Starting salary

[jtoh]

Starting salaries are high for these top grads. I didn’t realize that pay was the same in the legal industry for those graduating with firsts from Oxbridge and NUS. I know those graduating from overseas unis (non Oxbridge) have a harder time finding pupilage. Or landing a permanent placement after pupilage.


A friend was telling me some grads are drawing under $2K. Is this the norm for some industries?

[hercules]

jtoh:

Starting salaries are high for these top grads. I didn't realize that pay was the same in the legal industry for those graduating with firsts from Oxbridge and NUS. I know those graduating from overseas unis (non Oxbridge) have a harder time finding pupilage. Or landing a permanent placement after pupilage.


A friend was telling me some grads are drawing under $2K. Is this the norm for some industries?

So far I know of three recent grads drawing under $2K:

1. IT Degree from SIM (not sure whether it is UniSim) - working as an assistant programmer, accepting low salary as couldn't find a job and so took it and see how.

2. Architecture degree from an overseas uni (recognised) - working as a building design magazine editor trainee/apprentice, accepting low salary as she deems good prospect to have the opportunity to travel with the chief editor around the world to study buildings

3. NUS Social Science - working as a social worker and willingly accepting lower salary for a greater cause

Above 3 with B++ average results.

Ya, one more:

4. NUS IT Degree - working as a Sales person (basic salary below $2K, and if works hard enough to hit commission, then a possibility of hitting $3K). Applied for many IT related jobs but didn't get any offer and so ended up in a totally non-IT related sales job that requires only O level applicant (but if he works hard enough, he has a higher chance of being promoted to managerial position years later). This one so-so results but graduated.

[starlight1968sg]

So the job market is real bad now?

[sleepy]

This sounds depressing. Got degree but no related job :nailbite:

[lee_yl]

Heard that there is a man power freeze in the civil service. If there is no competition for talent from the civil service, the private firms have no incentives to pay the young grads well.

[hercules]

Think it is normal for some grads not getting a 'normal' salary or even a job at any given time due to personality, luck, etc.


My idea of grads' salary scale is about the below bell curve:

https://s23.postimg.org/7jctmow8r/bell.png\">

The part from the left of the red line may be those kids who may have ended up better (in terms of working experience follow up with pay increment over the years) if they have not chosen the uni route but otherwise.

[sleepy]

My friend’s dh is on contract in a statutory board. Contract for many years liao.

His contract might or might not get renewed. So there’s no job security even in government sector.
According to another friend who is working in another statutory board, after his batch, all new hires are on contract basis.

Are fresh grads on contract too?

[MyPillow]

sleepy:

This sounds depressing. Got degree but no related job :nailbite:

ya lor. i think this is existing situation since our era.
There are also people who are v good in study , love to study/ do research but no interest in working world to do hard earn $ job .

sad to see big uni grads earning less than median range, after spending so many years in study, sigh No LUCK, job mis-match, characters mis-match ...

[lee_yl]

sleepy:

My friend's dh is on contract in a statutory board. Contract for many years liao.

His contract might or might not get renewed. So there's no job security even in government sector.
According to another friend who is working in another statutory board, after his batch, all new hires are on contract basis.

Are fresh grads on contract too?

15-20 years ago when I did my final year project with DSTA, those friends I made there told me they were on contract, renewable yearly.
So contract staff is not really something new.

DH's niece graduating this year with First Class Hons. Before graduating, she already secured a job with the Big Four accounting firms. Guess one needs good Hons and an impressive résumé nowadays to stand out from the rest.

[ntys]

lee_yl:

sleepy:

My friend's dh is on contract in a statutory board. Contract for many years liao.

His contract might or might not get renewed. So there's no job security even in government sector.
According to another friend who is working in another statutory board, after his batch, all new hires are on contract basis.

Are fresh grads on contract too?

15-20 years ago when I did my final year project with DSTA, those friends I made there told me they were on contract, renewable yearly.
So contract staff is not really something new.

DH's niece graduating this year with First Class Hons. Before graduating, she already secured a job with the Big Four accounting firms. Guess one needs good Hons and an impressive résumé nowadays to stand out from the rest.

I think it depends on luck. If you meet a \"gui ren\" things will definitely go smoother!