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Fresh grads chasing $10K salaries? Singaporean asks: ‘Isn’t that unrealistic?’

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SINGAPORE: A young local Reddit user took to the platform to ask others in their age bracket what their ideal salary range is, and whether those who ask for at least $10,000 a month are unrealistic, given the realities of today’s job market.

In a Wednesday (May 7) post on r/askSingapore, u/TotoWinner wrote that they wanted other Reddit users to weigh in on something that’s been on their mind of late. They wrote that they have several friends who are about to graduate but have already gotten jobs in the tech, law, and finance sectors. The starting salaries they will be receiving range from $8,000 to $11,000 per month, which the post author understands due to the industries where they will work.

But still, those numbers are crazy to me as a fresh grad,” they wrote, adding that what was surprising for them was hearing from a friend who casually said she would only take a job offer with a salary of at least $10,000 monthly.

I was like… huh? That’s a pretty bold stance to take, considering how competitive the job market is right now,” the post author added.

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They acknowledged Singapore’s high living costs, including pricey housing, and the understanding that “a lot of young people wouldn’t mind earning high fast.”

But I can’t help but feel that some expectations are getting a bit unrealistic. Personally, I think you can live decently and frugally on much less, especially when just starting out. Yet it seems like more and more grads are dead set on hitting high 4 or 5 figures right out of uni,” the post author added.

The post has received a lot of attention from Reddit users, who tended to agree with u/TotoWinner.

“If your friend is in an in-demand major, has stellar grades, an impressive CV, and past internship experience, I don’t see why they cannot expect a higher salary range, even if it’s 10k. If they don’t have these, then they are delusional, but I doubt that’s the case,” wrote one.

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A commenter who said they graduated from the National University of Singapore with honours from an engineering-related course said their starting salary had been $3,800 monthly, which rose to $4,500 in their next job. They are now on track to earn between $5,000 and $6,000.

“So just saying, y’all can’t expect a ‘job ASAP + high pay + work-life balance’ unless you’ve got a really niche or indispensable skillset. Manage your expectations,” they added.

Some graduates from arts-related courses chimed in to say that they received substantially less.

From an arts course, can’t relate. My first salary was 2.9k,” wrote one.

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Another wrote, “Realistic figure is in the high $3k – $5k with some deviation. This is outside the high finance, tech, and law. For comparison, in finance back office roles, you are looking around the $4k range.”

One Reddit user, however, wrote, “Can’t blame your friend who expects more than 10k if she’s one of those internship grinders tho. They’re the usual people who bump out seven internships during uni to aim for the high paying IB/S&T/Quant jobs.

“A lot of my batch mates are in the same boat and are extending uni just so they get another application cycle for internships with full-time conversion with these high finance firms.” /TISG

Read also: Salary for fresh graduates higher in 2024, but fewer were employed 6 months after finishing uni

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