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By JOANNE TANG
THE banking crisis has not eaten into the starting pay of finance, accounting and engineering graduates, a survey by Hay Group has found.
Average monthly starting pay for finance and accounting graduates remained unchanged from 2008 at $2,500 in May this year - among the highest starting salaries.
The survey also showed that engineering graduates continue to command the highest starting pay. Their average monthly income rose from $2,625 in 2008 to $2,700 this year.
But overall, average starting pay for fresh graduates has fallen marginally, from $2,458 last year to $2,453 in 2009.
The survey also found that more than 50 per cent of respondent companies are still hiring fresh graduates amid the slowdown.
Hiring in the financial sector also appears to have resumed. Standard Chartered has hired about 180 graduates so far this year and Merrill Lynch added about 100 in the past three months. There is still strong demand for accounting graduates. Another recent poll - of local undergraduates - showed those with an accountancy background find it easier to get a job.
None of the local universities is able so far to supply employment statistics for students who graduated this year.
But Ruth Chiang, director of career services at Singapore Management University (SMU), said preliminary estimates show about two-thirds of the school's 820 students who graduated in May and June have received job offers.
'Many are joining the financial services sector, including banks, private equity firms and fund houses, and several have gone into consulting,' she said.
However, she agrees there are 'fewer job opportunities than in previous years'.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) reported similar results for finance graduates, with most demand coming from the banking, global markets and treasury segments. Private wealth management contributed less to demand for fresh graduates.
Although their pay has remained more or less unaffected, Christian Vo Phuoc, country head of reward information services at Hay Group Singapore, said new graduates have revised their expectations on pay and job opportunities.
He also pointed out that engineering graduates are 'now more open to taking on engineering jobs, unlike previous years where they favoured jobs like banking and finance'.
The outlook for 2010 seems optimistic, with the average starting pay for a new graduate forecast to rise to $2,655.
New graduates who land logistics and supply chain jobs are tipped to earn the most - drawing $2,900 a month, compared with $2,450 this year.
New finance and accounting graduates can expect to draw $2,600 at the start, while engineering graduates and IT and telecommunications graduates can expect $2,800.
This article was first published in The Business Times.
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