SINGAPORE: After discovering that his friend, a fresh graduate, received a job offer with a salary of S$7,000 per month, one Singaporean man took to an online forum to ask if this was even possible.
For context, he shared in his post that he completed his engineering degree at the National University of Singapore (NUS) last year. At the same time, his friend had just graduated from the same university with a business degree.
He then recounted how his friend opened up about the job offer during their recent catch-up. “He told me he got an offer as a junior investment portfolio manager and advisory role with a monthly salary of S$7K/month as a fresh grad from a Chinese company that does wealth management,” he said.
Surprised by what he heard, he wrote, “He told me his salary was S$7K/month. Is he serious or what? How can one even reach that salary as a fresh grad? Is he trolling me? I didn’t know wealth management companies pay so well. I thought they (were) like relationship managers and financial advisors that (do) sales.”
He also joked at the end of his post that he should “change industries” since business majors seem to be making so much.
“S$7K starting is possible with the right connections and work ethics…”
In the discussion thread, many Singaporean Reddit users mentioned that high starting salaries are fairly common in the finance industry.
One commented, “Wealth management S$7k is not even high tier. Most people who stay in finance hit S$10k before 32yo.”
Another said, “No, he’s not lying. S$7k is possible for finance, consulting, (and) software engineering.”
A third remarked, “Quite possible. Top-tier business grads get around the same as CS grads. There are companies even paying S$200k (annually) for fresh grads on both sides.”
Some users also told the man that he probably shouldn’t even be jealous of his friend since this high salary comes with a lot of drawbacks.
One shared, “S$7K starting is possible with (the) right connections and work ethics, especially in finance. However, salary is not (the) be-all and end-all, mate. 7Gs salary, but at what cost?
I have friends and acquaintances working in (the) financial industry, with great salaries and bonuses for sure, but holy hell, their hours are brutal. Working into the night, working on weekends, (and) working while on vacation. Cancelling vacation early to work because got deadline.”
Fresh grad salaries saw a 4.2% increase in 2024
According to the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey, the median starting pay for new graduates has gone up by 4.2%, increasing from S$4,317 in 2023 to S$4,500 in 2024.
Among different fields, business graduates saw the biggest jump, with median salaries climbing from S$4,150 to S$4,400. On the other hand, graduates in arts, design, and media saw the smallest increase, with salaries rising modestly from S$3,740 to S$3,800.
Read more: Salary for fresh graduates higher in 2024, but fewer were employed 6 months after finishing uni
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