Jobs in Singapore for International Students

Jobs in Singapore for International Students

Singapore is the most popular student destination in Asia. One of the four 'Asian Tiger' economies, Singapore is renowned for its rapid economic growth in the second half of the twentieth century. Home to some of the top recruiters, jobs in Singapore can pay around 50,000 to 150,000 SGD a year.

Public universities in Singapore ranking amongst top universities across the globe (NUS, NTU), it is truly a center for research and innovation. Not only education, but Singapore also offers amazing opportunities of employment to international students.

With an unemployment rate of just 2.7%; Singapore is a student-friendly country to keep an eye on while looking or studying abroad. 56% of Singaporean employers say they struggle to fill open jobs due to the lack of skills. These factors together make studying in Singapore becoming increasingly popular.

Further, the different kinds of work permits offered in the country make it easier for international students to get selected for the same and find employment as soon as possible. This article will help you:

  • Understand different kinds of work permits offered in Singapore
  • Find top-recruiters in the country
  • Study salary ranges across different job profiles in Singapore
  • Study salary ranges across different universities in Singapore
  • Understand the concept of part-time jobs in Singapore

Jobs in Singapore with Top Recruiters

Singapore is a massively growing economy which now is home to some of the world renowned recruiters. Among some of these include names like Cognizant, Intel, Dell, Amazon, Unilever, etc.

Some of the top recruiters and the salaries offered by them are discussed below:

Top Recruiters in Singapore Average Salary Offered
Banca della Svizzera Italiana AM SGD 400,000
DVB Bank SGD 350,000
CA Indosuez Private Banking SGD 319,000
Greenwich Associates SGD 299,000
Gunvor SGD 294,000
ICBC Standard Bank Plc SGD 275,000

Aside of the names mentioned above, international students graduated from universities in Singapore can also get a job with Accenture, AXA, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, EY, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, IBM,InterContinental Hotels Group, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Novartis, PwC, Procter & Gamble, Shell, and Siemens.

Jobs in Singapore with Top Start-ups

Startups are popular recruiters all over the world. They are the perfect place to look for new ideas and innovation. Even though joining a start-up may seem like a risk, it is a great place to earn experience and learn professional skills. Start-ups are much more inclusive, especially of freshers and therefore, they are easier to get into.

The following startups have been listed in LinkedIn’s top startups in Singapore list of 2021:

Start-up Year Founded Latest Funding Figures Available
Advance Intelligence Group 2016 US$ 400.0M
Endowus 2017 US$ 1.7M
Homage 2016 US$ 29.8M
Secretlab 2015 US$7.2M
Aspire 2018 US$100M
StashAway 2016 US$25M
Doctor Anywhere 2017 US$65.7M
ShopBack 2014 US$30M
Carro 2015 US$360M
Nium 2015 US$200M+
Validus 2015 US$37.4M+
MiRXES 2014 US$77M
Zenyum 2018 US$40M
99. co 2014 US$8M
Ninja Van 2014 US$578M

Jobs in Singapore after Studies

Singapore is known for technology and innovation, most universities in Singapore focus on research-based education, primarily concerned with Asian perspectives and experience. With two public universities in the top-15 universities of the world, Singapore is definitely at par with global education standards.

The following table will help you understand the average salaries that a graduate from Singapore can expect in different fields:

University Salary Range (SGD/year)
Curtin University of Technology 66,000 to 91,000
Management Development Institute of Singapore 64,000
Nanyang Business School 81,000 to 115,000
Nanyang Polytechnic 40,000- 49,000
Nanyang Technological University 80,000 to 112,000
National University of Singapore 96,000-158,000
Ngee Ann Polytechnic 36,000-110,000
Singapore Institute of Management 56,000 to 24,000
Singapore Institute of Technology 36,000-52,000
Singapore Management University 71,000-120,000
University of Nevada Las Vegas Singapore -

Top Jobs in Singapore

Singapore is known for technology and innovation around the globe. It is no shock to realize that the most popular job profiles in Singapore are based on technology specialization. The following table will help you understand popular job profiles in Singapore so that you can hone your skills accordingly:

Job Profile Average Annual Salary Recruiters
AI Specialist S$58,0000 Pencil, Accenture, Samsung
Digital Marketer S$36,000-84,000 Randstad, Singtel, PropertyGuru.com
Robotics Engineer S$17,000-84,000 GE, Polybee, PATEC Group
Full Stack Engineer S$36,000-96,000 Nexlabs, Singtel, Transferwise
Backend Developer S$24,000-96,,000 Reebelo, Qavar, Shell Infotech
Data Analyst S$20,000-102,000 HP, KPMG
DevOps Engineer S$48,000-96,000 Quantlab, Volt, Binance
Data Engineer S$46,000-133,000 HP,Indeed,Rakuten
Cyber Security Specialist S$46,000-60,000 Volt, Singtel, Govtech
Partnership Specialist S$36,000-60,000 Singtel, Bytedance, TikTok
Clinical Specialist S$80,000-90,000 Thermo Fisher, Changi General Hospital
E-Commerce Specialist S$34,000-133,000 Hasbro, Tate Asia, SalesForce
Product Owner S$61,000-200,000 Bank of Singapore, Singtel, TikTok
Creative Copywriter S$34,000-63,000 Elixir Technology, Ogilvy
Human Resources Professional S$17,000-142,000 Hubble, Embraer, TikTok
UX/UI Professional S$3,000-66,000 HP,Razer, Credit Suisse

Jobs in Singapore: Highest Paying Sectors

Job Profiles can make or break one’s career. It is extremely important to look at different sectors along with the pay they offer in each profile while choosing a career to pursue. The following careers have been listed as the highest paying careers in Singapore:

Careers Average Salary/month
Surgeons/Doctors 31,400 SGD
Judges 26,400 SGD
Lawyers 21,400 SGD
Bank Managers 20,100 SGD
Chief Executive Officers 18,900 SGD
Chief Financial Officers 17,600 SGD
Orthodontists 17,000 SGD
College Professors 15,100 SGD
Pilots 12,600 SGD
Marketing Directors 11,300 SGD

However, these careers might face drastic differences across various job profiles. The section below explains average salaries across different job profiles:

Highest Paying Jobs in Management in Singapore

Management is one of the most popular preferences among graduates. The average monthly salaries for different Management Profiles in Singapore have been mentioned below:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore/month
Chief Executive Officer SGD 18,900
Chairman of The Board SGD 18,300
Chief Financial Officer SGD 17,300
Regional Director SGD 16,800
Executive Manager SGD 15,300
Chief Corporate Officer SGD 15,200
Managing Director SGD 15,100
General Manager SGD 14,700
Risk and Capital Manager SGD 14,200
Chief Operating Manager SGD14,100

Highest Paying Jobs in Engineering in Singapore

B.tech and Engineering are the popular science fields throughout the globe, mentioned below are the average salaries offered to graduates in engineering in Singapore:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore
Director of Engineering SGD 15,100
Eng. Production Manager SGD 13,200
Field Engineering Manager SGD 12.600
Electrical Engineering Manager SGD 11,300
Key Account Manager SGD 11,100
Projects Manager SGD 10,400
Mechanical Engineering Manager SGD 10,100
Engineering Sales Manager SGD 9,810
Engineering Consultant SGD 9,430
Chief Engineering SGD 9,220

Highest Paying Jobs in Hospitality in Singapore

Singapore is popular for hospitality and tourism. It is one of the highest-paid careers in the country. The average salaries across different profiles in hospitality for people working in Singapore have been mentioned below:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore/month
Hospitality Director SGD 15,700
Hotel Manager SGD 15,100
Fleet Manager SGD 12,900
Cluster Director SGD 12,600
Regional Restaurant Manager SGD 11,900
Assistant Manager SGD 11,400
Hotel Sales Manager SGD 11,300
Food Service Manager SGD 10,800
Restaurant Manager SGD 10,200
Reservations Manager SGD 10,100

Highest Paying Jobs in Healthcare in Singapore

Healthcare, the ever-developing sector, is one of the highest-paid sectors in the world. Healthcare workers are always in demand and have gained huge respect throughout centuries, especially in the pandemic. The salaries across different profiles in the healthcare sector have been mentioned in the table below:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore/month
Heart Transplantation Surgeon SGD 37,700
Chief of Surgery SGD 36,500
Orthopedic Surgeon SGD 35,200
Reconstructive Surgeon SGD 33,900
Invasive Cardiologist SGD 33,500
Neurology Surgeon SGD 33,200
Pediatric Surgeon SGD 29,300
Urologist SGD 27,900
Internist SGD 26,200
Chief of Psychology SGD 24,900

Highest Paying Jobs in IT in Singapore

Known for its innovation and technology, Singapore provides a larger scope for graduates in IT and Technology. The table below discusses the average monthly salaries of people working in the IT sector across Singapore:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore/month
Chief Information Officer SGD 13,800
Online Banking Manager SGD 13,200
IT Project Manager SGD 12,600
Infrastructure Manager SGD 12,200
Head of Development SGD 11,900
Chief IT Security Manager SGD 11,700
Web Security Manager SGD 11,600
Intelligence Manager SGD 11,400
Technical Project Manager SGD 11,200
IT Sales Manager SGD 11,100

H2: Effect of Covid-19 on Jobs for International Students in Singapore

Singapore has had a moderate decrease in graduate recruitment. Some recovery is expected to happen in 2021-2022, followed by a dip in the numbers again. The government of Singapore has developed a support package to reskill and support unemployed workers.

Many recruiters have chosen online methods for both pre and post recruitment procedures. Employers have been investing in reworking their recruitment processes in the light of Covid-19.

People expect a similar online-mode structure to continue in the near future.

According to a report by Statista, there was a 7% loss in jobs as of March 2020, the beginning of the Pandemic. Data post this period has not been made available yet. About 16% of the population took up odd jobs during the pandemic. Among the graduates of SIT in 2020, 95% of the students could find employment despite the ongoing pandemic (report in The Straits Time).

H3: Highest Paying Jobs in Finance:

The following table shows salary differentiation across various fields in Finance:

Job Profile Average Salary in Singapore
Chief Financial Officer SGD 17,500
Financial Manager SGD 16,600
Investment Advisor SGD 15,800
Risk Management Director SGD 14,200
Economist SGD 13,800
Tax Director SGD 13,700
Audit Director SGD 13,600
Investment Fund Manager SGD 13,200
Accounting Manager SGD 12,600
Auditing Manager SGD 12,300

Part-time Jobs in Singapore

Part-time jobs are easy to find and require little or no experience. They are usually for freshers or current students who would like to add a little experience and finance into their lives. Training for such jobs is usually provided on the spot and your employer might look into your transport expenses or compensate in the form of discounts.

Students in Singapore usually work in malls, stores, restaurants, cafes, libraries, or any other sort of services that do not necessarily require specialized education. These jobs require 5 days of work accounting for up to 12 hours per week. Weekends are usually compulsory to compensate for less hours worked during weekdays. These jobs can help you support your education and other bills.

Where to find part-time jobs in Singapore?

Online sites like LinkedIn, Monsters.com, JobsCentral, etc. Some universities collaborate with firms that can help students find part-time jobs easily. They also offer Teacher’s Assistant programs to students to avail themselves of some extra credits.

How to Find Jobs in Singapore: Work Permits

A work visa for Singapore is required and students are granted 90 days post their student pass has expired. This permit allows them to stay and look for a job while they get a proper work visa. However, the students may not take any kind of employment while on a temporary visa. International students in Singapore can apply for four kinds of work permits:

Long-term Social Visit Pass (LTVP): This permit is restricted to students who are graduating from a university listed in the Institutes of Higher Learning and seeking employment in Singapore. They have an option to apply for a year of non-renewable LTVP. International students can use this period to work and stay in Singapore.

Employment Pass in Singapore: One of the most common work visas for students to remain and work in Singapore, this visa caters to foreign professionals who work in managerial, administrative, executive, or specialized jobs. The applicants for this visa must meet a minimum salary of S$4.500 per month. Other Requirements include a good university degree, professional qualifications, and specialist skills. Their employer must sponsor the work visa.

S Pass: Another common work visa for international students to remain and work in Singapore after their studies is the S Pass. This work visa applies to mid-skilled foreign employees who work as technicians or specialists. Applicants must meet the minimum salary requirements of S$2,500 per month. Other requirements include educational qualifications, such as a degree or a diploma. The employer must sponsor their work visa.

Discussed below is an overview of the visas mentioned above in the following table:

Type of Visa Restriction Visa Duration Renewable Sponsorship Needed Dependents allowed
Long Term Visit Pass Graduates from the Institutes of Higher Learning. 1 year No No No
Employment Pass Minimum Salary of S$4,500 per month. 2-3 years Yes Yes Yes, meet min salary criteria of S$6,000.
S Pass Minimum salary of S$2,400 per month. 2 years Yes Yes Minimum salary criteria of S$6,000.
EntrePass Registered with ACRA 1-2 years Yes No Yes, annual business spending must be at least S$100,000.

Singapore has a successful free-market economy and regularly scores well on lists of the least corrupt nations in the world. The country's port is one of the busiest in the world, with exports vital to the economy. Employers in Singapore are eager to acquire foreign talent and as such salaries can be extremely lucrative as recruiters try to entice international workers.

While the country may be crowded it is known for its safety and efficiency. Combine these things with a high standard of living and a welcoming multicultural society and it's obvious why Singapore is so popular with job-seeking graduates.

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