I have two lists this year – one for the top jobs across all industries and a separate one specifically for the financial services industry, just to show how skewed the numbers are.
This is the 2009 edition of my annual list(s) of the best 100 jobs in terms of pay (see last year’s edition).
The lists are compiled based on data from the MOM Report on Wages in Singapore 2008.
As with previous years, the numbers reported in the MOM survey excludes performance bonuses, profit sharing and stock options. Even though it’s called a “survey”, actual CPF data is used.
To generate the first list, I look at the third-quartile monthly gross wages of the selected jobs in all industries. Explanation: if you’re at the third-quartile, or 75th-percentile, your pay is higher than 75% of the people.
Here’s the top 100 best-paying jobs across all industries (see also second list below, which is specific to the finance industry):
- Specialised surgeon – $27,977
- Managing director – $26,444
- Personal banker – $20,238
- Commodities futures broker – $19,098
- General manager – $18,068
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker – $17,383
- Company director – $16,025
- Finance sales associate professional – $15,833
- Fund manager – $12,634
- Risk management manager – $12,200
- Treasury manager – $12,000
- Financial futures dealer and broker – $11,667
- Legal service manager – $11,531
- Advocate and solicitor – $11,147
- Business management consultant – $11,000
- Operations manager (Finance) – $10,471
- Legal officer – $10,417
- Computer operations and network manager – $10,238
- Training manager – $10,100
- Corporate planning manager – $9,850
- Computer and information systems manager – $9,800
- Business development manager – $9,770
- Research and development manager – $9,627
- Engineering manager – $9,268
- Sea traffic controller – $9,088
- Marketing manager – $8,917
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) – $8,800
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $8,727
- Customer service manager – $8,635
- Personnel / Human resource manager – $8,500
- Technical manager – $8,500
- Quality assurance manager – $8,480
- Procurement manager – $8,400
- Naval architect – $8,300
- University lecturer – $8,282
- Creative director (Advertising) – $8,050
- Sales manager – $8,050
- Chemical engineer (Petroleum) – $7,991
- Chemical engineer (Petrochemicals) – $7,939
- Manufacturing plant and production manager – $7,934
- Instrumentation engineer – $7,831
- Logistics manager – $7,745
- Structural engineer – $7,295
- Network systems and data communication analyst – $7,293
- Advertising and public relations manager – $7,282
- Premises maintenance manager – $7,260
- Information technology security specialist – $7,110
- Chinese physician – $7,043
- Aeronautical engineer – $7,022
- Shipping manager – $7,000
- Business analyst – $6,997
- Medical scientist – $6,875
- Librarian – $6,842
- Property / Estate manager – $6,780
- Financial analyst – $6,667
- Operations manager (Commerce) – $6,660
- Editor (Radio, television and video) – $6,515
- Credit analyst – $6,475
- Database administrator – $6,417
- Computer engineer – $6,407
- Marine superintendent engineer – $6,387
- Transport operations manager – $6,377
- Administration manager – $6,350
- Building and construction project manager – $6,200
- Flight operations officer – $6,157
- Sales representative (Technical) – $6,100
- General physician – $6,085
- Information technology auditor – $6,048
- Securities dealer and broker – $6,000
- Market research analyst – $5,834
- Clearing and forwarding agent – $5,800
- Power generation and distribution engineer – $5,790
- Chemical engineer – $5,708
- Industrial health, safety and environment engineer – $5,700
- Automotive engineer – $5,670
- Chemical engineering technician (Petroleum) – $5,647
- Operations research analyst – $5,611
- Chemical engineering technician (Petrochemicals) – $5,609
- Chief / executive cook – $5,600
- Warehousing manager – $5,550
- Building architect – $5,500
- Systems designer and analyst – $5,500
- Application programmer – $5,495
- Pharmacologist – $5,475
- Speech therapist – $5,407
- Semi-conductor engineer – $5,360
- Stationary plant supervisor and general foreman – $5,353
- Treasury officer – $5,350
- Ship-master – $5,301
- Software engineer – $5,281
- Industrial machinery and tools engineer – $5,250
- Sales representative – $5,237
- Hotel service manager – $5,170
- Production engineer – $5,165
- Network and computer systems administrator – $5,159
- Telecommunications engineer – $5,100
- Advertising copywriter – $5,000
- Civil engineer – $5,000
- Environment health inspector – $5,000
- Soil mechanic and piling engineer – $4,980
This second list contains the best-paying jobs in the financial industry. Compare the top numbers here with those above:
- Managing director – $48,000
- Company director – $23,500
- Legal officer – $23,033
- Personal banker – $20,238
- General manager – $19,700
- Foreign exchange dealer and broker – $17,595
- Lawyer (except advocate and solicitor) – $17,500
- Finance sales associate professional – $15,833
- Fund manager – $13,107
- Risk management manager – $13,000
- Computer operations and network manager – $12,762
- Engineering manager – $12,718
- Treasury manager – $12,000
- Financial futures dealer and broker – $11,667
- Quality assurance manager – $11,500
- Sales manager – $11,367
- Corporate planning manager – $10,969
- Training manager – $10,834
- Legal service manager – $10,797
- Operations manager (Finance) – $10,486
- Personnel / Human resource manager – $9,940
- Business development manager – $9,918
- Auditor (Accounting) – $9,750
- Market research analyst – $9,750
- Computer and information systems manager – $9,392
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $9,300
- Business management consultant – $9,167
- Marketing manager – $9,000
- Customer service manager – $8,342
- Software engineer – $8,309
- Database administrator – $8,300
- Premises maintenance manager – $8,175
- Operations manager (Commerce) – $8,000
- Network systems and data communication analyst – $7,762
- Administration manager – $7,711
- Credit analyst – $7,584
- Business analyst – $7,500
- Financial analyst – $7,500
- Property / Estate manager – $7,300
- Information technology security specialist – $7,084
- Network and computer systems administrator – $6,713
- Application programmer – $6,463
- Systems designer and analyst – $6,272
- Securities dealer and broker – $6,000
- Advertising and public relations manager – $5,811
- Corporate planning / affairs executive – $5,500
- Executive secretary – $5,417
- Treasury officer – $5,350
- Accountant – $4,900
- Civil engineer – $4,841
- Computer systems operator – $4,724
- Actuary – $4,590
- Training officer – $4,583
- Credit officer – $4,520
- Personnel / Human resource officer – $4,520
- Systems programmer – $4,450
- Sales and marketing executive – $4,428
- Management executive – $4,275
- Public relations officer – $4,217
- Bank officer – $4,167
- Insurance sales agent and broker – $4,063
- Graphic designer – $4,004
- Property management executive – $4,000
- Accounts executive – $3,896
- Operations executive – $3,860
- Secretary – $3,835
- Appraiser and valuer – $3,800
- Insurance underwriter – $3,666
- Clerical supervisor – $3,660
- Mechanical engineer – $3,638
- Personnel / Human resource clerk – $3,531
- Customer service executive – $3,461
- Chauffeur – $3,341
- Fire and safety officer – $3,225
- Legal clerk – $3,200
- Billing clerk – $3,042
- Data processing control clerk – $2,909
- Customer service clerk – $2,742
- Cashier – $2,643
- Ledger and accounts clerk – $2,583
- Marketing clerk – $2,550
- Office clerk – $2,481
- Bank clerk – $2,441
- Insurance / Underwriting clerk – $2,399
- Bank teller – $2,307
- Receptionist – $2,300
- Securities clerk – $2,119
- Office / Library attendant – $1,941
- Building maintenance worker – $1,901
- Storekeeper – $1,643
As noted by some people previously, pilots, military jobs, top civil service posts and political appointments are not included in the MOM survey. Does anyone know why?
126 Comments
you logic is incorrect. garbage collectors are already lowly paid, unlike librarians. that few people willing to join a profession is a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to make it a highly paid profession.
in this context, the job of a minister isn’t very different from that of a garbage collector. 🙂
cheers. take it easy.
Hi,
I am an engineering student at a local uni(NUS,SMU,NTU) graduating in May 2010. I came across a Management Consultancy Firm that is currently privately held(SME) and currently in its 6th year of business. Personally find the company has huge potential and interested to join due to the entrepreneurial spirit there.
Just like to know what is the rough salary I should expect at this firm?
Thanks in advance!!
Management consultancies do not employ farmers, local grads.
The tiny firm you came across, however, may hire you, since start-ups do not have the money or clout to hire real consultants and real graduates.
what voiceoftruth said is quite true.
To voiceoftruth:
You seem to find delight in trashing graduates of local universities. I would really like to find out the rationale of your doing so.
Granted, it is a well-known fact that most graduates of well-known overseas colleges are generally held in higher regards than local ones. However, local degrees should not be seen as an impediment to a fulfilling career, which in turn should not be measured by monetary gains alone.
We’re living in a world with an abundance of chances and changes. I don’t know much about management consultancies, but I wouldn’t put it past a local grad getting a placement in one with hard work and sheer determination.
I’m compelled to respond to sweeping, disparaging remarks. The world can certainly be better off with a little more encouragement and optimism.
It is just the tone of voice that is put across. To put it in a nice way, world class management consultancies are always looking out for excellent graduates from all colleges and certain top-ranking colleges in the world are known to produce a higher share of such graduates compared with the good-but-not-top-ranking colleges.
Generally, in a top ranking JC, most of the top students will go to top universities overseas, leaving the rest of the pack (still very good students I must add!) to attend local universities. You can imagine a similar filter applied all over the world such that the best end up at the Harvards, MITs, Cambridges of the world.
Given that most people are lazy, and especially the smarter folks, the easiest way to look for smart people is to look for people in these top-ranking schools.
Unfortunately it’s not about hard work or sheer determination. Heck, it’s not even about brains.
The reality is that consulting firms such as McK or BCG are in the business of selling talent or, rather, the perception of talent. And their customers think that they are getting more value for money if they are served by talent from Harvard compared to talent from NUS. So that’s the reason why top consulting firms hire few local grads, if any at all.
Now, if you look at product companies (e.g. Apple, Toyota, etc), their customers don’t care if the product is made by an NUS grad or Harvard grad, as long as it’s a great product. These places are likely to have a more level (note: I didn’t say equal) playing field.
So you can’t really blame the consulting firms for only wanting to hire from Harvard Yale Princeton Stanford MIT or Oxford Cambridge, because that’s exactly what they’re selling to their customers: your resume.
anonymous has it right. Another example is the Bachelors vs Masters. During the dot com days, the so called consulting giants were forced to take in a whole lot more Bachelors to lower cost, and big surprise(!!) in a lot of occasions, those Bachelors outperformed the MBAs. Just look up the story using Google.
To be fair though, the consulting firms have been taking in people from unconventional degrees into their ranks as well e.g. nuclear scientists and some of these people have done very well as well. You can read some of these stories through books (just search Amazon)
indeed, a degree from a good school can only bring your so far. if you are good, you can almost certainly make a comfortable living. to make much more than your peers, you definitely need some luck.
luck is PREPAREDNESS meets OPPORTUNITY.
when opportunity presents itself, but for some reasons we can’t grab it, so we don’t get the chance, thus we become ‘unlucky’.
however, with good foundation, regardless of where we graduate from, we may have the ability to at least try grasping the opportunities when they present themselves. when those opportunities bare their fruits, there goes us being ‘lucky’.
after all, if we get the chance to study full-time in overseas uni, then why not? if we can’t have that, we can still enroll in local uni go overseas on exchange… and these overseas experiences will certainly come in handy upon graduation and job-hunting.
luck is more than the 2 attributes you mentioned.
my point is: to be much richer than your peers, you need to be luckier than them.
in other words, ALL things equal – same IQ, EQ, preparedness, opportunities, environment – the luckier people can get way ahead of others.
don’t underestimate the luck factor.
I think that’s called statistics. In a room filled with the best, there can only be one person who is the best of the best.
In my opinion, to be the best of the best, it has to be your destiny, luck or what have you.
My disagreement with the attributes mentioned is really more on what you consider luck. If you think it’s wealth, then the equation can simply be born into a very rich family. That’s all you need.
and by my definition, you need to be very lucky to be born into a very rich family!
Luckyman, i was responding to the statement LUCKY = preparedness + opportunity 🙂 well being born into a rich family does not take either, it’s all prearranged! 🙂
Pardon for my ignorance. Whats the difference between all industries and financial indsutry alone? (Apart from the amount of pay)
Hikz.. I miss Ronaldo and his spicy commnents.. 😀
is this for real? Im between 50-100. Damn
Something’s wrong – why is investment banker not listed? I suspect private banker is merged with personal banker, which is why the salary is listed as so high. But where is investment banker? Anyone knows how can such a prominent job not be listed?
why is ship master on 89 only?
In my opinion a ridiculous show of figures.
They all look inaccurate and if they are all in SGD. Someone help the author and this site for publishing such silly information.
i think they count polyclinic doctors as GPs, this bring down the average pay.
Hmm, interesting discussion about librarian. What is the job scope of a librarian? Who hire librarians apart from national library?
I finally understand the figures.
They can range for the top 1% of the entire industry, and 75% of their average. This is unaffected by how many people who earns less.
For example, John’s father owns the company. He is the PR manager of the company. His income, SGD7k ,doubles all of his peers in the industry. The figure takes only his income and other similar ones into account; even if 99.99% earns only 2k-4k.
Thanks for the info. Apologies for not reading into the texts previously.
Actually , the last part about 99.99% is incorrect. You mean 75%
What it means is.. you arrange salaries from highest to lowest. The person with salary higher than 75% of people in their profession, that’s the figure that will be reported.
Say there are only 100 people in the profession.
The 25th highest earner is say $6k. That is the figure that will be reported. He has a higher salary than 75% of people in his line, hence his salary is the 75th percentile.
To some extent it doesn’t matter if the highest or 2nd highest earner is earning say 100 million, since it depends only on the 25th highest.
But if you have a industry where say the top 25% earn a lot more than entry level positions, than you will have a very high figure that seems odd if you are not in the top 25%
This can happen if the industry has a big gap between the top people (whether based on seniority or talent) and the others
No, I meant 99.99%. I fully understood how the numbers were computed. Take a closer look at the figures. Do you honestly believe the 75th-80th percentile average is even close to the figures shown?
What I meant was, the 0.01% can be so ridiculously overpaid that it distorts the entire 25%.
Most of the figures are odd for percentile all the way to 90%, where the 10% earns 400%-3000% of the rest of the 90%. Data sampling from the 10% with the 15% downward creates highly interesting figures.
These figures are NEVER meant to show how much the particular positions should be earning on average, but how ridiculous some numbers can get.
How many receptionists you know earn SGD2300 per mth? Most of them I know earn less than SGD2000. The only good thing about working as a receptionist is that you usually get to go off on time as you need to log-off the PABX system.
hi. i am 29, doing private banking in a global bank. my dad was a partner in a big4 law firm, so he managed to make some good connections to land me in my job. my mom was a dentist before she found herself a huge chunk of inheritance, and promptly “retired”. undoubtedly, this old money will come to me some day.
i guess im really fortunate, and it further strengthens my belief that good family connections/ background really makes it much easier for your children in future.
i’ve bought a few properties, and they r just sitting there collecting rent. will pass them on to my children in future hopefully
no doubt you are blessed and i appreciate your honesty. i’m 29 this year as well. Both my parents were retretched about 8 years ago and we downgraded from a 5 room HDB to a 3 room HDB.
Though I have no backings from my relatives, I studied hard, worked hard and managed to established good contacts myself. Currently, drawing a very pretty salary.
With good investments through the stock market, I managed to buy my first property last year for rental incomes.
While the road is definitely easier when foundations are setup by parents, you can never reach the same satisfaction as thriving out on your own.
I envy Lucky and respect Satisfaction. Satisfaction would be a great role model for everyone and Lucky would not command the same kind of respect from others no matter how successful he is in future.
Hi Lucky,
It’s very humble of you to acknowledge that you’re lucky. Are u a private banker or doing operations in private banking?
hi & good morning,
cool: i am a private banker. excelling in this job encompasses (among other things) having a good network of high net worth individuals and sometimes this means having to please their whims and fancies. not exactly the best job i would say, but pay-wise it is rewarding.
wow, satisfaction: there’s no harm being honest about connections people will speculate anyway. i guess for me what matters most is getting to the top. but of course, connections can only get u so far. what matters most is your own hard work and abilities. connections get you the job, but its up to you to keep it.
wow: my connections got me an interview and maybe set a good first impression but i still had to go through the actual interview and be subject to the same requirements. im privileged, but it does not mean i did not deserve what i reap
lucky: of course i do not doubt ur ability and the fact that u deserve what u reap. But the reality of life is that when pple know you took a shortcut to achieve a certain goal, they will definitely discount your effort and hardwork. SO even if you drive a ferrari or lambo, people will still make remarks like “so what…he got all these due to his network and connections and not because he is really that good” even though you might have worked your arse off to achieve these rewards.
Hi lucky
Could you share how much would a private banker get as an annual package?
wow: relationship management is a skill that needs to be practised too. in a lot of jobs, people are paid for managing client relationships.
There are also technical aspects, which I am guessing in a private banking context, would mean knowing the different products and instruments, understanding the client well-enough to propose something suitable and in a language understood by the client. Sometimes, people are frustrated because it seems like these people get away with not knowing the products very well but at the very least, they must know the clients very well.
I am quite sure, like in many other business relationship roles, it looks like the person doing the job is having fun and completely relaxed about it. But bear in mind, it takes a lot of effort to appear effortless.
“Sources say law firms such as Allen & Gledhill, Rajah & Tann, Drew & Napier, Wong Partnership, Rodyk & Davidson and Stamford Law have upped salaries by between 20% and 25%. The move will result in lawyers who have just joined the profession receiving monthly salaries of between $4,500 and $5,200. Remuneration for lawyers with four to five years of experience will also increase to between $10,000 and $15,000.
Some law firms such as Rajah & Tann distribute the annual bonuses for employees over 12 months to allow lawyers to receive higher basic salaries.”
sounds like a field day for lawyers. does that mean the law firms / partners have been making good money all the while (now that they are able to afford the increments)?
Does the pay package matter to you? If so, question is, are you willing to put in the efforts, take the risks, and do all it takes to achieve it? Now, most people only see the nice side of things – the big pay package. However, when it comes to the crunch, I’d say that many are really not willing to PAY THE PRICE to achieve it.
I come from a humble family and used to be an engineer. However, I knew I would never command the kind of pay package I would love to have. Knowing that, I moved on and am now a “Finance sales associate professional”. Worked hard and put in my best – just like I did in my previous job. All I can say now is that I’ve made my parents really proud and there is no turning back.
My personal motto in life is, “Life is unfair. You just got to play it to your advantage.” I saw my previous job as a “disadvantaged position”. I hope I don’t offend anyone. Let me make this clear – I still love engineering. Just that it’s not amongst the most rewarding career option in Singapore. I told myself that I just had to seek that “unfair advantage”.
I can’t speak for everyone or even the rest, but my personal experience in my pay differential is quite accurately reflected in the above figures.
Of course, there are other non-quantifiable traits of a job – work-life balance, interests, satisfaction, happiness, colleagues, culture, security, etc. Remember, there is no perfect job. Choose the traits that mean alot more to you, and then ask yourself the question, “am I willing to pay the price of the reward by giving up the other traits of the job?”
I was.
i am sure they’re in malaysian ringgit , lol…
Job number 90 on the Financial Services list: how is a storekeeper part of the financial services industry?
I am 29 this year working in advertising. I would say I got this far because of my hard work and also due to some element of luck good fortune.
I am getting 15K total package a month excluding AWS and performance bonuses.
Do you think I am underpaid?
Cheers!
Ron
no.
My name is also Ronaldo, and i work in sports. I would say i got this far because of my hard work and breathtaking pace on the wings.
I am getting 500k per week with 1-2 year bonuses for good performances. And lots of parties with many hot men.
Do you think i am underpaid?
Cheers!
Ron
I worked as an engineer and moved into ibanking for the money. The only trouble is you have to work usually with complete fools who frankly have no idea what they are doing or talking about. I had friends with similar experience to myself. I now understand why investment bankers are payed well, its because the job is crap. You work crazy hours and all I did all day was brain numbing modelling and preparing pitch books using bloody PowerPoint which any bright 16 year old could have done. Complete waste of time and brain power and I have no idea why you would need a degree in anything to perform the analyst or associate level work.
After two boring years saving money and with a slightly reduced IQ I did manage to return to engineering. It’s worth baring in mind that my engineering degree was useful for getting a banking job but going back the other way was somewhat a problem since many good engineering firms did not respect my banking experience and I think even looked down on it, so be careful if you are an engineer who thinks he might like to go back. I now appreciate engineering much more this time round. It’s nice to work with genuinely bright but humble individuals instead of the arrogant business school types with half a brain. Remember sometimes it’s really not just about the money 😉
Phil sounds like he is just making up a story to make IBankers sound bad just as he is not earning that kind of money in engineering.
The sad local grad above who thinks the farmers enrolled in local universities can claim to have any ounce of exposure, experience or rights to an overseas education is pathetic. So sad, really.
The sad local grad above thinks the farmers enrolled in local universities and going for the pathetic 6 mth exchange programs their pathetic schools beg for can claim to have an ounce of exposure to an an overseas education. So sad, pathetic, really. Hahaha
I wished I could have been a brain Surgeon but didn’t have the brains 🙁 I do work in banking and kind of agree with Phil. That said I do think some of the work is more stimulating then he makes it out to be, well to me it is anyway.
Wats the salary chart to u :
when u r 16yo?(‘O’ level)
when u r 19yo? ( ORD)
When u r 21-25yo (settling works, or further studies)
When u r 25-30yo (a few years working n having ur 1/2 fulfilled life,’and it’s still always 1/2 fulfilled as the list to it’, get longer)
When u r 30-35yo (views on status archived so far)
When u r 35-40 yo (niggled by the rate or further speculation of archived status)
And looking back, wat had done, lost, replaced n voided as in all aspect of values……
Can still see the far the ground since u really took off?
Can get back to the ground level again?
Switch the both roles n see again….. And see how much of ur heart left after all ur discount to the damage from the sum of the aspect of values……
job for store keeper apply
These figures look really inflated. I dont believe they are that high in reality. Minus $1K each more accurate
(solo Says:
April 20th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
“How many receptionists you know earn SGD2300 per mth? Most of them I know earn less than SGD2000. The only good thing about working as a receptionist is that you usually get to go off on time as you need to log-off the PABX system)
– My dear cousin used to work as a receptionist in a private corporate/finance law firm for 2 years between 2009 – 2011. Basically doing nothing much – serves visitors, book meeting rooms, arrange courier services, answering phone calls..etc. Most of the time she just uses the net and ‘facebook’. For all that, she takes home $2.5k+/mth, 9-6/5-day work, was given 16days AL, $1k medical/dental claims, 13th month bonus and ~2-3months annual profit sharing with just a N-level cert while I have a diploma in engineering, slogging my time n energy away in my co. earning just $200 more than her. FML!