Salary Guides For Occupations That Only Existed In The Last 10 Years

10-years-younger-us would have never imagined that some of these jobs existed. But they do now, and some of them are insanely in demand. Considering a change in career path? These new jobs could be your next profession.

Gone were the days when touchscreen phones were unheard of, our televisions were practically the size of washing machines and MSN and Friendster were the only means of communication with your friends.

In the last few decades, technology has since evolved rapidly, giving way to new innovations like driverless cars, credit card cashless payments and robotic police (yes, they exist). As we welcome new technological advancements, it has also paved the way for new jobs to emerge in the market. What was unimaginable just 10 years ago is now rising in demand in the job market.

Here are the average salaries of newly-sprouted occupations in the last 10 years that you can consider pursuing.

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1. Drone pilot

In the past, drones were mainly used for military purposes. But fast forward 10 years, and they are now being used in a wide range of industries like content production, transportation and real estate. Because of its increased availability to the common man, many have also adopted flying drones as their hobby.

If you’ve got experience, you can consider applying to be a drone pilot as an increasing number of drone enthusiasts have since converted their passion into a full-time career. According to Indeed, the average base salary for drone pilots is S$3,266 per monthly.

However, since drone flying is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, you do have to take the drone piloting and image capturing course, and eventually attain a UA Pilot license in order to be certified.

Thinking of becoming a drone pilot? Be sure to safeguard yourself against any injuries with a personal accident insurance plan.

2. TikTok influencer

Introduced in September 2016, TikTok has since revolutionised the social media scene. What was previously just dominated by large players like Facebook and Instagram, the social media landscape is now nothing without Tiktok. It currently stands as the 6th most-used social media platform worldwide, with over one billion active users as of January 2022.

Previously, many were on TikTok because of its short-form content purely for entertainment, but it has since transformed into a powerful social media tool to market and advertise brands and products. Tiktok influencing has now become a full-time career for many, as influencers in the space can now commission their videos for money.

If you have a significant following, you can be part of the TikTok Creator Fund which allows you to earn between two to four cents. You may think it's difficult, but a TikTok video that is relatable and goes viral can gather up to millions of views in a matter of hours.

However, I couldn't find the exact salary for a TikTok influencer and instead provided the data for a regular influencer. But of course, the salary range varies greatly based on your following and the number of brand deals you can secure. If you have a large following, you can make up to tens of thousands per month!

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3. E-sports gamer

Were you the kind of person who would play computer games into the wee hours of the night on though you had school the next day? What was initially just a hobby and bonding time with your friends could have turned into a full-fledged career. But only if you were good at it.

In recent years, the e-sports landscape in Singapore has been gaining traction, with a host of e-sports tournaments hosted in Singapore every few months. In fact, in October 2022, Singapore became the first Southeast Asian nation to host the biggest global tournament for Dota 2, titled The International (TI).

Singapore has also been vying to have a slice of the growing e-sports pie. In 2021, the the-sports industry has earned a revenue of S$1.37 billion and was projected to reach a whopping S$1.89 billion in 2022. 

Think you can make the cut? You can consider working towards being a professional e-sports gamer. Depending on the level of skills you have and your popularity, a typical e-gamer can earn an average of S$3,000 to S$5,000 a month, though the more highly-renowned players can earn about S$17,000 by Riot, a professional e-sports organisation for a 28-match season.

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4. Telemedicine physician

Telemedicine has been around for a couple of years already, but it really blasted and created an explosion of new job opportunities because of COVID-19. As the outbreak was highly infectious but yet many still needed access to healthcare, telemedicine became insanely popular as you could literally get your medicine sent right to your doorstep.

Just like normal doctors, they offer consultations to patients and assess their symptoms all through virtual communication channels like video calls, phone calls and even online chats. Since you require the same degree of education and training just like your typical General Practitioner requires, you can expect their salary to be relatively higher, at an average of about S$6,000 per month. 

But of course, if you’re a specialist or have decades of experience, you can expect the salary to rise exponentially.

5. Cloud infrastructure engineer

Throwback to the days when data storage was possible only through physical computers called data centers. Such servers were consuming too much space and were quite pricey. Not only that, they would often crash and become redundant very quickly.

In this new age, clouds like Google Drive, iCloud and Amazon Web have revolutionised how data is stored. Companies can rent their data centres from cloud companies at a much cheaper price, making data storage extremely fuss-free and cost-saving.

Cloud infrastructure engineers are now in great demand, as they lead, architect and develop cloud and infrastructure solutions onto on-premise or SaaS solutions. Their average salary is similar to that of a telemedicine physician, with an average of S$6,476 per month.

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6. Blockchain analyst

With the rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology is now up and running, and may very well take over fiat money one day. Many corporations and businesses are now moving over tp blockchain, making blockchain analyst roles in great demand in this era.

These professionals produce and install assets and accelerators that can help with infrastructure development to facilitate communication with the blockchain. Sounds quite confusing right? This is why only a handful is eligible for this role. It is no wonder why blockchain analysts are earning a decent amount of money per month, at an average of S$7,670 in Singapore.

Interested in cryptocurrency? You may not be able to be a blockchain analyst but you very well can take advantage of the high returns that cryptocurrency may provide. But of course, they also come with very high risks as well. 

Here are some helpful guides:

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5 Ways To Buy And Invest In Bitcoin In Singapore

Want to keep up with the latest investment styles? Sign up for a brokerage account to kickstart your investment journey.

7. UI/UX Designer

If you have any recollection of the 2000s, it has got to be dodgy-looking websites, comic sans as the standard universal font and confusing interfaces that you would immediately deem as viruses if you clicked on it now.

Past website designs were not user-friendly at all, and do leave a distasteful impression. But you can’t really fault the designers back then as that was how backward technology was. Though in hindsight it does look quite terrible, younger you were very used to them.

Fast forward a few years later and UI/UX is now in hot demand as websites compete in terms of user-friendliness and overall aesthetic. UI/UX designers play a huge role in any tech company and ensure that the finished product allows customers to interact with businesses with ease. 

According to Indeed, the average monthly salary for UI/UX designers is S$5,677. 

8. Development, Security and Operations engineer

You would think that this role existed in the past, but it actually didn’t. In the past, many businesses took on a linear workflow model known as the ‘waterfall philosophy’ where processes have to occur step by step. Conception > Initiation > Analysis > Design > Construction > Testing > Deployment and maintenance.

However, businesses soon realised that this linear process was too slow and wasn’t fast enough to adapt to the fast-moving tech industry. Hence, the ‘agile philosophy’ was coined, where the new role of Development, Security and Operations engineer stepped in to fill the gap. They are in charge of basically anything from software development, cybersecurity and operations.

Wearing multiple hats and taking on great responsibility in the company, these people don’t come cheap. On average, they earn S$7,459 per month, and this ranges according to their years of experience.

9. Full stack developer

Previously, developers were split into front-end and back end. Front-end developers are mainly involved in presentations and were in charge of converting data to a graphical interface. This is where coding in languages like HTML, CSS and Javascript came into play.

On the other hand, back-end developers are mainly involved in the behind-the-scenes of ya website, basically dealing with servers, applications and a database.

Over the course of 10 years ago, many businesses realised that it would be more efficient to combine these two roles into a full stack developer and merge both job scopes into one. They are expected to be versatile and skilled in both disciplines.

The average base salary is S$6,759 as a full stack developer in Singapore. 

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