PAY for various jobs across industries in Singapore has stabilised and salary ranges have broadened, a survey by executive search firm Kelly Services has found.
But more job titles are being created, and senior management staff with professional and technical skills still command higher starting pay, according to the Kelly Services Singapore Salary Handbook 2008/09.
For instance, an engineering director can expect a 10 per cent hike from last year's minimum pay, while analyst programmers and software engineers with a degree or diploma and two to five years of relevant experience are tipped to see a 15-20 per cent jump in minimum salary.
'Companies continue to find it a challenge to acquire professional and technical talent, especially people with specific skills or industry knowledge, resulting in talent in these fields being able to command a higher salary than other professions,' said Dhirendra Shantilal, Kelly Services' senior vice-president for the Asia-Pacific.
The floor salary for an engineering director with a PhD, MSc or MBA degree in the engineering and technical sector is $11,000 a month - and he can make up to $15,000.
Only the maximum pay of a chief scientific officer with a PhD in the healthcare and life sciences sector can match that figure, although his minimum pay of $10,000 is lower than that for an engineering director.
But the peak earnings of the engineering director and chief scientific officer are still lower than those of a regional sales director and country manager in the IT industry.
A country manager in the IT business earns up to $18,000 a month, while a regional sales director can get up to $20,000 - the highest compensation in Kelly's compilation, which also covers jobs in banking and finance, call centres, human resources, logistics and warehousing, office support and sales, marketing and advertising.
In the banking and finance industry, where hiring slowed at end-2007 and early this year, base salaries are expected to remain stable, even though recruitment is projected to pick up for the rest of 2008, Kelly says in its latest salary handbook.
The industry has the lowest minimum pay - $1,300, for a bank teller - in the handbook. Its highest pay - $8,500 tops, for a finance manager with six to seven years' experience - is below that of the top earner in a call centre. A manager or head with three to four years' experience in a call centre earns a maximum of $10,000.
Kelly says the broadening of the salary range is seen more in human resources, office support, marketing and advertising jobs.
'Companies are still looking to hire but they are cautious in raising entry level salaries,' Mr Shantilal said. 'For some positions, the salary range has broadened, which provides employees with a greater opportunity to take on new responsibilities and be rewarded for their effort through a raise.'
This article was first published in The Business Times on May 6, 2008
