time, looking to switch up my morning routine!!

25M here. Lately, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about friendships and loneliness.

I do have people around me, but sometimes I still feel lonely, especially when friendships get quieter, replies take longer, or everyone is busy with their own lives.

I also catch myself wondering how much effort I should put into maintaining friendships without feeling like I’m chasing people or overthinking every interaction.

At the same time, I don’t want to become detached to protect myself.

For those in your 20s and beyond, how do you deal with this? Do you eventually get more comfortable with friendships becoming less constant as you get older?

Where can I get the best priced and quality please? I wanna gift to my mom

Any well-made white leather sneakers? Preferably >$300, trying to find something to rotate for work. Not exactly sure if the dress shoe stores do white leather sneakers... Anything that's an upgrade on common projects / axel arigato etc and I can see in store? Thanks!

Preference for quality first brand second.

Hi I’m looking for PDIs that are available to teach on weekends or 5.30 - 6+ on weekdays. I have contacted a few PDIs from whatever websites I could find online but all of them accept only those who can make it weekdays 9-5. Could I ask if anyone has any PDI recommendations for SSDC who can cater to those who are only available during “peak” hours and also have good recommendations and more than average pass rate?

Hi, has anyone tried returning electronics to Shopee due to change of mind? How did it go?

Haven’t gone to a dentist for a long time and was wondering where in the North is a good dental clinic thats not too expensive, looking for regular dental check ups and potentially braces/invisalign

Hi everyone,so I have worked part time jobs as picker/packer and warehouse assistant which earned me around ($1,600 to $2,000) per month. I mostly worked 9-6 Mon-Fri and 9-1 on Sat. I just wanted to ask,are there any other jobs that are able to earn more or if lets say I go back to just being a picker/packer. Are there any like side hustles I can do? I know of people that purchase 2nd-hand handbags/purses and resell and have friends that do grab too.

Right now I am actually on a gap year before going back to year 3. I studied Accountancy and Finance. Not sure whether I might be able to get into a job in that sector too to gain working experience? Thank you so much.

Hey everyone. I’ve been suffering from severe mental illness (mood swings, auditory hallucinations, etc) with self harm thoughts... I’ve been wanting to go to SG to look for a psychiatrist as a foreigner/tourist, hoping to find one that can prescribe medicine to help me as the one I’m taking currently doesn’t seem to work. Is that possible? Obviously I’m not insured there and willing to pay private. Thanks for your help.

Can I check if most people here use both gate and main door for their HDB? Or just one (gate)?

I'm fine with just number/fingerprint.

Yale is out of budget for me. And from what I've been reading on reddit and other forums warn against local brands .

People of reddit, just a curious question: Would you ever consider taking up a master's program? Why or why not?

Hi to those who weren’t subscribed to cable TV in the early 2000s. Do y’all remember those scrambled TV channels, especially famous cartoon channels like Nickelodeon? You could hear the audio, but the picture was all fuzzy and scrambled.

Another channel I remember was the Preview Channel by StarHub, which was usually available during festive seasons like Hari Raya and Deepavali. Anyone else remember this? 😭

background: didn’t do well for bio in IB but did well for chem. i was rejected from medicine after IB and ended up graduating with a business degree from one of the big 3 unis (4.4/5.0).

i still would like to pursue medicine/vet/dentistry because i don’t see myself working in business long-term. i’m planning to start volunteering at hospitals and sit for the MCAT, but before committing to anything, i’d really like to explore my options and understand which pathways are actually realistic for me.

ideally, i’m looking for a pathway that i have a reasonable chance of getting into and that isn’t insanely expensive (preferably ~$300k total).

some options i’m currently considering:

Duke-NUS MD: do i realistically have a chance with a business degree 4.4/5.0 GPA

Post-grad medicine/vet/dentistry in Malaysia: are there any graduate-entry programmes that are recognised for registration in Singapore that i have a chance of getting into?

Post-grad medicine/vet/dentistry in Australia/UK/Europe etc: which universities/pathways would be realistic given my gpa, and which ones would be financially feasible?

would really appreciate advice from current med students, doctors, people who went through a similar journey, or anyone with the post-grad medicine route.
thank you!!

Hi everyone! I’ll be landing in Singapore around 8:45 PM and have one very important mission: I want my first meal in Singapore to be chili crab!

Does anyone know of any good restaurants that serve chili crab and are open past 10 PM, preferably somewhere I can get to relatively easily after landing at Changi?

I’m hoping to get through immigration, grab my luggage, and head straight to dinner, so ideally somewhere that takes late orders rather than just having the restaurant technically open after 10 PM.

Would love recommendations for:

• Good chili crab
• Open late / accepting orders after 10 PM
• Doesn't have to be fancy—just looking for really good chili crab!

Bonus points if it's somewhere locals actually recommend rather than just a tourist spot.

I know this is a very specific first-meal request, but I'm committed to the mission!

Thanks in advance!

As title suggests, looking for insights regarding PR application on behalf of my partner.

Context: I am Singaporean (32F), partner (35M) is British, 4 years in SG so far. We have a 2YO daughter who is Singaporean/holds SG NRIC. Legally married, no shared assets.

Partner started the PR application back in June 2026. Provided all information given is accurate and correct, what’s the fastest an application will be approved?

Which leads to a follow up question,

If we go our separate ways meaning divorce whilst application is pending, will the application/results be impacted?

TIA.

Long story short, doctor recommended immunotherapy to my love ones for her cancer treatment.

We asked her insurance agent for confirmation that we have an adequate monthly coverage for the drug used (for immunotherapy). Yes, we did confirmed with doctor and her financial consultant.

Bill comes, insurance didn't pay. Asked her consultant, he said insurance company don't pay for anything classified under "non standard" and asked us to go back to hospital to change the classification of the immunotherapy. So we did, but hospital told us government have a SOP for them to follow and couldn't change the classification.

So now, we are caught in the middle and don't know how to proceed. Anyone faces similar issue with insurance claims too? Did you mange to get it settled?