A Comprehensive Guide To Starting Salaries for Fresh Graduates In Singapore (2023)

These days, fresh university graduates seem to be getting a higher starting pay … at least that’s what it says in the Graduate Employment Survey.

According to the Ministry of Education (MOE) 2022 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (GES), some are, in fact, earning S$4,200 to S$5,000 a month in their first job. But how true is that? How many will raise false hopes and expectations based on a catchy news headline? I know I did. 

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’ve always been a writer. After many years of penning subpar poetry, I began my editorial career at the age of 18. For years, I hustled whilst in school, taking on side gigs and freelance opportunities wherever I found them. By the time I graduated, I’d built up a portfolio that I was convinced could rival that of any veteran in the industry — and therefore command a higher starting salary. 

“With your experience, you’ll easily get a good job that pays at least $4,000 a month. No question about it,” my mother assured me. Coupled with that Straits Times report, I was optimistic about my prospects. Alas, when I finally got around to the job applications, I realised no magazine or copywriting agency was going to offer me anything more than $3,500 a month. 

In fact, the basic pay for writers hovered at around $2,000 to $3,000 a month. How was I supposed to survive on such meagre sums, especially in one of the world’s most expensive cities? 

Spare yourself the rude awakening and manage your expectations of how much you’ll earn as someone new to the workforce. 

Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the average starting salaries for permanent full-time, entry-level jobs, not including CPF deductions, categorised by university and industry, based on the GES 2022, which polled 12,984 fresh and 1,138 graduates from from six autonomous universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, and SUSS) in November 2022. 

Table of contents

• NUS
• NTU
• SMU
• SIT
• SUTD
• SUSS

Information is updated as of 29 September 2023. Salary adjustments are subject to change at any given time according to economic changes.

By University

NUS graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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NTU Graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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SMU Graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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SIT Graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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SUTD Graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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SUSS Graduates

Source: 2022 GES, MOE

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