What industry are you in? banking? Shipping? manufacturing?

I got a friend who grad last year from UOL. That's right. Last August. He was scouting for a job for nearly a year when he finally settled at a non-profit organisation with merger pay.

He was not asking for very high pay whilst looking around, but I guess he didn't have the opportunity to have other offers then. He was full of passion and hope just before graduating from UOL and wanted to do this, do that.... Reality crashed in and finding a good job with good pay is not a walk in the park.

But I hate to imagine 1 yr without any income coming in. Supposedly he still has study loan or paternal repayment to consider.

Must be tough.

If you are looking for a financial svcs job, my advise is to heck care the starting pay and get in first. Why? Once you are in, your UOL cert does not matter but rather your job performance.

From first hand experience, what you learn in sch has little applicability to your job. You start afresh and alot things you learn anew. These are simple things.. routine work. Just need to be willing to learn.

Get in first. Your pay and prospects will be much better in the future. Why care about a few hundred dollars starting pay difference?

Now industry is going down hill. Remember back in 2008-2009 the government had to sponsor a jobs scheme? Because banks don't hire at all.

When I grad in 2007, there were so many banking jobs. 3k plus salary was normal. *my starting pay was 4.2k* I had time to choose from various offers and hiam this hiam that

In 2009, alot of SMU NTU NUS students grad without jobs. Government had to sponsor. My bank hired (under the MAS scheme) first class/ 2nd upper grads at 3k, those lower than 2nd upper at 2k. AND still so many people queuing up to join.

First class honors, double degree SMU joined my team at 3k flat per month. Contract still say it is a 2 year temp position, no BONUS.

In short, get a job fast before the crisis comes again

I say 2.5k is already a good starting pay already.

I think alot of UOL grads are neglecting the reality of the working world where Hiring managers are faced with 2 scenarios to bear in mind when hiring.

Restricted Budget

In view of the current poor conditions of the market, firms will be cutting down on hiring and definitely cannot afford to pay as much as the golden years (pre-2008).

Over-Supply of Graduates

These days, throw a stone and you'll find a degree holder. yes, questionable in terms of the integrity of the conferring university but nonetheless, still a degree.

There is an insane amount of graduates out there plus the foreign workers who compete as well.

I agree with the above poster. Stop being picky and enter the industry first, afterwards it's how you perform.

mmm its in fact corporate services provider.....so classified under what industry ya? financial/service?

thanks for your input...i guess i was hired perhaps one reason they accept fresh grad, and i did have some experience.......

and i second-ed ur view on foreign workers, local grads and foreigns with degrees are everywhere,i went for interviews and saw a good number of them applying for the same job. till the hiring mgr comment that they have degree but asking for so much lower, now it seems like its not who can do the job, but who is more affordable sigh.

nah im not being picky, just asking around for views since im not too sure about this industry (i dont know what industry they should be classified under) and the pay range like...
im just going for something acceptable , not hiam cos economy gg get worse, and hope that im able to perform...

Regarding foreign talent.. not as bad as you think. Most hiring managers of the bigger MNCs / Banks are given head count to hire and pay range as per dictated by HR.

To the hiring manager, they dont really care about what pay they offer you, as long as it is within the HR approved payscale. They have a slot to fill up and what affects most is that they hire the right person. More often, its is a matter of likeability and ability to learn. At junior role, everyone expects the need to teach the new hire.

Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager given a headcount and a budget. If I was the manager, I won't care much of the budget (since it doesnt affect me how much I pay the new hire), infact I will pay at the top of the budget to make sure I get enough "choices" to select the best candidate. So the foreigner willing to accept lower pay than SG may not necessarily get the job.

Speaking from first hand experience since now my boss task me to hire fresh grads.

thanks ya very heartening to hear tt.....i kinda like this statement u made

'infact I will pay at the top of the budget to make sure I get enough "choices" to select the best candidate. So the foreigner willing to accept lower pay than SG may not necessarily get the job.'

so usually the hiring managers got pay range dictated by HR ya? and they have to work with it? but ultimately who decides what pay to offer to the candidate then? the HR?the hiring manager?

Actually, from a longstanding point of view, I really don't understand why people are commenting foreign talents are competing with local grads, espeically when most HR managers are not allowed to hire too much foreign ones.

In fact, local grads are so much protected.

I've been hearing too much complaints, and mostly unduly ones that their rice bowls are taken away from foreigners, etc. Where got such thing?

Your statement reinforces my thought.

For entry level , Business hires and HR offers
Contract. Your pay is the grad payscale which is fixed. Not much room for nego. Just a tip, never trust HR. Alot of pp will tell I that and it is true

I think FT compete strongly in certain industry segments like engineering. Also whilst you maybe hired, the confining availability of FT willin to take your job work OT and take lower pay means that it is increasingly difficult for business to justify paying u better. Hr will always benchmark against market and tell business managers they are over paying

i see...so for entry level, business and contract, hr dictates the payscale?

i understand that some of the bigger companies, the hr got pay range depending on your qualifications etc like dip get wad range deg get another range...

lol, why dun trust hr?

Yes. Diploma versus Degree different payscale. Within degree, different honors also have different payscale. At entry level it is take it or leave it.. so why bother so much. Should divert your effort towards getting the offer first

After graduating in 2000, I worked in pte sector for 1-2 years before moving to ministry when the dot-com burst.

Generally speaking, starting salaries are higher in public sector than pte. Most recent fresh IT grad I know of, started around $3.2K (with NS) in public sector compared to ~$2.1 - 2.8K in pte. That's because only local IT firms like NCS & Frontline are willing to take in fresh grads and these local companies are known to be "stingy".

Fast-forward 5-8 years, the whole picture changes. Head-hunters started calling with their clients willing to pay. Generally speaking (exception do applies), they would look out for those in pte sector, as their exp are more relevant compared to their public sector peers who only knows how to call government tenders, minutes-taking & policies writing (i.e. paper-work & red-tape in general)!

Of course, there are some exceptions. I do know of some small no. of hard-working operational public sectors workers are generally sought after (but they have to be really on operational IT with solid technical knowledge). As general, most IT folks I met are not really technical, even though they might be good at writing policies and theories.

The crisis is back. My source, a current employee, told me RBS used to pay front office fresh grad 10k pm. They just chop 10% of the workforce in Singapore last week. Morgan Stanley, CS, UBS are cutting. Some of these jobs will disappear permanently but some may come back in the future. Don't be discouraged, one can always try to get back in the future. The finance sector is still the most attractive sector. I'm a senior product specialist.

hi,

to be honest, there could be a large variance in the starting salary for SIM UOL grads - couple of factors which could determine the starting salary:
i) class of honours
ii) asking salary during the job application
iii) impression during interview
iv) work experience (if any - part time/contract etc)

all the above factors affect the starting salaries of grads from SIM. i'v had friends who go as low as $1.8k to as high as $4.2k (similar grade comparison, i.e. those who have graduated with a second upper similar to myself).

those in uniformed organisations (and/or public sector) on median receive a higher salary. on the other hand, the top few percentiles of the salary: $3.7k to $4.2k, are working in fund management firms / consulting firms - which are private sectors.

as for myself, i received a job in a local bank. although not as fantastic starting salary as my peers who entered non local banks, its quite comfortable for a start at $2.8k. non-local banks pay fresh grads (who enter as analyst rank) $3.4k minimum monthly.

cheers (:

if a SIM grad can earn that much, how about local Uni grad? Wow! I'm impressed with SIM grads. Well Done!
anyway, what is your job description in the local bank? Mind sharing?

I have a friend with rmit degree with 4K as her starting pay
 

I have a friend with rmit degree with 4K as her starting pay

took a year to get a job, did some part time job for 3 months or so...

Starting pay 2700+ allowance

nothing to do with finance and accounting although i studied it ,

rmit grad

That's pretty high!

Was the degree full-time or part-time? Was she working already prior to obtaining this degree. This can have a big impact on the salary.

If she's full-time studies with little or no working experience beforehand, your friend is probably exaggerating the amount. :o

No offense to your friend but private uni graduates are rarely regarded in the same pay-scale as local uni graduates.

4k is high?!??!? in wat sector/wat industry???

Is 4k not high for a starting salary?

When there is nothing but academic qualifications to be used as a yardstick by companies to hire an individual, is a private degree deemed worthy of a $4k starting salary? You do know that this is a risk that they take right.

Even if you were outstanding in your interview getting all the right answers, how much of a risk as a HR would you be willing to pay above the median wage for this person?

Too often we live in a society where to be well regarded, ample chest-thumping and proclamations of higher than expected salaries are the norm.

Maybe you can share what industry you are in that 4K starting salary is peanuts?

graduated in 2003
SIM UOL Econs and Mgmnt
2nd lower hons

Went to join Civil Service Starting was 3K but I have prior work experience but not related.
After 6 years, pay was 4.5K, was sent for Masters sponsored by orgn
I was a consistent performer, averaging B grades all the way.

Left last year. Joined Morgan Stanley.

Now salary is 8k.

no complains.

My tip: Once you apply for managerial or director post, they wun even bother ur qualifications, they want to see ur performance at work and the KPIs u achieved, referees, awards and accolades.

Great sharing. What i learn after i started working is that if u have a Masters/MBA, nobody cares about your first degree. So if u have well off parents who can sponsor your Masters in Australia/US/SMU, u can play throughout your undergrad studies and still end up above the hardworking, poor local uni grad.

Yeah.. Well.. Life's unfair... If you are unlucky with poor parents.. You just have to depend on yourself to find whatever means to raise the funds for your own education... Better late than never....

Hi guys, I just graduated from RMIT Accountancy and Law end last year. I have about 1 year of accounting experience, how much pay is considered reasonable?

If you join a bank as Financial Analyst should be 6k+, if join MNC as Accountant will be lower at about 4.5k-5.5k

Nah.... Should be around 7k.

hello all, im taking a degree in business (UOL) currently. Part time.

How much should i ask for when I graduate? I am currently earning 2.2k in my current job with a diploma from local poly in public sector. Been here for 3 mths only.

Degree is very impt, no point going public sector with a dip, you're made to do really useless things which is repetitive and boring. degree doesnt matter where u get it, as long as you perform in your role will do :)

Depends on industry. Banking & Finance basic Associate program at $4.8k for frontline is min $7k.

If normal MNC or local blue chip $3.7-$4k.

If you still wana waste your life in public sector, whatever they offer you accept. There is no such thing as "ask for more" in public service.

Yup, alot of times is they tell how much you are going to be paid.. No negotiation... They'll always say" If not happy, still got a long queue of people behind you who wants the job..

don't accountants normally need 3 to 5 yrs of exp? I am getting offers ranging from 2.2 to 2.5k. is it too low?

3 to 5 years exp is Finance Manager. Most accountants are junior level roles, but 2.2-2.5k is ridiculously low. Norm should be $4k though some big companies will pay higher if you convince them in interview you are good.

how will one year experience be enough to garner a pay of 4k? I am not looking to work in a bank or big 4 or anything like that, I just wanna work as an exec or officer in a company. plus, my last drawn is 1.8. I don't think employers would let me get such a high jump in salary just because I have a degree, no?

I'm confused. You say you have accounting experience earlier but somehow now you want to get a lower level exec or officer job!? Or is it your previous experience is accounts clerk instead of accountant?

If that is the case then of course $2.2k is generous and you can go ahead to accept. But 1 word of advice, next time please dun call accounts clerk "accounting experience", it just create wrong impression that you are qualified accountant leading to confusion.

Actually i would like to ask for you guys to advice. those who grad with a degree in business from UOL, what did u guys go into after grad?

I'm reading a degree in business - not finance/econs, or any major.
I am contemplating to change my degree from 2nd year on to something which says degree in finance or degree in econs. Business sounds very general, no? Its like learning a bit of everything but just on the superficial level?

Yes, public sector is stable but very low salaries...

hi. my apologies! I should have stated it as working exp instead, had no idea that it would be misleading. I have only been working as an assistant thus far. therefore I will be looking to work as an officer or exec. so if I get an offer of 2.2 it will be acceptable? what's the highest tolerable rate tht I can ask for? as I have been thinking about 2.5. would it be too high?

For your situation, it's same as fresh grad from private uni, so I would expect most offer would be around 2.2 to 2.4k. 2.5k is a little high, but still within normal practice.

I suggest you just state expected at 2.5k when they ask and see if co. undercut. If they undercut to 2.2k or above, my advice is to accept as there are many fresh grads out there and your previous exp dun count for much. No point risk loosing a good offer just to get $200 more.

Hi all, I'm a B&F fresh grad w/o relevant exp, and recently just went for an interview at a bank. However, that position is actually more of a diploma rank, so when they asked me for my expected salary, I quoted $2k. Do you all think that's reasonable? I mean I guess I have to lower my expectations since I don't have relevant exp and am facing some pressure from my family to get my first job asap, so I thought this would be a good start. Only thing I'm worried about is that should I switch job in future, the low starting pay might affect my future pay in terms of negotiation?

Okay actually they haven't officially offered me the position, but I believe they are considering. What if they think $2k is still too high for a diploma role, and offer me $1.6-$1.8k instead? Should I just take it up as well? Hope to receive some advice, thanks.

Dude are you nuts? You studied B&F and instead of going for frontline jobs that pay >$7.5k or at least backend >$4.5k you choose to go for some pathetic $2k job just because your parents pester you to grab the first job that come along?

Like that why bother to waste your time with a bank? Might as well go to public service or nomal executive job, can at least get $3k