Top 100 Jobs In Singapore 2010
August 8th, 2010
This is the 2010 edition of our very popular list of 100 best-paying jobs in Singapore.
As with previous editions, this list is based on income data from the recently released MOM Report on Wages in Singapore 2009.
MOM uses actual CPF data, but only the base monthly wage data are published. This means bonuses and shared profits are excluded.
The following is the list of top 100 best-paying jobs (extracted from what are published by MOM). The wage numbers are the third-quartile monthly gross wages.
- Managing director – $25,886
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker – $17,434
- General manager – $16,616
- Company director – $15,570
- Hydrographic surveyor – $12,100
- Legal service manager – $11,417
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) – $11,050
- General physician – $10,979
- Business management consultant – $10,634
- Commodities futures broker – $10,352
- Training manager – $10,080
- Information technology auditor – $9,800
- Computer and information systems manager – $9,751
- Operations manager (Finance) – $9,528
- Business development manager – $9,489
- Legal officer – $9,415
- Risk management manager – $9,279
- Corporate planning manager – $8,815
- Engineering manager – $8,700
- Marketing manager – $8,697
- Personnel / Human resource manager – $8,650
- Technical manager – $8,641
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $8,600
- Research and development manager – $8,576
- Computer operations and network manager – $8,550
- Marine superintendent (Deck) – $8,245
- Quality assurance manager – $8,200
- Creative director (Advertising) – $8,000
- Sales manager – $7,960
- Customer service manager – $7,957
- Industrial health, safety and environment engineer – $7,945
- Fund manager – $7,892
- Chemical engineer (Petrochemicals) – $7,874
- Advertising and public relations manager – $7,847
- Manufacturing plant and production manager – $7,845
- Treasury manager – $7,780
- Logistics manager – $7,777
- Shipping manager – $7,715
- Chemical engineer (Petroleum) – $7,670
- Structural engineer – $7,600
- Building architect – $7,403
- Advocate and solicitor – $7,400
- Procurement manager – $7,358
- Administration manager – $7,350
- Property / Estate manager – $7,000
- Producer (Stage, film, television and radio) – $6,924
- Materials engineer – $6,815
- Business analyst – $6,760
- Biologist – $6,745
- Industrial relations manager – $6,689
- Operations manager – $6,648
- Building and construction project manager – $6,600
- Editor (Radio, television and video) – $6,592
- Civil engineer – $6,558
- Ship-master – $6,545
- Instrumentation engineer – $6,538
- Medical scientist – $6,531
- Premises maintenance manager – $6,503
- Flight operations officer – $6,403
- Transport operations manager – $6,355
- Audio and video equipment engineer – $6,250
- Chemical engineering technician (Petrochemicals) – $6,206
- Computer engineer – $6,006
- Finance sales associate professional – $5,944
- Information technology security specialist – $5,939
- Biomedical engineer – $5,892
- Aeronautical engineer – $5,873
- Biochemist – $5,865
- Sales representative (Technical) – $5,788
- Financial analyst – $5,670
- Telecommunications engineer – $5,630
- Automotive engineer – $5,625
- Industrial machinery and tools engineer – $5,532
- Warehousing manager – $5,500
- Food and drink technologist – $5,436
- Soil mechanic and piling engineer – $5,427
- Network systems and data communication analyst – $5,425
- Database administrator – $5,375
- Application programmer – $5,328
- Marine engineer – $5,250
- Credit analyst – $5,240
- Chemical engineer – $5,194
- Chief / executive cook – $5,192
- Production engineer – $5,163
- School counsellor – $5,161
- Sales representative (Medical and pharmaceutical products) – $5,150
- Building construction engineer – $5,125
- Lift engineer – $5,100
- Manufacturing engineer – $5,092
- QC engineer – $5,037
- Market research analyst – $5,000
- Semi-conductor engineer – $5,000
- Systems designer and analyst – $5,000
- Electronics engineer – $4,990
- Electronics and electrical engineer – $4,965
- Automation engineer – $4,916
- Systems programmer – $4,907
- Software engineer – $4,900
- Specialised nurse – $4,893
- Surveyor – $4,882
Compare this with our 100 Best Jobs List 2009.
tianhong Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I would like to know for the position of risk management manager. Is is finance related? What are the course available for such a position.
Where I belong to « A trader log Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 10:58 am
[...] Where I belong to August 9, 2010 investingiseasy Leave a comment Go to comments This is where I belong. Scroll all the way to bottom…. sigh [Salary.sg] [...]
engineer Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 11:52 am
the word “engineer” appears 29 times in the list, whereas “finance” + “financial” + “broker” + “business” only appear a combined 9 times. the word “bank” doesn’t even feature once!
who says engineering is dead end?
Jacky Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Where is the position for a badminton player?
clark Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
how come, permanent secretaries, admin service officers are not in the list?
Educator Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
What about teachers and careers in field of education?
servant Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
cos the people who approved the MOM reports are so highly paid they are either too ashamed to include themselves or silently laughing at how lowly the mere mortals are paid and don’t want to stir up sentiments like what tys did.
noiser Says:
August 9th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
the MOM report only surveys the private sector. the $25k salary of a managing director in the private sector is less than the salary of an admin service officer in the civil service.
punk Says:
August 10th, 2010 at 2:18 am
yes, a young punk in the elite admin service can earn more than 350k pa, more than the no1 in this list. someone said a perm sec earns more than the total of what this list’s top 10 earn, and a minister earns more than the top 20 combined.
we need more elites.
timothy Says:
August 10th, 2010 at 7:56 am
they should just publish a list of top 100 jobs in private and public jobs. I won’t be surprised that the top 10 jobs are all public servant positions.
omy Says:
August 10th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
salary.sg is mentioned once again in omy.sg and the evening daily shin min:
http://news.omy.sg/News/Local+News/Story/OMYStory201008091516-175096.html
Quantity surveyor Says:
August 11th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
may i know the market rate for Quantity surveyors?
junior & senior.
Would really appreciate feedback
Pinchofsalt Says:
August 11th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
One should refer to the sampling size for each occupation to decide if it’s representative enough. For eg. last year “personal banker” at 75th percentile was making about 20k/mth but the sampling size was only 43. Suggesting that perhaps the respondent banks only included their top performers in the survey.(Strangely they are not found in this year’s results)
“Finance sales associate professionals”, of which the top 75th percentile was making 15k/mth last year, interestingly, made only 5.9k/mth this year. Very big swing here..
Think people can share their thoughts on the accuracy of the survey results.
Pinchofsalt Says:
August 11th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Also, it’s stated clearly in the methodology section of the cpf survery that only private sector is covered.
timmy Says:
August 11th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
it’s still a list nonetheless and provides some form of benchmarking for comparison’s sake. are the numbers over inflated? i don’t think so, considering that fresh grads nowadays command some 4k pm as starting pay. GPs earning 10k is perhaps Under inflated!
Quantity surveyor Says:
August 13th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
may i know the market rate for Quantity surveyors?
junior & senior.
Would really appreciate feedback. thanks
Are You Earning More Than Median Pay? | Salary.sg - Your Salary in Singapore Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
[...] « Top 100 Jobs In Singapore 2010 [...]
Imran Says:
August 16th, 2010 at 3:55 am
i am looking the oil field and drilling company.
teacher Says:
August 21st, 2010 at 1:14 pm
what are the career prospects of a teacher in singapore??
Iam a B.Ed with Masters degree in Social work too with over 2 yrs of teaching experience in a school in india…
mu husband is gng to mov to sngapore in a few months time so i just wanna know abt how to apply thr in a school and salary of teachers thr too..
plzz help me if anyone knows abt it..
thanks in advance
to teacher Says:
August 22nd, 2010 at 12:01 am
Look for openings in one of the Indian international schools in Singapore. I heard they are short of staff.
xeno2 Says:
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:12 am
that’s very likely due to the huge influx of white collared workers from India in recent years. if you ask your friends who work in some of the big banks here, you’ll know that there are many Indians in the banks. while we appreciate their contributions, we should also ask if local citizens are able to fill those positions. if not, why not? is it because we can’t do the jobs? or is it because the policies on hiring foreigners are so lax that hiring managers can’t be bothered to search locally and instead take the easy way out to hire from India? true story: a fellow Singaporean got removed and his Indian manager hired an Indian to take over the job. let’s hope this is not a widespread practice.
The Indian Says:
August 22nd, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Singaporeans are great people…we really admire Singaporeans coz they are an open society…they have created an open society where people with talent can work and contribute freely without any discrimination unlike many other countries where expats are always discriminated and kept under the less talented local residents. I have personal experience while in countries like Saudi Arabia, Australia etc. All credit goes to local Singaporeans and we all really appreciate that.But there is another interesting side to this topic, many people in India believe that Indian Gov. spend millions of Rupees to produce 1 talented doctor or engineer but when it comes to serve Indian nation he leaves or is picked by other countries and make use of their talent which contribute to their prosperity and growth instead of their very own country.But I can tell u all Indians have very high regards for the local singaporeans and the singapore gov. who have given ideal social system and governess and rights.
cheers for singaporeans!!!
pramod Says:
August 26th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
iwant high salary jos in usa
civil engineer Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 8:55 am
there are so many engineering jobs that are top 100. and only one health science(nursing). well, as they so, if u want a lucrative profession, engineering is the way to go. if not in sg, in other countries.
banking Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
banking and civil service are the way to go in singapore, mate. engineering is in 3rd tier in terms of pay. if you are talking about IT, then it’s in the upper end of the 3rd tier, but still below banking and civil service in my opinion.
Life science Says:
October 6th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
What about those who graduate from life science?
The prospects in sg seems to be very limit, it goes the same for the salary too.
HC Says:
October 9th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Is the amount quoted in USD or SGD?
sgd Says:
October 9th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
All in sgd unless stated otherwise. This is salary.SG so naturally things are about Singapore.
bucket Says:
October 13th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Hmm, although engineers appear 27% in this list, the total salary is only 21% of the total of this list. Comparing to managers, 33 occurrence, 37% of total salary.
Btw, anyone know why public sector was not included? Are there any released numbers from public sector?
Kevin Says:
October 30th, 2010 at 12:44 am
I very curious where do biologists earn 6.7k in singapore lol. I think a post doc must struggle to get 5k
migo moako Says:
October 31st, 2010 at 8:35 pm
how about planning positions – in fmcg or apparel companies – but they handle asia-pacific regional roles – do you have these surveys too?
ex: production planning and supply planning regional roles.
hope to hear from you.
thank you.
Singapore Salary (2010) | Exploring the World Says:
November 21st, 2010 at 2:34 pm
[...] Top 100 Jobs In Singapore 2010 [...]
Vincent Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 8:56 am
The salary data from MOM is way out. My job as a Flight Operations Officer(dispatcher) can only fetch $2300 a month. How the hell can we earn $6k plus per month? So I think this is very inaccurate.
Sammi Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Could ve your seniors or superiors.. Try asking around u and u gotta mix ard more
RJ Says:
January 1st, 2011 at 5:14 pm
read more of psychology in conducting survey. you will know more if this piece of article is accurate. laughing my jaws away when i see so many people debating about how much a “specific job” earn. i’m a psychologist so to speak, and i conduct big or small survey/trial, may or may not including this piece. and no such job with 350K pa, do some homework before posting guys. and psychologist/general physician/medical practioner earn $10,979 plus or minus a $2000. so make it simple its a $2000 off or add in your basic salary posted above
LJ Says:
January 1st, 2011 at 7:57 pm
If you don’t earn 350k pa, it doesn’t mean no one else earns that amount. Obviously you aren’t a top psychologist. Maybe a survey “conductor” or a survey “compiler”. I’m laughing my jaw off at your naïveté.
Facts Says:
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:19 am
GPs can make 10k. Surgeons more. Yes.
Psychologists make no where near 10k. Most people know that. Unless RJ is an “expert” conducting some psycho analysis in his “private clinic”.
Any job that pays 350k p.a. or more? RJ u should read more newspapers to get yourself updated on current affairs.
Asia Singapore Says:
January 2nd, 2011 at 10:49 pm
I agree with banking. If you wanna go for IT jobs, at least go for Financial IT services. In my opinion Financial IT services salaries are pushing most of the IT salaries up into top 100.
teacher Says:
January 14th, 2011 at 11:04 am
Hi everyone,
Can anyone plz help me regarding the primary level teacher’s salary in Indian International Schools???
I moved here with my husband some time back so thinking to apply in one of the indian school as I am B.Ed…and have teaching experience as well.
thanks in advance
About Says:
January 14th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
About 10k if u r good.
Reality Bites Says:
January 31st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
$10k for pri sch teacher? If thats any true, then i wonder how many pple will send their kids to the school, they must charge a bomb for the sch fees. some of these salaries obviously are skewed , definitely do not apply to individual contributors. I know people with years in their jobs don’t earn these salaries and they still stayed on because other companies out there pay even less.
Operations manager finance $7k? Last time I checked, wasn’t even $6k!
Reality Bites Says:
January 31st, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Opps not $7k, my mistake, but $9.5k. Highly intriguing.
teacher Says:
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Sorry but I asked abt the “Indian International Schools”…I dont think that primary teachers there might be getting this much salary..!!!
visitor Says:
February 10th, 2011 at 12:52 am
everyone knows that managing directors earn a lot of money and will be the highest paid category.
To make sense out of these kind of stats is to elaborate on the industry.
Mag Says:
February 26th, 2011 at 4:51 am
Dear Teacher,
Refer to this:
http://moe.edu.sg/careers/teach/career-info/salary/geo1/
Hope it helps with your question about the salary of a teacher.
Jerry Says:
March 10th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
From the comprehensive listing, it seems that the financial related positions are the higher paying ones. However, it would be easy to hit such high salary scales.
lorentz Says:
April 13th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
i am a civil engineer want to do Msc in civil oriented course in sg… whether TOFEL or GRE is necessary???
FT Says:
May 8th, 2011 at 11:05 am
To all foreigners in SG, start applying for your PR now before tightening begins. The window of opportunity is small, based on my expert analysis. It’s now after the general election, so the government has nothing to lose in this short period of time (sentiment is already quite bad). But after parliament starts sitting and in preparation for the next general election, there will definitely be tightening, so as to win the popular vote.
Insider Says:
May 9th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Don’t count on it! According to an insider friend, the ruling party is seriously spooked by the election result. The only foreigners who can certainly get PR are the ones earning more than 8k so they don’t qualify for HDB grants…
FT Says:
May 9th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
PM Lee just said this today:
“Next, it will attract investments and talents into Singapore and also encourage Singapore enterprises to diversify, expand and move abroad.”
If you’re a foreign talent, you are welcome any time.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1127674/1/.html
Beemer Says:
May 14th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Foreign companies are moving out of Singapore and to China! BMW closing its Singaporean design department and moving to Shanghai:
http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05/03/pap-covers-up-information-to-clean-their-track-record/
Biju Says:
May 27th, 2011 at 1:55 am
Hi,
What should be the expected salary for a 5 year experienced Database Administrator in a reputed Singapore Bank?
Thanks in advance.
Dba Says:
May 27th, 2011 at 8:18 am
10k/mth or 150k/yr
Ant Says:
June 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Data inaccurate lah…
In SG, think No.1 job should Pres or Ministers? $250K or above per month?
finance trumps again Says:
July 1st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
after the Pres or PM, we see in today’s press finance avg pay rise 10%. hey is this real, or is the pay rise due more to the more foreigners in the sector there ? Anybody can clarify ?
Albert Says:
August 7th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I am a diploma holder and workinf as a condo manager for 15 years. Now my income is 3.5k. Is it a good pay? Can i get even higher or whats the average pay in singapore?
future banker Says:
August 17th, 2011 at 2:36 am
what’s the starting pay of a personal/commercial banker? if you have a degree.
anu Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
hi,
I have been trying for the job in the education sector only in singapore for past 2 years through Ministry of Singapore website (teaching and administrative job), but still i could not get a positive reply. kindly guide me how can i locate a teaching job in singapore. (I am a doctorate in English with 17years of working experience as senior secondary teacher and as vice principal for 2 years)
sure? Says:
September 17th, 2011 at 1:15 am
Are you sure you hold a Doctorate in English?
anu Says:
September 18th, 2011 at 12:50 am
why you have that doubt – whether i am a doctorate in English or not. could you please suggest me how can i locate the teaching job in singapore. because this is my long term effort, with hope of getting success. can you help me through your suggestions.
batman Says:
September 23rd, 2011 at 10:11 am
hi.just want to ask,how much salary is appropriate for a project officer?i’m engage in an exhibit firm. 10 years experience.33y.o.Thank you.
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September 25th, 2011 at 2:01 am
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Dave Says:
September 30th, 2011 at 8:13 am
No pilots on the list?
aero Says:
January 10th, 2012 at 11:23 am
i work as an aero engineer… i dun earn that much. must be the pay of a very senior near retiring froggie.
JT Says:
January 11th, 2012 at 10:53 am
hi im currently an o’level grad and i cant decide which poly course to chose. what courses would you recommend. my parents claim that the aerospace industry provides excellent prospect. salary wise which field would be the easiest to climb up the ranks and which field would bring the the best starting salary?
tools2design Says:
January 17th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
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MC Says:
February 3rd, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Hi JT, yes aerospace industry can earn quite a lot when you first join. Consider Singapore Air Force as their pay can easily be at 3k at the age of 22 or 23 after graduating from Poly. Hope this helps:)
HR Exec Says:
February 3rd, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Hi, anyone of you in the Human Resource Department? Does Anyone of you know of any companies or any industry that is paying good for a 24 years old, Human Resource Executive position, holding a diploma certificate with 3 years of experience? Please let me know! Thanks:)