These days, fresh university graduates seem to be getting a higher starting pay … at least that’s what it says in the Graduate Employment Survey.
According to the Ministry of Education (MOE) 2022 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (GES), some are, in fact, earning S$4,200 to S$5,000 a month in their first job. But how true is that? How many will raise false hopes and expectations based on a catchy news headline? I know I did.
If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’ve always been a writer. After many years of penning subpar poetry, I began my editorial career at the age of 18. For years, I hustled whilst in school, taking on side gigs and freelance opportunities wherever I found them. By the time I graduated, I’d built up a portfolio that I was convinced could rival that of any veteran in the industry — and therefore command a higher starting salary.
“With your experience, you’ll easily get a good job that pays at least $4,000 a month. No question about it,” my mother assured me. Coupled with that Straits Times report, I was optimistic about my prospects. Alas, when I finally got around to the job applications, I realised no magazine or copywriting agency was going to offer me anything more than $3,500 a month.
In fact, the basic pay for writers hovered at around $2,000 to $3,000 a month. How was I supposed to survive on such meagre sums, especially in one of the world’s most expensive cities?
Spare yourself the rude awakening and manage your expectations of how much you’ll earn as someone new to the workforce.
Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the average starting salaries for permanent full-time, entry-level jobs, not including CPF deductions, categorised by university and industry, based on the GES 2022, which polled 12,984 fresh and 1,138 graduates from from six autonomous universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, and SUSS) in November 2022.
Table of contents
Information is updated as of 29 September 2023. Salary adjustments are subject to change at any given time according to economic changes.
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By University
NUS graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences | |
| BA | S$3,700 |
| BA (Hons) | S$4,000 |
| Bachelor of Social Sciences | S$3,600 |
| Faculty of Dentistry | |
| Bachelor of Dental Surgery | S$4,200 |
| College of Design and Engineering | |
| BEng, Biomedical Engineering | S$4,000 |
| BEng, Chemical Engineering | S$4,675 |
| BEng, Civil Engineering | S$4,000 |
| BEng, Electrical Engineering | S$4,800 |
| BEng, Engineering Science | S$4,450 |
| BEng, Environmental Engineering | S$4,200 |
| BEng, Industrial and Systems Engineering | S$5,000 |
| BEng, Materials Science and Engineering | S$4,500 |
| BEng, Mechanical Engineering | S$4,525 |
| Faculty of Law | |
| Bachelor of Laws | S$6,400 |
| Faculty of Science | |
| BSc | S$3,600 |
| BSc (Hons) | S$3,850 |
| BSc, Computational Biology | N.A. |
| BSc, Pharmacy | $3,915 |
| BSc, Pharmaceutical Science (Hons) | S$3,700 |
| BSc, Data Science and Analytics | S$5,500 |
| National University of Singapore Business School | |
| BBA | S$5,100 |
| BBA (Hons) | S$4,696 |
| BBA, Accountancy | S$3,800 |
| BBA, Accountancy (Hons) | S$4,000 |
| BSc, Real Estate | S$3,850 |
| School of Computing | |
| Bachelor of Computing, Computer Science | S$6,600 |
| Bachelor of Computing, Information Security | S$5,500 |
| Bachelor of Computing, Information Systems | S$5,500 |
| BSc, Business Analytics | S$5,500 |
| School of Design & Environment | |
| BA, Architecture | S$4,400 |
| BA, Industrial Design | S$4,500 |
| BSc, Project and Facilities Management | $3,555 |
| BSc, Real Estate | $4,062 |
| Yong Loo Lin School (Medicine) | |
| Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery | N.A. |
| BSc, Nursing | S$3,600 |
| BSc, Nursing (Hons) | S$3,850 |
| YST Conservatory of Music | |
| Bachelor of Music | S$3,590 |
| Yale-NUS College | |
| BA with Honours | S$4,600 |
| BSc with Honours | S$6,038 |
| Multi-Disciplinary Programmes | |
| BEng, Computer Engineering | $6,000 |
| Bachelor of Environmental Studies | $3,800 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
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NTU Graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| College of Business (Nanyang Business School) | |
| Accountancy | S$3,600 |
| Accountancy and Business | S$4,942 |
| Business | S$4,015 |
| Double Degree in Business and Computer Engineering/Computing | S$6,500 |
| College of Engineering | |
| Aerospace Engineering | S$5,000 |
| Bioengineering | S$4,200 |
| Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering | S$4,800 |
| Civil Engineering | S$3,650 |
| Computer Engineering | S$5,295 |
| Computer Science | S$5,500 |
| Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | S$5,625 |
| Double Degree in Engineering and Economics | S$5,000 |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | S$4,558 |
| Environmental Engineering | S$3,900 |
| Information Engineering & Media | S$4,950 |
| Maritime Studies | S$3,740 |
| Materials Engineering | S$4,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering | S$4,500 |
| College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences | |
| Art, Design & Media | S$3,200 |
| Chinese | S$3,600 |
| Communication Studies | S$3,500 |
| Economics | S$4,000 |
| English | S$3,748 |
| History | S$4,000 |
| Interdisciplinary Double Major | S$4,271 |
| Linguistics & Multilingual Studies | S$3,500 |
| Philosophy | S$3,450 |
| Psychology | S$3,668 |
| Public Policy and Global Affairs | S$4,123 |
| Sociology | S$3,800 |
| College of Science | |
| Biological Sciences | S$3,600 |
| Biomedical Sciences & Chinese Medicine | S$4,050 |
| Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine | S$3,175 |
| Chemistry & Biological Chemistry | S$3,700 |
| Environmental Earth Systems Science | S$4,023 |
| Mathematical Sciences/Mathematical Sciences and Economics | S$4,300 |
| Physics & Applied Physics | S$4,000 |
| National Institute of Education (NIE) | |
| Arts (With Education) | S$4,129 |
| Science (With Education) | S$4,300 |
| Sport Science and Management | S$3,350 |
| Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine | |
| Medicine | S$5,600 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
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SMU Graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| School of Accountancy (4-yr programme) | |
| Accountancy | S$3,825 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$4,025 |
| School of Business (4-yr programme) | |
| Business Management | S$4,400 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$4,800 |
| School of Economics (4-yr programme) | |
| Economics | S$4,500 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$4,500 |
| School of Computing and Information Systems (4-yr programme) | |
| Information Systems | S$5,400 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$5,638 |
| School of Social Sciences (4-yr programme) | |
| Social Sciences | S$4,000 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$4,316 |
| School of Law (4-yr programme) | |
| Law | S$6,375 |
| Cum Laude and above | S$6,400 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
SIT Graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| DigiPen Institute of Technology | |
| BA, Game Design | S$3,300 |
| BFA, Digital Arts & Animation | S$3,200 |
| BSc, Computer Science & Game Design | S$4,000 |
| BSc, Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation |
S$4,600 |
| BEng, Systems Engineering (ElectroMechanical Systems) | S$4,370 |
| Massey University | |
| BA, Food Technology (Hons) | S$3,300 |
| The Glasgow School of Art | |
| BA, Communication Design (Hons) | S$3,000 |
| BA, Interior Design (Hons) | S$3,000 |
| Newcastle University | |
| BEng, Chemical Engineering (Hons) | S$3,700 |
| BEng, Electrical Power Engineering (Hons) | S$3,600 |
| BEng, Marine Engineering (Hons) | S$3,750 |
| BEng, Mechanical Design & Manufacturing Engineering (Hons) |
S$3,650 |
| BEng, Naval Architecture (Hons) | S$3,400 |
| BEng, Offshore Engineering (Hons) | S$3,550 |
| Technische Universität München | |
| BSc, Chemical Engineering | S$3,557 |
| BSc, Electrical Engineering & IT | S$3,700 |
| The Culinary Institute of America | |
| Bachelor of Business Administration in Food Business Management |
S$2,700 |
| Trinity College Dublin | |
| BSc, Physiotherapy | S$3,525 |
| University of Glasgow | |
| BEng with Hons in Civil Engineering | S$3,675 |
| BSc with Hons in Nursing | S$3,700 |
| University of Liverpool | |
| BA, Criminology and Security (Hons) | S$3,850 |
| Singapore Institute of Technology | |
| Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) | S$3,400 |
| BEng, Information & Communications Technology (Information Security) (Hons) | S$4,950 |
| BEng, Information & Communications Technology (Software Engineering) (Hons) | S$5,000 |
| BEng, Aircraft Systems Engineering (Hons) | S$3,300 |
| BEng, Pharmaceutical Engineering (Hons) | S$3,600 |
| BEng, Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services) (Hons) | S$3,680 |
| BEng, Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land) (Hons) | S$3,700 |
| BEng, Telematics (Intelligent Transportation Systems Engineering) (Hons) | S$4,000 |
| Bachelor of Hospitality Business (Hons) | S$3,000 |
| Bachelor of Science (Diagnostic Radiography) | S$3,700 |
| Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy) | S$3,500 |
| Bachelor of Science (Radiation Therapy) | S$3,500 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
SUTD Graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| BEng, Computer Science and Design | S$5,190 |
| BEng, Engineering Product Development | S$4,200 |
| BEng, Engineering Systems and Design | S$4,500 |
| BSc, Architecture and Sustainable Design |
S$4,100 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
SUSS Graduates
| Degree | Median Gross Monthly Salary |
| S R Nathan School of Human Development | |
| Bachelor of Early Childhood Education | S$3,200 |
| Bachelor of Human Resource Management | S$3,588 |
| Bachelor of Social Work | S$3,640 |
| School of Business | |
| Bachelor of Accountancy | S$3,600 |
| Bachelor of Science, Business Analytics | S$4,660 |
| Bachelor of Science, Finance | S$4,000 |
| Bachelor of Science, Marketing | S$3,600 |
| Bachelor of Science, Supply Chain Management | S$3,500 |
Source: 2022 GES, MOE
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