starting pay for phd in singapore

University Graduates Starting Salary By Degree

• Full-time Permanent Employment refers to employment of at least 35 hours a week and where the employment is not temporary. It includes those on contracts of one year or more.
• Gross Monthly Salary pertains only to full-time permanently employed graduates. It comprises basic salary, overtime payments, commissions, fixed allowances and other regular cash payments, before deductions of the employee’s CPF contributions and personal income tax. Employer’s CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, lump sum payments, and payments-in-kind are excluded.
• Results for NUS, NTU, SMU and SUSS are updated in February, SUTD in March and SIT in October.
• Past-year survey results since 2009 [PDF, Google Drive] or [Google Sheet]

Source: Graduate Employment Survey, Ministry of Education . Universities include the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). Figures in Singapore Dollars.

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5 minute read

Salary Guide Singapore 2023: How Much Should I Be Earning?

Unsure whether your wages have kept pace with the industry here are some helpful tips to get you on the right track..

Everyone wants to feel valued, so understanding how your skills, experience and competition impact your income is vital. We’ve put together a helpful salary guide so you can negotiate your salary confidently.

How salaries have shifted in Singapore

Whether you’re happy with your wage or looking for an increase, the good news is that salaries have risen in Singapore for experienced workers and recent graduates.

A survey of 11,200 graduates found the median gross monthly salary for full-time permanent jobs had increased from $3,600 in 2019 to $3,800 in 2021.

Elsewhere, the Jobstreet Salary Report 2022 revealed that 41 industries in Singapore had increased gross salaries since the previous year. Industries like transportation (54%), information technology (53%) finance (51%) featured the highest percentage of job ads with higher salaries than 12 months prior.

Looking for career guidance? If you are exploring career changes and need professional advice, register for a complimentary session with WSG’s Career Coaching today.

How do I decide what my gross salary should be?

Adopting these strategies to discover your ideal gross salary is a wise decision. Below, we provide some quick tips to enhance your knowledge.

1. Check salary calculators

Figuring out the standard salary for your position isn’t always easy. Fortunately, many online calculators provide insight into your wage, such as the Ministry of Manpower’s Salary Comparison page .

Recruitment firms also devise benchmarks for various markets, including Singapore. It is important to note that since these reports are produced by private firms, the data may differ. However, they can still provide a helpful estimate of the pay you should receive for a role you’re after.

2. Chat within your network

Discussing salary with colleagues can be uncomfortable for some, especially if one person earns far more than the other.

Employers may also find such salary discussions counterproductive to business as they may lead to increment requests beyond the firm’s capability. They may also have to deal with unexpected questions.

However, open communication with trustworthy colleagues and connections can help everyone understand their ideal wage.

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So how do you ask a contact how much they’re being paid in Singapore without burning bridges or causing the company any trouble? Consider asking them in terms of ranges. To get a more accurate benchmark, further the conversation by discussing averages across various experience levels.

You may also talk about the differences in salaries between the private and public sectors and Singaporean and international companies.

Such conversations can help build a rapport between you and your network, potentially offering you the insights you need.

3. Look back at your current salary

Your market value increases with experience. At the same time, your last drawn salary can influence the pay you receive in your next role.

Most companies in Singapore set salaries based on industry benchmarks, but there may be a chance you could be short-changed if you earn a lower salary in your current role.

While hirers will do their due diligence and offer fair compensation, you may still want to check against the reports and calculators mentioned above before offering a figure for your expected salary.

Justify it with your experience and job market data so hirers know you’ve done your research.

Not sure if you’re burnt out from work or just having one of those lazy days? Take our quiz to find out.

4. Consider extra credentials

While salary calculators and benchmarks will reveal averages based on qualification levels, such as a diploma, degree or master’s, these can increase if you bring more educational certifications to the table.

For instance, a candidate with a diploma in Infocomm Technology (IT) and one year of experience may earn a higher salary than someone who is similarly qualified if they have earned advanced IT certifications such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate or those in Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services .

You’re advised to also check with industry practitioners if certifications can influence your pay. Some sectors in Singapore focus on specialised formal education, such as the legal industry. Others are more open-minded and consider your overall experience and knowledge level – the sales and marketing sector is one example.

5. Consider insurance and benefits

Salary isn’t the only important consideration when thinking about income. Instead of increasing your wages, you might discover your employer offers outstanding bonuses , extra maternity leave, gym memberships, full insurance coverage for you and your spouse, and other alluring benefits.

These can compensate for the lower range you’re offered, which can benefit you.

Staying informed of salary trends is key when figuring out how much you should be paid. With the right resources, you’ll be able to negotiate a pay that best suits your needs.

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Home / Salary Guide Singapore 2023: How Much Should I Be Earning?

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Fresh tech graduates from S’pore unis bag highest starting pay of over $5,600: Survey

SINGAPORE – Mr Fazirul Hanafe was in his last year of studies at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in November 2021 when he landed a job as a software engineer at social networking company Meta.

In fact, it was one of four job offers on his plate by the time he ended school.

The 26-year-old graduate, who has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in computer science, said: “Once I got the offer from Meta, I stopped looking for other jobs... I felt that working at a large multinational corporation like Meta would give me exciting and challenging projects I could work on for my own growth.”

The recent job cuts in the tech sector in the second half of 2022 have been unnerving for fresh tech graduates like Mr Fazirul. More than 50 employees in Singapore are said to have been laid off by Meta as at November 2022.

“The possibility of being laid off three months into my first job is definitely worrying... From what I’ve seen, those who were laid off were not lacking in skills. It looked random,” said Mr Fazirul.

“But I see now that they have new jobs... It’s a competitive job market but I’m sure that the general tech sector is still hiring and these skills are still in demand.”

This was borne out by the latest graduate employment statistics released by four autonomous universities on Monday. Fresh graduates of information and digital technologies courses commanded the highest starting pay among their peers at $5,625 in 2022, up from $5,000 in 2021.

The overall median monthly gross starting pay of graduates across different sectors was $4,200 in 2022.

The poll by the National University of Singapore, NTU, Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore University of Social Sciences also found that degree courses in information and digital technologies had the highest proportion of graduates in full-time, permanent work at 93.5 per cent, compared with the overall rate of 87.5 per cent.

Observers said tech graduates are still in demand despite the job losses in the sector.

Mr Paul Heng, managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group, said: “It’s likely that these fresh graduates were recruited during the annual career fairs that companies like to organise pre-graduation. We also need to take into consideration that companies that are firing might also be hiring – there are different job grades and type of jobs.

“Job seekers would not want to give Google, for example, a wide berth although they have been firing.”

CIMB Private Banking economist Song Seng Wun said: “The media highlights the job cuts, but what we fail to realise is that this is taking place concurrently with other companies hiring... Overall, more businesses are still looking to hire than to fire.

“Tech is also not limited to the tech sector. It’s ingrained in almost every modern business and across industries, from financial services and start-up space to aerospace, healthcare and travel.”

The recent job losses are part of a “normalising” of demand for services by certain tech firms which had aggressively hired during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

“Tech skills are still in demand... It’s not the frenzy we saw in the pandemic, when these companies ramped up services, but there are jobs still out there.”

Dr David Leong, managing director of recruitment firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting, said tech graduates are still in high demand as they have critical skills in Singapore’s digitalisation efforts.

“Laying off existing workers are pre-emptive measures by employers in anticipation of a gloomy outlook. It is more about trimming the cost structure for them. So rehiring those retrenched recently should not be a problem.”

Said Mr Fazirul: “The skills we have as computing science graduates are also quite transferrable... You could be a software engineer, a product manager, a quantitative analyst, just to name a few roles.”

Ms Shafeeka Rahama Zakafar Raffik, who graduated from SMU in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science (Information System) degree, clinched a full-time role as a technology analyst in Citibank at the end of an internship with the bank.

“I’m definitely relieved to get a full-time job,” said the 24-year-old who majored in business analytics and software development. “Salaries have been rising in the sector and sometimes, there are concerns about how much future employers value our skill sets compared with our peers.”

She said the recent layoffs in the sector have reinforced the importance of being versatile and having diverse skills.

“In that sense, SMU taught us how to have a broader generalised set of skills and still be able to specialise in certain areas at the same time,” said Ms Shafeeka. “For example, if demand for software development is low, I could move into artificial intelligence or machine learning. I could job hop within the industry.”

“It also emphasised to me the need to upskill even after graduation, so that we stay relevant and can switch to other roles if necessary,” she added.

Mr Wong Wai Meng, chairman of tech industry trade association SGTech, said: “We are confident that demand for tech talent will remain high in 2023, although growth may be more conservative than in 2022. The fundamental importance of tech for business transformation remains unchanged and will continue to fuel job growth in the year ahead.

“We should still see heavy demand for developers like software engineers, full stack developers and mobile app developers, and cyber-security experts in 2023.”

Sustainability and digital trust are two key emerging areas for Singapore, he said, and this will bring about new needs for related tech expertise across many sectors, like data policy, digital ethics and green management solutions.

“We encourage tech graduates to adopt an adaptive mindset and keep their skills updated as technology evolves rapidly,” said Mr Wong.

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Follow our news, recent searches, singapore's junior public sector doctors get up to 13% bump in starting salaries, advertisement.

From Feb 1, all doctors and dentists will also receive a new allowance for weekend hospital rounds.

Staff members and pedestrians are seen outside Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore on Apr 30, 2021. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)

Lee Chong Ming

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) has raised the starting pay for public sector junior doctors and will introduce a new allowance for doing weekend rounds in hospitals.

From Jan 1, house officers - provisionally registered doctors still under training and supervision by their seniors – and first-year medical officers (MOs) can expect a 7 to 13 per cent increase in their starting salaries, said MOH on Thursday (Jan 12).

Public sector in-service MOs up to post-graduate year 6, and dental officers up to post-graduate year 4, can expect salary adjustments based on their years in service and bond period, the ministry added.

According to jobs platform Indeed, house officers and MOs employed by MOH Holdings (MOHH) - the holding company of Singapore’s public healthcare clusters - take home average monthly salaries of around S$5,000 to S$6000.

From Feb 1, all doctors and dental officers will also receive an allowance for weekend rounds in hospitals, ranging from S$160 to S$275 depending on seniority.

Emergency department and night float allowance rates for all MOHH doctors will also be revised from Feb 1.

They have been adjusted to range from S$150 to S$940 depending on shift and doctors’ seniority, said MOH in response to queries from CNA.

Night float refers to doctors working night shifts for consecutive days, without working during the daytime.

This follows a review in 2022 where allowance rates for full calls - where doctors could work for more than 24 hours at a time - and half calls - where shifts are extended by five to six hours - were revised and updated, said MOH.

The salaries of selected groups of doctors and dentists were last enhanced in 2019.

“The Ministry of Health, together with MOHH and the public healthcare clusters, regularly review and ensure that the salaries of doctors and dental officers in the public healthcare system are competitive,” said MOH on Thursday.

For public healthcare nurses, their base salaries were raised by between 5 per cent and 14 per cent in July 2022 following a review of their remuneration in 2021.

More than 25,000 nurses also received a special payment of between 1.7 and 2.1 months of their base salary, as part of efforts to attract and retain nursing talent.

Why some healthcare workers in Singapore’s hospitals have quit — and others soldier on

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Higher starting salaries for polytechnic graduates in Singapore in 2023

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Amongst those in full-time permanent employment, the median gross monthly salary increased from S$2,600 in 2022 to S$2,800 in 2023.

In 2023, more than nine in 10 (92.7%) polytechnic graduates in Singapore were employed in the labour force within six months of graduation or after completion of full-time National Service (NS) — a comparable increase from the 91.8% in 2022. Amongst those in full-time permanent employment, the median gross monthly salary increased from S$2,600 in 2022 to S$2,800 in 2023.

To get a better gauge of employment outcomes for polytechnic graduates in Singapore, the 2023 Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey (GES) saw 8,065 out of 10,757 fresh graduates in 2023 responding.

As of 1 October 2023 – around six months after graduation, 50.4% of the respondents were in the labour force. Of the remaining, 49% were pursuing or preparing to begin further studies (hence were not actively looking for jobs), while most of the other 0.7% said that they were taking a break and were not seeking employment.

Looking at the 5,914 polytechnic graduates in the labour force:

• 59.8% were in full-time permanent employment,
• 28.0% were in part‐time/temporary employment, and
• 3.1% had either accepted a job offer or were actively starting a business venture.

Similar to previous years, a majority of the polytechnic graduates in part-time/temporary employment did so voluntarily, with about half concurrently pursuing or preparing to begin further studies.

The median gross monthly salaries of graduates continue to increase across all course clusters, relative to the previous years’ graduating class. Notably, the median gross monthly salary of graduates from engineering, health sciences, humanities & social sciences, and information & digital technologies were comparable or higher than the overall median for all graduates.

Lead image / Republic Polytechnic's Facebook page

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