SINGAPORE: A Singaporean worker took to social media on Friday (Sept 13) to share that the starting salaries of new graduates at his company are higher than his own.
“I have been working at my current company for a year, and recently, someone from the new batch of grads revealed their salary at a team dinner,” he wrote in r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum.
“That’s when we found out that our junior batch’s starting salary is slightly higher than our current salary, and that’s after we got our annual increment,” he added and highlighted that, without his recent raise, the disparity in pay would have been even more pronounced.
While he made it clear that he held no ill will towards the new graduates—acknowledging that they were not responsible for setting the salaries—he admitted to feeling disheartened by the situation.
“1 year of experience at a company to earn less than a fresh hire feels like a huge slap in the face,” he lamented.
“I know the consensus would be to look for a new job, which I have been rigorously doing. But as you all probably already know, the job market is a little tough right now, and so it’s been fruitless so far,” he expressed his frustration.
He then asked the community if anyone else has faced this situation and whether they chose to discuss this pay disparity with HR or their superiors. “What would you do if you found out your junior at work earns more than you?” he inquired.
“This is normal because the new grads’ salary is adjusted to inflation whereas ours is not.”
In the discussion thread, many Singaporean Redditors recounted their own stories of dealing with pay gaps and feeling overlooked. They noted how these experiences led them to seek new opportunities or demand better compensation.
One Singaporean Redditor shared that after he found out that his salary was the lowest out of everybody in the team, including the new grads, he asked for an internal transfer and a 15% raise.
He added, “This is normal because the new grads’ salary is adjusted to inflation whereas ours is not.”
Another Redditor, who held a degree, recalled that he ended up leaving his old job after finding out he was making less money than a polytechnic diploma holder who had joined the company a year after him.
He said, “I had to teach her the ropes, clean up her gaffes and messes, etc. On my exit interview, I told HR and D the reason. They thought she had a degree, and nobody bothered to check because she was related to the interviewer.”
A third Redditor mentioned that after discovering that the new hires were earning more than him, he stopped mentoring them and refused to take on any tasks outside his job scope.
He added, “How do I showcase my abilities? I let my client do it for me when I perform my work spectacularly.”
A fourth Redditor pointed out that this is why people often move jobs after 2-4 years. He said, “It’s a stupid cycle, and most companies like to shortchange their incumbents and then wonder why they can’t retain talent.”
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