Let me bring life to this old thread by giving some real world data.

I am in my 6th year of this profession, just been made a salaried junior partner in a medium sized local firm. Average pay is about 10k a month not including bonuses, and there is no CPF (apparently partners are considered self-employed).

My boss doesn't own my soul, but my hours are erratic, on occasion working 12-16 hours a day (not always).

I am sure that my peers in bigger firms are earning 1.5 times more, but they are also probably working longer hours.