(5 July 2008 – See the 2008 edition of this list.)
(8 August – Updated with ranking of 3rd-quartile gross wages.)
This is the 2007 edition of my annual list of 100 best-paying jobs in Singapore. It is compiled based on data from MOM Occupational Wages Survey, which is published as part of the Report on Wages in Singapore 2006.
The 2006 edition of this post.
The survey covered more than 180,000 individuals, and their wage information is collected from CPF.
But note that the wage data do not include performance bonuses, profit sharing and stock options.
Without further ado, here’s the list of the top 100 jobs based on the 75th-percentile gross basic monthly income (I don’t use the mean or median income as I want my list to better reflect the higher earners in the top jobs):
- Managing director – $20,000
- Commodities futures broker – $17,084
- Financial futures dealer and broker – $16,667
- General Manager – $15,417
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker – $13,024
- Company director – $12,680
- Securities dealer and broker – $12,500
- Specialised surgeon – $12,000
- Risk management manager – $10,800
- Creative director (Advertising) – $10,800
- Legal service manager – $9,592
- Treasury manager – $9,050
- Operations manager (Finance) – $9,000
- Legal officer – $8,975
- Research and development manager – $7,696
- Engineering manager – $7,543
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $7,525
- Training manager – $7,502
- Business development manager – $7,500
- Computer and information systems manager – $7,473
- Technical manager – $7,400
- Corporate planning manager – $7,350
- Advocate and solicitor – $7,300
- Quality assurance manager – $7,210
- Personnel / Human resource manager – $7,205
- Computer operations and network manager – $7,200
- Marketing manager – $7,004
- Business management consultant – $6,933
- Advertising and public relations manager – $6,876
- Procurement manager – $6,833
- Editor (Newspapers and periodicals) – $6,798
- Editor (Radio, television and video) – $6,776
- Biologist – $6,710
- Chemical engineer (Petroleum) – $6,708
- Credit analyst – $6,667
- Customer service manager – $6,662
- Logistics manager – $6,558
- Manufacturing plant and production manager – $6,513
- Advertising copywriter – $6,500
- Marine superintendent engineer – $6,480
- Building architect – $6,400
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) – $6,300
- Sales manager – $6,248
- Premises maintenance manager – $6,220
- Business analyst – $6,192
- Flight operations officer – $6,003
- Operations manager – $6,000
- Transport operations manager – $6,000
- Administration manager – $5,967
- Hydrographic surveyor – $5,819
- Shipping manager – $5,750
- Industrial health, safety and environment engineer – $5,700
- Property / Estate manager – $5,300
- Building and construction project manager – $5,270
- Financial analyst – $5,210
- Clearing and forwarding agent – $5,200
- Telecommunications engineer – $5,185
- Instrumentation engineer – $5,136
- Treasury officer – $5,100
- Aeronautical engineer – $5,063
- Information technology auditor – $5,047
- Database administrator – $4,985
- Warehousing manager – $4,900
- Electronics engineer – $4,759
- Medical pathologist – $4,738
- Information technology security specialist – $4,635
- Chemist – $4,605
- Systems designer and analyst – $4,600
- Network systems and data communication analyst – $4,415
- Materials engineer – $4,414
- Accountant – $4,380
- Production engineer – $4,370
- Biomedical engineer – $4,361
- Structural engineer – $4,350
- Civil engineer – $4,350
- Journalist – $4,350
- General physician – $4,344
- Research officer – $4,309
- Mechanical engineer – $4,279
- Executive secretary – $4,254
- Assistant civil and structural engineer – $4,244
- Chemical engineer – $4,235
- Translator – $4,205
- Software engineer – $4,200
- Application programmer – $4,175
- Power generation and distribution engineer – $4,170
- QC engineer – $4,150
- Chemical engineer (Petrochemicals) – $4,146
- Automotive engineer – $4,139
- Electrical engineer – $4,126
- Semi-conductor engineer – $4,100
- Statistical officer – $4,063
- Market research analyst – $4,057
- Computer engineer – $4,040
- CAD CAM engineer – $4,038
- Manufacturing engineer – $4,028
- Naval architect – $4,000
- Librarian – $4,000
- Specialised nurse – $4,000
- Medical diagnostic radiographer – $3,993
This is the ranking table based on 75th-percentile gross monthly income (as opposed to basic monthly income):
- Financial futures dealer and broker – $23,517
- Managing director – $20,775
- Specialised surgeon – $19,100
- Commodities futures broker – $17,084
- General Manager – $17,000
- Company director – $13,490
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker – $13,334
- Securities dealer and broker – $13,000
- Creative director (Advertising) – $10,800
- Risk management manager – $10,800
- Hydrographic surveyor – $10,522
- Legal service manager – $10,000
- Treasury manager – $9,724
- Operations manager (Finance) – $9,450
- Legal officer – $9,394
- Training manager – $8,240
- Business development manager – $8,000
- Research and development manager – $7,890
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $7,850
- Engineering manager – $7,762
- Technical manager – $7,706
- Corporate planning manager – $7,700
- Quality assurance manager – $7,700
- Computer and information systems manager – $7,626
- Advocate and solicitor – $7,590
- Computer operations and network manager – $7,577
- Personnel / Human resource manager – $7,534
- Logistics manager – $7,343
- Marketing manager – $7,315
- Customer service manager – $7,198
- Procurement manager – $7,190
- Business management consultant – $7,152
- Chemical engineer (Petroleum) – $7,095
- Sales manager – $7,050
- Advertising and public relations manager – $6,900
- Manufacturing plant and production manager – $6,894
- Aeronautical engineer – $6,876
- Editor (Newspapers and periodicals) – $6,798
- Editor (Radio, television and video) – $6,776
- Biologist – $6,752
- Credit analyst – $6,667
- Premises maintenance manager – $6,520
- Advertising copywriter – $6,500
- Building architect – $6,500
- Marine superintendent engineer – $6,480
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) – $6,400
- Industrial health, safety and environment engineer – $6,362
- Operations manager – $6,340
- Business analyst – $6,206
- Transport operations manager – $6,174
- Shipping manager – $6,100
- Administration manager – $6,070
- Flight operations officer – $6,038
- Aeronautical engineering technician – $5,985
- Treasury officer – $5,904
- Marine engineer – $5,881
- Personal banker – $5,661
- Instrumentation engineer – $5,646
- Building and construction project manager – $5,600
- General physician – $5,579
- Property / Estate manager – $5,456
- Database administrator – $5,374
- Information technology auditor – $5,347
- Telecommunications engineer – $5,336
- Financial analyst – $5,333
- Clearing and forwarding agent – $5,200
- Warehousing manager – $5,000
- Chemist – $4,986
- Naval architect – $4,900
- Chemical engineer (Petrochemicals) – $4,896
- Chemical engineering technician – $4,884
- Materials engineer – $4,853
- Electronics engineer – $4,831
- Medical pathologist – $4,800
- Systems designer and analyst – $4,780
- Information technology security specialist – $4,735
- Chemical engineer – $4,726
- Civil engineer – $4,725
- Mechanical engineer – $4,682
- Production engineer – $4,680
- Real estate agent – $4,647
- Power generation and distribution engineer – $4,622
- Journalist – $4,606
- Structural engineer – $4,600
- After sales service adviser – $4,570
- Network systems and data communication analyst – $4,532
- Sales representative (Technical) – $4,520
- Biomedical engineer – $4,500
- Accountant – $4,499
- Semi-conductor engineer – $4,496
- Application programmer – $4,430
- Research officer – $4,400
- QC engineer – $4,396
- Executive secretary – $4,385
- Electrical engineer – $4,368
- Automotive engineer – $4,360
- Computer engineer – $4,357
- Market research analyst – $4,340
- Software engineer – $4,314
- Specialised nurse – $4,304
The differences between gross and basic wages can be noted from the following, which I quote from the report:
The spread between gross and basic wages was more pronounced among occupations which require payments for overtime, commissions and allowances (e.g. shift, food, housing and transport), such as sales & service workers and blue-collar workers where gross wages were about 15% to 40% higher than basic wages. On the other hand, there was little difference between the basic and gross wages among managers and professionals. Their variable pay usually takes the form of performance bonuses, profit sharing and stock options which are not captured in this survey.
536 Comments
transformers and terminators are the way to go! huge market making robots, $$$ too.
Hi everyone,
i have been called for an interview for a Marketing Executive position. i have no prior experience in marketing but about 3 years in another field.
i do have a degree in marketing. What would be a fair salary/salary range to ask for?
Basically you will be competing with all the fresh graduates. I suggest you lower your expectations and be prepared for a pay cut. If you are interested in the job, just tell them you really appreciate the opportunity and you will seriously consider any fair offer.
that’s wise council =)
hi, i have degree courses offers from NUS and SMU.
NUS real estate and SMU biz mgmt.
if i enrol into smu, i would like to major in finance.
what are the prospect and career advancement of studying NUS real estate (which is a rather niche market)? there are positive reviews bout the saalaries in the finance industry.
can any kind soul guide me on the real estate industry? would really appreciate any kind of constructive advices. ty!
Just enrol for SMU Biz mgmt. Don’t even think about doing real estate.. You get way more mileage in finance even though the industry seems to be ravaged currently. Finance will bounce back quicker and higher than any other industry sector ultimately ..
ty for your reply anonymous, as much as i wanted to enrol for smu, but another part of my mind tells me that i should enrol into real estate because it might be a valuable set of skill to the industry since there are only less than 150 grads from the course. whereas, there are bout 2k of biz grad every year. this is a tough decision to decide =(
Real estate industry in Singapore is highly cyclical and a rather small sector. I can’t really see much juice in that sector compared to finance.
In any case, if you are a coin toss from making your decision. Just follow your passion, you will gain more utility enjoying higher satisfaction than a few hundred dollars in a job you have no interest in.
Life isn’t all about making money..
any thoughts on IT careers in SG? what the ideal salary for an industr certified IT grad with 4 years of experience… dealing with windows servers and clients?
I think someone posted a comment here that IT consultants in MNCs make 100k a yr and upwards. I’m an IT Pro with around your experience but my pay sucks.
My feel is that unless you take on a leadership role or work in big MNCs, or have skills that few others have, your pay will just be average.
Question about postdoctral fellow salary in NTU:
I got my PhD in biology in good reputated Uni in Germany, and 2 years postdoc experience in one of the top Uni in USA. Now I got an offer from a lab in NTU with 5k S$ per month, is it reasonable price for a 2 years experienced postdoc? and is it enough to support a family (2 ppl only, no kids)?
what’s a fair offer for an IT pro moving in SG?
@newbie, your offer is fair. With $5k, a small family can lead a slightly above-average lifestyle in Singapore – rent a small HDB flat, shop at NTUC and heartland malls, eat in most of the time (or eat at food courts) and perhaps dine out in mid-range restaurants once or twice a week.
phd 5k onli?
Hi folks,
I am a Phd in physical chemistry from germany. Having 4 years of postdoctoral experience in europe. I am 35 yrs old and would like to know about the salary range at IMRE, singapore
(institute for materials research and engineering) for a research engineer position. Any information regarding whether I will apply for a rsearch engineer or senior research engineer position will be helpful.
Thanks
Junta
hi there
I am IT developer(associate,FID) from a top tier investment bank(GS,MS,ML..) with 3 years experience.I’d like to know the salary range here.(80k-120k?)
tell us your salary first.
enough to buy more than 300 xbox elite a year. think i play xbox is sufficient no need to study so hard for phd.
still no reply?????????????
junta, why don’t you write to IMRE directly?
http://retrenchment-blog.breaking.sg/2009/01/singapores-population-could-fall-by-4-as-foreign-workers-laid-off/
up to SGD 100,000 (ex bonus). not a lot but on the up side, cost of living is much lower here compared to NY and TKY. it is also easier to mingle here as most people, sans the locals, treat this place as a big party before returning to their home country to further their careers.
Hi,
I have an experience of 6.5 years in the design and development of embedded, wireless and hardware systems with a masters degree. What is the salary I can expect for the staff design engineer offered by a wireless design firm.
Also can anybody through some light on the salary structure usually follwed here?(like bonus, base salary and CPF contributions)
thanks and regards,
SB
@wii and to wii: with 3 years of experience, up to 100k? Man you’re setting wii up for disappointment…
to Goodie:
any other comments?how about morganstanley or merrill lynch?
hi i am a fresh frm ns.. how much is average pay for financial consultant?
Hi,need some advice from anyone who can help me.
I passed the ACCA exams-an accounting professional qualification for those who do not know-but been jobless for months. Grades are mediocre.I’m a foreigner from neighbouring country on student pass.Did usual application to countless banks and accounting firms and no reply.Have tried many manufacturing/contruction co located at ulu ulu tuas/jurong for account exec or assistant position but they only want people with experience. Last month I send resume to Singhealth for a position that equire N/O level but even that I cannot get it. How come?Is it becos they think I’m trying to be funny to apply for a job I’m overqualified for? Cos I’m very very very desperate for a job. Everytime I go back my dad always ask me ‘found a job yet?’.Damn stressed.
I am willing to take up admin or clerical roles, or receptionist, or support, or assistant.. I NEED income.Can’t keep on relying on hand-out from family.We are not rich.Flipping classified every fri/sat is making me damn depressed. Don’t even mind being an errand girl in the office in ANY co in ANY industry.
Pls help..I cannot do part-time work or temp or contract cos I need employment pass. Any one in different industry have openings in their co that does not need specific degrees,like admin work?Pls advice which other jobs, if any, I can apply to.I’m even happy with salary of #600-$800 as long I can get a job to tide me over until economy recovers.BIG thanks.
@wii: I suggest you talk to a few headhunters to get a feel of the range. The range that “to wii” mentioned is closer to AVP level lah. Warrao.
The best way is really to interview and see what they offer you. And yes, I am talking about Merrill, BarCap, etc.
You can probably get close to that if you’re REALLY exceptional and have the relevant experience.
as I know Agilent Tech base salary is about 60k(+/- 20%) for 3-5 years engineer.
ain’t trying to burst your bubble nor put you down buddy but the news look bleak http://retrenchment-blog.breaking.sg/2009/01/singapores-population-could-fall-by-4-as-foreign-workers-laid-off/
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