Latest Fresh Graduate Salary Guide (2024) Based on Graduate Employment Survey (GES) 2023
Joel Koh●
Latest Starting Salary for Graduates
Although the Singapore economy is recovering, hiring has slowed down with multiple high-profile layoffs in 2024.
Out of 10,900 fresh graduates in the labour force polled in the latest Ministry of Education (MOE) 2023 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (GES), only 84.1% were employed within six months of completing their final examinations — a decrease from 87.5% in 2022.
However, the number of fresh graduates who’ve secured full-time positions dropped from 84.1% in 2023 to 87.5% in 2022.
But, the gross median monthly salary also increased for this group of fresh graduates, from $4,200 in 2021 to $4,313 in 2023.
The universities that participated in the poll include:
- National University of Singapore (NUS)
- Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
- Singapore Management University (SMU)
- Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
- Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD)
- Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).
FYI: The Joint Graduate Employment Survey is conducted by the six Autonomous Universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, and SUSS) every year to collect information on the employment status of graduates around six months after the completion of their final examinations.
NUS, NTU, SMU, and SUSS students were surveyed in November 2023. Data from SUTD and SIT will be updated later this year but we have added last year’s data for reference.
- Choose your university course (pay is one of many factors to consider)
- Provide information about how your peers are doing
- Negotiate your salary when you are finding a job
- Help you RECOGNISE YOUR WORTH.
TL;DR: Singapore Fresh Graduate Salary 2024 Guide — How Much Does a Fresh Grad From a Singapore Uni Earn?
| Course Cluster | Gross Monthly Median Salary | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Arts, Design & Media | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,740 |
| Built Environment | $3,600 | $3,750 | $4,000 |
| Business | $3,723 | $4,100 | $4,150 |
| Dentistry | $4,200 | $4,200 | $4,550 |
| Education (NIE) | $3,798 | $4,200 | $4,269 |
| Engineering | $3,900 | $4,600 | $4,500 |
| Health Sciences | $3,635 | $3,700 | $3,910 |
| Humanities & Social Sciences | $3,550 | $3,800 | $4,015 |
| Information & Digital Technologies | $5,000 | $5,625 | $5,500 |
| Music | $3,100 | $3,590 | $4,000 |
| Sciences | $3,600 | $3,900 | $4,000 |
| Yale-NUS | $4,150 | $5,000 | $4,300 |
| Follow-up Graduates | |||
| Architecture | $4,000 | $4,400 | N.A |
| Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine | $3,100 | $3,175 | $3,350 |
| Law | $5,600 | $6,375 | $7,000 |
| Medicine | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
| Pharmacy | $3,915 | $4,000 | N.A. |
| Overall | $3,800 | $4,200 | $4,313 |
Source: MOE | Graduate Employment Survey jointly conducted by NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT and SUSS. Information is accurate as of 22 February 2024.
Note that 16,630 full-time and 1,145 follow-up graduates from NUS, NTU, SMU and SUSS were surveyed in November 2023, and the overall response rates obtained were 74.0% and 58.7%, respectively.
An important thing to note is that this guide is not a super exact be-all and end-all of what kind of salary a fresh graduate should get.
However, it should still prove very helpful in negotiating your salary and helping you make decisions regarding your studies and career.
Disclaimer The data published here is provided on an “as is” basis without any warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, MOE does not warrant and hereby disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, correctness, completeness, reliability or fitness for any particular purpose of such data. The reader of this document assumes all responsibility and risk for the use of such data. MOE shall not be liable for any damage or loss of any kind caused as a result (directly or indirectly) of the use of such data, including but not limited to any damage or loss suffered as a result of reliance on the data published in this document.
Singapore Fresh Graduates’ Starting Salary: What Is a Good Salary for a Fresh Graduate?
Figures are taken from graduates who have completed the latest GES.
Don’t worry if it has been a while since you graduated; we have also compiled a salary guide for you to refer to!
Which university did you graduate from?
Click to Teleport:
Singapore Fresh Graduate Employment Numbers
For context, here are the employment numbers for fresh university graduates:
| Fresh Graduates | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Course Cluster
|
Proportion of Graduates in the Labour Force who were |
Gross Monthly Median Salary6
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Employed4 | In Full-Time Permanent Employment5 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Arts, Design & Media |
92.6% | 90.3% | 84.0% | 69.3% | 72.2% | 67.8% | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,740 | |||||||||||||
| Built Environment | 94.5% | 95.5% | 91.6% | 88.9% | 89.6% | 87.2% | $3,600 | $3,750 | $4,000 | |||||||||||||
| Business^ | 97.0% | 95.9% | 93.2% | 88.7% | 91.0% | 88.3% | $3,723 | $4,100 | $4,150 | |||||||||||||
| Dentistry | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | $4,200 | $4,200 | $4,550 | |||||||||||||
| Education (NIE) | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | $3,798 | $4,200 | $4,269 | |||||||||||||
| Engineering | 94.0% | 94.5% | 86.2% | 86.9% | 91.7% | 82.9% | $3,900 | $4,600 | $4,500 | |||||||||||||
| Health Sciences | 95.7% | 96.7% | 97.6% | 85.9% | 92.9% | 95.9% | $3,635 | $3,700 | $3,910 | |||||||||||||
| Humanities & Social Sciences |
91.2% | 91.4% | 87.7% | 75.6% | 80.3% | 78.3% | $3,550 | $3,800 | $4,015 | |||||||||||||
| Information & Digital Technologies^ |
97.8% | 95.0% | 90.5% | 93.7% | 93.2% | 88.7% | $5,000 | $5,625 | $5,500 | |||||||||||||
| Music | 82.4% | 85.7% | 70.8% | 35.3% | 28.6% | 50.0% | $3,100 | $3,590 | $4,000 | |||||||||||||
| Sciences | 91.7% | 90.4% | 86.9% | 75.8% | 80.6% | 79.0% | $3,600 | $3,900 | $4,000 | |||||||||||||
| Yale-NUS | 89.8% | 89.0% | 89.1% | 73.9% | 82.1% | 84.6% | $4,150 | $5,000 | $4,300 | |||||||||||||
| Follow-up Graduates | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture7 ** | 97.7% | 96.0% | N.A. | 96.6% | 92.0% | N.A. | $4,000 | $4,400 | N.A. | |||||||||||||
| Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine7 |
90.9% | 100.0% | 96.3% | 77.3% | 90.0% | 85.2% | $3,100 | $3,175 | $3,350 | |||||||||||||
| Law7 | 97.9% | 95.3% | 97.7% | 95.5% | 92.6% | 97.7% | $5,600 | $6,375 | $7,000 | |||||||||||||
| Medicine7 ** | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | |||||||||||||
| Pharmacy7** | 95.9% | 98.4% | N.A. | 91.9% | 95.1% | N.A. | $3,915 | $4,000 | N.A. | |||||||||||||
Source: MOE | 2023 GES Employment Rates and Salaries of NUS, NTU, SMU, SUSS by course cluster.
Notes:
- 1. Employment rates refer to the number of graduates employed as a proportion of graduates in the labour force (i.e., those who were working, or not working but actively looking and available for work) as at 1 November 2023 (i.e., approximately six months after completing their final examinations).
- 2. The Joint Graduate Employment Survey is conducted by the six Autonomous Universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT and SUSS) every year to collect information on the employment status of graduates around six months after the completion of their final examinations. Due to their different academic calendars, NUS, NTU, SMU and SUSS conduct their surveys in November each year, while SIT conduct their survey in March. Due to a change in SUTD’s academic calendar from AY2020, the graduating class of 2023 comprises SUTD graduates from only the SUTD-SMU Dual Degree Programme and the Architecture and Sustainable Design programme. Given the small graduating cohort, SUTD will conduct a survey in November 2024 where it will include graduates from both the 2023 and 2024 batches — the results of which will be reported alongside the Joint AU 2024 GES results in February 2025. The results detailed in the above table are for NUS, NTU, SMU and SUSS only.
- 3. Appendix lists all courses under each course cluster. Course-level employment indicators can be found in the respective AUs’ web publications at https://www.moe.gov.sg/post-secondary/overview/autonomous-universities/.
- 4. Employment refers to graduates working on a full-time permanent, part-time, temporary or freelance basis.
- 5. Full-time permanent employment refers to employment of at least 35 hours a week and where the employment is not temporary. It includes those on contracts of one year or more.
- 6. Gross monthly salary pertains only to full-time permanently employed graduates. It comprises basic salary, overtime payments, commissions, fixed allowances and other regular cash payments, before deductions of the employee’s CPF contributions and personal income tax. Employer’s CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, lump sum payments, and payments-in-kind are excluded.
- 7. Data on Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine, Law, Medicine, and Pharmacy graduates is obtained from a follow-up survey on 2020/2021/2022 graduates after they have completed their one-year practical law course/pupillage/housemanship/first-year GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT SURVEY residency/practical training. Data on Architecture graduates is obtained from a follow-up survey on 2018/2019/2020 architecture graduates after they have completed their practical training.
- 8. **: No data is shown for certain years due to the small number of graduates and/or low response rates.
- 9. ^: The overall and full-time permanent employment rates for Business and Information & Digital Technologies in 2022 have been updated.
Why Did The Surveyors Use Median Salary?
In case you would like to know why the surveyors are using the median salary:
- Mean: An average of the salaries
- Median: The 50th Percentile, meaning the “central” graduate amongst everyone.
The median is a more accurate reference as data on the salaries received are not symmetrically distributed.
NUS Fresh Graduate Salary 2024: NUS Graduate Employment Survey Nov 2023
A total of 7,629 fresh graduates and 819 follow-up graduates from NUS were surveyed in November 2023. The overall response rates obtained were 73.2% and 53.2%, respectively.
How Much Do NUS Graduates Make?
NTU Fresh Graduate Salary 2024: NTU Graduate Employment Survey November 2023
A total of 5,963 fresh graduates and 148 follow-up graduates from NTU were surveyed in November 2023, and the overall response rates obtained were 74.2% and 66.2%, respectively.
How Much Do NTU Graduates Make?
SMU Fresh Graduate Salary 2023: SMU Graduate Employment Survey November 2022
A total of 2,257 fresh graduates and 162 follow-up graduates from SMU were surveyed in November 2023, and the overall response rates obtained were 76.1% and 79.6%, respectively.
How Much Do SMU Graduates Make?
SUSS Fresh Graduate Salary 2024: SUSS Graduate Employment Survey November 2022
A total of 781 fresh graduates and 16 follow-up graduates from SUSS were surveyed in November 2023, and the overall response rate obtained was 75.2% and 56.3%, respectively.
How Much Do SUSS Graduates Make?
SUTD Fresh Graduate Salary 2024: How Much Do SUTD Graduates Make?
Due to their different academic calendars, the survey for the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) will be conducted at a later date. The SUTD survey will be conducted in November 2024, and its findings will be reported alongside the graduate employment survey results in 2025.
But we still have data from last year. But be aware that this data is a bit dated.
How Much Do SUTD Graduates Make?
388 full-time and 81 follow-up graduates from SUTD were surveyed in February 2023, and the overall response rate obtained was 77.3% and 70.4%, respectively.
SIT Fresh Graduate Salary 2024: How Much Do SIT Graduates Make?
Due to their different academic calendars, the surveys for the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will be conducted at a later date. The SIT survey will be conducted in March 2024, and its results will be released at a later date.
But we still have data from last year. But be aware that this data is a bit dated.
How Much Do SIT Graduates Make?
2,193 full-time graduates from SIT were surveyed in March 2023, and the overall response rate obtained was 78.4%.
How Much Are You Earning as a Fresh Graduate?
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