Am i being underpaid

[hoffster]

Hi fellow users of salary.sg forums

After graduating from a local polytechnic and completing my national service.
I got a job in one of the private companies. With a take home pay of $1200.
May i get some advice on the type of salary range i should be getting? Personally, i feel its too low. They company told me it's because of inexperience.
I have been working and slogging it out for the past 5 months, doing accounting and also going all the way to HR and administrative tasks.

Kindly please give me some advices for me, so that I have some idea of what i should do next.

Thank you

yes you are being underpaid. start finding a new job, but dont quit until u get a job offer.

put 1.8k to 2k as your expected.

Get a degree from nus or ntu if possible. If not, get a private degree. A diploma only is going to limit your career progression.

Originally Posted by hoffster

Hi fellow users of salary.sg forums

After graduating from a local polytechnic and completing my national service.
I got a job in one of the private companies. With a take home pay of $1200.
May i get some advice on the type of salary range i should be getting? Personally, i feel its too low. They company told me it's because of inexperience.
I have been working and slogging it out for the past 5 months, doing accounting and also going all the way to HR and administrative tasks.

Kindly please give me some advices for me, so that I have some idea of what i should do next.

Thank you

is salary very important to you at this moment? if the company you are working in can provide the appropriate training and you are happy working there... stay on while looking for avenues to upgrade yourself first...

say for e.g. a part time degree (night classes). once you have sufficient working experience (at least a good 1-2years of grinding) and done / almost done with your studies... start looking for a job elsewhere... if you are into accountancy, try applying for mid-tier firms and see if you can land a spot...


a little background about me, i graduated from ITE (electronics engineering) with a lousy GPA (1.xx / 4.0). After which, I served 2 years of NS, came out. 1st job paid me S$1,400 gross in January 2011. I clinged on, went through the route I described earlier, am a "happy" chartered accountant of singapore.

I draw a decent pay and is 2years ahead of my peers in the same industry (be it mid-tier or big4 firms). Reason? Luck and Opportunity plays a big part too.... but first, get yourself in shape by upgrading first.

My first diploma job after ns in 2010 was $1500 gross.. but work super relax no stress.. after 2 years i jump to a new job which pay gross $2150.. good money but super stress.. bottom line is, i know money is important but must also consider a job that ur happy with.. anyway i know how u feel, diploma holder is like nothing nowadays, bottom of food chain, like walking dustbin, everything throw in..

Why did you accept the job in the first place? SGD1,200 is too low for a local poly graduate. You should be looking at least 1.6k or 2k. Imagine if you showed your next employer your previous pay is SGD 1,200 how much do you think they will be willing to pay you after? SGD 1,500?

If you have no monetary commitments, I would suggest you quit immediately, dont let the company take advantage of you and dont mention SGD 1,200 as your last drawn.

It is a matter of how you negotiate. For experience, you did compulsory internship right. This can be a good selling point. Try to sell as many of your good points as possible.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My first diploma job after ns in 2010 was $1500 gross.. but work super relax no stress.. after 2 years i jump to a new job which pay gross $2150.. good money but super stress.. bottom line is, i know money is important but must also consider a job that ur happy with.. anyway i know how u feel, diploma holder is like nothing nowadays, bottom of food chain, like walking dustbin, everything throw in..

i agree...

like you said, if work is super relax and no stress... it's also a good time to pursue part-time night classes for degree in private institutions... that way got more time to focus on study... once complete then jump...

[i_stinks]

1.2k is too low although the lowest I know of is 1k

guys, he mentioned $1.2k is take home pay, meaning gross is $1.5k lar...

[May2018]

SG pay these days is getting lower and lower where standard of living in the opposite direction.

Try to save as much as possible. In SG today, one tend to go jobless at around 40. Your generation prepare yourself with sufficient savings to last for at least 5 years by age 35. No matter with or without degree.

Always upgrade yourself whenever you can.