Starting pay for fresh grad?
 

Hi all, need some advice on what to expect/ask for my starting salary.

I will be graduating in May from NUS FASS, bach in English and i am currently going for interviews and will probably be receiving my first offer soon.

Some background, i am on the bubble in terms of my hons, so i'll either grad with 2nd upper or 2nd lower.

On the CCA/achievements side, I am quite active in the students' union(elected to office bearer positions) and have represented the uni and nation in a few overseas forums and summits to meet foreign leaders and dignitaries. Have also received top 10% cert in my attachments.

How much should i expect from either the public or private sector?

I should be negotiating on pay with a stat board and a government affiliated company on pay and i am unsure of how much to ask as I am really quite unsure of my degree that i will grad with. I am also in the final round of interview with a private mnc and I would like some advice on whats reasonable to ask for.

As I heard that in government linked orgs or stat boards they have a fixed pay scale based on the degree you have, can I use my CV to bargain? Haha.

The standard range to ask for is about 2.8k to 3.2k. if you're confident they want u, you can ask for more and yes, goverment sector have a standard pay scale for junior executive and senior executive. Any other higher position, i'm not sure.

gov sector will depends on wat honour u'll get considering u r fresh grad

private sector depends on the industry and what kind of job

for government linked orgs or stat boards, I've not heard of fresh grad from FASS successfully negotiating for a higher pay then what is offered.

alright, an offer from a "private" closely affliated to govt company doing some rm related work.

2950 basic. 15.5 months minimum. 200 increment after 6 months probation. transport and phone allowances.

Normal? Non negotiable apparently

yes, very normal. I'll accept it if the job is your interest.

Seems a tad low to me though, ministries are offering me higher. However, the lower paying jobscope is of interest to me.

but 400-500 less per month is quite a lot.

Think long term. Does the lower paying job offer good prospects? What I noticed about jobs in the private sector is that it tends to offer faster increments than in the civil service. It also opens up more job opportunities. The skills that you pick up in the civil service tend to be very specialised and you might have difficulties going into different industries in the future.

What kind of jobs are you considering in the ministries?

btw, I was in your position 3 years back and I decided to stick with the lower paying job and give up on the ministry jobs. (same like you the difference was ~$500). No regrets since. My pay now matches or is higher than my peers who chose the ministry route.

Alright, but its very closely govt linked, its almost considered as govt by some people so i am not sure it can be considered as true private.

but the HR said theres no scale given and everything is performance based, wonder how true is that?

My FASS friends tend to earn crap pay, some are working selling noodles, while some become shop supervisors, some are at citibank selling credit cards. Your best bet is to be a teacher. Even Art lecturers earn less than other lecturers from more hardcore faculties.

lols but i am getting quite a few good offers lah, it doesnt really matter the degree you have. representing uni and sg in a few international summits have enhanced my CV so *most* companies will pay more attention to that :) and i guess the reason why i am chosen for these is because i am from FASS :)

no interest in teaching though so i'll skip that :)

Please read the thread before commenting lar.
Lame sia.

RM = risk management?
i would take it if i were you esp since they're willing to train you in a field completely unrelated to your degree.

I am NTU grad in Chemistry with Honours IIA.

When I graduated in 2011, I accepted a job which paid below the market rate and regretted it. I quit less than a year later because I do not relish the though of losing money every month. It is my fault that I did not do market research before accepting the offer.

So I advise you to do your own career research and not just rely on what people say. Check out the career pages of some government organizations which include salary information (not all of them quote starting salary figures).

I have since secured a job in the public sector which pays what I am worth.

Listed below is the approximate starting salary in public sector for male local (NUS/NTU/SMU) grads with NS. The figures vary among the various stat boards and Ministries, but will not be drastically different.

Pass degree - $ 3100
Pass (Merit) - $ 3300
Honours III / IIB - $ 3400 - $ 3500
Honours IIA - $ 3600
Honours I - $ 3800

(Above, With NS)
(Without NS will be around $ 350 - 400 lower than the above figures)

I hope the public sector is shoring up its hiring cos good pay masters in private sector like banks aren't hiring much. Some are firing, in fact.

thanks for the great info!!

so what are you doing now?

How long do u wait for this public service job?

Doesn't matter how closely linked it is to the govt sector. Non-govt means non-govt. I went for an interview with a company that's also affiliated w govt. Heck, they even share the same building as a govt agency and do lots of programmes in collaboration.... IT WAS PURE BS! The whole company was built to be an empire for the CEO. Whether you're promoted/fired depends on the whim and fancy of the CEO. Imagine the kind of unhealthy environment where everyone will be fighting for the CEO's attention. Worse still, the pay they offered was $2.2, after getting impressed w my global exposure (similar to your experience). My point is that non-govt agencies can be horrendous because they don't need to follow civil/public service rules.

Now, as for your career prospect, what kind of role are you offered at the govt agency? Is it the kind that does not give you new skills? If the non-govt one is going to help you specialise in a certain way, you should definitely go for it, considering that your bg is in English. If you don't mind staying in the civil/public service forever, you may not need to consider this point. But if you want to go out to the private sector one day, you certainly wouldn't want to be seen as someone who only knows how to write. You want some other selling points from the years of experience in the public sector. Does that job give you this edge?

Go check Uni GES survey

Try aim for higher than median, which is around 4k+

Go private if you can, public pay progression v slow unless u scholar

Depends on which prog. Mean and median overall for 2020 is only 3.8k thereabouts.

Regardless, take these surveys with a pinch of salt. People who respond are typically those with good jobs (esp this year whereby there are more programmes with < 30 respondents as compared to past years) and many outliers (say those in IB, Big Tech etc) pulling the numbers up.

my uol mates only getting 2.7-3k, hope u manage your expectations and work on new skills

Fresh grad from SMU, 8k/month

Really depends if you are a graduate from a proper university, or lower-than-bacteria SIM trash.

LMAO this is not the UOL-SIM thread. Pls dont derail

bro I'm calling my doggy. I wanna see if he's going to be a good boy or not :)

Eh hello filthy doggy - I call you, why no response? Want kena abused my NUS Master issit? :)

sim uol 2nd lower, starting pay 2.8k

NTU biz, starting 10.2k

Your first mistake was joining NTU Chemistry.

You want high pay but you rather be a lab sheep? Don’t make me laugh.

Govt starting pay has increased already. Usu they are quite fast to adjust fresh grad salary

SIM 1st class, 3k

Prop trading firm, think JS/Citadel/D.E. Shaw

450k SGD last year

Investment banker, 300k, think JPM,GS,DB,CITI,CS

Insorlan urgent , 36K per month, 26 month annual package

Ummm, none of these place pay close to 300k for fresh graduate even with bonuses...

Evercore maybe still believable, but not these cheapskate BB

SWE at MANG, all in 125k

JS/Citadel/DE Shaw S$600k. who's earning 450? loser.

uol first class can get how much?