What 2020's fresh grads from NUS, NTU, SMU, and SUSS are earning

More than two thirds (68.9%) of fresh graduates across four of the six Autonomous Universities (AU) in Singapore found permanent full-time jobs last year, revealed the recently released Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey.

 According to a joint press release by National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), this was significantly less than the 81.7% in 2019, CNA reported.

NUS: Mean gross monthly salary of fresh grads increased by 3.6%

Graduates of NUS were found to have achieved strong employment and earned high starting salaries in 2020.

A separate statement from the university showed that among NUS fresh graduates in the labour force, 93.9% were employed, compared to 90.9% last year. Another 2.5% of fresh graduates in the labour force have either accepted a job offer pending commencement of duty or are actively starting a business venture.

When it comes to earning power, the survey also revealed that S$4,082 was the mean gross monthly salary of NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment - a 3.6% increase from $3,939 in 2019.

The median gross monthly salary of fresh graduates from NUS in full-time permanent employment also increased to $3,800 in 2020, from $3,600 in 2019.

An improvement in starting salaries was found in 19 courses in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Industrial Design, Project and Facilities Management, Real Estate, Engineering, Nursing, Science, as well as those offered by Yale-NUS College.

5,410 out of a total of 6,894 full-time fresh NUS graduates from the Class of 2020, and 632 out of 853 follow-up NUS graduates participated in the joint survey.

Top 5 highest earning courses for NUS fresh grads (mean gross monthly salary): 

1. Bachelor of Science with Honours (from Yale-NUS College): S$5,798
2. Bachelor of Computing (Computer Science): S$5,735
3. Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery: S$5,306
4. Bachelor of Science (Business Analytics): S$5,094
5. Bachelor of Business Administration: S$5,043

NTU fresh grads are earning a mean gross monthly salary of S$3,840

NTU's fresh graduates were found to be in demand and drawing higher starting salaries, despite a tough economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement from the university revealed that more than nine in 10 NTU fresh graduates in the labour force secured employment within six months after completing their final examinations, comparable to the previous cohort.

Fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment from Class of 2020 earned higher salaries, with a mean gross monthly salary of S$3,840 - an improvement of 4.0% from $3,693 in 2019. Their median gross monthly salary was also higher at S$3,660 in 2020, compared to S$3,500 in 2019.

4,636 NTU graduates responded to the 2020 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES), jointly conducted by NTU and the other Autonomous Universities. This comprises 4,553 graduates from the Class of 2020 as well as 22 Biomedical graduates and 61 Medicine graduates from the Class of 2019 who took part in a follow-up survey.

Top 5 highest earning courses for NTU fresh grads (mean gross monthly salary): 

1. Double Degree in Business and Computer Engineering/Computing: S$5,537
2. Medicine: S$5,387
3. Accountancy and Business: S$4,704
4. Computer Science: S$4,558
5. Double Degree in Engineering and Economics: S$4,516

SMU graduates commanded the highest mean salary among the four universities, at S$4,121

Fresh graduates from SMU have registered healthy and stable overall employment, with 93.9% of them employed within six months and commanding good starting salaries across all six of the university’s degree programmes.

According to a statement from the university, 57.0% were offered full-time permanent jobs before graduation. 

Among those who were on full-time permanent employment, 51.9% were offered employment through internships, which are compulsory for SMU undergraduates. 29.9% of those who were on full-time permanent employment accepted the offers from their internship employers.

SMU graduates were found to command the highest mean salary among the four universities. 

Both the mean and median gross monthly salaries are at an all-time high. The mean gross monthly salary of SMU graduates in full-time permanent jobs is S$4,196 in 2020, an increase over the previous year’s salary of S$4,121. The median gross monthly salary of graduates in full-time permanent employment is S$3,900 in 2020, up from S$3,800 in 2019.

The top three industries of employment for SMU graduates were 'Financial and Insurance', 'Information & Communication', and 'Public Administration and Defence', with 'Financial and Insurance' maintaining its position as the highest-paid industry with an average gross monthly salary of S$5,187.

78.4% or 1,476 of the 1,883 SMU alumni who graduated in 2020 took part in the survey.

Top 5 highest earning courses for SMU fresh grads (mean gross monthly salary): 

1. Law (Cum Laude and above): S$5,141
2. Information Systems (Cum Laude and above): S$5,064
3. Economics (Cum Laude and above): S$4,749
4. Business Management (Cum Laude and above): S$4,688
5. Accountancy  (Cum Laude and above): S$4,057

SUSS: 94% of full-time fresh graduates from the Class of 2020 secured employment within six months

Around 94% or 307 of SUSS full-time fresh graduates from the Class of 2020 in the labour force secured employment within six months of completing their final examinations.

A statement from the university noted that its third batch of full-time Accountancy and Marketing graduates who entered the labour force in 2020, continue to be in high demand with an overall employment rate of 94.6% and 92.1% respectively.

The mean and median gross monthly salaries of SUSS graduates in full-time permanent employment were S$3,238 and S$3,000 respectively in 2020.

SUSS’ graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Finance programme posted the strongest salary outcomes overall, earning the highest mean and third-highest median salaries of S$3,854 and S$3,163 respectively.

A total of 328 out of the 370 graduates from the Class of 2020 participated in the survey – a response rate of 88.6%. They were from the Accountancy, Early Childhood Education (ECE), Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management (HRM), Social Work and Supply Chain Management (SCM) programmes. Among SUSS’s pioneer batch of full-time graduates, 100% from ECE, 97.3% from Social Work, and 88.0% from the SCM programmes were employed within six months of completing their final examinations.

Top 5 highest earning courses for SUSS fresh grads (mean gross monthly salary): 

1. Bachelor of Science in Finance: S$3,854
2. Bachelor of Social Work: S$3,486
3. Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management: S$3,284
4. Bachelor of Science in Marketing: S$3,246
5. Bachelor of Accountancy: S$3,116

Photo / 123RF

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