Top 100 jobs in Singapore
June 30th, 2006
Ministry of Manpower has released the latest Report on Wages in Singapore 2005. It’s a compilation of surveyed data collected in 2005, and released this year (2006).
Notably, the jobs with the top median starting salaries are: advocate and solicitor ($3,800), semi-conductor engineer ($3,595), financial analyst ($3,167), electronic engineer ($2,850), and aeronautical engineer ($2,600).
Based on the same report, the following are the top 100 jobs in terms of gross monthly pay. The number next to each job is the 75th-percentile gross monthly income for that job.
- Specialised surgeon $22,821
- Managing director $20,289
- General manager $15,300
- General physician $14,653
- Company director $13,970
- Legal officer $10,408
- Risk management manager $10,350
- Treasury manager $10,155
- Financial analyst $10,033
- Commodities futures broker $10,000
- Financial planner $9,167
- Business management consultant $9,039
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker $9,000
- Hydrographic surveyor $8,900
- Industrial relations manager $8,870
- Operations manager (Finance) $8,763
- Business development manager $8,350
- Trade broker $8,334
- Computer operations and network manager $8,223
- Operations manager (Commerce) $8,129
- Legal service manager $8,080
- Computer and information systems manager $8,075
- Research and development manager $7,808
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager $7,800
- Marine superintendent engineer $7,650
- Engineering manager $7,521
- Training manager $7,500
- Manufacturing plant and production manager $7,450
- Marketing manager $7,327
- Personnel / human resource manager $7,300
- Logistics manager $7,150
- Technical manager $7,064
- Sales manager $6,918
- Quality assurance manager $6,880
- Instrumentation engineer $6,817
- Statistician $6,707
- Chemical engineer (petroleum) $6,670
- Business analyst $6,667
- Procurement manager $6,637
- Advocate and solicitor $6,500
- Advertising and public relations manager $6,495
- Corporate planning manager $6,488
- Shipping manager $6,440
- Industrial health, safety and environment engineer $6,355
- Personal banker $6,350
- Premises maintenance manager $6,300
- Transport operations manager $6,250
- Chemical engineering technician (petroleum) $6,245
- Editor (newspapers and periodicals) $6,210
- Pharmacologist $6,085
- Credit analyst $6,084
- Chemical engineer (petrochemicals) $6,038
- Advertising copywriter $6,000
- Securities dealer and broker $6,000
- Database administrator $5,996
- Sports coach $5,965
- Administration manager $5,890
- Editor (radio, television and video) $5,843
- Geophysicist $5,831
- Customer service manager $5,750
- Power generation and distribution engineer $5,695
- Market research analyst $5,521
- Marine superintendent (deck) $5,450
- Chemical engineer $5,432
- Building architect $5,425
- Operations manager (Community) $5,406
- Petroleum and natural gas engineer $5,379
- Instrumentation technician $5,351
- Aeronautical engineer $5,334
- Building and construction project manager $5,300
- Semi-conductor engineer $5,293
- Structural engineer $5,270
- Cad cam engineer $5,202
- Financial futures dealer and broker $5,145
- Naval architect $5,143
- Creative director (Advertising) $5,000
- Director (stage, film, television and radio) $5,000
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) $5,000
- Systems designer and analyst $4,997
- Ship-master $4,945
- Property / estate manager $4,936
- Production engineer $4,931
- Biomedical engineer $4,928
- Telecommunications service supervisor $4,911
- Electrical engineer $4,873
- Mechanical engineer $4,820
- Industrial nurse $4,802
- Sewerage and sanitary engineer $4,790
- Warehousing manager $4,789
- Medical x-ray technician $4,732
- Air transport service supervisor $4,713
- Network systems and data communication analyst $4,685
- Information technology security specialist $4,679
- Chemist $4,658
- Environment health inspector $4,605
- Civil engineer $4,578
- Manufacturing engineer $4,568
- Electronics engineer $4,534
- Materials engineer $4,524
- Accountant $4,500
Note that “monthly gross salary/wage” refers to:
the sum of the basic wage, overtime payments, commissions, allowances, service points and other regular cash payments. However, it excludes employer’s CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, other lump sum payments and payments-in-kind.
Be a commodities trader | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
May 11th, 2007 at 12:22 am
[...] mentioned previously in the top 100 jobs in Singapore, the 75th-percentile commodities futures broker can make $10,000 per month. And this excludes [...]
Ron Says:
May 18th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Where is salary for investment banker? I thought they are probably the best paid people around
admin Says:
May 19th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Financial analyst perhaps?
George Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 am
what about pilots ? their pay seems to be quite high when it was published in the papers.
admin Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:36 am
George,
I scanned through the survey report again. It says “the survey was conducted to obtain wage statistics of common
occupations.”
So, apparently, airline pilots and captains are not “common” occupations.
But I agree with you – pilots are highly paid. See http://www.salary.sg/2007/sq-pilots...
arie Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:43 am
Good and interesting article.
But if I not wrong, this statistic figures only refer to specifically common jobs title, in details not mention other influence factor like years of working experience or what kind of company and industry specific. Example: salary earnings for job title “engineer” definitely different between fresh grads and person with 10 yrs exp. Or same job title in “big” company can be slightly / much different compare to “small / medium company”. Which I can assume, it’s more on “highest possibly pay you can get based on job title” ???
Avoid whole life insurance policies | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:50 pm
[...] No wonder insurance buyers (you and I) keep getting poorer, while insurance sellers (our friendly agents) keep getting richer – the 75th-percentile financial planner makes $9,167. [...]
Doctors’ pay | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
May 26th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
[...] you have not noticed, doctors rank very well in the top 100 jobs mentioned previously. Specialised surgeons (”specialist” doctors who perform surgeries) [...]
Pilots’ pay | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
May 27th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
[...] reader asked why is the pilot profession not one of the top 100 jobs. Maybe it’s not one of the “common” jobs as defined by the Ministry of Manpower [...]
vselvam Says:
June 6th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
How about pay for the software engineers ?
admin Says:
June 7th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
hi vselvam, check out the other posts: http://www.salary.sg/2007/it-jobs/ and
http://www.salary.sg/2007/it-salary...
Best-paying jobs in the US | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
June 7th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
[...] published a list of most well-paid jobs in America. It’s a little similar to the top jobs in Singapore, except that the medical professions feature more strongly in the US list. The salary difference [...]
Hz Says:
June 17th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Where’s Auditor
admin Says:
June 18th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Hi Hz, according to the survey data, the Auditor profession has a 75th-percentile income of only $3,350, which is not even close to the top 100.
,000 a month in real estate | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
June 18th, 2007 at 2:12 am
[...] As a comparison, the 75th-percentile specialised surgeon only makes $22,821 a month (and already ranked first in our top 100 jobs in Singapore). [...]
EK888 Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
bonus in different sectors varies from 1 month to as much as 12 months, so looking at monthly salary alone is not conclusive , i believe annual income will be better measurement.
Highest paying jobs | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
July 29th, 2007 at 1:34 am
[...] Manpower Ministry’s report, is not very different from what I posted in my last year’s top 100 jobs [...]
Top 100 jobs in Singapore (2007) | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
August 5th, 2007 at 11:00 am
[...] The 2006 edition this post. [...]
ben Says:
August 16th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
architect Please???
admin Says:
August 18th, 2007 at 12:02 am
ben, based on the most recent MOM data, building architects take home an average monthly basic pay of $4,761. First quartile is at $3,500, median $4,400, and third quartile $6,400.
Monthly gross wages should be slightly higher.
jen Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:59 am
optometrist are paid v well as well. a diploma holder startin pay is abt 3k + comm which add up to abt 3.5k startin pay at age of 19+ ( poly grad). degree holder can draw as high as 7k to 8k per mth at the age of 25-27
admin Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:04 am
Jen, I hope you are speaking from personal experience, because according to the MOM survey, the mean basic monthly pay for an optometrist is $2,754. Even at the 75th-percentile, it’s only $2,784.
But, since only 62 optometrists were surveyed, we can still argue that the survey data may not be representative. Or perhaps, optometrists’ commissions are really very good.
Kay Kong Huat Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Hv taken up a technical training consultant role in ASEAN countries.
What should be the international rate (range of rates, either monthly or yearly) that I should charge my customers?
Thanks
admin Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Kong Huat, I think it’s a business decision you have to make. You have to take into account what the market is charging and how your service compares with your competition.
jen Says:
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:08 am
optometrist are highly paid be it in overseas like USA ,aussie… in spore too.. it the highest paid diploma course in spore. the 62 ppl tat were on survey ..were base on fresh grad and its onli basic salary..and mayb those workin for govt bodies. if added on to commission… a fresh poly grad can easily draw basic of 3k and variable comm which can b as high as 1k. an very classic example is http://www.spectaclehut.com.sg/Care...
jen Says:
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:11 am
and over yrs of experience…salary will increase. so i have doubts on the MOM survey,which states tat the mean basic monthly pay for an optometrist is $2,754. wit a bachelor degree and shortage of optometrist and an increasin demand for optometrist…pay is definetely much higher
CK Says:
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
What about vice president of a Top Investment Bank in Singapore?
Danny Tan Says:
February 24th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Hi,
How much a fresh graduate gets working as House Officer in Sinapore and as a medical doctor
How much the doctor will earn after sucessful graduate as a specialist in surgery in government and private hosiptals
I am a proud parent of a graduating medical student.
Thank -You.
admin Says:
February 24th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
CK, I would say, “a lot”.
Danny, as I understand it, a fresh med grad will first have to work as an MO in government clinics, and work on specialising along the way. The pay as MO or GP is not really fascinating, and after a few years may be comparable to that of a GP in private practice.
See:
http://www.salary.sg/2007/income-of...
For a specialist, the pay is of course significantly higher.
See:
http://www.salary.sg/2007/doctors-pay/
DUhz Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Dun be silly. optometrist in Singapore are not at all well paid. From what I hear they do not have increments every year like other jobs and its pretty stagnant.And from the wroking hours they contribute, you should calculate thier per hour pay is pretty low actually. From what I know some optometrist leave their job in a few years to go to business or banking where their monthly is much higher and they have much higher increments every year.
Dr.Radha.R Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
hi,
i have done MBBS,MD(community medicine)from india what will be my pay?
Cynic Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Haha this is rubbish. No idea where the private bankers earning 6.5k are from. I work in a private bank. their assistants are already getting 6.5k.
Desmond Says:
June 16th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
This survey certainly has it’s flaw. From my personal experience, REAL ESTATE BROKER earns the most.
I made $560,000 in a year.
Average monthly – $40K to $120K
Enough said
Right Says:
June 16th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
So, Desmond, what about the average real estate broker? Does everyone else make as much as you?
Dude Says:
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:34 am
I think this is misleading as the medicos salary is computed as base pay and medics hardly ever (if ever!) get bonuses. It would be much more meaningful to publish annual income with bonuses included, and to give the 50th rather than 75th percentile.
Also, why only specify specialist surgeons and what exactly do the mean by “general physicians”? It is a rather vague term which can be variously interpreted as either any internal medicine specialist (e.g. cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist etc.), internal medicine specialists specializing in general internal medicine (unlikely since there are only about 30+ in Singapore and they’re not very well paid, and I find it hard to believe they are paid more than anethesiologists, radiologists and other procedurists), GPs, or something else altogether.
Danny,
Interns get about $48,000 a year. As for surgeons, it takes a rather long time to actually become one. , since there’s one year internship, typically 2 years residency as an RMO, then 6 years of full time training assuming your offspring passes all his/her exams the first time round, which statistically speaking is unlikely. Note that more popular surgical specialties like cardiothoracic surgery and ophthalmology would usually take 4 years of residency/unaccredited registrar work just to become a registrar.
Capt. Thum Ban Shii Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Regarding the ship master on the rank 80 of S$ 4945, I am sure this salary is of 1993 (15 years back). Now the salary of ship master for Filipino, my company is paying USD 7,500 per month, equivalent to S$10,875 per month.
While for Singaporean and Malaysian, we are paying USD 9,500 per month, equivalent to S$13,775. One year work 8 months onboard and rest 4 months. Salary 12 months + 1 month AWS + 3 months bonus. If include bonus and AWS, it will come to S$18,366 per month for Singaporean and Malaysian. This salary is apply to container ship, tankers and AHT. For chemical tanker and LNG, salary will be 30% higher. Further, working onboard Singapore flag ship, all salary is tax exempted. I am welcome more Singaporean to go to sailing.
shyamantha Says:
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 am
I would like to know more details about no:96 sivil Engineer job.
thanking you
Hz Says:
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Is Getting An Accountant Job Without An ACCA Cert Really Impossible? LoL
And Whats The Difference Between Accountant And Auditor? I’m Having A Misconception..
h2z Says:
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 am
1st question: Yes
2nd question: You can be an auditor without ACCA/accounting cert, but not the other way
maxinne Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 2:55 am
i cannot believe General Physicians get this much…my husband and I encountered one that does not even know how to spell amoebiasis!!!
madmax Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
well, why the hell would you want your doctor to SPELL amoebiasis? are they paid to teach you English or what?
maxinne Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
to madmax…for your information,the doctor asked us to spell amoebiasis for him…the stupid GP doesnt know the spelling!!!
madmax Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Yup i agree, it is quite awkward he can’t spell a medical term.
But i would gauge my doctor’s skills more on his bedside manner and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment rather than merely spelling ability.
also i don’t think that they earn that much money anyway.. another posting on this site says they earn 4-5k/ mth.
AspiringVeterinarian Says:
June 20th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
was kind of hoping the admin would enlighten me on both the starting and gross monthly income of a veterinarian in singapore as well as the salary of vets at the 75th percentile. Thx a million!
Top 100 jobs in Singapore - Page 4 - Salary.sg Forums Says:
June 20th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
[...] was kind of hoping (someone) would enlighten me on both the starting and gross monthly income of a veterinarian in singapore as well as the salary of vets at the 75th percentile. Thx a million! http://www.salary.sg/2006/top-100-j... [...]
admin Says:
June 20th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Dear aspiring vet, I’m sorry but I couldn’t find a vet-related job title among the 400+ listed in MOM’s report. I’ve forwarded your query to our newly launched discussion forums so it gets more attention:
http://forums.salary.sg/income-jobs...
Meanwhile, if you manage to get any additional info, appreciate if you could share with us. Thanks!
sharry Says:
September 1st, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Hi all, what about designers?
Architect, industrial designers, fashion designers, design manager and others along this line?
ronaldo's croonee Says:
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
i miss ronaldo.. bring back some fun and laughter please..
Prankzter Says:
December 6th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
How about Race-Horse Jockey..? I thought they are well paid and i didn’t see their position here…??
Highest paying jobs - Page 2 - Salary.sg Forums Says:
April 5th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
[...] based on a Manpower Ministry's report, is not very different from what I posted in my last year's top 100 jobs post. I don't even need to check the charts to know bankers and traders are still the best paid [...]
Top 100 jobs in Singapore. « sugar.coated Says:
May 18th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
[...] credits to: http://www.salary.sg/2006/top-100-j... [...]
Robert Says:
October 26th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Question: Does anyone know how much psychiatrists in private practise do earn annually in Singapore? And how much do they typically chare per hour? I heart somewhere that in hong kong psychiatrists charge up to 1000 US dollar per hour? Similar child psychiatrists. How is it in singapore?
Raja Says:
February 28th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
I want jop medical xray technician. I have complete 3years.
BENJAMIN Says:
April 20th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
I am an optometrist, but here in SG I was given optician license, I want a change of employer since I plan to enroll in October this year to take up diploma in Microbiology. This required 3 times a week of getting off work at 5:30 PM to catch up a class of 6:30PM, will any Optical shop interested? My current salary is SG 2,400.00 never mind if i dont make any increase of salary by now, the important thing is the set-up. thanks!
NEERAJ RAWAT Says:
December 27th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
I am an optometrist, but here in SG I want a change of employer since This required 3 times a week of getting off work at 5:30 PM to catch up a class of 6:30PM, will any Optical shop interested? My current salary is SG 2,400.00 never mind if i dont make any increase of salary by now, the important thing is the set-up. thanks!