Compare civil service salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

just my 2 cents worth.

A typical graduate civil servant at the age of 35 would have picked up another another masters degree, making about 7-10k/month. Transitioning to the private sector is hard. Looking at my batch, many don't make the successful transition, and quite a few end up retrenched or unemployed by the time they reach 40-45. There have been some great success stories as well. The successful ones tend to be those that plan ahead. The ones that don't tend to be those that drift along and suddenly 'force' to leave either they cannot stand their idiotic bosses (which happen a lot in the government service) or they have some mid-life crises and see their peers in the private sector doing better than them. Many of you will have to face the crossroad. Spend more time thinking about this.

all the best!

Making 7 to 10k per month as a typical civil servant at 35 years old is a rather optimistic projection but you are right to say that civil servants find it hard to move back to the private sector. This is partly due to the lifestyle of a civil servant and the fact that it is hard to move out without suffering a paycut.

Being retrenched from civil service is unheard of. Being removed is possible, but that is if the guy did something really terrible, otherwise civil service is a rather... civil employer, definitely more civil than many companies in the private sector.

Hi to all the veterans here, would like to seek some advice from you all

I am a recent graduate from NUS, 2nd class lower in Economics(FASS). I have accepted a job offer from one of the ministries here, gross starting pay is 3K including NS increments. Under the MX12 scheme, salary range is $1970 - $5340

I would like to ask the following

1)Roughly How much are the yearly increments? Each increment equates to a rank in the pay grade?

2)How many ranks would there be, in for example, the MX12 pay grade.

3)What would the promotion prosepects be like? Promotion to the next pay grade, MX11?

4)Given that i peform average-ly compared to my peers, where should i see myself in 5-10 years' time?

Sounds like a little ambitious when i haven't started work, but i would like to plan ahead and give myself something to aim for, rather than just work and be lost.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi to all the veterans here, would like to seek some advice from you all

I am a recent graduate from NUS, 2nd class lower in Economics(FASS). I have accepted a job offer from one of the ministries here, gross starting pay is 3K including NS increments. Under the MX12 scheme, salary range is $1970 - $5340

I would like to ask the following

1)Roughly How much are the yearly increments? Each increment equates to a rank in the pay grade?

2)How many ranks would there be, in for example, the MX12 pay grade.

3)What would the promotion prosepects be like? Promotion to the next pay grade, MX11?

4)Given that i peform average-ly compared to my peers, where should i see myself in 5-10 years' time?

Sounds like a little ambitious when i haven't started work, but i would like to plan ahead and give myself something to aim for, rather than just work and be lost.

Congrats on getting a job.

1) The increments range from 100 - 200 per year. Depending on your ministry, boss, performance etc.
2) The old scheme has a junior and senior rank per grade but i think with the revised MX scheme they removed it. Check with HR?
3) For normal grads and if you work "normally" you should be promoted to MX 11 in your 3rd year of service (eg after 3 years) if not, time to jump ship my friend

Should you decide to stay 5 - 10 years, you should expect at least 2-3 grade promotions, a section head for your div dept

PS, i was once fresh grad like you, with the same ambitions etc. But really ministries are not staying as a career unless you plan on retireement or start a family (for woman). Good to plan ahead, and best wishes for your first job.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Congrats on getting a job.

1) The increments range from 100 - 200 per year. Depending on your ministry, boss, performance etc.
2) The old scheme has a junior and senior rank per grade but i think with the revised MX scheme they removed it. Check with HR?
3) For normal grads and if you work "normally" you should be promoted to MX 11 in your 3rd year of service (eg after 3 years) if not, time to jump ship my friend

Should you decide to stay 5 - 10 years, you should expect at least 2-3 grade promotions, a section head for your div dept

PS, i was once fresh grad like you, with the same ambitions etc. But really ministries are not staying as a career unless you plan on retireement or start a family (for woman). Good to plan ahead, and best wishes for your first job.

On point no.3, promoted to MX11 in third year of service is considered rare rather than the normal. Plus TS has a second lower, slightly disadvantageous in the grand scheme of things. Staying on 5-10 years and getting 2-3 grade promotions is reasonable provided that TS performs slightly better than his peers at his ministry.

On the point about ministries not staying as a career, i beg to differ. To each his own, civil service pays quite well and its stability can be a plus point. One is encouraged to do postings at different ministries to get exposure too.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

the second time I joined the stat board, I was close to 30. Obviously I got a bad deal taking 4.2k/mth at that age. However, my pte sector experience did help and I was promoted up one grade every year. Yes, it was quite rare, I was the top performer every year outdoing the scholars. I eventually left because of the glass ceiling for non-scholars.

Mind if I ask is being a scholar really that important in stat boards? what kind of scholars are you referring to? LKY scholar? President scholar? or any kind of scholars will do? I my self is a professional engineers board scholar. I was wondering if I'm considered a "scholar" if i were to join a stat board?

does anyone knows hows career prospect like with PUB? I have just graduated from NTU and heard that PUB pays the best among all stats board during a career talk by PUB. is that true?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

does anyone knows hows career prospect like with PUB? I have just graduated from NTU and heard that PUB pays the best among all stats board during a career talk by PUB. is that true?

what i heard is different. i heard mindef related agencies, i.e. DSTA, pay the most for starting salaries. but my seniors told me, you gotta quickly pick up skills and leave in 1-2years to join MNCs and consulting firms, else your market value will drop as time goes by. i think it's a good strategy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

what i heard is different. i heard mindef related agencies, i.e. DSTA, pay the most for starting salaries. but my seniors told me, you gotta quickly pick up skills and leave in 1-2years to join MNCs and consulting firms, else your market value will drop as time goes by. i think it's a good strategy.

so what is the starting pay for dsta for year 2010 for fresh grad?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

On point no.3, promoted to MX11 in third year of service is considered rare rather than the normal. Plus TS has a second lower, slightly disadvantageous in the grand scheme of things. Staying on 5-10 years and getting 2-3 grade promotions is reasonable provided that TS performs slightly better than his peers at his ministry.

On the point about ministries not staying as a career, i beg to differ. To each his own, civil service pays quite well and its stability can be a plus point. One is encouraged to do postings at different ministries to get exposure too.

Not really i think. promoted to MX 11 after 3 years of service is normal. Promotion after one year service is rare.

of course it is to each his own, but for a fresh grad, perhaps by going the private sector and exp more, it is a better way of staying in the ministries as a career since grad. on the other hand, staying as a mid career switch maybe a good choice because of stability etc.

By the scholar, they usually mean those plp who have 5As or H1 in their A levels and have accepted a scholarship from one of the ministries or stats board.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

On point no.3, promoted to MX11 in third year of service is considered rare rather than the normal. Plus TS has a second lower, slightly disadvantageous in the grand scheme of things. Staying on 5-10 years and getting 2-3 grade promotions is reasonable provided that TS performs slightly better than his peers at his ministry.

On the point about ministries not staying as a career, i beg to differ. To each his own, civil service pays quite well and its stability can be a plus point. One is encouraged to do postings at different ministries to get exposure too.

I don't think getting 2-3 promotions in 5-10 years is the norm. 3 promotions will get you to MX9 which pays more than 10k. You have to be a high flier to reach that level in your mid-thirties. That said, civil servants nowadays are drawing very decent salaries.