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.
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