No. I'm sorry to be an ass about this but i think it needs to be said.
(1) What you've done in the past has nothing to do with your worth to the company. You can hold a phd in a subject, but until you prove that you can bring in revenue of at least 3 times your asking pay on a consistent basis, you are not worth 3.5k. [1 part to you, 1 part to cover overheads, 1 part profits] You are a support role, which sucks because that means you're a cost-center not a profit-center.
(2) From a company perspective, traineeships are useful for 2 reasons. First, cheap labour. Second, goodwill/generosity + talent pipeline. If labour is not cheap, and i still have to put additional pressure on senior staff members to guide and train.... goodwill and generosity goes away pretty quickly.
Prove your worth in your first year, get some SOLID QUANTIFIABLE results, then negotiate for a higher salary. Right now, all you're saying is "i have no real world experience but im from
nus and have done internships, please pay me more." This is ********.
Side note: even lawyers who go to
NUS for 4 years and then sit the bar exam for 6 months only learn 2k - 2.5k for their time in training (6mths to a year). Even after training, they are not guaranteed a job as an associate. Big4 audit starts at 2.7k and it remains low for 3 years until they get qualified.
Please use this forum as it was intended.
(3) Last point. "It's technically not a traineeship, since all I'm learning is the product knowledge rather than a trade" Can you work without the training? If i throw you in without "product knowledge", can you produce results for me that meet professionally expected standards? Can you meet targets of permanent staff members?
Doubt it.