How much are you earning per annum?

this is v nice! could I ask was it the MBA that you went to grad school for? did you get your first BB job from campus recruiting?> I will be gg for a top US MBA but I have no banking experience - will it be possible to break into IB?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

For what it's worth, this is my stats.

33 yo with 6 years working experience (spent some time in grad school) in banking.
current income around 300k (185k base, 115k bonus with some on deferred stocks)

started as mgmt trainee in a foreign bank at 3.4k base, stayed and promoted for 2 years. leaving salary was 4.3k and bonus around 5-6months.

went to grad school in US, then worked for BB in nyc. sign on was 50k USD, base was 95k USD and bonus was crap cos of Lehman crisis. leaving salary was 115k USD and bonus of 75k

returned to singapore 2 years ago with offer of 110k sgd base plus guranteed bonus of at least 90k. promoted twice in 2 years to reach current salary

depends on a few things. one, how top is your mba school. i went to one that is currently ranked number one by usnews, and i had prior banking experience, so it was easy for me. getting into a bb in nyc now is considerably more difficult for various reasons. if u are going to one of the top 10 schools on usnews, then u should be ok. given a choice, i would choose to go to a school on the east coast; flying across US for interview is just too painful. two, depends on your disposition. a top degree opens door but does not guarantee entry. it depends very much on how u carry yourself. finally, it depends on how much time u can offer to spend seeking a banking job, and this is directly related to your finances. given a long enough period of time, u will be able to find some kind of banking job, but the question is, are u financially well off enough for this luxury?

these said, it also depends on ur luck. plus i doubt the sign on will be as lucrative now.

good luck

i see, thanks for the advice. it's gonna be a gamble as i'm sure you'd agree. if i have a top US undergrad degree, is it possible to break in without going for an MBA? i'm told that BBs have a very structured recruiting program so if i'm not in school, the only way to land an interview is to have someone you know in a BB push your resume.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

depends on a few things. one, how top is your mba school. i went to one that is currently ranked number one by usnews, and i had prior banking experience, so it was easy for me. getting into a bb in nyc now is considerably more difficult for various reasons. if u are going to one of the top 10 schools on usnews, then u should be ok. given a choice, i would choose to go to a school on the east coast; flying across US for interview is just too painful. two, depends on your disposition. a top degree opens door but does not guarantee entry. it depends very much on how u carry yourself. finally, it depends on how much time u can offer to spend seeking a banking job, and this is directly related to your finances. given a long enough period of time, u will be able to find some kind of banking job, but the question is, are u financially well off enough for this luxury?

these said, it also depends on ur luck. plus i doubt the sign on will be as lucrative now.

good luck

Wow thank god for this forum! Now I can safely argue in parliament that the average income of a Singaporean (according to 60 pages from this thread) is $200,000 p.a.

I think I am grossly underpaid!

P.A. $200,000 (before bonus)
4 years exp in a totally unrelated field
community service since Jan 2011, (so that I can join PAP)

I am going to argue that Singapore should raise the salary of Ministers since the average Joe is earning the same as me!

And since everyone is so rich, I guess my new colleague was right when she said that the medical costs here are cheap!

What you guys think?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Wow thank god for this forum! Now I can safely argue in parliament that the average income of a Singaporean (according to 60 pages from this thread) is $200,000 p.a.

I think I am grossly underpaid!

P.A. $200,000 (before bonus)
4 years exp in a totally unrelated field
community service since Jan 2011, (so that I can join PAP)

I am going to argue that Singapore should raise the salary of Ministers since the average Joe is earning the same as me!

And since everyone is so rich, I guess my new colleague was right when she said that the medical costs here are cheap!

What you guys think?

you're actually not as funny as you think you are

Originally Posted by Unregistered

you're actually not as funny as you think you are

Everyone here is a joker. Thats a fact

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Everyone here is a joker. Thats a fact

Nobody is held accountable for what is written here, some use pseudo names and some contributors dont even bother to use them. But there is a common human behaviour, something which I observed in my classmates. Let me explained.

My classmates and I are now in our 50s, and we made it a point to meet every year to catch up. Initially the turn up was good, but as the years wore on, fewer and fewer turn up. And who usually turn up? They were the ones who have made good in life.

Likewise, I am inclined to believe that those who participated in the forum here are doing well and want to "boast" about their incomes.

Yes, there will be those who dont make such incomes and thus find the income claims here not believable, but the fact is that the income gap in Singapore is huge. If you are on the right side of the divide, you will find the claims here believable.

Originally Posted by Myth Buster

Nobody is held accountable for what is written here, some use pseudo names and some contributors dont even bother to use them. But there is a common human behaviour, something which I observed in my classmates. Let me explained.

My classmates and I are now in our 50s, and we made it a point to meet every year to catch up. Initially the turn up was good, but as the years wore on, fewer and fewer turn up. And who usually turn up? They were the ones who have made good in life.

Likewise, I am inclined to believe that those who participated in the forum here are doing well and want to "boast" about their incomes.

Yes, there will be those who dont make such incomes and thus find the income claims here not believable, but the fact is that the income gap in Singapore is huge. If you are on the right side of the divide, you will find the claims here believable.

This is known as survivorship bias. Winners write the history. Nobody remembers the runners-up.

I guess what most ppl feel is that the number of years experience and the income, 90% of the time does not add up.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I guess what most ppl feel is that the number of years experience and the income, 90% of the time does not add up.

so based on what most ppl feel, how much should a thirty-year-old be earning? what about thirty-five-year-old and forty-year-old?