Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated any opinions belong to the author.
British recruitment corporation, Michael Page, has released its annual salary guide for 2024, this time with even more detailed methodology comprising 280,000 data points from its own sources.
In total, the company has listed over 500 roles across 15 different professions, with their respective, average salaries—from the receptionist to the CEO—providing a comprehensive review of the employment situation in Singapore as of this year.
Disclaimer from Michael Page: “The data presented in this guide pertains to the full year of 2023 and specifically focuses on roles based in Singapore, incorporating salary projections for 2024. The limitations of this survey should be acknowledged. As we primarily utilise our own data, the reported salaries may be more reflective of our clientele than the broader market.”
Executive roles
We won’t be covering top executive roles in detail here, since they all fall in the same brackets across all industries, which start around S$200,000 per year for lower directorial and C-Level roles, up to around S$400,000 for CEOs and Presidents.
Besides that, if you’re in contention for the top positions in business, you’re probably not reading this right now anyway.
Our focus is on all the roles that most Singaporeans could aspire to which cross the attractive, round level of S$10,000 in monthly pay—or about 2x the national median.
For all other jobs, which fall below or considerably above (i.e. executive) this figure, you may head over to read the full Michael Page report, which is free to download.
So, how much can you make if you’re not a company head, director, or a C-Level officer? Let’s take a look below, starting with one of the larger category of jobs: finance, accounting and banking.
Accounting & Finance
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Finance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Finance Transformation Manager | S$10,000 |
| Group Finance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Enterprise Risk Management / Risk and Compliance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Internal Audit Manager | S$10,000 |
| Internal Control Manager | S$10,000 |
| Corporate Finance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Manager | S$10,000 |
| Transfer Pricing Manager | S$10,000 |
| Treasury Manager | S$10,833 |
| Finance Business Partner | S$10,833 |
| M&A Manager | S$10,833 |
| Tax Manager | S$10,833 |
| Plant Controller | S$12,500 |
| Project Controller | S$12,500 |
| Business Controller | S$13,750 |
| Financial Controller | S$15,000 |
Banking & Financial Services
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Private Equity Analyst | S$10,000 |
| Back Office Manager | S$10,000 |
| Middle Office Administrator | S$10,667 |
| Claims Manager | S$10,750 |
| Underwriter | S$11,083 |
| Fund Administrator | S$11,250 |
| Banking Project Manager | S$11,667 |
| Investigations Manager | S$11,917 |
| Consolidations Lead | S$12,250 |
| Credit Analyst | S$12,500 |
| Equity Sales Associate | S$12,500 |
| Investment Banking Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Experienced Analyst | S$12,500 |
| Anti Money Laundering (AML) Manager | S$12,500 |
| Middle Office Manager | S$12,500 |
| Wealth Planner | S$12,583 |
| Financial Advisor | S$13,000 |
| Buy-side, Investment Associate | S$13,333 |
| Operational Risk Manager | S$13,333 |
| Private Banking Client Advisor | S$15,833 |
| Fund Manager | S$16,667 |
| Actuary | S$17,417 |
| Investment Banking Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Experienced Associate | S$18,333 |
Digital
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Product Designer | S$10,000 |
| User Experience / User Interface (UX / UI) Designer | S$10,667 |
| Digital Marketing Manager | S$11,417 |
| Ecommerce Manager | S$11,417 |
| Product Manager | S$12,000 |
| Senior User Experience / User Interface (UX / UI) Designer | S$12,333 |
| Head of User Experience / User Interface (UX / UI) | S$12,500 |
| Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Manager | S$12,667 |
| Head of Media Buying | S$13,167 |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Manager | S$13,500 |
| Head of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) | S$14,333 |
| Digital Project Manager | S$14,500 |
| Director of User Operations | S$15,000 |
| Senior Product Manager | S$15,000 |
Engineering & Manufacturing
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Engineering Project Manager | S$10,000 |
| Maintenance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Senior HSE Manager | S$10,000 |
| Continuous Improvement Manager | S$10,000 |
| Workshop Manager | S$10,000 |
| Production Manager | S$10,000 |
| Innovation Manager | S$10,000 |
| Research & Development Manager | S$10,000 |
| Manufacturing Manager | S$10,833 |
| Quality Manager | S$11,667 |
| Plant Manager | S$15,000 |
| Energy Trader | S$20,833 |
Healthcare & Life Sciences
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Manager | S$10,000 |
| Operations Manager | S$10,000 |
| Senior Scientist | S$10,000 |
| Senior Key Account Manager | S$11,000 |
| Product Manager | S$12,083 |
| Market Access Manager | S$12,417 |
| Senior Quality Manager | S$12,500 |
| Regulatory Affairs Manager | S$14,083 |
| Commercial Head | S$15,000 |
| Medical Affairs Manager | S$15,000 |
| Country Manager | S$20,833 |
| Plant Manager | S$20,833 |
Human Resources
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Recruitment Specialist | S$10,000 |
| Reward & Benefits Analyst | S$12,000 |
| HR Business Partner | S$12,333 |
| Learning and Development Manager | S$12,500 |
| Recruitment Manager | S$12,500 |
| HR Consultant | S$12,583 |
| HR Manager | S$13,750 |
| Senior HR Manager | S$13,750 |
| Organisational Design Manager | S$15,000 |
| Reward & Benefits Manager | S$15,000 |
| Senior HR Business Partner | S$16,667 |
| Senior HR Consultant | S$16,667 |
Legal
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Risk Analyst | S$10,000 |
| Compliance Manager | S$11,000 |
| Financial Crime Analyst | S$11,000 |
| Risk Manager | S$12,000 |
| Legal Counsel | S$13,333 |
| Lawyer | S$13,583 |
| Regulatory Lawyer | S$15,083 |
| Employment Lawyer | S$15,167 |
| Compliance Lawyer | S$15,833 |
| Senior Legal Counsel | S$16,500 |
| Banking Lawyer | S$16,667 |
| Senior Lawyer | S$16,667 |
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | S$17,833 |
Marketing
Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, roles in marketing are some of the least well paid, with only three roles below the executive level crossing our S$10,000 level. Everybody else, sadly, falls below that.
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Corporate Communications Manager | S$10,000 |
| Marketing Manager | S$10,000 |
| Communications Manager | S$10,833 |
Procurement & Supply Chain
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Operations Manager | S$10,000 |
| Planning Manager | S$10,000 |
| Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Manager | S$10,000 |
| Commodity / Sourcing Manager | S$10,000 |
| Costing Manager | S$10,000 |
| Procurement Manager | S$10,000 |
| Supply Chain E-commerce Manager | S$10,000 |
| Compliance Manager | S$10,000 |
| Import / Export Manager | S$10,000 |
| Logistics Manager | S$10,000 |
| Planning Analyst | S$10,833 |
| Supply Chain Program Manager | S$11,667 |
| Head of Logistics | S$12,500 |
| Logistics Project Manager | S$13,083 |
| Supplier Relationship Management | S$15,000 |
| Senior Compliance Manager | S$15,000 |
Property & Construction
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Contracts Manager | S$10,000 |
| Development Manager | S$10,000 |
| Property Manager | S$10,000 |
| Technical Manager | S$10,000 |
| Architect | S$10,000 |
| Building Information Modelling (BIM) Manager | S$10,000 |
| Design Manager | S$10,000 |
| Interior Designer | S$10,000 |
| Project Manager | S$10,000 |
| Senior Site Manager | S$10,000 |
| Data Centre Facility Manager | S$12,000 |
| Facilities Manager | S$12,000 |
| Senior Project Manager | S$12,000 |
Sales
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Business Development Manager | S$10,000 |
| Customer Success Manager | S$10,000 |
| Senior Key Account Manager | S$10,000 |
| Sales Project Manager | S$11,417 |
| Commercial Manager | S$12,000 |
| Sales Manager | S$13,250 |
| Senior Business Development Manager | S$15,000 |
Secretarial & Business Support
It’s no secret that secretarial roles are not exactly the best paid and it finds confirmation here, with only one role qualifying under our criteria, and even it is here only because its area of focus is law.
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Legal Services Administrator | S$15,000 |
Sustainability & ESG
Sustainability roles, however well regarded by modern corporations, do not exactly provide many opportunities to climb the ladder financially.
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| ESG / Sustainability Manager | S$10,000 |
| ESG Consulting Manager | S$15,833 |
Technology
Finally, and unsurprisingly, the biggest standalone category of all: technology, where qualified talent can still find good pay.
Singapore, being the small and surprisingly restrictive labour market, is probably faring better than most other countries where waves of layoffs have released thousands of people looking for new employment at the same time, leading to a demonstrable glut and shortage of offers.
| Role | Average Base Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| IT Auditor | S$10,000 |
| IT Security Consultant | S$10,000 |
| Salesforce Consultant | S$10,000 |
| Power BI Developer | S$10,250 |
| Technical Writer | S$10,250 |
| Front-end Developer | S$10,500 |
| Web Developer | S$10,500 |
| Technical Business Analyst | S$10,583 |
| Software Developer | S$10,833 |
| Software Engineer | S$10,833 |
| SAP Consultant | S$10,833 |
| Data Analyst | S$10,917 |
| .NET Developer | S$11,083 |
| IT Support Analyst | S$11,167 |
| Full-stack Developer | S$11,250 |
| Python Developer | S$11,417 |
| Android Developer | S$11,583 |
| Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Developer | S$11,750 |
| Master Data Manager | S$11,833 |
| IT Audit Manager | S$11,917 |
| Application Support Analyst | S$11,917 |
| Programmer | S$12,083 |
| Data Engineer | S$12,250 |
| Business Intelligence (BI) Analyst | S$12,417 |
| Data Governance Engineer | S$12,500 |
| Java Developer | S$12,500 |
| IT Manager | S$12,500 |
| Business Intelligence (BI) Developer | S$12,583 |
| DevOps Engineer | S$12,583 |
| Implementation Manager | S$12,583 |
| Network Engineer | S$12,583 |
| Scrum Master | S$12,750 |
| Hardware Engineer | S$12,833 |
| IT Project Manager | S$12,833 |
| Test Lead | S$12,917 |
| Database Administrator | S$13,000 |
| Senior Software Developer | S$13,083 |
| IT Security Manager | S$13,167 |
| Business Analyst | S$13,167 |
| Service Delivery Manager | S$13,667 |
| IT Consultant | S$13,833 |
| Senior .Net Developer | S$13,833 |
| Infrastructure Engineer | S$13,833 |
| Back-end Developer | S$13,917 |
| C++ Developer | S$14,167 |
| Data Science Consultant | S$14,333 |
| Business Analytics Manager | S$14,417 |
| Solution Architect | S$14,667 |
| Data Scientist | S$15,000 |
| Senior Java Developer | S$15,000 |
| Enterprise Architect | S$15,333 |
| Infrastructure Architect | S$16,333 |
| Game Developer | S$16,417 |
| Data Science Manager | S$16,500 |
| Data Architect | S$17,500 |
While the above figures are more specific to Michael Page rather than the entire market, they provide a good benchmark for those in the corporate world and are a useful reference for other companies (bearing in mind that pay in smaller businesses may be a bit worse).
Nevertheless, given the breadth of a total of 500+ different roles and 280,000 data points that the company cites, it should be more accurate than a typical survey, giving you a general idea of whether you fall below or above average—and what you can hope for going forward.
Good luck!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock
