High Paying Jobs in Singapore during the Economic Downturn

With Singapore being regarded as the booming hub for highly skilled talents and business growth in Asean, we take a look at the Top 10 High Paying Jobs that you can work to obtain during an economic slowdown in the region. Special thanks to the original source of the article which i stumbled upon at community.jobcentral.com.sg. which provided us with a comprehensive look at the 10 Best Paying Jobs in Singapore. 

Top Paying Jobs in America for High School Graduates 2012

Obtaining a degree may pose a challenge to some especially during the times of economic uncertainty today. So people have asked if there are job opportunities for the moment for high school graduates in America? Well, we stumbled upon a website which listed down the High Paying Jobs in 2012 for Americans with High School certifications or graduates. 

High Paying Jobs for New Zealand Graduates

With the job market becoming more competitive, it is vital for graduates to understand, and to be able to foresee seeking placements in industries that would offer them the best compensation for their years of struggling through university. 

Being one of the smallest country in the world, in terms of population, New Zealand with a population size of 4 million people may not be considered as a big enough market for larger companies or businesses to set up shop. Hence this would have impacted the job opportunities available locally as well. 

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 10 (Finale)

Ultimately, talents and graduates line up to work with the companies and employers of the year, and the Google brand name is always prominent in the internet business. For any company or employer to be attractive towards drawing top talents, perhaps its time to focus on building the intangible value of your brand, like how Avinash Kaushik would explain with his experience of working with Google in this Series Finale. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik 

# 1: The brand.

My son Chirag will be four in a couple months. The first word he could spell without looking at it was G O O G L E. I think he was two and half.

I don't wear too many Google shirts, I don't have too much Google stuff. He had visited Google a couple of times, he loves walking around, looking at stuff etc. As a result he has this deeply favorable view of the Google "brand".

I was impressed. Remember this is a little kid (he can spell more things now!).

The interesting thing is that the Google brand has the same effect on people of all ages. There is a thriving cottage industry in sub optimal google thoughts, but for the most part people have a wonderful positive response when you tell them you work for Google (even as a consultant!).

My friend Blaire was telling me how she gets stopped and asked nice things when she is wearing the Google "girl power" t-shirt. That's branding.

People have a positive opinion of Google and it transfers to your sense of pride in your company. Goes to show if you just produce a good product it can translate into something remarkable (something worth remarking).

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 9

Talents, especially the Gen-Y graduates are looking for a work place which puts emphasis on work life balance. For Google, it isn't a weird environment to have their employees enjoying themselves with cuisines from all around the world, or in this case, as Avinash Kaushik would explain, playing netball, exercising and playing sports within the company's compounds. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik

# 2: It's a happening place. The energy, the vibe, the passion.

Cool projects + empowerment + size of impact = A energetic fun happening place.

Google employees are a passionate bunch, the have a energy to themselves regardless of how big or small their project is, and they are passionate. People work hard (and I might stress play hard, see below), and you feed off their energy.

There is this constant sense that you are doing something to change the world, there is very positive vibe.

A great example is Testing On The Toilet.

Yes you heard it right.

I can only speak for the mens restroom of course. As you stand (or sit :) you can't fail to notice that in front of you a page that teaches the importance of testing. Each week a new "episode". Techie stuff, python and sawzall and bigtable and loops and so on and so forth.

That would be inconsequential (just like the sign that says "wash your hands after using the bathroom"). But the amazing thing is that these docs, deeply technical as they are, are written with a great sense of humor. Often subtle, usually techie, always entertaining.

It is not unusual for even someone like me to just stand there and read the whole thing (sadly blocking traffic!). I don't understand everything they teach but I am consistently struck by how well written it is, and the passion of the people who take writing better code so seriously.

It's just a example of the energy that you'll see, passionate people trying to do the right thing with a smile.

As Martha would say "That's a good thing."

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 8

Consumers like to think that they are contributing their cash to responsible companies. The same with talents, where they expect to work with companies with a social conscious to give back to society. They want to ensure that they are helping the world, while helping the company to make money. Avinash Kaushik blogs about his 'Green' experience in Google.

Source: Avinash Kaushik 

# 3: Doing Good: Green & .org

This might not resonate with everyone but it is very important to me. One of the reasons Intuit was so nice, they did so many good and charitable things.

I am a Northern California person, I am green, I buy everything in An Inconvenient Truth! :)

Google has lots and lots of green initiatives. From the solar panels on the car ports that are around the buildings. . . .

to initiatives like the greener cars (I know green car is a oxymoron) like the plugin hybrid. . . .

to the cup of juice that I pick up at breakfast. . . .

In small and big ways you'll see around the offices Google takes green seriously in a very real and meaningful way.

They also support great causes, like the matching program for OLPC (one laptop per child) when you could buy one laptop and one would be given free to a child in the third world. Google's match meant two laptops would be given out for the one you bought.

google.org is a very ambitious initiative to to make a immense difference in the world that we live in. Lots of companies are lucky to be blessed with great wealth. I am always biased in favor of companies that don't wait to make a difference, they take action right way. Be it google.org or WalMart and their CFL initiative or the, most ambitious of it all, efforts of the Gates Foundation.

At a personal level it feels good to be a part of a company that tries to make a difference (and some day Google will even lick the problem of how much power web servers consume!!).

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 7

Google takes pride of its employees' ideas and the scalability of their ideas when implemented as projects within the company. It is interesting to note that for experienced professionals or employees, they would prefer to have a platform for them to test their ideas out. For them its self-fulfillment and gives them new meaning to their work. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik

# 4: The scale of your impact.

This one is my personal favorite.

Google is not quite as big as many companies out there, but in its space it has a huge user base for most of its applications (search and beyond). Anything you work on will probably touch hundreds of thousands of people – if not multiple times that.

It is such a awesome thrill when you see your work in the hands of so many folks on this planet.

I think of a small idea and collaborate with the team and bam (!) they make it a reality.

In a few days something that was just in your brain is now in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people!

I open the app and there is such a deep sense of gratification when I see parts of it that helped with ("mine! that's mine!").

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 6

There is a belief that big companies can still act small within, at least with their employees. With Google's very democratic, free and open culture, it is a proof that such an environment stimulates employees to experiment with new possibilities with the company. A normal scenario where employees are discouraged to take risks, Google tackles the issue otherwise by empowering them. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik

# 5: Empowerment (The big small company).

If you are good at something, have passion to do it then you'll get empowered to go do it.

I know that sounds basic. It is not.

You could be just out of college and if want to then you'll get to solve some of the most complex challenges you would ever find. At other companies you'll get put into a hierarchy with layers and controls were for the first four years you might learn where all the files are.

I am being a bit dramatic, but not all that much.

In my second week there I was walking over to lunch with a young man and he was describing his work to me. He had been at Google for less than a year, straight from college and had completely rewritten one of the most challenging "code" during the last few months and his work had yielded dramatic results for Google.

He is good at what he does but I was simply struck by how a company this size would let someone so young and "untested" the task for solving such a complex challenge. And how awesome must it feel to know that you did that!

That's what I mean by empowerment.

[Google NYC campus building made out of legos, above.]

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 5

Surround Yourself with Brilliant People and a Supportive Workplace and you are bound to discover your talents for your company. In this case for Google, Avinash Kaushik explores the relevance of Google employees being mentored and to work with equally brilliant talents as a way to enhance their motivation to work for the internet giant and also to learn.

Source: Avinash Kaushik 

# 6: The sheer amount of brilliant Google employees.

There is a myth that everyone who works at Google is smart / brilliant / genius / replace your own term here. That is not true. Not everyone.

You'll still be astounded at the hit rate of truly brilliant google employees to the sub brilliant ones (see Mom, I can be diplomatic!).

It really does not matter who you are and what you have done before. You could be the greatest at your own field, I assure you in your meetings and as you walk around you'll see and work with people who you think are genius.

It will keep you humble, and that is a good thing. :)

Here's an example. . .

This, as you'll surely recognize, is Hans Rosling. . . .

To people who have anything to do with data he is pretty much as good as it gets. His cube is ten meters from where I sit. When I see him I am as giddy as a school girl who has just seen Brad Pitt.

Highest Paying Job in America with a Professional Degree

With speculations that our world is rushing towards another economic downturn with the happenings in the Euro zone, many are pondering about degrees or professional qualifications to take to get their dream job with the highest paying salary. Well, we have listed down the top jobs in America, where for this category, it would require you to invest your time to obtain at least a degree in the designated professions. 

This is the list of the Highest Paid job in the USA, as listed by Careerbuilder.com . Perhaps, this is a great guide for you, or your children to decide on their next professional degree or qualification. 

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 4

Google works to develop its employees so that they too can innovate to produce ground-breaking products for the internet giant. It is this empowerment concept that had made Google an attraction for people to work with them. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik 

# 7: Brain expansion opportunities.

For some reason this one surprised me. I don't know why.

This is not a uncommon sight as you walk into Google buildings. . . .

On any given day at Google there are brilliant people visiting and giving talks and lectures. Politicians, authors (even niche ones: me!), professors, bright young folks (me, long ago!), environmentalists, journalists, dignitaries, monks, Nobel prize winners, venture capitalists and so on and so forth.

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 3

Google takes pride in letting its employees experience with the little things and hatch their ideas in a supportive and innovative environment. As Avinash Kaushik would explain his 'Micro Efficiencies' experience working for the internet giant, Google.

Source and Pictures : Avinash Kaushik 

# 9: "Micro Efficiencies".

Google has all these "micro efficiencies" that are very clever and well thought out. Each in a small way makes life easy for someone working at Google, but taken in aggregate, in my opinion, add up to a big advantage for the company.

Here's a tiny example. . . .

All conference rooms are wired for everything you need to make your life easy. In my prior companies I had to reserve a projector, and mostly forgot, and carry my power bricks and my ethernet cables etc. At Google all the power adapters you need are in the conf room, Apple or ThinkPads, and there are two projectors in every conf room (and most have high bandwidth video conferencing) and did you see the dvi – vga converters? This makes my life easier in a small but significant way.

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 2

Avinash Kaushik recalls his experience of working with Google. He is now listing down the 10 Perks for working with the internet giant. From food, to employee facilities to flexibility, he has done an amazing work in sharing all that with us. So, this time he is going to talk about the food served in Google. 

Source and Pictures: Avinash Kaushik 

# 10: The amazingly fantastic food and impressive digs.

I am sure you have heard about the food, everything you have heard is true (and it probably understates the story).

Brett had always said one of the reasons I should work at Google was the food. My reply was "My level of gourmet is Taco Bell". :)

Working with Internet Giant, Google - Part 1

Thanks to Avinash Kaushik who had the opportunity to work in Google in Silicon Valley and he has written a detailed blogspot on his experiences and the perks of working with the internet business giant. This will be a 4 parts series towards Avinash's experiences with Google. 

Source: Avinash Kaushik

It will soon be a year of working at Google and milestones are always a good time for introspection.

I have a lot on my mind but there was one thing in particular that I wanted to share with you all:

What it is has been like working at Google.

6 Tips to Win Your Dream Job at an Interview

If only you knew about what or how to prepare for an interview of your dream job. Well, below are 6 practical tips of things that you can prepare today, to give your prospective employers a good impression on what you can potentially bring to the company. 

Source: SimplyHired Blog

• Why is this position open? (Find out why the previous person left or if it’s a new role in a growing company)

• What traits or experience would a person need to be successful in this role?

• What are the top goals for the person you hire in this role?

• What's your management style (or the management style of the hiring manager)?

• What would you change about… the company, culture, department, etc.?

• What are the next steps in this process?

Having A Degree Doesn't Guarantee a Well Paying Job Anymore

In this posting, the case study takes us to Singapore where a featured article shares about the reality that having a degree or professional qualification no longer guarantees one for a stable job or in fact a well paying one too. The competition with foreigners because of the rise of developing economies like China and India, are paving the way for my employers to outsource their assignments overseas for a cheaper rate. So, how does one remain competitive and relevant to the job market?