Based on figures in the latest Iras 2007/2008 annual report, I have updated the popular Salary.sg income comparison tool (see previous version).
Simply enter your annual salary for YA2008 and see how you rank against all resident taxpayers in Singapore:
The following is the graph for both YA2008 data (red) and YA2007 data (blue). It is evident that salaries have gone up. For example, the person at the 80th percentile earned a higher ~$96k for YA2008 compared with ~$92k for YA2007.
200 Comments
IT undergra, i am doing project management in IT consulting.
IT Pro, may I ask how much u make now?
IT Professional is it true that programmers salary are very low, becos of the FT? so i dun go into programmer?
If you are a real IT professional, you should be quite well paid (of course nowhere near an investment banker for comparison sake, but say >100K after 8-10 years, conservatively speaking). The problem with IT industry is that there are a lot of people (and nearly anyone) who are called PMs, programmers and consultants, but do not nearly have the right skills, even after an IT degree. And unlike other lines, there are significantly more non-IT grads who ended up as real IT professionals. So it’s a little hard to have a more precise sense of the pay range.
There is not a lot of real programming jobs (supply-side) out here in Singapore, but there are a lot of “talking” jobs here, e.g., PM, consultant, business analyst, etc, and the “talking” nature of these jobs meant that non-IT grads with the right logic and mindset can become an IT professional.
As the title suggests, “talking” jobs require strong communications. Who you are able to talk to decide how much you can get paid and you will soon realize it’s not so easy to talk, even if you think you are good at talking.
The greatest “perk” of IT, at least for me, is that you can expose yourself to intimate details of very different businesses in your career. Like an actor/actress who needs to understand the details to act, a IT professional needs to understand the business problem to formulate a solution. In my 8 years experience, I have certain in-depth knowledge of finance, supply-chain, oil/gas refining, pharmaceutical drugs, aviation.
hello guys, i have a couple of questions:
1. what is the market rate for fresh grads from local uni (business/communications)?
2. what is the ave salary for a sales manager, no degree, 5-10 years working experience?
Hi IT undergra, you hope to earn 5k at age 32 with relax life and is consider as not greedy? Do you know typically, many graduate at age 32 still barely manage to reach 4k? Take the example of the link below:
http://www.salary.sg/2007/jobs-with-fastest-increasing-pay/
you should roughly be able to gauge how much you can earn (if there is not pay cut or increment freeze due to crisis) till you reach the age of 32 yrs old.
It is diffcuilt to tell how much you can earn (worth) as it also depend on your luck and capability. My friend from IT graduate can earn more than 7k of salary within 2 years after graduation. That is because he has been promoted to manager as he is very harding working and capable. A 32 yr old executive will draw a different salary scale from another 32 yr old senior management. That means u can hit more than 10k if you are good and lucky enough.
But, if you have the mentally like my subodinate (whom want go back on the dot and family life as the lst priority), you rest assure that your increment and promotion will be the least.
Hope you understand where I am coming from.
hi all. just wanted to ask what the average salary is for an employee with 3 years full time experience in the media industry. work is editor/writer. thank you
oh yes, and im not singaporean but im applying to companies in sing and hoping to move there
hi there!i have a science& business degree from NUS,and i have no idea which industry to join,especially with the recession.any advice?
most of my peers are joining MOE. are uni grads paid well as teachers?
dear not-geek, given the current economic conditions, I don’t think you have much choice. MOE is definitely one very viable option. I’m sure they pay “market” value. moreover, when there’s no fish, you have no choice but to eat shrimps.
5.5 yrs working in the my first job as engineer and barely abt 60k per annum…shd i really have moved about more ??
I am just reading through the comments. the only observation that I made is that it will take forever for anyone to reach the likes of an admin officer (340kS$ at the age of 34) or the deputy director (at 20kS$ per month). I like push the thinking further to go for non-mainstream jobs outside singapore if anyone wants to jump out of the vicious cycle or middle income trap. Stop thinking IT Professional, business development, investment bankers etc. Try thinking venture capitalist, specialist lawyers, fashion designer, water treatment specialist, fuel cell experts, radiologist etc. There are many opportunities out there don’t limit your thinking to jobs that are defined for you by the environment (especially in singapore restrictive environment) but push yourself further especially for those who are young enough to change industry or go for specialization. my 2 cents worth.
What is the pay of a building architect with 10 years experience?
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Hi, do i need to include the employer CPF contribution in the salary before i key in the numbers?
Hi,
Can I ask if you have 3 and 1/2 Years Exp in IT (Application/Consulting), what annual salary should you be looking at?
is 56K a good sum?
depends on where you are working at..56K sounds like a govt sweatshop.. Banks or MNCs pay better..
Hi,
Can I ask if you have 3 and 1/2 Years Exp in IT (Application/Consulting), what annual salary should you be looking at?
is 56K a good sum?
[Hmm, ok lets say I am working in a MNC, what should I be expecting?
Thx.]
Well the MNC I am working in pays around 100k,excluding bonuses, incentives and RSU. I have around 2 years of experience. Hope this helps. =)
Hi Answer, mind if i ask what is your role in your company? 100k with just 2 years of experience? Only possible if you are doing sales or banking kinda job or you are a scholar. For a high flyer (non-scholar) to get 100k, i think its possible in 3-4 yrs but 2 yrs? Hmmm..unless your variable bonus is like 6-8 months every year~
Hi Query, I am an applications consultant in my company. And I am not a scholar, neither am I working in sales or banking. As mentioned, my base is 100k, not tied to company’s nor personal performance, excluding bonuses etc. My advice: Find a niche and work on it. =)
Hi Answer, thx for your reply. Cool, mind if i ask again if you are a SAP consultant? š From what i understand, you can only get such good money in SAP. But even for SAP, 100k in 2 years is alittle far fetched…
Hi Query,
No worries. I am not in SAP nor Oracle. Find a niche and excel, IT industry is extremely robust now and pay a lot of money for the right talent. Hope you will do well. Cheers!
Hi Answer, I have to agree with you that if you find a niche in demand and the market will pay you for it. Generally people have the perception that a certain industry does not pay well but it is a fact that every industry (or at least skilled based or knowledge based industry) have a pay gradient that reward people with special or exceptional experience/skill.
Case in point, I am in the IT industry also and in my early thirties. I can say with confidence to across my peers the income per annum range can be as wide as 65K – 120++K.
Well done well done =) I would say from my observation that we should make ourselves more marketable by picking up additional skills, capabilities and experience, and not to limit ourselves to just what is required of us. Observe and project the trajectory towards where you want to be and work hard to achieve it. Last but not least give thanks for all the opportunities that come along your way. Cheers!
my wife’s a teacher with moe, 30yrs old, worked with em for 4 yrs, now only 4k/mth, incredible
my husband is meo teacher, ivy league, 4 yrs, non-Singaporean, early 30’s 5.5K/mth…
alamak. i should bang my head against the wall . only about $4.5k per month. already 33yo. graduated from local u 7 years ago. but some of my friends say not bad already as they earning about $4k or slightly less. but of course some double or more. guess the industry really matters!
Sama sama kawan, alot of over overpaid blokes around lah (of course most deserve their remuneration I’m sure)
If they deserve their remuneration by definition that means they’re not overpaid, no?
BTW… what average joe says there is really true–people tend to socialize with those who earn similar amount of money as themselves. I read somewhere that your friends usually earn within 20% of what you earn.
That’s why I love salary.sg. We need this kind of website so we can compare and see what’s out there!
Now i think I’m overly underpaid, and seriously overworked.
Darn… I am feeling severely underpaid… I am in pharmaceutical industry working in an SME. For some reason my boss freezed our pay this year even though we were not really affected by the sub prime crisis. Damn low morale. Don’t feel like working. With the pay freeze, my brains are frozen…
This is a vicious cycle leh. The more you don’t feel like working… the more your boss has reason not to increase your salary, right?
Honestly speaking, nobody will think that they are over paid or even reasonably paid. Everyone is underpaid š
Yeah… it is… a viscious cycle.
It’s just that I think performed well last year. But my miserly boss is using the recession as an execuse to freeze our pay. Which is the part I am DL about.
On the other hand, he just told me to look for a new staff. I find it hard to reconcile this two events.
Yeah Husky, I understand. If it’s any consolation… you’re not alone, in other companies also like that. Got increment freeze etc., but also start hiring already…
Nvr nvr stop ur qualification at diploma. You will regret. At least strike for a degree. That’s wat i can advise, if u want a decent pay in singapore.
super sad..it’s never too late, just don’t give up hope. =)
Dear 5m10y,
thanks for the consolation š Yeah, I do know of some other companies that are doing the same thing.
Can’t help but feel a bit disillusioned. I worked very hard for the last two years in this company. Doing a lot of things that are clearly not within my job scope. Thinking of ways to help the company save money etc.
Nowadays, I just do the bare minimum… While looking out for better opportunities. I recall a quote I read somewhere which makes a lot of sense.
“Love your job, but never fall in love with your company. For you never know when your company will stop loving you.”
hi husky, i am glad you looked for ways to add value to your company; that’s the right attitude, and if your company doesn’t value you, someone else will. i have friends who founded their own consultancy firms and did really well by targeting niche unreached customers. i hope you can look out for opportunities and excel too with this mindset of yours. cheers!
Yeah. Maybe it’s time to move on. Thanks! All the best to you too!
In public sector, $6.5K, MIT grad, 26 years old.
Wife in GLC, $4K, 28 years old.
salaries don’t include bonuses, after bonuses PA is about $110K. $60K for wife.
Wah, MIT grad? As in _that_ MIT? Wow. I always wanted to go there but no money ah. Now old already.
Its seems like everyone out here are on the positive pay scale in the industry.
There are lots of people trying to make meets end out there.
Haiz… i am one of them…. v. envy ppl tat got a good job and salary… mine already not bad .. high side of 2k …. but at 80% of ppl are much better than me
hi, (sorry to repeat this post as i realised i have posted at the wrong section and do not know how to delete)
iām 30yrs old this year. Australian Uni grad 6 years ago. Have been in the financial services/ planning since graduation.
If i successfully can make a switch to a Stat Board, how much would be the expected salary?
Pls advise.
Thanks very much š
Just be Happy, I agree. I think it’s OK to use info in salary.sg for motivation and knowing more about the true level of salary.
But thinking that somebody is “better” because he’s got a higher salary is a losing proposition. Somebody will always be paid more than us, regardless of how much you are paid!
What kind of appointment will u be holding in the stats board?
hi Shanghai,
senior executive – junior to mid-level position.