SINGAPORE: A man turned to social media for advice after discovering that his brother, who had moved to Australia to find a permanent lecturing position, is running out of savings.
In his post on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum, he shared that his brother has a PhD but has been struggling to land a stable academic position since relocating to Melbourne.
Right now, his brother works as a contract lecturer, taking on short-term teaching gigs that last about three months at a time.
“So far he has had no success,” he wrote. “Occasionally he will have dry periods with zero income. He told me his savings are nearly depleted.”
To make ends meet during these dry spells, his brother has resorted to driving for Uber. “I can tell he is getting frustrated with his situation,” he wrote.
The man also shared that his brother is turning 40 soon and remains single, so he doesn’t have the added responsibility of dependants.
However, the lack of financial stability and the depletion of his savings are a growing concern. While their parents are willing to step in and provide support for now, he’s worried about the long-term picture, especially since his parents won’t be around forever to help out.
“I fear for his financial future. What can I do to help him build a bit of retirement savings?” he asked. “I have thought about helping him top up CPF. Is there other ways I can help, without becoming a crutch to him?”
“Maybe he should look for other employment instead of lecturing.”
In the discussion thread, a few Singaporean Redditors suggested that the brother consider returning to Singapore and exploring job opportunities in a different field.
They pointed out that transitioning into industries that value research and analytical skills could provide more stability and better prospects.
One Redditor said, “Maybe he should look for other employments instead of lecturing. With his knowledge, I’m sure he can find a role in health care.”
Another commented, “Must he really have an academic position? Depending on his field, he could consider pivoting into industry?”
A third said, “He needs a reality check. That’s what you guys can do for him now—that would help everybody.
“Sure, it’s nice if he can get a job there, but he needs to get it first, what… Come back, get a teaching job, then slowly look lor.”
In other news, a part-time employee working in the education sector took to social media to share that, after he was fired, his boss forced him to reveal his new employer.
“The boss insisted that I must tell him the new company name. But I don’t want to, I had rejected him face-to-face and said I am not able to provide you with the details of my new company name,” he wrote.
The employee also said that during their conversation, his boss would use a threatening tone while asking him for his new employer’s details.
Read more: Part-time employee says his boss fired him and “forced him to reveal his new employer”
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