loftydream, I hate to break it to you, but being a Singaporean and wanting to be a pilot leaves you with very few options.
1. Apply for cadetship with SQ
2. Apply for cadetship with Jetstar Asia
3. PRAY that Airasia's Singapore hub materialises and then apply for cadetship with them.
You'll notice I only gave you cadetships. Why?
Getting a license is a lot of money. Get the airline to pay for you, and at the same time, have them decide if you have the aptitude to become a pilot.
If all three airlines rejected you from cadetship, maybe you're really not cut out to be a pilot.
I've trained with pilots who had neither the aptitude or the attitude to become pilots, but only got their license because daddy had unlimited money. Where are they now? They can't even pass the Eaglejet Sim check.
That's not to say you're not up to it. You probably are, considering that you've done your research.
Singaporeans with foreign CPLs are basically in limbo. Why?
1. You cannot convert your license unless you are employed by a Singapore carrier.
2. Which is ridiculous because 9 out of 10 times, to be employed by a Singapore carrier, you need a Singaporea license.
3. You can't even work in the country where you got your license because guess what? You can't get a job there because you will NEVER get a work permit to work as a pilot when you have only an fATPL and 200-odd hours. Believe me, I've tried. I've offered to wash floats, fly jumps, but all countries except Singapore have laws giving priority to locals in the jobs market.
So if you got your CAAS license, which means you paid close 180K, you can pray that your interview with MI goes well and you land a job flying A320s. Provided you land the interview first.
If you've got a foreign license, the only chance you have is to fly south to indonesia and pay another 30-odd K to get an overpriced rating and land a job at a sub-par airline that has a spotty safety record, then pray that your captain doesn't do a scud run below minimums and then land long on a >4000ft runway.
I just want to point out that FAA licenses are cheap because of the immense competition all the FTOs face, not because they're sub par. You can do it in under 6 months because you can take your theory exams any time you want, and if you fail you can just take it again. Factor the 6 months vs 2 years of living costs and you'll see why people choose the FAA route. Not only that, ratings are a quarter of the price compared to JAA ratings.
You haven't paid a dime to learn to fly yet, my suggestion is let SQ/Jetstar's interview see if you have the aptitude. You can say that it's a life long dream and all that, but you cannot buy a roof and food with dreams.
This is all doom and gloom from me, but with flying.monkeys showing you the positive side I figure I better play devils advocate and show you how bad it can be.
I'm quite lucky to have found a job with a type rating and zero hours on type, so I won't complain about my predicament.
What I think that most aspiring pilots in Singapore will find is that no matter how good you are, how hard you work, you need a ****load of luck because the odds are against you. No general aviation, no protectionist laws, no nothing.
If you do get a job at the end of the road then I can tell you the satisfaction will be IMMENSE.