If you’re a working professional in your late thirties, the median gross salary in your age group is $5,048/mth.
Managers in the same age group make a median pay of $6,500.
This is according to the Ministry of Manpower’s Report on Wages 2008 (released middle of this year).
Here are the stats for the various age groups:
- 25-29 age group: Managers $3,860, Professionals $3,416
- 30-34 age group: Managers $5,225, Professionals $4,269
- 35-39 age group: Managers $6,500, Professionals $5,048
- 40-44 age group: Managers $7,150, Professionals $5,536
- 45-49 age group: Managers $7,480, Professionals $5,800
Is your pay above the median?
And here are the top 22 managerial and professional jobs ranked by their median gross wages in the late-thirties age group:
- Specialised surgeon – $26,250
- Advocate and solicitor – $12,243
- Managing director – $12,000
- Fund manager – $11,854
- General manager – $11,459
- Company director – $10,515
- Business management consultant – $9,619
- Legal officer – $8,725
- Treasury manager – $8,500
- Risk management manager – $8,209
- General physician – $8,176
- Legal service manager – $8,015
- Chemical engineer (Petroleum) – $7,854
- Operations manager (Finance) – $7,800
- Computer operations and network manager – $7,107
- Budgeting and financial accounting manager – $7,021
- Research and development manager – $7,000
- Computer and information systems manager – $6,779
- Creative director (Advertising) – $6,625
- Business development manager – $6,500
- Information technology security specialist – $6,498
- Marketing manager – $6,495
Also deserving of mention are: Corporate Planning Manager and Training Manager (each >$8,500 in the early-forties age group), and University Lecturer (>$7,500 in the late-forties age group).
See also my list of the 100 best-paying jobs.
224 Comments
littlenova: no lunch, dinner and coffeebreaks but u have time to post msgs on forums? 😛 just joking….
displeased: I am earning less than you when I was your age. I am still in the bracket that you are in but if you ask me on switching to finance or to strive for senior IT management. I would definitely say the latter is easier any day and with considerable less risk. If you are good enough to succeed in finance from scratch, you are likely to be good enough to succeed in IT management. But if you are a 200-300k IT executive, be prepared to work just as hard as those who earn 200-300k through other means.
kevin: mind revealing your age? Personally, i feel that it is harder to achieve 150k and above in IT than finance because only senior IT managers or directors get 150k and above. But in banking/finance, you dont need to hold such senior position to earn that much money. So on average, it should be easier to earn 150k and above in finance (without considering the amount of hours we have to put in). No risk no gain. I dont think i am that old yet so i think it is better for me to strive/try now before i regret in future. 🙂 If i really fail to switch, i guess i can always fall back on IT.
fin slave: that incident can be true, why not? I remember not taking a day of MC even when I’m sick a couple of times due to the long hrs/stress work. and when I’m on leave, my phone just kept ringing non-stop. I’m afraid that if I missed an impt call, I’ll be informed that I don’t have to return to work after my leave:)
it’s a cold/harsh world in finance. hence you IT guys who’re already making good money at your age should be satisfied. Main Street types jobs are for normal people, but if you really want to go beyond 200k or even 300k/yr wall st type jobs may present a higher chance.
littlenova: i know what you’re talking abt. I used to be so deprived of sleep, but the stress and speed just kept me awake without the use of cafeinne.
but I think you’ll have to be a superman to go long hrs without lunch/dinner/breaks…..and you health will also go down the drain
displeased: I am in my mid-thirties. Getting into senior IT management is not that difficult and in some regards, it may well be a little easier than getting into a good MBA school, which is a ticket for a successful switch to a lucrative finance career. Most of the corporate IT departments in the region are fairly new and will only expand further, especially when most of sales come from the region. So demand will outstrip supply.
The disclaimer here is that these are 150-200k work. So while it is relatively easy, there is still some intellect, hard work and luck needed.
So maybe, if you are not already in IT management, it may well be worthwhile to make the switch first before deciding on your next move.
Kevin: I am currently in IT management but not at the senior level. Not sure how many more years it will take for me to get into senior level. Even if i do, i still see myself stuck around the 150-180k level for the first 3-4 yrs of senior management level. But of course, easier said than done. You made it sound easy but in reality i really think it is difficult given the fact that there are so many local+foreign competition and each MNC will just need 1 or at most 2 senior IT guys?
Displeased: No worries. I am on leave! Haha..
Puzzled: You mean superwoman? hehe. I’m in my 20s so I can take it for now. I know this is not something I will do in the long run so I’ll switch industry when the time comes 🙂
displeased: You are right in that I made it sound easy, but my point was that switching to finance and being successful is harder, despite the fact that one only needs to be an “average” employee in finance organizations to earn that kind of money.
And I agree with your principle to try rather than regret not trying. In fact, I made a switch when I was 30 from IT management to join a IT startup. Afterall, if it is successful, it sure beats being a plain salaried employee (even within the financial sector). Obviously it did not work out and it set my IT corporate ladder climb by a year, but at least, I tried.
The interesting part was that when I decide to leave the startup was that I figured out if I am going to try very hard to succeed, staying in corporate IT is more guaranteed than staying with the startup.
littlenova: yes, I meant superwoman. but even if you’re still young, not worth it if your health is affected
displeased: kevin is right, changing career is not as easy as it seems. I would say finance ppl who made it paid it with their blood and sweat.
most often then not, we only see their results but not the process of how they did it
not all people in finance suffer the way it’s described above. and they make quite a lot of money too. junior managers and senior business analysts in middle office and back office of big foreign banks mostly make 100k upwards. they don’t suffer health problems, get to enjoy work life balance, run marathons etc.
financial slave: that is about the most horrible story i’ve ever heard, period. if it’s true how does people like this MD live with themselves everyday? do they treat their family and friends the same – as convenient parts?
it must be a horrible horrible existence, no matter what money they are getting.
i really hope you can get out of there as soon as possible.
leave before the place sucks your soul dry.
Thanks everyone for your invaluable advice. I have decided to embark on the journey to hell….soon. Hopefully, i will be able to post a msg here in 2-3 yrs time saying that i have done it!
displeased: Good luck!!
The selection process between front office and middle/back office banking jobs are totally different.
no point changing careers to move into non front office roles, if you’re doing it for $$. the payout there is pretty much inline with the other industry.
front office roles pays better so as to compensate for the loss of family time, stress, risk, instability
puzzled: roger and thanks!
displeased: you are obviously very determined to go ahead with it so i just want to sincerely wish you the best of luck. must say i’m really impressed by your courage and drive.
be the best that you can be and hope that you emerge with a better life(not just salary wise) on the other side.
middleclass: thanks alot! has been great chatting with you guys over this forum.
Hi all,
can give some advice to me?
I’m 28. NUS engineering grad. Female.
Had been an insurance agent since 2004.
Been thinking of a gd career switch that can match my current income of around $5k a month.
But with no experience… what are the areas that i can fill in?
Teacher, 32, $5,000/mth
Nurse, 31, $4,000/mth
38 year old manager working overseas earning 6.5K per month include bonus. That’s low I suppose.
31 years old, $5,500 monthly gross..
to Tan: mate, that’s too low for one working overseas and sacrificing family, friends and food!
27yrs old broker averaged 5.2k/mth in 2009
age 34, basic salary above 12K per month as IT ops manager
that’s high! you do us techies proud!
techie : thats high! what do u do?
basically I have to manage multi-million dollar systems and projects, ensuring that they run smoothly, finding innovative ways to use technology to solve problems, etc
in that case, you sound underpaid.
your scope sounds like what my boss does and the salary range for his position is 15-20k
to technie: Huh? come on. He is only 34 yrs old and earning more than 12k a month. I’m pretty sure he is already way ahead of most IT professionals at any age. Give him a few more years and he’ll properly surpass your boss.
Anyway…Happy Lunar New Year everyone!
For one, he is ahead of me and I do somewhat similar stuff.
that’s like around 150k a year. not bad.
middleclass: i am doing more of a scope comparison without considering the age. Age wise, there is no doubt that he is doing very well but scope wise, he could have been paid more in my company.
to technie: Scope is not everything. Experience matters too. Theoretically, if he had another 5 more years experience doing the same thing, the company would have paid him more in the same job. It is a cost vs. efficiency tradeoff.
And to re-iterate points I made earlier in my comments. Luck plays a significant part too. I think regional IT manager can typically make above $100K, but some may be well in excess of $300K and some are always stuck near the $100K.
to technie: please don’t get offended since we are all sharing opinions here. Personally i just find it hard to say that a 34 yrs old earning more than 12k a month underpaid. Even though i know there are a lot of successful people around earning lots more. To me he is already way ahead of most people in Singapore regardless of scope of work, age or profession etc.
Also keep in mind that it takes more than just a few sentence to define someone’s work. Not to mention that market value is relative and quite subjective to every employers. Or another perspective is that your boss is overpaid.
Anyway personally i think it’s more important that you should be happy doing what you love everyday. But again that’s just me.
cmon, u guys earning below 10k at 30 are pathetic.
to highflyer: you just insulted too many people. earning a decent amount depends on a person’s capability, and one can approximate “decent amount” with the median numbers in my opinion. but anything beyond a decent amount depends on opportunities and luck. don’t be too happy that you’re lucky at this point in your life.
At 36 this October and makes sgd 7,500 per month in telecom sector as a manager.
sgd 8833 in bank technology division as a small team lead solving other people’s problems.
earn sgd6100(also a total household income); i m 35 married with 1 son, in telecom equipment vendor as engineering consultant working day & night….what the hell…seem like ppl is making so much money! any one know any link /statistic for telecom in singapore? but seem like those statistic tell ppl don’t work for ppl…most will hit company director/ ~ SGD12,000/month…how long will you need to wait to replace the existing one?? i think better have a 2nd income source to make another $6,000…gee!so stress now! am i in poor category now?…any one can help to show me the way to get more income? any link to see the household income statistic of singapore?
There are only a few standard ways to make more money: give private tuition, drive part time taxi and start some business on the side. Not easy. If easy, people won’t be stuck in their jobs.
Actually the easiest way is to quit your job and let your previous employer hire you back as a self-employed consultant. This way you can work for other companies as well and get paid a lot better…
Why are you so confident that the previous employer will hire anyone back as a consultant?
Simple. If you are working day & night than your employer does not have time to hire somebody new and train him up to your standard… Besides he pockets a very healthy margin because clients pay him a lot than what you get.
Clients could also hire you as an independent consultant and pay you directly!
So are you working as a consultant now?
Managers should have a basis of how much is the salary that they are entitled to accept. But they should also perform well to show their boss that they are worthy to get a high salary.