Taxi driver with a PhD from Stanford
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Introduction:
Probably the only taxi driver in this world with a PhD from Stanford and a proven track record of scientific accomplishments, I have been forced out of my research job at the height of my scientific career, and unable to find another one, for reasons I can only describe as something "uniquely Singapore". As a result, I am driving taxi to make a living and writing these real life stories just to make the dull job a little more interesting. I hope that these stories are interesting to you too.
Introduction: Probably the only taxi driver in this world with a PhD from Stanford and a proven track record of scientific accomplishments, I have been forced out of my research job at the height of my scientific career, and unable to find another one, for reasons I can only describe as something "uniquely Singapore". As a result, I am driving taxi to make a living and writing these real life stories just to make the dull job a little more interesting. I hope that these stories are interesting to you too.
COULD this be Singapore's most well qualified taxi driver?Dr Cai Ming Jie became an SMRT cabby last November after spending 16 years as a researcher at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star).
His career switch has become a talking point online after he started a blog earlier this year. Alongside his experiences as a cabby, he takes issue with the circumstances of his departure from IMCB last May.
An SMRT spokesman confirmed that the former researcher is a driver with SMRT Taxis, but Dr Cai declined to add more beyond this: 'All that needs to be said is on the blog online...It should be IMCB that needs to be asked questions, if any.'
The China-born Dr Cai, who became a Singapore citizen, obtained a PhD in molecular biology from Stanford University in 1990. The Straits Times learnt that he did a two-year postdoctoral fellowship after leaving Stanford at the University of Washington, under famed genetist Professor Lee Hartwell, who won a 2001 Nobel Prize in physiology.
He joined IMCB two years later and worked as a principal investigator in the field of cell genetics up till his departure.
A spokesman for A*Star, meanwhile, said renewal of all its researchers' contracts is based on a number of factors, including the time taken to train PhD students, their performance and their contributions to the research institutes and the agency in general.
Dr Cai's work, like that of all A*Star researchers, was assessed by an external Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which recommended his contract be terminated.
Still, in spite of the submission of countless curriculum vitaes and applications to universities, government agencies and companies since he was told he would be let go in 2007, Dr Cai failed to get a successful response.
The former researcher now drives a four-year -old Toyota Crown. 'At a time like this, the taxi business is probably the only business in Singapore that still actively recruits people,' he said.
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Read about his interesting blog here: http://taxidiary.blogspot.com/ -
so much for foreign talent investment..even the lower taxi job, they also want to invade..haiz.
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This will be the consequence wen FT start to lose their jobs
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Go and read his blog, I really pity him.
Office politic in its purest form with new management taking over.As a salaried man, I know what he was going thru'. We, the slaried worker, face retrenchment, changing management style, new boss, competition from co-workers etc etc.......
Haiz to be a human....haiz... -
why..haiz, be a boss of yourself lah..collect cans, newspaper or stand near MRT with a robe and shave botak also can..can also start a cleaning business mah, now so lucrative with most people getting lazier and lazier, also can start a old peoples caring premium centre mah, old peoples very easy to take care one,..most of their rich sons and daughters will put them for your care. So much opportunities and why u all are sitting duck here waiting for shooting.
Anyway, by looking at this Dr picture..I feel like he got some mental problem.
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now we got talented taxi driver, should put it up and show it to those who wanted to become a talent citizen here and tell them the final consequences.
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stand near MRT with a robe
Ooi what's standing near MRT with a robe, scare xmm arh?
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Originally posted by 4sg:
Ooi what's standing near MRT with a robe, scare xmm arh?
faked monk or holy man. -
Originally posted by angel7030:
faked monk or holy man.U think we all want to be sitting duck meh? In Sg, rental is the major killer. Hav to do it rite or bring prob to family mah.
Yr dad's outlet bought by yr grandfather, rite? (I think, u said before). Diff mah - major fixed cost oredi under control. -
his entries r beri interestin.
me feel beri sad for him.
bt me oso admire him.
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No more blog entries
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Here is another link. It appears like someone in authority (from IMCB?) telling why they let him go. (I have not got time to read it yet.)
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China born turned singapore citizen. Mr Cai, you made the wrong move to become singapore citizen, this is the consequence you face.
Calling all China Chinese in Singapore, do not become Singapore citizens, earn your money in sg and go back. YOur China govt take better care of the nation compare to our PAP govt in singapore. Your china govt give pension, our PAP govt refuse givee pension but force us to buy our own "pension". YOur china govt does not impose GST on purchase, our PAP govt implemented GST and keep increasing the rate. Our govt does not provide free travel on public transport for the senior, but in China the govt provide free travel on public transport for senior citizens age 70 and above.
So China Chinese, please be wise!
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Dr Cai Ming Jie could have collected cans and made a greater impact.
"Can Collector with a PhD from Stanford"
We all knew long ago that having the paper qualifications does not equate to having brains.
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I tot that there was already existing thread?
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Could he not get a teaching post from private U? i would think that he would be able to teach a Microbiology course for freshman?
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Well.. good luck to all the FTs here..
Once the administration thinks they have had enough FT, you'd be just as redundant as the locals..
And God Bless you if you remain a cabbie towards your old age...
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they have not tasted the Govt social engineering yet.... didn;t know the govt have the habit of.......do a 180 degree turn after a few years...
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maybe he was seconded by the govt to study on social biological issue on taxi commuters of singapore,..eg peoples behavior on transport, study on social change such as foreign influx could have a biological effect on humans. So he is actually doing a research out of office, and to get near to the public, he had to position himself as near as possible to them,..guess he choose taxi driver instead of pimp
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ah!! nevermind, i called SMART, got his taxi plate nos, put him on call, and i can do a full interview with him, with me, i think he will provide a truely better picture of himself.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
China born turned singapore citizen. Mr Cai, you made the wrong move to become singapore citizen, this is the consequence you face.
Calling all China Chinese in Singapore, do not become Singapore citizens, earn your money in sg and go back. YOur China govt take better care of the nation compare to our PAP govt in singapore. Your china govt give pension, our PAP govt refuse givee pension but force us to buy our own "pension". YOur china govt does not impose GST on purchase, our PAP govt implemented GST and keep increasing the rate. Our govt does not provide free travel on public transport for the senior, but in China the govt provide free travel on public transport for senior citizens age 70 and above.
So China Chinese, please be wise!
dun worry lah, only those Chinese Cai Png come only lah, those smart ones where got come here one. -
Originally posted by angel7030:
dun worry lah, only those Chinese Cai Png come only lah, those smart ones where got come here one.
Don't talk crap to me, that is why I say you are like Shao Wei, rich and hopeless, frog in the well only know how to attack the poor.I have worked enough to see the foreign talents from China are increasing in numbers. Talk to you is like dui niu dan qing.
Think you can only engage in the topic on prostitution only.
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From an extract from the link I posted:-
"So why is Dr. Cai having trouble finding another R&D job? The R&D market isn’t so hot these days. The bad economy means not many firms are hiring professional scientists. Academia isn’t much of a help – there’s a long history of too many PhDs chasing too few jobs. It doesn’t help that many people get a feeling for rampant ageism in the R&D job market too. Dr. Cai, having received his PhD in 1990 or so, is probably in his mid-forties by now, which in any industry is a particularly challenging time to find work."
In my line of work, people like Dr Cai is one of many I have encountered. With influx of PHDs, MBBS, Master from India, China and the region coming here to do research, the term of employment is always in favour of A*star. -
PhD are usually weird people..study until short liao and also have a permanent headache. After all the research, our uncles and aunties still get H1N1, low birthrate and erectile dyfunction with wife only.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
Don't talk crap to me, that is why I say you are like Shao Wei, rich and hopeless, frog in the well only know how to attack the poor.I have worked enough to see the foreign talents from China are increasing in numbers. Talk to you is like dui niu dan qing.
Think you can only engage in the topic on prostitution only.
u like to reply me mah...play the qing