No weakness in Singapore IT expat salaries: Survey

A magazine salary survey has found that Singapore-based expatriates - foreigners in white-collar jobs - who are working in the IT industry draw an average monthly package of around US$15,000.

This compares with an average of US$17,000 a month for expatriates across all professions. Included in the figure are perks such as club memberships, housing and other allowances.

Of the IT industry expats, 39 percent earned more than US$15,000 monthly, and an elite 17 percent earned more than US$23,000 a month. At the bottom end, 22 percent of IT expats surveyed made less than US$8,700 a month.

The survey of 300 expatriates conducted by Expat Magazine in September and October included senior employees ranging from middle managers to director, vice-president, chief executive and managing director. Executives in working in the IT industry accounted for about 10 percent of those surveyed.

Over the last three years, the magazine's readership surveys have revealed that expats are reporting ever higher levels of income.

Despite the current economic squeeze, IT industry expat salaries are also on the same upward trend, said Christopher Cheney, publisher of the Expat Magazine.

"However, a word of caution: The increase in income may be a reflection of an upward movement in the percentage of our readers who are in top management positions," said Cheney.

"Since a higher percentage of readers this year than last are males in senior positions, it is logical that the incomes are higher, thus I cannot swear that expat salaries are increasing across the board," he added.

Expat is an upscale lifestyle magazine aimed at the top end of the expatriate market in Singapore. The magazine is published monthly, in English and Japanese, with each edition having a circulation of 12,000 and a total audience of approximately 40,000 giving a combined monthly readership of 80,000.

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Talkback 5 comments

    Hi Can you tell me what is the cost of living in Singapore? How much salary one shd have if he looks forward to work in Singapore and shift with the family having small kid and a spouse? Is 45K Sing $ sufficient to live a good life and saveAnonymous -- 03/03/04

    Hi
    Can you tell me what is the cost of living in Singapore?
    How much salary one shd have if he looks forward to work in Singapore and shift with the family having small kid and a spouse?
    Is 45K Sing $ sufficient to live a good life and save someting as well?
    Please suggest.

    Thanks in anticipation.

    Rgds,
    Nilesh Rade

    hi nilesh 45 k is suffiecient to live in singapore. singapore is very very cheapk. i would say 45-50k is above average salary.Anonymous -- 29/04/04

    hi nilesh 45 k is suffiecient to live in singapore. singapore is very very cheapk. i would say 45-50k is above average salary.

    mr reporter, i think you are misled by reporting a salary of US$17000 and US $23000 per month. the starting salary of a fresh graduate here is less than 25K singapore dollars and it stops at 50K after some time. i think you should do a biAnonymous -- 29/04/04

    mr reporter,
    i think you are misled by reporting a salary of US$17000 and US $23000 per month. the starting salary of a fresh graduate here is less than 25K singapore dollars and it stops at 50K after some time. i think you should do a bit of research more. the salary you are telling may be true for a financial manager but not in the IT field. IT expat here generally means indian software programmers and
    they come at a very cheap price even at a higher position, even they may be highly experiences.can you find me one job site in singapore whwere US $17000 -23000 is being displayed.
    in the end if you live in singapore the truth is:
    SINGPAORE SALARY SUCKS###

    semi conductor companyAnonymous -- 29/12/05

    hi all. a singapore semi conductor came to our campus.the pay metnion by them is 83000/-Rs.p.m. by converting into singapore dollars it will come 37000S$per.annum approx.
    How good is this?as a bachelor how much can i be able to save living a decent life??how are the growth of salaries in singapore generaly??

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