both markets are saturated, Singapore is not an IT hub, though there are several IT companies here. if you want IT look at India or USA or some other developed IT markets.
As for finance i have no idea as it is not my field and there are more and more layoffs in the financial sector almost every other month. so i would say none of these sectors are doing well in Singapore ATM.

jomjom wrote:Hi all,
Could anyone tell me which industry is easier for a foreigner to break into in Singapore? IT or accounting? I've noticed lots of IT professionals moving to Singapore- not so many accountants.
Thank you!

I don't think value could be gained unless more is known about your background. Are you considering which career field to aim for, and are already qualified for both fields?

And when you say 'accounting', is that statutory/'legal' accounting (example: filing annual accounts and regulatory returns with the government), or management/product accounting, i.e. non-statutory reports, sometimes produced daily, for internal use by management in running the business?

There's a big difference between legal and management accounting, and to qualify in either field is a totally separate course of study (full course, 3 years). For example, 'ACCA' is legal accounting, 'CIMA' is management accounting.

Based on my observations in my company, I see that all of our accountants are Singaporeans. There's only one foreigner (a Filipino) who is working as a tax accountant, which my colleagues have explained as a not-so-common type of accountant here in SG. Also, I observed that it is also a "trend" on locals as they tend to get banking and finance type of programs on college, which make them land this type of job. So in accountancy job role, good luck, competition would be really tough as there are Singaporeans who are qualified to do that job.

For IT though, while not so many Singaporeans in that field, competition is tough too because of the foreigners who are already in the job. If you are a foreigner and you don't have experience, then your chances of landing a job are very slim. Both are good career prospectives, it's just that the market is so tough these days and these job roles are were people tend to hold on to their jobs now.

Based on my observations in my company, I see that all of our accountants are Singaporeans. There's only one foreigner (a Filipino) who is working as a tax accountant, which my colleagues have explained as a not-so-common type of accountant here in SG. Also, I observed that it is also a "trend" on locals as they tend to get banking and finance type of programs on college, which make them land this type of job. So in accountancy job role, good luck, competition would be really tough as there are Singaporeans who are qualified to do that job.

For IT though, while not so many Singaporeans in that field, competition is tough too because of the foreigners who are already in the job. If you are a foreigner and you don't have experience, then your chances of landing a job are very slim. Both are good career prospectives, it's just that the market is so tough these days and these job roles are were people tend to hold on to their jobs now.