Hospital (Private or Public) Designation and Salary Range

Hello! I started out as a JG12 (fresh off uni) and managed to reach JG14 after 9+ years. However, recently i just transferred to a new institution (same cluster) but of a different job scope altogether. Am just curious if this is career suicide since I have to start from scratch and work super hard to reach the next grade? also don't know when it will happen, maybe never?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am the poster for the reply immediately above and will try to answer your question based on my experience in a SingHealth Institution.

I myself was a JG15 (Manager) at 33 yo when I joined. I did Ph.D and worked in the industry R&D for 3 years before I joined. Fresh Ph.Ds usually joins at JG14, and if you join with a few yoe elsewhere it can be JG15. JG16 and above are for much more experienced candidates. A Ph.D is worthwhile if you intend to skip the grind at the junior grades (JG11 - JG13, Executive - Senior Executive). My experience is with the Research Department, so other Departments may be different.

Not sure about Masters, but from my observation it probably doesn't make an impact. A fresh Masters grad usually joins at JG11 (Executive), which is similar to a fresh Bachelors grad, but maybe with a slightly higher starting salary.

For a normal Singaporean male who joins as a fresh Bachelors grad at 25 yo, you will join as a JG11 (Executive) and will take an immense effort of grinding and consistent high performances to reach JG14 and above (Assistant Manager and above). Your salary will probably be lower than other JG14s if they had jumped jobs before landing in public healthcare at the same stage.

My advice is probably don't join public healthcare as a fresh Bachelors grad with an aim to grind your way up for decades. It will take immense effort and your salary will just climb at a normal rate. You can join to gain some experience and leave for better prospects elsewhere.

As for your question regarding the time it takes to hit JG16 or JG17, from my observations it is almost impossible to grind up to these grades if you are an average performer (most will be stuck at JG15). Most employees at JG16 and above are either very high performers (if they had stayed on from junior grades) or switched job from elsewhere.

Research department is very different from clinical.departments.
Your advice will not be relevant to most people who are allied health.

Of course phds in research dept is sought after.

For AH, getting a PhD is only 300 extra per month.
And for AH to get to JG 15? At least 15 years.
Many get stuck at JG14.
JG 16 needs at least 20 years.
JG 17 is only for HODs or managers of big teams.
This is consistent across nhg and singhealth.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Research department is very different from clinical.departments.
Your advice will not be relevant to most people who are allied health.

Of course phds in research dept is sought after.

For AH, getting a PhD is only 300 extra per month.
And for AH to get to JG 15? At least 15 years.
Many get stuck at JG14.
JG 16 needs at least 20 years.
JG 17 is only for HODs or managers of big teams.
This is consistent across nhg and singhealth.

I would like to clarify that I am on the Admin track (Research Administrator) rather than the Research track (Research Performers). But yes, Ph.Ds are highly sought after in research department no matter which track you are on, and the department as a whole works differently from other functions.

AH seems to be the worse in terms of career progression and workload.

I would recommend admin functions if one is considering joining PHIs. Operations (it's a very huge function with many sub-functions), Education, Research and Innovation offices are good places to further your career.

Don't join HR or Finance in PHIs. You will have a better career elsewhere for these two functions.

anyone heard of the management executive/fellowship program at NHG? is it only for scholars or for anyone with high potential within the admin team?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

anyone heard of the management executive/fellowship program at NHG? is it only for scholars or for anyone with high potential within the admin team?

it is just a fake program to lure young talented graduates in ...

in terms of progression, it is exactly the same as your peers who took the normal route. only difference is you will get regular rotations within the hospital.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

it is just a fake program to lure young talented graduates in ...

in terms of progression, it is exactly the same as your peers who took the normal route. only difference is you will get regular rotations within the hospital.

That's the management associate program though, the executive/fellowship program seems to be a talent development program for HiPo staff, from what i noticed, if they are tood, they can become AD within 10 years

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not true. Some JG17 (Assistant Director equivalent at SingHealth) are not HODs.

Second part is probably true for an average worker but I have seen JG17 at 40 yo. They are usually the high performers.

I myself was a JG15 (Manager equivalent at SingHealth) at 33 yo when I joined (did Ph.D. for 5 years and industry R&D for 3 years), so there were many staffs who were older but more junior in rank than me and reported to me.

Promotion in Public Healthcare Institutions can be difficult even if you perform well consistently, so I left after 2 years for better prospects elsewhere.

Could you share which sector/company did you leave to?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That's the management associate program though, the executive/fellowship program seems to be a talent development program for HiPo staff, from what i noticed, if they are tood, they can become AD within 10 years

possible to share some open source information? i can't seem to be able to find anything

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Could you share which sector/company did you leave to?

I left for corporate function in A*STAR HQ. A*STAR pays well, and promotions are generally easier. Will stay for around 5 years before deciding whether to stay in A*STAR for long term or jump to other Ministries or Stat Boards (MOH, MOE, NRF, ESG and EDB are my interests as well). I had offers from Ministries before, and their offers were pretty low (just on par with an average civil service worker's salary) and they don't regard postgrad degrees or early career high performers well. I may probably be forced to stay in A*STAR or try out private sector next due to this.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I left for corporate function in A*STAR HQ. A*STAR pays well, and promotions are generally easier. Will stay for around 5 years before deciding whether to stay in A*STAR for long term or jump to other Ministries or Stat Boards (MOH, MOE, NRF, ESG and EDB are my interests as well). I had offers from Ministries before, and their offers were pretty low (just on par with an average civil service worker's salary) and they don't regard postgrad degrees or early career high performers well. I may probably be forced to stay in A*STAR or try out private sector next due to this.

how many yoe do you have since graduation? able to share your total annual compensation?