ST Forum

May 27, 2010

To stay or return home?

I believe this question is on the minds of many overseas Singaporean graduates. 

I often read about how the Government is concerned about the increasing number of overseas-educated Singaporeans who choose to remain in their adopted countries after graduation to build their own lives – that is, young Singaporeans like me. 

I am blessed with exceedingly supportive parents who, I know, will respect my decision, regardless of whether I stay and make a life for myself in Australia, or return home. 

I feel privileged that my parents do not expect me, as an only child, to return to Singapore and fulfil my filial duty. 

As much as I love them, I was not raised this way and I love them more for it. 

And yes, of course, I will miss them. 

I am lucky to have received job offers to work in public hospitals in Australia as well as Singapore. I am passionate about my chosen profession which adds meaning to my life. 

While money is not the sole motivating factor for me, it is important to help me maintain a preferred lifestyle. So, it is hard when the pay being offered in Singapore pales in comparison to the one I am being offered in Australia. 

Being a primarily Western-oriented field, clinical psychology understandably is not as developed in Singapore as it is Down Under. Despite talk of increased funding for mental health and the launching of new postgraduate training courses in the field recently, I remain hesitant in thinking that enough is being done in Singapore. 

I admit I have become a little disconnected with home country in my time in Australia. And although I do not shy away from identifying myself as a Singaporean, I have also embraced the Australian way of life and grown fond of the country and its people. 

I am writing about my ambivalent feelings because I believe that many young Singaporean graduates find themselves in a similar position: caught in a dilemma over whether to stay or return. 

Weiwen Yang