NUS (National University of Singapore)
 

Hi, does anybody know what is the salary scale like in NUS?

I am applying for a executive/senior executive role; coming in with a degree with 4 years of experience. Would it be reasonable to ask for 3.3K?

Also, what is the culture there like? Do they have a stronger preference for local grads? I am a overseas grad, by the way, so I am also wondering.

no replies? does anybody want to answer?

Got diff people give me diff answers leh

Some say is relaxed, got others say is stressful

No one is answering dude. U are answering yourself. LOL

For the administrative side, they have not much preference for local degree holders over other degrees. All you do is just admin work. NUS grads are pretty much above that. For NUS to hire an NUS grad for that kind of post is like a person slapping himself in the face.

As you've pointed out, pay in different faculty differs from one another due to different budget. As a rough gauge, admin work in Biz fac usually pay better than say Sci or Eng Fac.

But personally I've yet to see anyone I know wishing to work in NUS; it's like the end of your career in my opinion. Sure work-life balance is superb, but promotions, increments, bonus are worse than civil service, and hardly anything interesting/exciting nor will you learn anything useful.

I am not a NUS grad...

Is it seriously that bad? How much is the increment per year? I am asking for 3.3K (I have 4.5 years experience). I have never before received an annual increment higher than $100 and never received a bonus higher than 1.75 months - my work experience is completely limited to SMEs in the private sector

Yes, it is quite bad. You're pretty much just an admin clerk. Highest you can go is assistant to the faculty head, or assistant to the dean of NUS. The promotion and income ceiling is pretty low IMO. Most of those in charge of the more important stuff are also professors and such. So the highest pay you can ever get is probably around 5k/mth.

Ok, but I still need to start somewhere; can i ask you what is the annual increment and bonus like?

just to ask, have you gotten the job or even the interview?

I think it is reasonable to ask for 3.3K(maybe 3.5K?)
I was with them for almost 2 decades as a technician.
Yearly increment wise quite ok if u are not ambitious.
My advice to you is that unless you are a good balls carrier, dun expect to get promotion.
Doesn't mean that you are capable, you will get promoted.
Beware of the academics staff. 过河拆桥 . Good in back stabbing and they treat the non academic staff like dirt when they are no longer useful.
Need to beware of your fellow non academic colleague working with you. Dun be surprise that they will get promote faster than you even they are much less capable.
Big organization=Many politics
That's the reason why I left
I regret joining them during my best part of my working life.
Well, good luck in your job searching, follow your heart, dun get influence by me

Wow...sound so scary...I have never worked in large organization before..all my work experience has been in small SMEs, with headcount of less than 20 people, but also dun know why small compan can also kenna office politics.

Thanks a lot, this is very useful advice!

Hey, one man's meat is another man's poison.
Make sure you landed a new job first before quitting your current job.
Dun be like me, quit without finding a new job and now I am jobless for almost 3 yrs. Haha.
Good luck
Cheers

You have been jobless for 3 years? Have you tried looking for a new job,

FYI, i just quit without getting a new job...my direct supervisor was coming close to workplace verbal abuse.


Also, i just found out that all positions, even director positions, were contract positions, of 2 to 3 years.

Hi, does anyone know for executive/professional positions, does NUS require reference letters, and will NUS email you regarding rejection/acception? Thank you!

yearly increment is around 3-4% for ave performance...

bonus is 2 mths for ave performance and NO AWS for Executive scheme

the lowest executive scheme (E6) pay range is 2.5-4k

most people stop at E4 which is 4-6k

Is it true, that most people stop at E4? Why do people stay so long in NUS then? I heard that the turnover rate is quite low.

E4 is Senior Manager and E3 is Associate Director.

The top one usu the turnover rate is really low so very hard for a dept to have so many Associate Directors so most ppl get struck at E4 until near retirement where they maybe promoted to E3.

the only good thing about NUS is that workload is generally not so bad (even when compared to CS) and there are down periods. food there also quite a lot of variety etc. etc. and thus ppl who worked a couple of yrs in NUS will find it stress to switch to a faster pace environment so they rather stay and dont really care about pay and progression.

very good for working mothers and fathers who would want to spend time with his kids

I am very surprise that Senior Manager and Associate Director in NUS is paid so low. So are these really senior management jobs? Do they have a sizable number of subordinates to do admin and basic level work so that the position can focus on more policy and strategic level work?

So bonus is also 2 months and no AWS even if you reach very high level like Director?

all titles are inflated. u can be a senior manager and yet have not a single direct report.

I plan to apply for senior manager post at nus/ntu. What's the pay range? Will I be able to get 8k?

Bumping up this post

I don't know about NUS, but senior manager in NTU will not get you 8k. 7k plus at the most.

I heard from my friend, whose siblings is working in NUS. On Fridays, they are allowed to go off earlier for sports activities etc etc.

Sounds like a 4 and 1/2 day work week for me? wow..

8k if you are a Deputy Director.

I understand that most E/P positions in NUS are on contract basis. What are the chances of renewing the contract upon expiry? Also, any chances of converting into perm staff? Thank you!

Any chance for a non-scholar to rise to superscale (~15k) on the admin side before 40yo? Assuming one joins them right after university...

Working in Admin in a uni? Low chance, though possible if you are head of a very specialised function like Advancement.

In the civil service? Got chance.

This sounds too optimistic.

I work in NUS a few years ago and was not aware of any Directors that are paid 15k in their 30s, especially if he/she just join right after school. Most mid-late 30s office incumbents are either SM (5-7k) or for the better performers get AD (6-8k). I would say for NUS admin side the correct answer is 0% chance of drawing 15k before 40.

As for civil service 15k is usually a high MX9 or low MX8, for a non-scholar to reach that level by 45 is already very rare; in their 30s haha personally I only know of 1 individual after working so many years in 2 ministries. So I reckon statistically the chances of that happening is <1% unless we are talking about sign on in SAF or equivalent.

TLDR for whoever got this kind of expectation better work in the private sector, a place like NUS cannot offer this sort of pay to do admin no matter how fantastic performer you are.

Does anyone know the range for Associate Directors (E3) in NUS?

Is 10k a reasonable salary to ask for, especially as it's only on a 12 month pay scale?

Nope. Not reasonable at all. That's the pay of a Deputy Director, or an entry level Director.

As current staff at the same grade, I can say that 10k is about the middle of the salary band (slightly above the mid-way mark). So if that is the pay grade they are offering you, then 10k is not unreasonable, provided you are either very capable or have many years of relevant experience.

If you are a civil servant, NUS E&P Grade 3 (Associate Dir designation) is roughly equivalent to to MX10 on the MX salary scale.

So Senior Associate Director would be equivalent or close to MX9 on the MX salary scale? Contrary to perception, NUS seems to pay very well.

Senior Associate Director (SAD, appropriately enough) is often a hentak kaki post. Still, as you suggest, there are many SADs who don't mind as they are quite well paid!

Shuttle Bus Service for Staff
 

Hi, may I know do NUS provide shuttle bus service for staff who staying in the east?

NUS Associate Director range is roughly 9 - 12k, so 10k should be fine.

SAD and AD are the same pay grade i.e. E&P Grade 3.

DD is Grade 2, equivalent to MX9.

Director can be either Grade 2 or Grade 1 (equivalent to MX8).

EP3 is not even MX10. Bearing in mind that MX10 at 10k, you are getting 15 months annual for the average Joe, so we are looking at 150k pa. EP3 at 10k is 12 month package, 120kpa.

E&P Grade 3 ranges from approx 8k to 12k. The range is wide. At the midway mark (10k), one will draw an annual package of 12 mths + 2mths (seems you do not work in NUS, bonuses typically are only 1.5-2 mths all in for E&P), or 140k.

MX10 also has a wide range, from 7.2k to 11.3k. So, taking the midpoint of about 9.2k, and factoring in 12 mths + 4 mths bonus, that works out to 147k.

So, Grade 3 is approx equal to MX10. Of course NUS pays slightly lower, compared to the civil service. The work is typically not as demanding.