SINGAPORE - Fresh graduates from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in 2023 drew higher starting salaries, although fewer of them were able to find jobs after graduation. 

The results from the latest graduate employment survey, released by SIT on Sept 12, showed that those in full-time permanent jobs earned a median gross monthly salary of $4,000 in 2023, up from $3,950 in 2022. 

This marks the highest median gross monthly salary ever reported for SIT graduates.

But the latest figures also showed a dip in employment – 81.4 per cent of its graduates in 2023 secured full-time permanent work within six months of graduation, against 86.6 per cent in 2022. Overall, 88.5 per cent of its graduates found employment – including part-time and freelance work – down from 91.6 per cent in 2022.

These figures were released in the annual Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey, which was conducted by SIT between March 1 and May 20. 

Of the 2,412 graduates from SIT’s class of 2023, 78 per cent, or 1,881, participated in the survey. 

The survey findings for other autonomous universities were released earlier in 2024, due to their different academic calendars.

In 2023, fresh university graduates from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences also saw higher salaries than in the last three years, with median gross salaries of $4,313. 

Similar to SIT’s results, fewer graduates from these universities found full- or part-time work, with 84.1 per cent securing full-time permanent roles in 2023, compared with 87.5 per cent in 2022. 

Overall, 89.6 per cent found employment – including part-time and freelance work – within six months of graduation in 2023, down from 93.8 per cent in 2022. 

Graduates from SIT’s health and social sciences programmes – particularly diagnostic radiography, dietetics and nutrition and occupational therapy graduates – all found employment within six months of graduation. Those from the dietetics and nutrition degree programme are from its pioneer batch, which started in 2019. 

As in previous years, graduates from SIT’s information and communications technology (ICT) programmes earned the highest median gross monthly salaries, with those from the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in ICT (Information Security) topping the list with a starting pay of $5,200.

This was followed by ICT (software engineering) graduates, who earned $5,000, tying with graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation.

Close behind were computer science graduates in interactive media and game development, who took home $4,900, and computing science graduates, who earned $4,800.

Graduates from engineering and food, chemical and biotechnology clusters had the highest pay increases, with median gross monthly salaries rising by 4.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.  

Offshore engineering graduates earned a median monthly salary of $4,200, up from $3,675 in 2022. Marine engineering graduates saw their salaries rise to $4,400 from $3,900, while naval architecture graduates earned $4,450, an increase from $4,000 in 2022.

Pharmaceutical engineering graduates earned higher median gross monthly salaries, taking home $4,150 in 2023, up from $3,955 in 2022.

In a statement, SIT said its Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP), which allows students to gain real work experience for up to a year while studying, is key to preparing graduates for work. 

Since 2015, more than 10,000 students have joined the programme, and one in two SIT graduates now receive advance job offers from their IWSP employers before graduation. 

Ms Claudia Chan, a 25-year-old ICT (information security) graduate, received an offer from Ensign InfoSecurity – her IWSP employer – before completing her studies.

She is currently working as a penetration tester with the company, a role that requires her to test systems for vulnerabilities and recommend measures to safeguard these systems against potential cyber attacks.

“I experience a sense of accomplishment each time I manage to identify a vulnerability and exploit it,” Ms Chan said, describing this role as her “dream job”. The work stint during her time at SIT helped her ease into the workforce.

“During my internship, I was fortunate to have a few mentors who guided me in understanding both the professional environment and my personal development,” she said. “This experience allowed me to gain a better understanding of my role in a company and to grow from it.”

In five years, Ms Chan hopes to mentor and support fresh graduates entering the field. “Transitioning to the workforce, particularly in a challenging environment such as the IT sector, was extremely challenging for me,” she said.