Highest paying jobs in Singapore 2022: Job roles, industries & highest paying degrees
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PUBLISHED ONNovember 19, 2021 5:38 AMByXue Miao
We know that there are various factors that contribute to a good job.
Beyond passion and having a good boss, a job must be able to help us put food on the table.
Especially for those who are big on charting their financial future, the earning power from our day jobs would be one of the main building blocks of our wealth.
While I’m sometimes not the biggest fan of comparison of salaries and job positions, understanding which industries or roles could fetch higher salaries could be useful as well.
This can be in terms of knowing what skills are in demand, and which specialisations within specific industries could potentially result in a higher salary range.
In this article, we explore the highest-paying jobs in Singapore.
Note: These salary figures should not be the only factor when it comes to making career decisions. Do consider other factors such as your area of interest as well!
TL;DR: Highest paying jobs in Singapore: Job positions, industries, and fresh graduate salaries
- Highest Paying Job Roles in Singapore
- Highest Paying Jobs According to Industries
- Highest Starting Salaries According to University Degrees
Highest paying job positions in Singapore
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has wage data published for various occupations every year.
According to the latest report, these are the jobs that are fetching the highest median salaries.
| Occupation | Median Salary (Basic) | Median Salary (Gross) |
|---|---|---|
| In-house legal counsel (except judiciary, ministries and statutory boards) | $13,760 | $14,167 |
| Securities and finance broker | $13,750 | $13,750 |
| Chief information officer/ Chief technology officer/ Chief security officer | $12,810 | $13,241 |
| Advocate/ Solicitor (practising) | $13,000 | $13,000 |
| Audit manager | $12,485 | $12,718 |
| Specialist medical practitioner (other specialisations) | $12,591 | $12,591 |
| General practitioner/ Physician | $12,280 | $12,373 |
| Chief operating officer/ General manager | $11,353 | $12,159 |
| University lecturer | $11,924 | $11,974 |
| Fund/Portfolio manager (including asset allocator) | $11,449 | $11,765 |
Source: Ministry of Manpower, Occupational Wages 2020
Topping the list would be an in-house legal counsel, with a median monthly salary of $14,167.
Being a lawyer or legal counsel is definitely tedious and difficult, having to attain an academic certificate from an accredited university and also having to pass the Bar Examinations.
Next in line would be a securities and financial broker, where an individual helps buy and sell securities for clients.
Highest paying jobs according to industries
According to Morgan McKinley’s salary report, these are the highest paying job positions within the different industries.
The salaries are also divided according to seniority, as the individual’s experience level, skill sets, and complexity of the role were taken into account.
Highest Paying Jobs in Accounting & Finance
| Accounting & Finance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Commercial Business | |||
| CFO / VP Finance | $250,000 | $350,000 | $500,000+ |
| Finance Director | $180,000 | $240,000 | $350,000+ |
| Internal Audit Director | $160,000 | $250,000 | $300,000+ |
| Tax Director | $160,000 | $250,000 | $300,000+ |
| Treasury Director / Treasurer | $160,000 | $200,000 | $250,000+ |
| Corporate Finance Manager / Director | $120,000 | $180,000 | $250,000+ |
| Financial Services | |||
| CFO | $220,000 | $350,000 | $550,000 |
| Finance Director | $180,000 | $220,000 | $250,000+ |
| Financial Controller | $180,000 | $220,000 | $250,000+ |
| Tax (Fund/Asset Management) | $84,000 | $130,000 | $200,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Compliance
| Compliance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Regulatory Compliance | $60,000 | $150,000 | $300,000+ |
| Sanctions | $50,000 | $200,000 | $270,000+ |
| Compliance Testing | $50,000 | $180,000 | $250,000+ |
| KYC | $40,000 | $150,000 | $220,000+ |
| Transaction Monitoring | $40,000 | $150,000 | $220,000+ |
ALSO READ: Why 'just follow your passion' is bad career advice
Highest paying jobs in Banking & Finance
| Banking & Financial Services | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Investment Banking | |||
| Managing Director | $500,000 | $620,000 | $750,000 |
| Director | $400,000 | $450,000 | $500,000 |
| VP | $275,000 | $320,000 | $400,000 |
| Private Banking | |||
| Managing Director | $400,000 | $480,000 | $600,000+ |
| Executive Director | $280,000 | $350,000 | $400,000 |
| VP / Director | $180,000 | $240,000 | $280,000 |
| Commercial Banking | |||
| Cash Management | $60,000 | $200,000 | $400,000 |
| Trade Finance | $50,000 | $200,000 | $400,000 |
| Product Manager (Cash / Trade / Liquidity / Custody) | $60,000 | $200,000 | $400,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Human Resource (HR)
| Human Resource | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Head of C&B | $150,000 | $180,000 | $200,000+ |
| Head of L&D | $132,000 | $156,000 | $180,000+ |
| HR Business Partner | $120,000 | $150,000 | $180,000+ |
| Head of Talent Acquisition | $100,000 | $132,000 | $180,000+ |
| Head of Talent Acquisition | $100,000 | $132,000 | $180,000+ |
Highest paying jobs in IT
| IT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Cyber Security, Goverance and Audit in Innovation & Technology | |||
| Cyber Presales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $100,000 - $250,000 | $250,000 - $350,000 | $350,000 - $500,000+ |
| Technology Risk & Governance | $100,000 - $160,000 | $160,000 - $270,000 | $270,000 - $450,000+ |
| DevSecOps | $90,000 - $150,000 | $150,000 - $200,000 | $200,000 - $400,000+ |
| Sales, Pre-Sales - FinTech and Telecommunications | |||
| Direct Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $100,000 - $250,000 | $250,000 - $350,000 | $350,000 - $550,000+ |
| Channel Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $120,000 - $180,000 | $180,000 - $300,000 | $300,000 - $500,000+ |
| Pre Sales (Fintech) (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $150,000 - $180,000 | $175,000 - $220,000 | $250,000 - $500,000+ |
| IT Product & Engineering in Technology, Telecommunications and Fintech | |||
| Software Engineering, Front End | $40,000 - $85,000 | $85,000 - $150,000 | $126,000 - $240,000+ |
| Software Engineering, Back End | $40,000 - $95,000 | $95,000 - $170,000 | $114,000 - $240,000+ |
| Software Engineering, Full Stack | $40,000 - $95,000 | $95,000 - $170,000 | $114,000 - $240,000+ |
| UI/ UX | $40,000 - $85,000 | $85,000 - $150,000 | $120,000 - $240,000+ |
| Business Intelligence/ Data Engineering | $40,000 - $90,000 | $90,000 - $170,000 | $140,000 - $240,000+ |
| Data Science/ Artificial Intelligence | $40,000 - $90,000 | $90,000 - $170,000 | $140,000 - $240,000+ |
| Infrastructure in Technology, Telecommunications & Fintech | |||
| DevOps | $80,000 - $130,000 | $130,000 - $170,000 | $170,000 - $250,000+ |
| Cloud | $80,000 - $130,000 | $130,000 - $170,000 | $170,000 - $250,000+ |
| Network (Data/ Voice/ Firewall) | $80,000 - $120,000 | $120,000 - $150,000 | $150,000 - $250,000+ |
Highest paying jobs in Marketing
| Marketing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Digital Marketing | |||
| E-Commerce VP / Director | $180,000 | $250,000 | $350,000 |
| Digital Marketing Director | $160,000 | $215,000 | $250,000 |
| Digital Marketing Director | $160,000 | $215,000 | $250,000 |
| SEO Director / Lead | $120,000 | $160,000 | $200,000 |
| Consumer Goods | |||
| Marketing Director/ Senior Director | $200,000 | $275,000 | $350,000 |
| Associate Marketing Director | $160,000 | $190,000 | $220,000 |
| Marketing Manager | $120,000 | $140,000 | $160,000 |
| Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices | |||
| Marketing Director/ Senior Director | $220,000 | $270,000 | $320,000 |
| Associate Marketing Director | $160,000 | $190,000 | $220,000 |
| Marketing Manager | $90,000 | $125,000 | $160,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Project & Change Management
| Project & Change Management |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Programme Manager | $150,000 | $180,000 | $240,000 |
| Strategy Consulting | $80,000 | $150,000 | $240,000 |
| Business Transformation | $150,000 | $180,000 | $240,000 |
| Agile Coach | $120,000 | $180,000 | $230,000 |
| Senior Business Analyst | $100,000 | $150,000 | $180,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Risk Management
| Project & Change Management |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Quant | $120,000 | $220,000 | $320,000+ |
| Market Risk | $96,000 | $180,000 | $270,000+ |
| Asset Management / Investment Risk | $96,000 | $180,000 | $250,000+ |
| Enterprise Risk | $84,000 | $160,000 | $250,000+ |
| Credit Risk | $84,000 | $150,000 | $250,000+ |
Highest paying jobs in Sales
| Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Director / Managing Director | $200,000 | $275,000 | $350,000 |
| Account Director (Regional / Global) | $200,000 | $250,000 | $300,000 |
| Country General Manager / Commercial Director | $140,000 | $190,000 | $240,000 |
| Head of Sales / Business Development Director | $140,000 | $180,000 | $220,000 |
| Head of Strategic Partnerships | $150,000 | $175,000 | $200,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Supply Chain & Procurement
| Supply Chain & Procurement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Length of Service | ||
| 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years | |
| Supply Chain Director | $120,000 | $160,000 | $250,000 |
| Procurement / Purchasing Director | $120,000 | $160,000 | $220,000 |
| Project Manager SCM | $90,000 | $140,000 | $170,000 |
| Supply Chain Manager | $90,000 | $140,000 | $170,000 |
| Planning Manager | $90,000 | $140,000 | $170,000 |
| Procurement / Purchasing Manager | $90,000 | $140,000 | $170,000 |
Highest starting salaries in Singapore for fresh graduates
Universities would often publish salary guides of recent graduates to gauge the median starting salaries according to degree.
According to the most recent salary guide, these are the degrees with the highest starting salaries.
| Degree From | |
|---|---|
| Median Starting Salary (Gross) | |
| NUS | |
| Bachelor of Science with Honours (Yale-NUS) | $5,350 |
| Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery |
$5,250 |
| Bachelor of Computing (Computer Science) |
$5,243 |
| NTU | |
| Double Degree in Business and Computer Engineering/Computing |
$5,400 |
| Medicine | $5,250 |
| Double Degree in Engineering and Economics |
$4,450 |
| SMU | |
| Information Systems (Cum Laude and above) | $5,000 |
| Law (Cum Laude and above) | $5,000 |
| Business (Cum Laude and above) | $4,000 |
| Economics Cum Laude and above) | $4,000 |
| SIT | |
| Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation |
$4,400 |
| Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing Science |
$4,200 |
| Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Information & Communications Technology (Software Engineering) |
$4,190 |
| SUTD | |
| Bachelor of Engineering (Information Systems Technology and Design) |
$4,400 |
| Bachelor of Engineering (Engineering Product Development) |
$4,000 |
| Bachelor of Engineering (Engineering Systems and Design) |
$4,000 |
| SUSS | |
| Bachelor of Social Work | $3,500 |
| Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management |
$3,185 |
| Bachelor of Science in Finance | $3,163 |
How to negotiate for a higher salary
Salary guides provide us with the convenience of having a rough gauge as we progress through the various stages of our career.
That being said, one should also not be over-reliant on salary guides given its limitations as well.
However, if you’re confident of your own skills and feel that you’re being underpaid in your current job role, one way to get a higher pay is to simply ask for it.
We have a step-by-step guide that can help with this too!
This article was first published in Seedly.