Graduate Employment Surveys (published 2009)
April 6th, 2009
If you believe the annual graduate employment survey reports (I don’t quite), here are the rankings for the class of 2008:
Permanent Employment Rate
- NTU Arts (with Education) – 100%
- NTU Maritime Studies – 100%
- NTU Science (with Education) – 100%
- NUS Dental Surgery – 100%
- NUS Information Systems – 100%
- SMU Information Systems Management (cum laude and above) – 100%
- SMU Economics (cum laude and above) – 98.3%
- SMU Economics – 97.5%
- NUS Business Administration (3-year programme) – 95.9%
- NTU Accountancy (3-year programme) – 95.7%
- NUS Business Administration (Honours) – 93.9%
- SMU Accountancy (4-year programme) – 93.9%
- NTU Civil Engineering – 93.5%
- SMU Accountancy (cum laude and above) – 93.4%
- NTU Computer Science – 92.3%
- SMU Information Systems Management – 91.9%
- NUS Computer Engineering (Faculty of Engineering) – 91.0%
- NTU Economics/Economics (Honours) – 90.5%
- NUS Computer Engineering (School of Computing) – 90.5%
- NUS Bioengineering – 90.3%
Median Gross Monthly Salary
- SMU Economics (cum laude and above) – $3750
- SMU Information Systems Management (cum laude and above) – $3500
- NUS Dental Surgery – $3400
- SMU Economics – $3300
- NUS Business Administration (Honours) – $3274
- NTU Science (with Education) – $3186
- NTU Arts (with Education) – $3144
- NUS Computer Engineering (School of Computing) – $3100
- NTU Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering – $3094
- NTU Computer Engineering – $3021
- NTU Maritime Studies – $3021
- NUS Chemical Engineering – $3000
- NUS Computer Engineering (Faculty of Engineering) – $3000
- NUS Information Systems – $3000
- SMU Business Management (cum laude and above) – $3000
- SMU Information Systems Management – $3000
- SMU Social Sciences (cum laude and above) – $3000
- NTU Electrical & Electronics Engineering – $2960
- NTU Mechanical Engineering – $2942
- NTU Economics/Economics (Honours) – $2940
The Dumping Grounds by Employability
- NTU Environmental Engineering – 77.0%
- NTU Biological Sciences (Honours) – 77.9%
- NUS Science – 78.3%
- NUS Environmental Engineering – 79.3%
- NUS Arts (Honours) – 79.8%
- NUS Applied Science (Honours) – 80.0%
- SMU Social Sciences (cum laude and above) – 80.0%
- NTU Materials Engineering – 80.7%
- NUS Chemical Engineering – 82.0%
- NTU Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering – 83.0%
The Dumping Grounds by Starting Pay (Gross Monthly)
- SMU Accountancy (4-year programme) – $2400*
- NUS Applied Science – $2450
- NTU Accountancy (3-year programme) – $2468*
- NUS Industrial Design – $2500
- SMU Accountancy (cum laude and above) – $2500*
- NUS Science – $2600
- NUS Business Administration (3-year programme) – $2700
- NUS Environmental Engineering – $2700
- NTU Communication Studies (Honours) – $2733
- NTU Business (3-year programme) – $2746
* people may argue that accountancy grads have promising careers.
Reference: Ministry of Education page on Post-Secondary Education, with links to the 3 GES.
bio ugrad Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 12:28 am
omg,
>>NTU Biological Sciences (Honours) – 77.9%
can’t they go wash test tubes in the life sciences industry?
catring Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 8:25 am
hmm. are the starting pay for real ?
an0nymous Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Does the gross salary include employer’s CPF contribution of 14.5%?
max Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
looks little compared to last year
Beyond the Cul De Sac Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
[...] University of Singapore, is not afraid to let the fact be known. I can wax lyrical about the statistics recently released by the Ministry of Education on employment and wages of fresh graduates from [...]
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April 8th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
[...] at Salary.sg – Your Salary in Singapore « Graduate Employment Surveys (published 2009) [...]
Business Degrees Not In Demand Anymore | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
April 19th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
[...] students flock to these other arts and science degree courses, maybe they should take a loot at our Dumping Ground rankings, which we derived from – guess-what – the graduate employment surveys from NUS, NTU and [...]
hahaha Says:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
hahaha the accountancy graduates earn even less than graduates from well known dumping grounds of local U- NUS science and NTU engineering!!
Blameitonfate Says:
April 29th, 2009 at 10:39 am
ALL the Universities want to do is to psycho you into thinking that they have the best students with the highest paid graduates. This is called MARKETING.
Then again, you can’t really blame them cos the truth is humans live self-fullfilling lies. Yes lies. We put up the lies, and we go about trying to fulfil it.
The statistics are ALWAYS biased. They perform very focused sampling, but they call it grab sampling. That is, they pick from the best student groups and then say they are representative of the entire cohort.
Then again, it has its pros and cons. Its one good way to keep the economy from slumping into ‘depression’.
hk bobo Says:
May 1st, 2009 at 4:02 am
Yeah I am not sure why people stupidly want to be accountants?!
partner Says:
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 am
so they can be partner one day. it’s also a recession proof career.
lol Says:
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:39 am
Out of the 10,000 accountancy graduates yearly, less than 5 will become partners? There are only 3 large auditing firms based here. The rest are smallish local ones. The road to partnership, of which most do not reach is also mediocre in remuneration- along which they earn even less than creative professionals like PR and marketing.
lol Says:
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:45 am
And it’s so not a recession proof career, if you have a macroscopic view of HR of Singapore. A lot of accountancy students after CMI/fail the auditing route (of which they get a meagre starting salary), go the finance route- work as finance executive (promote to finance manage if can make it) which is the management of money of a company. When companies (SMEs) close down or move out of SG (foreign) in a recession, out their jobs go. Recession proof job is teacher, pastor, police, soldier.
By the way. A lot of NTU accountancy and NTU communication studies graduate to become insurance agents with Prudential and AIA.
eee-iot Says:
May 6th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
being accountant is better than engineer lo
Fish Says:
May 31st, 2009 at 4:04 am
We should look beyond starting salaries. If you say there are only 3 large auditing firms based here, I don’t think you know the profession. There are 4.
The annual increments for accountancy grads in a Big 4 are between $500-$1000. And these increments/promotion are almost guaranteed for at least the first 5 years. After 6 years, they should be earning almost $7k. No need to job hop.
There have not been retrenchments, even for the poor performers. The worst are ‘asked to leave’. I’ve seen a few of these who did not leave and can still get increments of $100-$200 per year.
That’s not a bad deal you know?
Graduate Employment Surveys (published 2009) - Page 2 - Salary.sg Forums Says:
June 16th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
[...] Originally Posted by Salary.sg If you believe the annual graduate employment survey reports (I don’t quite), here are the rankings for the class of 2008: Permanent Employment Rate Median Gross Monthly Salary The Dumping Grounds by Employability The Dumping Grounds by Starting Pay (Gross Monthly) * people may argue that accountancy grads have promising careers. Reference: Ministry of Education page on Post-Secondary Education, with links to the 3 GES. Graduate Employment Surveys (published 2009) | Salary.sg – Your Salary in Singapore [...]
Again, President’s Scholars Not Doing Engineering or Science | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
August 16th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
[...] “dumping ground” courses in NUS and NTU are also dominated by engineering [...]
lol Says:
August 25th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Of cos I know the business. I counted three because old timers like me never considered Deloitte to be one of the big boys, up till today unlike youngsters.
The annual increment is year on year? And ALL auditors get annual increment year on year? Ask again. Their base salary starts out over $1k lower than other farmer graduates. The increment doesn’t mean much. $100 increment for poor performers from such a low base is very very bad. Even a $500 increment doesn’t mean as much because the starting pay is very bad. There’re many other jobs that give you $500 annual increment from a much higher base.
I know many accountants who continued in the finance route, became finance managers after 10 years only earning $5k. A 35 year old finance manager I know is drawing only $5k+ and she’s not alone.
If accounting is so attractive, there won’t be such huge numbers of local accountancy graduates applying to be insurance agents with AIA and Prudential. The next time in Orchard or Raffles you see them at their road show hawking insurance, ask them where they come from.
Recession proof is definitely false. The info you gave above is only for auditors. “Asked to leave” = fire. I know of many auditors who were asked to leave/fired. There’s only no retrenchment because auditors are recruited in huge numbers, paid very low wages and are worked to the bone. No need for retrenchment.
Like I said earlier, accountancy graduates either become auditors or finance executives. The latter depend on how many companies are alive to hire a money counter. It’s one of the last few jobs anyone would describe as recession proof.
I assure you I know over 20 finance managers who were fired in the few years. I have listed a slew of recession proof jobs above. Healthcare is another one you can list to the list of what is RECESSION PROOF.
Soroes_84 Says:
November 11th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I agreed lol Says’ saying…. Accounting isn’t a fun n well-paid jobs… Everyday, u get shit from all over the places… U start as an Associate level n work your ass up to Partner level… Yup… in btw, how many can make it to Partner level?? In EY or PWC, there are slightly abt 100+ junior n senior partners in each big firm…. But look @ the mid-size firms, there r ard 9 partners to ard 20 or 30 partners (based on my previous experience in a mid-sized Audit firm), the increment isn’t that great… my 1st increment cum promotion was $200 only
then subsequent year, got promoted to Senior, but increment was a mere $300… So to compare against the Big 4, the Mid 4 still got alot to catch up… Yet when everytime, I saw the charging fees to clients, u feel damn bloody rip off by the partners in the firm, as per hour is from $90 to $650 charged to clients depending on the seniority of the Auditor… Thus imagine the Partners drawing a gd year end bonus cum profit-taking… u feel what u get is just peanuts… But there r people like me… Who rather work for 4-5 years in Auditing, so that when I get enough of Audit exposure, I can jump to my dream job, M&A, to achieve my goals from there on… But in real life, even M&A is not getting any better these days…. It used to be a glamourous job… but now… it is not as well-paid as back in 2005… Haha… But 1 thing is for sure, Accounting is a job which is required in almost all sectors… thus it depends on how outstanding u r…..
k1478 Says:
December 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Traditionally, only the smartest can go study law, medicine and engineering. What about today?
Anyway, chemical engineers certainly should command a much higher premium than what they’re getting now.
Finance Says:
January 12th, 2010 at 10:05 am
NTU Engineering is indeed a dumping for a lot of ppl…i knew that because I was from NTU (non Engineering faculty) and I saw ppl who can’t make it to other faculties goin there..and obviously they will fare even worse – doing something that they don’t like, they are not particularly bright, some of them are super lazy (i.e. wrong attitude/mentality). Having said that, there are NTU engineers who are super smart who really love their stuff and who went on to become winners in life. It doesn’t really matter whether u are in a “DUMPING” ground or doing a “HOT” degree…..as loong as u do well, it is gd enough…hahaha…..isn’t it? I see a lot of Mgt consultants from top consulting firms and investment bankers coming from Eng Lit, communication, Engineer, business, ASS, accountancy etc….it doesn’t matter. Even if u are doing a “HOT” degree, u are the bottom cohort – u won’t do well as well…….
Speaking of the big 4 (or big 3 or whatever u want it to be called), audit is a very taxing job…it used to be a good place to start with…but now i am not so sure….to be honest, i am not really too sure abt the value that some of the auditors bring – so i don’t think they should be paid so much…hahahaa…….again, alot of ppl went into audit thinkin it is a gd springboard for better things (gd career, gd pay etc) but then again u have to make sure u make it…..I see alot of ppl ( I really mean ALOT) falling through the cracks. now they are “Neither here nor there”. hahaha – it is a pity cos i know academically they are really gd…..but the world is sadly not about academics (if it is, i will be a millionaire right now)….We (sporeans) are so used to thinkin that going to a particular path (takin a certain degree etc) is a sure bet to success in life…but it doesn’t work this way anymore….we are no longer competin with sporeans, we are working with ppl from all over the world…..u think there are no ppl outside doing the same “HOT” degree as u? they are more hungry smarter more realistic and they have every bit as gd an opportunity to succeed as u…..
ntu boy Says:
January 18th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Hey Finance!! you’re absolutely right!
whether it’s a dumping ground or a hot place to study and finally land a good job totally depends on each individual! we’ve no rights to judge.
and I also pity the accountancy ppl >.< they tried so hard during A level to achieve straight As to get into NBS (NTU's)/NUS Business School/SMU accountancy and to start off with auditing at the so-called BIG4, with average/mean pay of around 2.4-2.5k and they work their a**es off for about 10-12 hours a day for the first few years
I have many friends in NIE now who are from accounting/business background who have decided to become teachers, a job which requires certain level of commitment, has a relatively shorter hours of work while enjoying more comfortable life…
and no one would disagree that teaching/education is one of the most, if not THE most, secure industry in the whole world. No teachers/professors get retrenched/fired during bad economy -_-" (we can see this through stasistics… NIE graduates are the only TRUE 100% employed group of graduates, with pretty high starting pay, and they even earn while studying !!
ntu boy Says:
January 18th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
regarding the graduate employment survey:
I’ve seen the NTU system and i think it’s pretty fair actually. the employment rate above actually indicates ‘within 6 months upon graduation’, and also… in the case of some geniuses who got some jobs in the US (school of computer engineering) and receive a pay of about 11k a month, NTU does not include these few into the calculation so as to not deviate the mean.
Also, in order to reply the survey, we need to log-in using our matriculation numbers. thus, no repetition nor faking. Anyway, it is then up the the ex-students to key in the honest data. The school also indicates the total number of respondents.
We can see that in some cases of NUS, some schools are new and thus the sample size is already small. As many of those graduates from those schools refuse to do the survey, it’s natural that the school decides to not publish the data in order to create false impression.
I just wanna tell you guys the inner side of it from the point-of-view of a student, who will graduate soon and will be filling up for 2011 employmeny survey (i.e. grad in 2010, given 6 months to find jobs, and survey published in 2011 to show 2010 cohort)
NOTE: GES published in 2009 is based on 2008 cohort, thus it’s PRE-CRISIS. that’s why MANY STUDENTS are SOOOO ANXIOUS over the upcoming 2010 survey showing 2009 cohort T.T please understand us
please Says:
January 20th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
accountancy straight As? more like for A level losers, its not even nus medicine and even for nus med, I have friends who know its a dumping ground for Cambridge and Yale undergrads
please Says:
January 20th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Its a dumping ground by the standards of Cambridge and Yale undergrads
SMU Accountancy Undergrad Says:
April 5th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
I’m an accountancy student from SMU.
I have to say this figure of starting salaries is pretty accurate, presuming you decide to join an auditing firm. But I think the figure should be higher because there are many accounting students who join banks as well; these people should only inflate the number above the big 4 rate of 2.4k.
I guess the accountancy degree is diluted because of the larger supply from private ACCA students, and overseas auditors coming to SG to work in big 4s. Comparing this with law, for example, where the bar exam is necessary, the huge supply of accountants result in this lowering of salaries.
However, I must admit that the career prospects upon joining a big 4 is promising. Horizontal and lateral movements look good. And the low starting salaries only hint strongly and the revenue upstream towards the partnerships, which is (in all fairness) possible albeit not probable.
That being said, I’m joining a bank, and my starting salary is easily double that 2.4 reflected in the survey. =)
SMU Accountancy Undergrad Says:
April 5th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Also, I noticed the statistics for law and medicine grads are not reflected. These should be a lot higher than the 3 plus k of SMU econs students.
sgdr Says:
April 6th, 2010 at 1:10 am
Yup
Medicine graduates starting pay is 7.6K as a house officer
After 1 yr, they earn 9.6K
But since it is a 5 yr course, it makes sense to pay them more.
haha Says:
April 6th, 2010 at 1:36 am
lol…. u kidding me, 7.6k for HO? u pull those figures out of your ass, no?
sgdr Says:
April 6th, 2010 at 2:04 am
why are u so rude?
7.6K includes the medical school subsidy lah
Govt pay 80% of medical tuition fees so we need to include that as part of their salaries.
Havent u read about the pre employment grant?
Graduate Employment Survey 2009 (published 2010) | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
April 7th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
[...] See last year’s rankings. [...]
Graduate Employment Survey 2009 (published 2010) – salary.sg / Support Site for The Unemployed Says:
April 8th, 2010 at 5:39 am
[...] See last year’s rankings. [...]
solo Says:
April 20th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
From my years of working experience, I noticed alot of companies usually hires Malaysian in their accounts dept. Only positions like Finanicial Controller are probably Singaporeans.